Title: New Directions In Teaching Memoir: A Studio Workshop Approach
Author(s): Dawn Latta Kirby and Dan Kirby
Publisher: Heinemann
ISBN-10: 0325006687
ISBN-13: 978-0325006680
My Rating - 4 out of 5
Reviewed By Judi Silva
This studio workshop approach for the genre of contemporary memoir is quite interesting, as it is written from the standpoint of the instructor who is teaching a class on writing memoir. Taking a look at the new direction in which the class is being taught, the authors of this book have taken their ideas from those which required a little over a decade to develop and then successfully implemented in classrooms and workshops across the country.
The concept of the book has a dual purpose. It is a “how-to-write” memoir, along with a “how-to-teach” writing memoir. The important tools for both are contained within its 195 pages of instruction, bibliography of memoirs and subsequent index.
The twelve well stocked chapters are broken down into the following: Chapters 1-3 cover background information and exploration in memoir writing. Chapters 4-11 are the meat ... the “how-to” create a memoir of your own. Chapter 12 is the extensive bibliography.
When you have finished this book, you will have learned how to read and write a memoir, along with thinking like a reader and like a writer of memoir. You will be equipped with the valuable tools which assist you in drafting, writing, revising, assembling, tracking, assessing and evaluating your memoir. Reflections and final thoughts round things out.
Various readings from other literary memoirs are cited to give excellent examples of how a memoir “should” read, such as in Jhumpa Lahiri’s Namesake and The House On Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros.
Charts, key questions and printouts help tremendously with the task at hand. Assembling and presenting your memoir is the best part of the entire project. Experiment with color, fonts and pictures. Be creative. It’s the story of your life. Seeing the finished product which is not only personalized but ready to share with others is very rewarding.
Just a side point, not mentioned in the book - watch the Mira Sorvino starrer Tarentella (1996). In it you will find an interesting example of a memoir, from which you can incorporate some ideas.
Buy New Directions In Teaching Memoir: A Studio Workshop Approach.
Reviewed By Judi Silva
judi.silva@gmail.com
http://www.dark-horse-adaptations.com/
Originally published on Assoicated Content:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/1968/simran.html
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
This blog, #TheNewBookReview, is "new" because it eschews #bookbigotry. It lets readers, reviewers, authors, and publishers expand the exposure of their favorite reviews, FREE. Info for submissions is in the "Send Me Your Fav Book Review" circle icon in the right column below. Find resources to help your career using the mini search engine below. #TheNewBookReview is a multi-award-winning blog including a MastersInEnglish.org recommendation.
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query memoir. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query memoir. Sort by date Show all posts
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Memoir: Harrassment and Fear
Title: The Most Revolutionary Act: Memoir of an American Refugee
Author: Dr. Stuart Jeanne Bramhall
Publisher: Eloquent Books
ISBN: 978-1-60911-858-7
Pages: 323 pages
Price: $17.95 US
Sept 2010
Genre: Memoirs
Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Allbooks Reviews
Do you feel safe in your house at night? Have you ever wondered about those annoying, middle-of-the-night phone calls that you thought were just a random wrong number? Have you noticed someone following you? Frightening? Yes!
Imagine having this happen relentlessly for years: phone calls at all hours of the day and night; people following you; people pretending to be your friend, your client, your patient; people breaking into your house; people threatening your life; people ending the lives of people you have come to know through your practice and your volunteer activities. These things are frightening enough without the added phone taps and tampering with the television cable so that the programming is altered to implement a direct personal assault on an individual’s mental health. This and more happened to an American psychiatrist, Dr. Stuart Jeanne Bramhall.
Not only did these threats affect her safety and that of her daughter, they also affected her psychiatric practice and had her committed to the psychiatric ward, induced with countless drugs and labelled as being psychotically paranoid and manic depressive. Why? It all started when she tried to help transform an abandoned school in Seattle into an African American Museum.
Dr. Stuart Jeanne Bramhall is a captivating storyteller. Her memoir, The Most Revolutionary Act: Memoir of an American Refugee, chronicles thirty years of her life as she tried to maintain her psychiatric practice in Seattle, Washington, while raising a daughter and being actively involved in several volunteer groups that rigorously sought to improve the lives of ordinary Americans. Her fight to bring research on safe AIDS treatment to the fore in the 1970s struck a raw-nerve in certain government departments. Her fight to defend African Americans abused by the system, abused by the police, resulted in greater harassment. She also lobbied for basic health care insurance for all Americans; helped establish and support, both financially and physically, the African American Museum; and she was frequently sought to financially back those who were wrongly accused in the Seattle justice system. Her views on American politics may have seemed radical to many; but hearing her story, from her point-of-view, one begins to wonder if there isn’t a conspiracy out there to block the so-called ‘freedom of speech’ right and condemn those who dare to question it.
Dr. Bramhall continued her practice in Seattle, despite the continual harassment and death threats, for thirty years. She had no desire to uproot her daughter during her early school years. After her daughter moved away to university, Dr. Bramhall made her decision to immigrate. She accepted a posting in New Zealand, and made the move. She is currently practicing child and adolescent psychiatry in New Plymouth.
The Most Revolutionary Act: Memoir of an American Refugee is an almost shocking memoir about what lies beneath the world as we want to see it. The Most Revolutionary Act: Memoir of an American Refugee is highly recommended by Allbooks reviewer, Emily-Jane Hills Orford, Allbooks Reviews.
----- The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :
Author: Dr. Stuart Jeanne Bramhall
Publisher: Eloquent Books
ISBN: 978-1-60911-858-7
Pages: 323 pages
Price: $17.95 US
Sept 2010
Genre: Memoirs
Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Allbooks Reviews
Do you feel safe in your house at night? Have you ever wondered about those annoying, middle-of-the-night phone calls that you thought were just a random wrong number? Have you noticed someone following you? Frightening? Yes!
Imagine having this happen relentlessly for years: phone calls at all hours of the day and night; people following you; people pretending to be your friend, your client, your patient; people breaking into your house; people threatening your life; people ending the lives of people you have come to know through your practice and your volunteer activities. These things are frightening enough without the added phone taps and tampering with the television cable so that the programming is altered to implement a direct personal assault on an individual’s mental health. This and more happened to an American psychiatrist, Dr. Stuart Jeanne Bramhall.
Not only did these threats affect her safety and that of her daughter, they also affected her psychiatric practice and had her committed to the psychiatric ward, induced with countless drugs and labelled as being psychotically paranoid and manic depressive. Why? It all started when she tried to help transform an abandoned school in Seattle into an African American Museum.
Dr. Stuart Jeanne Bramhall is a captivating storyteller. Her memoir, The Most Revolutionary Act: Memoir of an American Refugee, chronicles thirty years of her life as she tried to maintain her psychiatric practice in Seattle, Washington, while raising a daughter and being actively involved in several volunteer groups that rigorously sought to improve the lives of ordinary Americans. Her fight to bring research on safe AIDS treatment to the fore in the 1970s struck a raw-nerve in certain government departments. Her fight to defend African Americans abused by the system, abused by the police, resulted in greater harassment. She also lobbied for basic health care insurance for all Americans; helped establish and support, both financially and physically, the African American Museum; and she was frequently sought to financially back those who were wrongly accused in the Seattle justice system. Her views on American politics may have seemed radical to many; but hearing her story, from her point-of-view, one begins to wonder if there isn’t a conspiracy out there to block the so-called ‘freedom of speech’ right and condemn those who dare to question it.
Dr. Bramhall continued her practice in Seattle, despite the continual harassment and death threats, for thirty years. She had no desire to uproot her daughter during her early school years. After her daughter moved away to university, Dr. Bramhall made her decision to immigrate. She accepted a posting in New Zealand, and made the move. She is currently practicing child and adolescent psychiatry in New Plymouth.
