Unlike the autobiography, which tells a chronological life story, a memoir is a nonfiction book in which the author writes about a particular time or experience in their life. There are many subgenres in this category, including parenting, travel, reading, and various time-restricted projects, like hiking a famous trail or cooking every recipe in MasteringContinue reading “The Lost Parent”
Tag Archives: Memoirs
Holding Back The Years
Publishing is nothing if not an industry of trends. Vampires, wizards, and mainstream S & M have all had their days, with subsequent years of knockoffs and copycats. There are also downtrends: successful streaks that decline into middling sales. One popular concept that is disappearing is the “my year of” projects. In these memoirs, authorsContinue reading “Holding Back The Years”
Inspired By…
Recently I watched a Netflix series called Maid. In the final credits, the audience is told the the story was “inspired” by a book of the same name by Stephanie Land. It raised a question: what exactly does it mean to be “inspired” by a story? To find out, I re-read the book to compareContinue reading “Inspired By…”
When Books Hurt
I once met a woman who had lost two of her children. One had died in a freak accident and the other was killed in a drug deal gone wrong. She said that she endured her grief by a firm belief that everyone has a day to be born and a day to die. ThereContinue reading “When Books Hurt”
The Trans Canon
Americans have been slow to acknowledge trans identities. It may reflect our lack of education, as gender nonconformity is nothing new and exists in nature and in other cultures. The male seahorse carries the babies and yet we blanch at the image of a pregnant trans man. Americans debate the mental health of trans peopleContinue reading “The Trans Canon”
Mixed Messages
I once knew a woman who had no trouble meeting men. At parties she disappeared into dark rooms with attractive strangers, emerging the next morning with a sly grin on her face. In the six months that I knew her, she had no fewer than half a dozen lovers. In my social circle, this behaviorContinue reading “Mixed Messages”
Reading Around The Map: Iran
Books can be a great way to armchair travel. A few hours in the head of a foreign national can tell you about their values, habits, and struggles. This is especially worthwhile when it comes to cultures you will never experience firsthand. Given the ongoing political tensions between the US and Iran, I won’t everContinue reading “Reading Around The Map: Iran”
Memory and Forgetting
Memorial Drive is the name of a thoroughfare in Atlanta. The author spent her childhood there and left for good the day her mother died. The title also alludes to the interior process of memory and forgetting that the author spends thirty years working through. Like many trauma victims, she has buried what she doesn’tContinue reading “Memory and Forgetting”
Hidden Worlds
From time to time, I find myself drawn to stories of Orthodox Judaism. Something about the austere customs and ancient theology appeals to me. I would guess I am not alone in this as there are multiple titles to select from, both fiction and memoir. Movies, too. Tova Mirvis was raised in an Orthodox familyContinue reading “Hidden Worlds”
Three Sides Now
You are winning at life if no one has ever written a memoir about you. This is the takeaway after seeing what Michael Mewshaw does to Pat Conroy in The Lost Prince. By turns mesmerizing and exploitative, it might require a psychologist to unpack it. The book starts off innocuously when the two men meetContinue reading “Three Sides Now”
Books Smitten 