The Most Revolutionary Act: Memoir of an American Refugee is an almost shocking memoir about what lies beneath the world as we want to see it. The Most Revolutionary Act: Memoir of an American Refugee is highly recommended by Allbooks reviewer, Emily-Jane Hills Orford, Allbooks Reviews.
----- The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
The Most Revolutionary Act: Memoir of an American Refugee
By Dr Stuart Jeanne Bramhall
http://www.stuartbramhall.com/
Memoir
ISBN: 978-1-60911-858-7
Publisher: Eloquent Books
Price: $17.95 US
Originally reviewed by Emily Jane Hills Orford for All Books Review
Do you feel safe in your house at night? Have you ever wondered about those annoying, middle-of-the-night phone calls that you thought were just a random wrong number? Have you noticed someone following you? Frightening? Yes! Imagine having this happen relentlessly for years: phone calls at all hours of the day and night; people following you; people pretending to be your friend, your client, your patient; people breaking into your house; people threatening your life; people ending the lives of people you have come to know through your practice and your volunteer activities. These things are frightening enough without the added phone taps and tampering with the television cable so that the programming is altered to implement a direct personal assault on an individual’s mental health. This and more happened to an American psychiatrist, Dr. Stuart Jeanne Bramhall. Not only did these threats affect her safety and that of her daughter, they also affected her psychiatric practice and had her committed to the psychiatric ward, induced with countless drugs and labelled as being psychotically paranoid and manic depressive. Why? It all started when she tried to help transform an abandoned school in Seattle into an African American Museum.
Dr. Stuart Jeanne Bramhall is a captivating storyteller. Her memoir, The Most Revolutionary Act: Memoir of an American Refugee, chronicles thirty years of her life as she tried to maintain her psychiatric practice in Seattle, Washington, while raising a daughter and being actively involved in several volunteer groups that rigorously sought to improve the lives of ordinary Americans. Her fight to bring research on safe AIDS treatment to the fore in the 1970s struck a raw-nerve in certain government departments. Her fight to defend African Americans abused by the system, abused by the police, resulted in greater harassment. She also lobbied for basic health care insurance for all Americans; helped establish and support, both financially and physically, the African American Museum; and she was frequently sought to financially back those who were wrongly accused in the Seattle justice system. Her views on American politics may have seemed radical to many; but hearing her story, from her point-of-view, one begins to wonder if there isn’t a conspiracy out there to block the so-called ‘freedom of speech’ right and condemn those who dare to question it.
Dr. Bramhall continued her practice in Seattle, despite the continual harassment and death threats, for thirty years. She had no desire to uproot her daughter during her early school years. After her daughter moved away to university, Dr. Bramhall made her decision to immigrate. She accepted a posting in New Zealand, and made the move. She is currently practicing child and adolescent psychiatry in New Plymouth.
The Most Revolutionary Act: Memoir of an American Refugee is an almost shocking memoir about what lies beneath the world as we want to see it. The Most Revolutionary Act: Memoir of an American Refugee is highly recommended by Allbooks reviewer, Emily-Jane Hills Orford, Allbooks Reviews.
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :
By Dr Stuart Jeanne Bramhall
http://www.stuartbramhall.com/
Memoir
ISBN: 978-1-60911-858-7
Publisher: Eloquent Books
Price: $17.95 US
Originally reviewed by Emily Jane Hills Orford for All Books Review
Do you feel safe in your house at night? Have you ever wondered about those annoying, middle-of-the-night phone calls that you thought were just a random wrong number? Have you noticed someone following you? Frightening? Yes! Imagine having this happen relentlessly for years: phone calls at all hours of the day and night; people following you; people pretending to be your friend, your client, your patient; people breaking into your house; people threatening your life; people ending the lives of people you have come to know through your practice and your volunteer activities. These things are frightening enough without the added phone taps and tampering with the television cable so that the programming is altered to implement a direct personal assault on an individual’s mental health. This and more happened to an American psychiatrist, Dr. Stuart Jeanne Bramhall. Not only did these threats affect her safety and that of her daughter, they also affected her psychiatric practice and had her committed to the psychiatric ward, induced with countless drugs and labelled as being psychotically paranoid and manic depressive. Why? It all started when she tried to help transform an abandoned school in Seattle into an African American Museum.
Dr. Stuart Jeanne Bramhall is a captivating storyteller. Her memoir, The Most Revolutionary Act: Memoir of an American Refugee, chronicles thirty years of her life as she tried to maintain her psychiatric practice in Seattle, Washington, while raising a daughter and being actively involved in several volunteer groups that rigorously sought to improve the lives of ordinary Americans. Her fight to bring research on safe AIDS treatment to the fore in the 1970s struck a raw-nerve in certain government departments. Her fight to defend African Americans abused by the system, abused by the police, resulted in greater harassment. She also lobbied for basic health care insurance for all Americans; helped establish and support, both financially and physically, the African American Museum; and she was frequently sought to financially back those who were wrongly accused in the Seattle justice system. Her views on American politics may have seemed radical to many; but hearing her story, from her point-of-view, one begins to wonder if there isn’t a conspiracy out there to block the so-called ‘freedom of speech’ right and condemn those who dare to question it.
Dr. Bramhall continued her practice in Seattle, despite the continual harassment and death threats, for thirty years. She had no desire to uproot her daughter during her early school years. After her daughter moved away to university, Dr. Bramhall made her decision to immigrate. She accepted a posting in New Zealand, and made the move. She is currently practicing child and adolescent psychiatry in New Plymouth.
The Most Revolutionary Act: Memoir of an American Refugee is an almost shocking memoir about what lies beneath the world as we want to see it. The Most Revolutionary Act: Memoir of an American Refugee is highly recommended by Allbooks reviewer, Emily-Jane Hills Orford, Allbooks Reviews.
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :
Monday, January 4, 2021
A Vietnam Memoir Like None Other
Title: Good Afternoon Vietnam
Subtitle: A Civilian in the Vietnam War
By Gary L. Wilhelm
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Memoir, Military, Vietnam
Photos: By the Author.
ISBN: 9780999347232
Available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/32SSrTj
Contact Reviewer: hojoreviews@aol.com
A Vietnam Memoir with a Twist
War, Vietnam and Civilians
Reviewed by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, multi-award-winning author of fiction, poetry and the HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers
Good Afternoon Vietnam gives us a perspective quite different from other books—indeed other media—about the Vietnam war. The author, Gary L. Wilhelm, is an engineer and was an engineer called to “duty” by his firm, Univac. Readers will find his viewpoint sometimes tinged with satire, more often will a gentle humor marked with disbelief. After all, how can a civilian employee be prepared for the likes of Vietnam when so often even those with military training weren’t.
There is a reality about the prose—a reality that goes unconfirmed—that much of this book is from actual notes or a journal written on-the-spot. The same goes for the structure which, though told as if it unfolds with a real-time projection—also seems to be punctuated by whatever oddity (the one and a half-page description of the Vietnamese laundrywoman who washed the authors’ clothes in metal cans and swept the sand from his sleeping quarters) happens to come to mind. Sort of a Viet-style stream of consciousness. And the story is all the more believable for it.
Good Afternoon Vietnam includes a couple suggestions for further reading. One on the copyright page is a free discussion guide for the book that may be handy for the needs of secondary education units at https://www.thewiseowlfactory.com/good-afternoon-vietnam-book-review-and-free-guide/. The other, the last chapter titled “Conclusions” at the end of the book rarely seen in a memoir, is an integral part of the memoir. Indeed the book, though personal and first-person, is often more of a teaching tool than a memoir. I consider it cross-genre. The need to share, the connection with biography, the personal aspect of the book only served to intensify the usefulness of it as a teaching tool in terms of career and life planning as well as the far-reaching and unexpected effects of war.
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Authors, readers, publishers, and reviewers may republish their favorite reviews of books they want to share with others. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read and love. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page and in a tab at the top of this blog's home page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites so it may be used a resource for most anyone in the publishing industry. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. #TheFrugalbookPromoter, #CarolynHowardJohnson, #TheNewBookReview, #TheFrugalEditor, #SharingwithWriters, #reading #BookReviews #GreatBkReviews #BookMarketing
Friday, May 6, 2011
Memoir/Self-Help Book Tour for Susan Avitzour
Title – And Twice The Marrow Of Her Bones
Author – Susan Avitzour
Author's website link – http://www.fiveyearslater.blogspot.com/
Genre or category – Memoir, Grief, Faith, Cancer, Resilience
ISBN-10: 9659146426
ISBN-13: 978-9659146420
In 2001, Susan Avitzour lost her eighteen-year-old daughter Timora to leukemia, after a six-year struggle. In her memoir, And Twice the Marrow of Her Bones, she grapples with many of the profound personal, philosophical, and spiritual questions with which bereaved parents struggle for years – if not for the rest of their lives. Using narrative, poetry, and a journal, she draws us deeply into her family’s world during the “long, wrong years” of her daughter’s illness, and into her own emotional, intellectual, and spiritual journey in their aftermath. She addresses topics that range from food to fun to forgiveness, from pain to purpose to prayer – and ultimately to the challenge of affirming faith and love in an unpredictable, and often cruel, universe. In doing so, she has created a book that will offer invaluable assistance and support not only to bereaved families, but to anyone faced with life’s inevitable challenges and trials.
About Susan Avitzour –
Susan Avitzour was born in 1955. She grew up in Coney Island, Brighton Beach, and Lower Manhattan before leaving New York to earn a BA in French Literature from Wesleyan University. She finished a degree in law at the University of California, Berkeley, shortly before moving to Jerusalem with her family. She left the field of law in 1998, and worked as a mediator, grant-writer, and translator before returning to school in 2005 for a Masters degree in clinical social work. She now works as a cognitive-behavioral therapist both at Hadassah Hospital and privately, helping people who suffer from depression, anxiety, and trauma.
Susan and her husband Daniel raised seven children. Her fourth daughter, Timora, was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of 12. The family spent the next six years struggling to maintain a normal life while she underwent extensive treatment, including two bone marrow transplants. She died in 2001, at the age of eighteen.
In addition to her memoir, And Twice the Marrow of Her Bones, Susan has written short fiction. One of her stories, “Understanding Betsy,” won a Special Commendation in the Third International Short Story Contest sponsored by Firstwriter Magazine. Another, “Jerusalem of Gold,” appears in the recently-published Israel Short Stories, a collection of stories by English-speaking writers living in Israel.
Susan Shares What People Are Saying About And Twice the Marrow of Her Bones…
All the comments I’ve gotten have been very positive, and very intense. Many, many people have told me they couldn’t put it down. Some have told me they found it uplifting or inspiring; others have thanked me for writing it and told me that it’s helped them deal with difficulties they are facing in their own lives, even if these difficulties are very different from those I describe in the memoir. No one has said anything noncommittal or polite, such as “it was interesting.” Everyone has used expressions such as “beautifully written,” “powerful,” and “extremely moving.”
"And Twice the Marrow of Her Bones can take you far from your expectations of a book about losing a child to cancer. The amazingly clear, honest prose can ennoble you no matter what you believe before reading the memoir.... Therapists and bereaved relatives would do well to read this memoir several times."
- Yocheved Golani, The Jewish Press: http://www.jewishpress.com/pageroute.do/47285
"While focusing on the author's deeply Jewish experience and perspective, And Twice the Marrow of Her Bones is inspiring to people of all faiths, or none. A must-read for both my Jewish and Christian students and colleagues."
- Dr. Debbie Weissman, President, International Council of Christians and Jews
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :
Author – Susan Avitzour
Author's website link – http://www.fiveyearslater.blogspot.com/
Genre or category – Memoir, Grief, Faith, Cancer, Resilience
ISBN-10: 9659146426
ISBN-13: 978-9659146420
In 2001, Susan Avitzour lost her eighteen-year-old daughter Timora to leukemia, after a six-year struggle. In her memoir, And Twice the Marrow of Her Bones, she grapples with many of the profound personal, philosophical, and spiritual questions with which bereaved parents struggle for years – if not for the rest of their lives. Using narrative, poetry, and a journal, she draws us deeply into her family’s world during the “long, wrong years” of her daughter’s illness, and into her own emotional, intellectual, and spiritual journey in their aftermath. She addresses topics that range from food to fun to forgiveness, from pain to purpose to prayer – and ultimately to the challenge of affirming faith and love in an unpredictable, and often cruel, universe. In doing so, she has created a book that will offer invaluable assistance and support not only to bereaved families, but to anyone faced with life’s inevitable challenges and trials.
About Susan Avitzour –
Susan Avitzour was born in 1955. She grew up in Coney Island, Brighton Beach, and Lower Manhattan before leaving New York to earn a BA in French Literature from Wesleyan University. She finished a degree in law at the University of California, Berkeley, shortly before moving to Jerusalem with her family. She left the field of law in 1998, and worked as a mediator, grant-writer, and translator before returning to school in 2005 for a Masters degree in clinical social work. She now works as a cognitive-behavioral therapist both at Hadassah Hospital and privately, helping people who suffer from depression, anxiety, and trauma.
Susan and her husband Daniel raised seven children. Her fourth daughter, Timora, was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of 12. The family spent the next six years struggling to maintain a normal life while she underwent extensive treatment, including two bone marrow transplants. She died in 2001, at the age of eighteen.
In addition to her memoir, And Twice the Marrow of Her Bones, Susan has written short fiction. One of her stories, “Understanding Betsy,” won a Special Commendation in the Third International Short Story Contest sponsored by Firstwriter Magazine. Another, “Jerusalem of Gold,” appears in the recently-published Israel Short Stories, a collection of stories by English-speaking writers living in Israel.
Susan Shares What People Are Saying About And Twice the Marrow of Her Bones…
All the comments I’ve gotten have been very positive, and very intense. Many, many people have told me they couldn’t put it down. Some have told me they found it uplifting or inspiring; others have thanked me for writing it and told me that it’s helped them deal with difficulties they are facing in their own lives, even if these difficulties are very different from those I describe in the memoir. No one has said anything noncommittal or polite, such as “it was interesting.” Everyone has used expressions such as “beautifully written,” “powerful,” and “extremely moving.”
"And Twice the Marrow of Her Bones can take you far from your expectations of a book about losing a child to cancer. The amazingly clear, honest prose can ennoble you no matter what you believe before reading the memoir.... Therapists and bereaved relatives would do well to read this memoir several times."
- Yocheved Golani, The Jewish Press: http://www.jewishpress.com/pageroute.do/47285
"While focusing on the author's deeply Jewish experience and perspective, And Twice the Marrow of Her Bones is inspiring to people of all faiths, or none. A must-read for both my Jewish and Christian students and colleagues."
- Dr. Debbie Weissman, President, International Council of Christians and Jews
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Kirkus Indie Reviews Memoir
Title of Book: Betty's Child
Author: Donald R. Dempsey
Author Website: http://bettyschild.com
Genre: Personal Memoir
ISBN: 9780988439016
Formats: Trade paperback and e-book
Reviewer's Link: http://tinyurl.com/qy5uho9
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
Author: Donald R. Dempsey
Author Website: http://bettyschild.com
Genre: Personal Memoir
ISBN: 9780988439016
Formats: Trade paperback and e-book
Reviewer's Link: http://tinyurl.com/qy5uho9
Reviewed by Kirkus Indie
A highly visual debut memoir from Don Dempsey spanning his pre- to early
adolescent years in urban Ohio
Dempsey illuminates the steep uphill scramble he had as a young man in a
bad neighborhood. The memoir opens cinematically on a night of petty stealing,
which escalated to the sort of theft that exposed young Donny to violent
retribution. Donny attempted to guard himself, his younger brothers and his
canine companion, Benji, from the string of hothead men his mother—the eponymous
Betty—welcomed into the family’s rotating rental houses. In addition to fending
off soul savers from the church Betty attended in order to run her scams, Donny
turned down invitations to participate in crime more difficult than theft. Most
of the book’s sequences—a teacher’s good-hearted but ultimately futile efforts
to defend Donny from a bully—efficiently reveal the wit and determination, not
to mention anger, that helped Donny survive.
Neither alarmist nor self-pitying, the memoir sees Donny through mounting
losses of his sense of safety, his friends, his sanity-saving dog and his
proximity to his brothers. While this account certainly couldn’t be called
feel-good, it also isn’t altogether bleak. Early in the book, Donny poses a
question to himself: “Would I wind up toothless, clueless and broke because of
heredity—or because of where and how we lived?” Determined not to consider
either factor an excuse, as a preteen boy he decided that, despite his abuse and
neglect, he would choose better for himself.
By turns heartrending and humorous, the book’s main events are accompanied
by resonant dialogue that reveals the speakers’ natures. Distinguishing his from
similar accounts, Dempsey’s discipline as a writer lends the real-life tale the
feel of a fictional page-turner. In scene after vivid scene, Dempsey presents
his inspiring true story with accomplished style.
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Reviews for "Off Kilter" by Linda Wisniewski are On Target
Title: Off Kilter: A Woman's Journey to Peace with Scoliosis, Her Mother, & Her Polish Heritage
Author: Linda C. Wisniewski
Genre: Memoir
ISBN: 978-1-59719-012-1
Format: Paperback, 164 pages
Publisher: Pearlsong Press
Reviewed by: Duffie Bart for StoryCircle Book Reviews
Wisniewski begins her memoir, "My mother was unconscious at the moment I was born and I longed all my life to make her see me." She describes her mother as a woman bullied by her husband, overwhelmed by life, who chose to hide, to ignore her daughter (or, still worse, put her down), and to escape into silence and passivity. Having had an emotionally cold mother myself, I have boundless admiration for this author's ability and willingness to confront a painful relationship. With her exceptional sensibilities, she excavates her memories with courage and tenacity. Her words are sometimes painful to read. At the same time, I feel a kind of healing power emanating from her honest recollections, a healing power perhaps for both writer and reader.
The mother-daughter relationship, seminal though it was, is by no means the singular focus of this memoir. Wisniewski honors all the members of the family into which she was born, in spite of its often dysfunctional dynamics. She honors the past, her Polish heritage. She writes about her Catholic education, the insensitivity of the nuns her failed marriages, and so much more. She writes of her life spent pleasing "teachers, employers, parents, boyfriends, husbands, twisting myself into someone I can’t be. I hurt when I do this, because it’s not natural." She relates her journey moving away from this futile way of being. The path she chose was to become herself, accept her emotional and physical handicaps, stretch herself, and take bigger and bigger risks despite her shyness.
Ultimately, the author comes to a place of inner peace: "The good memories return, like a tide that has been out for decades. Freed from some long-forgotten dam, they return to me, washing me in their healing waters. More and more often, I remember a golden day. I hear my people laughing. I am supported and surrounded by love."
-----
Reviewed by: Susan Tiberghien
Off Kilter opens a window into a woman's life as she comes to peace with her Polish ancestry, her mother’s depressive behavior, and her own scoliosis, a side-to-side curvature of the spine, discovered when she was thirteen. Linda Wisniewski weaves the threads beautifully together, sometimes on a slant, as she leads the reader into the compelling story of a survivor. After a few pages, the reader is captured by the author’s voice--both heartfelt and perceptive, that of a friend--and by the narrative itself.
Wisniewski's memoir is a tapestry, each thread connecting back to memories of her Polish Catholic childhood in a postwar mill town in upstate New York--the two-story clapboard houses, the polka weddings, the house full of talking relatives, the best kielbasa from the Polish butcher--struggling to find herself in the midst of her father's torments, her mother's tears, and the discipline of the Sisters at school, their voices cold as ice.
As the author writes her way through the remembered moments of her life, she finds herself no longer at loose ends with her childhood, but instead fitting the ends into the pattern of her life. Even her mother finds her place. When Linda sews, each sound, each touch, becomes a thread to her mother. "The feel of the tissue paper pattern, the placement of the pins attaching it to the fabric just the way I watched her do it. The chop, chop of the scissors taking me back to the kitchen table that was her cutting board."
The broken yardstick from her mother's sewing becomes the talisman of her life. "The yardstick resembles my life; it has broken parts. Nothing has been a straight line from here to there." Her back has been twisted by scoliosis. Her body and life have been off kilter. But the yardstick, mended and carefully glued back together, is now hers. It measures her struggle to stretch not only her spine but also her Self.
Bravo for this well-written, well-conceived memoir. The many different scenes of Wisniewski's life are beautifully described--specific details that the reader sees, touches, and feels. And always with honesty and integrity.
-----
To find out more about Off Kilter and Linda Wisniewski, please visit: http://www.lindawis.com
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, founder of Authors' Coalition (www.authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com). It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews and reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers.
Author: Linda C. Wisniewski
Genre: Memoir
ISBN: 978-1-59719-012-1
Format: Paperback, 164 pages
Publisher: Pearlsong Press
Reviewed by: Duffie Bart for StoryCircle Book ReviewsWisniewski begins her memoir, "My mother was unconscious at the moment I was born and I longed all my life to make her see me." She describes her mother as a woman bullied by her husband, overwhelmed by life, who chose to hide, to ignore her daughter (or, still worse, put her down), and to escape into silence and passivity. Having had an emotionally cold mother myself, I have boundless admiration for this author's ability and willingness to confront a painful relationship. With her exceptional sensibilities, she excavates her memories with courage and tenacity. Her words are sometimes painful to read. At the same time, I feel a kind of healing power emanating from her honest recollections, a healing power perhaps for both writer and reader.
The mother-daughter relationship, seminal though it was, is by no means the singular focus of this memoir. Wisniewski honors all the members of the family into which she was born, in spite of its often dysfunctional dynamics. She honors the past, her Polish heritage. She writes about her Catholic education, the insensitivity of the nuns her failed marriages, and so much more. She writes of her life spent pleasing "teachers, employers, parents, boyfriends, husbands, twisting myself into someone I can’t be. I hurt when I do this, because it’s not natural." She relates her journey moving away from this futile way of being. The path she chose was to become herself, accept her emotional and physical handicaps, stretch herself, and take bigger and bigger risks despite her shyness.
Ultimately, the author comes to a place of inner peace: "The good memories return, like a tide that has been out for decades. Freed from some long-forgotten dam, they return to me, washing me in their healing waters. More and more often, I remember a golden day. I hear my people laughing. I am supported and surrounded by love."
-----
Reviewed by: Susan Tiberghien
Off Kilter opens a window into a woman's life as she comes to peace with her Polish ancestry, her mother’s depressive behavior, and her own scoliosis, a side-to-side curvature of the spine, discovered when she was thirteen. Linda Wisniewski weaves the threads beautifully together, sometimes on a slant, as she leads the reader into the compelling story of a survivor. After a few pages, the reader is captured by the author’s voice--both heartfelt and perceptive, that of a friend--and by the narrative itself.
Wisniewski's memoir is a tapestry, each thread connecting back to memories of her Polish Catholic childhood in a postwar mill town in upstate New York--the two-story clapboard houses, the polka weddings, the house full of talking relatives, the best kielbasa from the Polish butcher--struggling to find herself in the midst of her father's torments, her mother's tears, and the discipline of the Sisters at school, their voices cold as ice.
As the author writes her way through the remembered moments of her life, she finds herself no longer at loose ends with her childhood, but instead fitting the ends into the pattern of her life. Even her mother finds her place. When Linda sews, each sound, each touch, becomes a thread to her mother. "The feel of the tissue paper pattern, the placement of the pins attaching it to the fabric just the way I watched her do it. The chop, chop of the scissors taking me back to the kitchen table that was her cutting board."
The broken yardstick from her mother's sewing becomes the talisman of her life. "The yardstick resembles my life; it has broken parts. Nothing has been a straight line from here to there." Her back has been twisted by scoliosis. Her body and life have been off kilter. But the yardstick, mended and carefully glued back together, is now hers. It measures her struggle to stretch not only her spine but also her Self.
Bravo for this well-written, well-conceived memoir. The many different scenes of Wisniewski's life are beautifully described--specific details that the reader sees, touches, and feels. And always with honesty and integrity.
-----
To find out more about Off Kilter and Linda Wisniewski, please visit: http://www.lindawis.com
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, founder of Authors' Coalition (www.authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com). It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews and reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Unconventional Memoir Reviewed
Title: Proud Pants: An Unconventional Memoir
Author: Gregory G. Allen
Website: ggallen.net
Genre: Memoir
ISBN: 978-0-9836049-2-1
Available for Kindle at only 99 cents.
Reviewed by Brittany Jedrzejewski, originally for Amazon
Reviewer’s Rating: 4-star
Oh, the beauty and courage of perspective, of putting yourself in someone else's shoes (or in this case, purple and yellow striped pants) to help understand another's personal struggles and choices. Gregory G. Allen's unique memoir, Proud Pants, bravely does just this.
In this quick paced snapshot into the mind of Johnny, a troubled, angry and misunderstood boy, we learn of his heartache and confusion at his absent mother and how he is derailed because of this and blind to the other love surrounding him. Proud Pants shows how fragile we are at our core and how much we all need love, acceptance, security and little things that make us feel special...unconditionally. Even though Johnny's stepmom in particular is absolutely amazing, he continues to fall all the way into a destructive path of drug addiction.
Only at the end of this book do we realize that that the book is told from the perspective of the author, Gregory himself, the half-brother of Johnny. Understanding this unique voice explains the story structure and concludes with a powerful memory of Gregory's own perspective of an encounter from the book, "When I was nine years old I picked up a lead pipe and prepared to hit my fourteen-year old half brother in case he did something to my mother."
If only all of us were lucky enough to have someone try to truly understand us by putting themselves in our shoes. While reading this, I wanted Johnny to prevail, to recover, to find his freedom. Above all, this memoir shows the power we have in being present in each other's lives and the affect we have on each other.
In this quick paced snapshot into the mind of Johnny, a troubled, angry and misunderstood boy, we learn of his heartache and confusion at his absent mother and how he is derailed because of this and blind to the other love surrounding him. Proud Pants shows how fragile we are at our core and how much we all need love, acceptance, security and little things that make us feel special...unconditionally. Even though Johnny's stepmom in particular is absolutely amazing, he continues to fall all the way into a destructive path of drug addiction.
Only at the end of this book do we realize that that the book is told from the perspective of the author, Gregory himself, the half-brother of Johnny. Understanding this unique voice explains the story structure and concludes with a powerful memory of Gregory's own perspective of an encounter from the book, "When I was nine years old I picked up a lead pipe and prepared to hit my fourteen-year old half brother in case he did something to my mother."
If only all of us were lucky enough to have someone try to truly understand us by putting themselves in our shoes. While reading this, I wanted Johnny to prevail, to recover, to find his freedom. Above all, this memoir shows the power we have in being present in each other's lives and the affect we have on each other.
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :
Monday, February 20, 2012
Growing Up Mixed: A Memoir About Intolerance
The Speckled People: A Memoir of a Half-Irish Childhood
By Hugo HamiltonFourth Estate, 2003
ISBN: 0007149980
Adult/Memoir
Rating: 5 of 5
The Best View for Understanding Intolerance
Growing Up Mixed
Reviewed by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, award-winning author of This is the Place and Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered
How sharp are the knives that divide. The Speckled People: A Memoir of a Half-Irish Childhood is about the effects of both sharp and blunt instruments on the lives of children. Religion. Borders. Language. Wars. Culture. And, yes, Love and Hate.
Themes literally seethe through Hugo Hamilton's work. Part of the reason for that is the story itself. The narrator is a child, the product of a severe Irish nationalist and a German mother. The parents themselves are creations of their time and place no less than their offspring are. Young Hugo is allowed to speak only Irish and German in a land that is increasingly speaking English. He is dressed in Irish sweaters and Lederhosen. The identities of some of his relatives are secreted away in armoires and others are flaunted as exemplary models. He is inundated by rules, rules, rules and they are modulated by a mother with much love to give in spite of her own story set in Germany
Told with a child’s stream of conscious, this memoir requires careful attention. The reader unravels this family’s truths only when the child can finally grasp them for himself. This technique heightens our understanding of how affecting such an upbringing can be. The language is poetic in character. So is the structure: One situation reminds the narrator of another connection and we begin to see how this character and this family are strung together and—hopefully—also begin to see how similar dynamics might have affected our own lives. For, though very particular, this story is also general, one that still reaches beyond its time and touches ours.
It seems as if children tend to grow up speckled in one way or another. That makes the general premise of this lovely little book close to the heart of us all. We have all been there in one way or another, felt unloved, apart at some time in our lives. It is apparent that children who grow up half-and-half, a potpourri, will always be marked. Some will turn these hardships into the stuff of insight, understanding, and—in the case of Hugo Hamilton—great talent.
~The reviewer’s first novel, This is the Place (www.budurl.com/ThisIsthePlace), has won eight awards. It, too, explores how one can grow up part of two cultures and never feel a part of either one. Harkening, a collection of creative nonfiction stories, is also an award-winner. Learn more at: http://www.carolynhoward-johnson.com.)
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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Celebrate 10-Year Anniversary of Memoir!
Title: Chicken: Self-Portrait
of a Young Man for Rent
Ten Year Anniversary Edition
Ten Year Anniversary Edition
Author: David Henry
Sterry
Price: $15.95
Publisher: Soft Skull Press
Format: Trade Paperback
Pages: 254
ISBN: 978-1593765279Genre: Memoir
Pub Date: Feb 28, 2014
Distributor: Publishers Group West
Price: $15.95
Publisher: Soft Skull Press
Format: Trade Paperback
Pages: 254
ISBN: 978-1593765279Genre: Memoir
Pub Date: Feb 28, 2014
Distributor: Publishers Group West
"Ten years ago, this debut memoir from Sterry burst
upon the literary scene with an energy and inventiveness... Sterry’s memoir
still crackles with its unsparingly honest approach." Publishers Weekly, September 2, 2013. http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-59376-527-9
“Sterry
writes with comic brio … [he] honed a vibrant outrageous writing style and
turned out this studiously wild souvenir of a checkered past.” – Janet Maslin,
The New York Times
“A
beautiful book… a real work of literature.” – Vanessa Feltz,
BBC
“Insightful and funny… captures Hollywood
beautifully” – Larry Mantle, Air Talk, NPR
“Jawdropping… A carefully crafted piece of
work…” -Benedicte Page, Book News, UK
“A
1-night read. Should be mandatory reading for parents and kids.” -Bert Lee, Talk
of the Town
“Alternately sexy and terrifying, hysterical
and weird, David Henry Sterry’s Chicken is a hot walk on the wild side of
Hollywood’s fleshy underbelly. With lush prose and a flawless ear for the
rhythms of the street, Sterry lays out a life lived on the edge in a
coming-of-age classic that’s colorful, riveting, and strangely beautiful.”
–Jerry Stahl, author of Permanent Midnight
“Compulsively readable, visceral, and very
funny.” – Phillip Lopate, author of Portrait of My Body
“Like an
X-rated Boogie Nights narrated by a teenage Alice in Wonderland…I read the book
from cover to cover in one night...” -Places Magazine
“Snappy
and acutely observational writing… It’s a book filled with wit, some moments of
slapstick, and of some severe poignancy… a flair for descriptive language…” –
Ian Beetlestone, Leeds Guide
“Brutally
illuminating and remarkably compassionate… a walk on the wild side which is
alternatively exhilarating and horrifying, outrageous and tragic… Essential
reading.” – Big Issue
“Visceral, frank and compulsive reading.’
–City Life, Manchester
“Sparkling prose… a triumph of the will.”
-Buzz Magazine
“Pick of
the Week.” –Independent
“Impossible to put down, even, no,
especially when, the sky is falling…Vulnerable, tough, innocent and wise… A
fast-paced jazzy writing style… a great read.” –Hallmemoirs
“Full of
truth, horror, and riotous humor.” -The Latest Books
“His
memoir is a super-readable roller coaster — the story of a young man who sees
more of the sexual world in one year than most people ever do.” – Dr. Carol
Queen, Spectator Magazine
“Terrifically readable… Sterry’s an
adventurer who happens to feel and think deeply. He’s written a thoroughly
absorbing story sensitively and with great compassion… A page-turner… This is a
strange story told easily and well.” – Eileen Berdon,
Erotica.com
Author's
Bio
David Henry Sterry
is the bestselling author of 16 books, a performer, muckraker, educator,
activist, and book doctor. His new book Chicken Self:-Portrait of a Man for
Rent, 10 Year Anniversary Edition, has been translated into
10 languages. He's also written Hos, Hookers, Call Girls and Rent Boys:
Professionals Writing on Life, Love, Money and Sex, which appeared on the
front cover of the Sunday New York Times Book Review. He is a finalist for the
Henry Miller Award. He has appeared on, acted with, written for, been employed
as, worked and/or presented at: Will Smith, a marriage counselor, Disney
screenwriter, Stanford University, National Public Radio, Milton Berle,
Huffington Post, a sodajerk, the Taco Bell chihuahua, Penthouse, the London
Times, Michael Caine, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, a human guinea pig and Zippy
the Chimp. He can be found at www.davidhenrysterry.com. Http://www.davidhenrysterry.com/
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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Eleanor Vincent's Memoir on Parenting Goes Digital
Book
Title: Swimming
with Maya (Dream of Things Pub. March 2013)
Author: Eleanor
VincentGenre: Memoir/Parenting
WOW! Blog Tour Dates: 10/14/2013-11/15/2013
Book Hashtag: #SWMaya
Print Length: 340 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0988439042
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Dream of Things (March 26, 2013)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
ASIN: B00BCMCUX0
Book
Summary: In
a memoir that has been called "heartbreaking and heart-healing," Eleanor Vincent
shares an inspiring true story of courage, creativity, faith, and sheer tenacity
as she seeks to find balance after unthinkable tragedy.
Previously available only in hardcover, Swimming with Maya demonstrates the remarkable process of healing after the traumatic death of a loved one. Eleanor Vincent raised her two daughters, Maya and Meghan, virtually as a single-parent. Maya, the eldest, was a high-spirited and gifted young woman. As a toddler, Maya was an angelic tow-head, full of life and curiosity. As a teenager, Maya was energetic and independent - and often butted heads with her mother. But Eleanor and Maya were always close and connected, like best friends or sisters, but always also mother and daughter.
Then at age 19, Maya mounts a horse bareback as a dare and, in a crushing cantilever fall, is left in a coma from which she will never recover. Eleanor's life is turned upside down as she struggles to make the painful decision about Maya's fate.
Ultimately Eleanor chooses to donate Maya's organs. Years later, in one of the most poignant moments you will ever read about, Eleanor has the opportunity to hear her daughter's heart beat in the chest of the heart recipient. Along the way, Eleanor re-examines her relationship with her daughter, as well as the experiences that shaped Eleanor as a woman and as a mother to Maya.
An inspirational/motivational true story recommended for anyone who has experienced tragedy, who is grappling with traumatic experiences of the past, or who wants to better understand the strength and healing power of the human spirit.
Previously available only in hardcover, Swimming with Maya demonstrates the remarkable process of healing after the traumatic death of a loved one. Eleanor Vincent raised her two daughters, Maya and Meghan, virtually as a single-parent. Maya, the eldest, was a high-spirited and gifted young woman. As a toddler, Maya was an angelic tow-head, full of life and curiosity. As a teenager, Maya was energetic and independent - and often butted heads with her mother. But Eleanor and Maya were always close and connected, like best friends or sisters, but always also mother and daughter.
Then at age 19, Maya mounts a horse bareback as a dare and, in a crushing cantilever fall, is left in a coma from which she will never recover. Eleanor's life is turned upside down as she struggles to make the painful decision about Maya's fate.
Ultimately Eleanor chooses to donate Maya's organs. Years later, in one of the most poignant moments you will ever read about, Eleanor has the opportunity to hear her daughter's heart beat in the chest of the heart recipient. Along the way, Eleanor re-examines her relationship with her daughter, as well as the experiences that shaped Eleanor as a woman and as a mother to Maya.
An inspirational/motivational true story recommended for anyone who has experienced tragedy, who is grappling with traumatic experiences of the past, or who wants to better understand the strength and healing power of the human spirit.
Author
Bio:
Eleanor
Vincent is
an award-winning writer whose debut memoir, Swimming
with Maya: A Mother’s Story, was nominated for the Independent
Publisher Book Award and was reissued by Dream of Things press early in 2013.
She writes about love, loss, and grief recovery with a special focus on the
challenges and joys of raising children at any age.
Called
“engaging” by Booklist, Swimming
with Maya chronicles the life and death of Eleanor’s nineteen-year-old
daughter, Maya, who was thrown from a horse and pronounced brain-dead at the
hospital. Eleanor donated her daughter’s organs to critically ill patients and
poignantly describes her friendship with a middle-aged man who was the recipient
of Maya’s heart.
Since
the initial publication of Swimming with Maya in 2004, Eleanor has
been a national spokesperson on grief recovery and organ donation, appearing on
CNN and San Francisco’s Evening Magazine. She has been featured in
the San Francisco Chronicle, and been interviewed on radio and television
programs around the country.
She
was born in Cleveland, Ohio and attended the University of Minnesota School of
Journalism and received an MFA in Creative Writing from Mills College, where she
occasionally teaches writing workshops on creative nonfiction and
memoir.
Her
essays appear in the anthologies At the End of Life: True Stories about How
we Die(edited by Lee Gutkind); This I Believe: On Motherhood;
and Impact: An Anthology of Short Memoirs.
They celebrate the unique and complicated bonds between mothers and daughters,
making hard decisions as a parent – whether your child is 14 or 40 – and
navigating midlife transitions with grace and authenticity.
She
lives in Oakland, California.
Finding
Eleanor online:
http://www.eleanorvincent.com/https://www.facebook.com/eleanor.vincent
https://twitter.com/eleanor_vincent
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/eleanor-vincent/8/895/a95
http://about.me/eleanorvincent
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
Monday, July 1, 2019
North Street Book Prize Grand Prize Winner Shares Endorsements for Her Graphic Memoir
Title: Our Last Six Months
Author: Emily Bracale
MORE ABOUT THE BLOGGER, THIS BLOG AND ITS BENEFIT FOR WRITERS
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Of particular interest to readers of this blog is her most recent How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically (http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews ) that covers 325 jam-packed pages covering everything from Amazon Vine to writing reviews for profit and promotion. Reviewers will have a special interest in the chapter on how to make reviewing pay, either as way to market their own books or as a career path--ethically!
This blog is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
Author: Emily Bracale
Genre: Nonfiction: Memoir / Graphic Memoir / Health / Death
Grand Prize Winner: Winning Writers' #NorthStreetBookPrize
IISBN-13: 978-1-947758-03-2
400 cartoons and illustrations
Buy it at www.ourlastsixmonthsbook.com
SYNOPSIS:
This is a nonfiction book about cancer and death, that reads like a graphic novel, with 400 cartoons and illustrations. Author and illustrator Emily Bracale started creating Our Last Six Months while taking care of a family member who was dying of cancer. It is inspired by Roz Chast’s cartoon memoir, "Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?” If you’ve ever taken care of someone who was dying, her book will be very affirming. If you’ve not yet assisted a loved one through this transition, her book will help prepare you. In 2019 Our Last Six Months won the grand prize out of 997 entries in the prestigious Winning Writers North Street Book Competition!
ENDORSEMENTS:
"Your book had me laughing one minute and crying the next. Your honesty was refreshing and your drawings added a visual component to the everyday drama of it all. I hope others will be able to use your book as a survival guide or at least appreciate that they are not the only ones in this situation. Dying is not quick or easy for anyone involved, it is a LOT OF WORK.” — Nurse Jan
“I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your book. I found it highly compelling, sad, honestly raw and helpful even. Although my experience was different and a few years old, I was glad to see the similarities in our reaction to so much beyond our control, a response that included anger. Thank you! I’m so glad I bought it! All the best to you.” — Susan MacLeod
MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Emily Bracale is also the author of In the Lyme-Light: Portraits of Illness and Healing (2014), a book to help Lyme patients communicate their experiences and needs. Please find it online at www.inthelyme-light.com. She lives in Bar Harbor, Maine, where she teaches art classes for all ages. Her new cartoons and an excerpt from her award-winning book are on medium.com/@emilybracale
Reach her or learn more about her:
emilybracale@gmail.com
emilybracale@gmail.com
ourlastsixmonthsbook.com
Grand Prize Winner of prestigious WinningWriters North Street Book Competitionfor Our Last Six Months, (2018) graphic memoir/creative nonfiction book about cancer and end-of-life care.https://www.facebook.com/ourlastsixmonths/
Lyme Educator, author and illustrator of Lyme patient advocacy book: In the Lyme-Light: Portraits of Illness and Healing(2014)https://www.facebook.com/inthelymelightbook/
Cartoonist on Spiralbound/Medium
Plein air art teacher in Bar Harbor, Maine
Artists of the Round Tableprivate art classes for children and adults
Visit Acadia.com Painting Blog
Grand Prize Winner of prestigious WinningWriters North Street Book Competitionfor Our Last Six Months, (2018) graphic memoir/creative nonfiction book about cancer and end-of-life care.https://www.facebook.com/ourlastsixmonths/
Lyme Educator, author and illustrator of Lyme patient advocacy book: In the Lyme-Light: Portraits of Illness and Healing(2014)https://www.facebook.com/inthelymelightbook/
Cartoonist on Spiralbound/Medium
Plein air art teacher in Bar Harbor, Maine
Artists of the Round Tableprivate art classes for children and adults
Visit Acadia.com Painting Blog
MORE ABOUT THE BLOGGER, THIS BLOG AND ITS BENEFIT FOR WRITERS
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Of particular interest to readers of this blog is her most recent How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically (http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews ) that covers 325 jam-packed pages covering everything from Amazon Vine to writing reviews for profit and promotion. Reviewers will have a special interest in the chapter on how to make reviewing pay, either as way to market their own books or as a career path--ethically!This blog is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
Note: Participating authors and their publishers may request the social sharing image by Carolyn Wilhelm at no charge. Please contact the designer at: cwilhelm (at) thewiseowlfactory (dot) com. Provide the name of the book being reviewed and--if an image or headshot of the author --isn't already part of the badge, include it as an attachment. Wilhelm will send you the badge to use in your own Internet marketing. Give Wilhelm the link to this post, too!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Title: The Most Revolutionary Act: Memoir of an American Refugee
Author: Dr Stuart Jeanne Bramhall
Website: http://www.stuartbramhall.com/
Genre: memoir
ISBN:978-1-60911-858-7
Eloquent Books, New York, 2010
Reviewed by Nicky Hagar, Author of The Hollow Men
The FBI’s aggressive infiltration and disruption of political groups in the US since the 1960s has been an appalling episode of US political history. All manner of political groups have been wrecked after being manipulated and betrayed by government informers, while their members lived with strain and damaged relationships from never being sure who they could trust or what was really going on.
Stuart Jeanne Bramhall’s The Most Revolutionary Act: Memoir of an American Refugee is an autobiography revolving around her 15 years as a political campaigner facing these problems of trust and infiltration in dysfunctional social movements in the 1980s and 1990s Seattle. It is a well written, thoughtful and very honest book about twenty years of her life, including these intensely destructive politics, relationships, life as a practising psychiatrist and being a parent.
The book is a ‘memoir of an American refugee’ because in 2002, as the Iraq War inexorably approached, she applied for and was appointed to a psychiatry job in faraway New Zealand. The book ends as she leaves the US, with grateful relief for the better life awaiting her. The other half of the title is from Rosa Luxemburg’s words: “The most revolutionary act is a clear view of the world as it really is.” It is probably impossible to have a clear view of something as murky as the infiltrated progressive politics she lived through, but in the book we see an intelligent person telling the story of these real and hard experiences as clearly as is possible.
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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :
Author: Dr Stuart Jeanne Bramhall
Website: http://www.stuartbramhall.com/
Genre: memoir
ISBN:978-1-60911-858-7
Eloquent Books, New York, 2010
Reviewed by Nicky Hagar, Author of The Hollow Men
The FBI’s aggressive infiltration and disruption of political groups in the US since the 1960s has been an appalling episode of US political history. All manner of political groups have been wrecked after being manipulated and betrayed by government informers, while their members lived with strain and damaged relationships from never being sure who they could trust or what was really going on.
Stuart Jeanne Bramhall’s The Most Revolutionary Act: Memoir of an American Refugee is an autobiography revolving around her 15 years as a political campaigner facing these problems of trust and infiltration in dysfunctional social movements in the 1980s and 1990s Seattle. It is a well written, thoughtful and very honest book about twenty years of her life, including these intensely destructive politics, relationships, life as a practising psychiatrist and being a parent.
The book is a ‘memoir of an American refugee’ because in 2002, as the Iraq War inexorably approached, she applied for and was appointed to a psychiatry job in faraway New Zealand. The book ends as she leaves the US, with grateful relief for the better life awaiting her. The other half of the title is from Rosa Luxemburg’s words: “The most revolutionary act is a clear view of the world as it really is.” It is probably impossible to have a clear view of something as murky as the infiltrated progressive politics she lived through, but in the book we see an intelligent person telling the story of these real and hard experiences as clearly as is possible.
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :
Friday, June 25, 2010
Psychiatrist Tells Her Own Harrowing Tale
The Most Revolutionary Act: Memoir of an American Refugee
By Dr Stuart Jeanne Bramhall
Review by Stuart Kreisman, author of Dick Cheney's Diary originally for Amazon.com
A simple sit-in at an administration building becomes the catalyst for a surreal, Kafkaesque, hellish fifteen years for Dr. Stuart Jeanne Bramhall in her compelling new book The Most Revolutionary Act: Memoir of an American Refugee. Dr. Bramhall, a practicing Seattle-based psychiatrist tells in chilling detail how attending a seemingly innocent meeting to protest racial abuse at a local school triggers a covert government plot to destroy the cause and her life.
Dr. Bramhall's work confirms the myth of the "Vast right wing conspiracy" that was dismissed by the mainstream media when it was coined by then first Lady Hillary Clinton. It is a country where no person or secret is safe. People who you trust are not to be trusted. Harassment, violence and murder are tools used to subvert the Progressive agenda and the people who advocate it.
Lest you think The Most Revolutionary Act: Memoir of an American Refugee is just tell the story of one woman's struggle to fight the system, it is much more than that. Dr. Bramhall's amazing tale also involves the Kennedy assassination, the government's "War" on AIDS, the plot against single player healthcare, suppression of African Americans and much more. Paranoia is real. Schizophrenia is not just a mental disorder, it' a weapon.
A psychological thriller of the first order, The Most Revolutionary Act: Memoir of an American Refugee is also a cautionary tale. CIA and FBI operatives are indeed among us. Opposing the agenda of Corporate America is not tolerated. Those that try fight the good fight, but the establishment will stop at nothing to stay in power. Dr. Bramhall's harrowing tale is testament to that.
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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:
By Dr Stuart Jeanne Bramhall
Review by Stuart Kreisman, author of Dick Cheney's Diary originally for Amazon.com
A simple sit-in at an administration building becomes the catalyst for a surreal, Kafkaesque, hellish fifteen years for Dr. Stuart Jeanne Bramhall in her compelling new book The Most Revolutionary Act: Memoir of an American Refugee. Dr. Bramhall, a practicing Seattle-based psychiatrist tells in chilling detail how attending a seemingly innocent meeting to protest racial abuse at a local school triggers a covert government plot to destroy the cause and her life.
Dr. Bramhall's work confirms the myth of the "Vast right wing conspiracy" that was dismissed by the mainstream media when it was coined by then first Lady Hillary Clinton. It is a country where no person or secret is safe. People who you trust are not to be trusted. Harassment, violence and murder are tools used to subvert the Progressive agenda and the people who advocate it.
Lest you think The Most Revolutionary Act: Memoir of an American Refugee is just tell the story of one woman's struggle to fight the system, it is much more than that. Dr. Bramhall's amazing tale also involves the Kennedy assassination, the government's "War" on AIDS, the plot against single player healthcare, suppression of African Americans and much more. Paranoia is real. Schizophrenia is not just a mental disorder, it' a weapon.
A psychological thriller of the first order, The Most Revolutionary Act: Memoir of an American Refugee is also a cautionary tale. CIA and FBI operatives are indeed among us. Opposing the agenda of Corporate America is not tolerated. Those that try fight the good fight, but the establishment will stop at nothing to stay in power. Dr. Bramhall's harrowing tale is testament to that.
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Your First-Person Essay (Or Memoir), Your Book. Your Book Sales
Naked, Drunk, and Writing
Subtitle: Shed Your Inhibitions and Craft a Compelling Memoir or Personal Essay
By Adair Lara
Ten Speed Press
ISBN: 9781580084802, 2010
Nonfiction/How-To (Writing)
Publisher's Site: http://www.tenspeed.com/
Reviewed by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, award-winning author of This Is the Place and Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered, several chapbooks of poetry and the How To Do It Frugally series of books for writers.
I collect books on the writing and marketing of books. After reading and reviewing so many, I’ve found that some of the best lessons are those that teach by example. In the case of Adair Lara’s new book--which is a bit about writers’ block and a lot about craft-- the first lesson I noticed was one about marketing. It was that great title. Naked, Drunk, and Writing.Naked is metaphorically what those who write memoirs must get. Yes, and maybe a little drunk, too.
The subtitle, Shed Your Inhibitions and Craft a Compelling Memoir or Personal Essay, explains what the reader may not get on first glance at the title. I liked that it has lots of searchable keywords that explanation of what the book.That very simple “writing” in the main title will help writers reaching for help on Amazon’s search feature, too.
So, I’m a little off the subject. Maybe it’s the way my brain works. Dunno.
I do know that if Adair were my teacher, she’d get after me for straying from a review of the book’s content. Or, she would, at the very least, suggest I reconsider digressing. Being a teacher myself, I’ve stubbornly decided against a change on the grounds that my students and my blog and Web site visitors will learn something from my detour, and that they get a marketing lesson or two is almost always one of my goals.
Having excused away my tendency toward a tangent (I hope successfully), I also recommend Naked and Drunk for those writing their own stories. When I teach the marketing of books, I always find many in my class who don’t know what a first-person essay is. So, to explain, I must digress (I have lots of practice in that, as you can see).
I’ll be recommending this book to in my UCLA class handout, for sure. No matter what an author’s genre of choice, he or she will need the skills for a personal essay. Every author’s media kit should include one. Therefore every author needs this book for the most practical of reasons. So they can get publicity. For it’s publicity that will sell the memoir that Lara so capably teaches them to write.
PS: A note to Ten Speed Press: From a marketing standpoint, what would it hurt to include on the “Other Books by Adair Lara” page a little explanatory pitch about what her other books are about. Some have titles that are adorable, but are not upfront clear about what might be between the covers. Option two: Include the subtitles. We’re all going to want to know more about Lara.
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :
Subtitle: Shed Your Inhibitions and Craft a Compelling Memoir or Personal Essay
By Adair Lara
Ten Speed Press
ISBN: 9781580084802, 2010
Nonfiction/How-To (Writing)
Publisher's Site: http://www.tenspeed.com/
Reviewed by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, award-winning author of This Is the Place and Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered, several chapbooks of poetry and the How To Do It Frugally series of books for writers.
I collect books on the writing and marketing of books. After reading and reviewing so many, I’ve found that some of the best lessons are those that teach by example. In the case of Adair Lara’s new book--which is a bit about writers’ block and a lot about craft-- the first lesson I noticed was one about marketing. It was that great title. Naked, Drunk, and Writing.Naked is metaphorically what those who write memoirs must get. Yes, and maybe a little drunk, too.
The subtitle, Shed Your Inhibitions and Craft a Compelling Memoir or Personal Essay, explains what the reader may not get on first glance at the title. I liked that it has lots of searchable keywords that explanation of what the book.That very simple “writing” in the main title will help writers reaching for help on Amazon’s search feature, too.
So, I’m a little off the subject. Maybe it’s the way my brain works. Dunno.
I do know that if Adair were my teacher, she’d get after me for straying from a review of the book’s content. Or, she would, at the very least, suggest I reconsider digressing. Being a teacher myself, I’ve stubbornly decided against a change on the grounds that my students and my blog and Web site visitors will learn something from my detour, and that they get a marketing lesson or two is almost always one of my goals.
Having excused away my tendency toward a tangent (I hope successfully), I also recommend Naked and Drunk for those writing their own stories. When I teach the marketing of books, I always find many in my class who don’t know what a first-person essay is. So, to explain, I must digress (I have lots of practice in that, as you can see).
I’ll be recommending this book to in my UCLA class handout, for sure. No matter what an author’s genre of choice, he or she will need the skills for a personal essay. Every author’s media kit should include one. Therefore every author needs this book for the most practical of reasons. So they can get publicity. For it’s publicity that will sell the memoir that Lara so capably teaches them to write.
PS: A note to Ten Speed Press: From a marketing standpoint, what would it hurt to include on the “Other Books by Adair Lara” page a little explanatory pitch about what her other books are about. Some have titles that are adorable, but are not upfront clear about what might be between the covers. Option two: Include the subtitles. We’re all going to want to know more about Lara.
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :
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