Three Memoirists, One Big Book Giveaway
TRY SOME HOSPITALITY, I always say, and when I do, the students in my memoir class frequently look a little stunned. They’re not in the room to learn etiquette, after all, so why would I mention the h-word? Simple: You cannot write memoir without it. Or didn’t you know that? It’s one of the many tactics I describe in my new book, The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life. A little more on hospitality, and a chance to win one of six copies in a giveaway this week with two memoirist “sisters:”
I’m talking about being hospitable to your work, and that begins with taking notes. To do so, you need to get in the habit of carrying an index card in each pocket. That way, you can capture what you see, hear and remember. This does not require an expensive digital recorder, leather notebook or Cartier pen. That’s showing off. Being hospitable begins with the tools you need for writing what you know—index cards, notebooks, pens—and then paying attention to the goods, the scenes from your life you will choose among to illustrate your argument.
Argument, you say? Hold the phone. Can we be hospitable and still argue?
We can, and we must.
Consider the work of the women with whom I am running this book giveaway, Katrina Kenison and Margaret Roach. Both accomplished memoirists, they each have an argument, both of which are revealed from the moment you read their books’ titles. Katrina’s great memoir, The Gift of An Ordinary Day, and Margaret’s gorgeous And I Shall Have Some Peace There, both argue for the ability to find happiness, peace, and even some great provocation, right in your own back yard. Just like Dorothy’s red shoes, these writers both argue in their books, you already possess what you need to thrive. The gift is to see it that way. Would you like to see their arguments in a beautiful format? Katrina’s video is a fine, joyful persuasion to embrace her train of thought; Margaret’s book trailer conveys her argument beautifully.
And what a fine argument it is.
How to learn to find an argument worth making amid the enormous story that is your life?
Well, I said be hospitable, but I’m not going to give it all away away here. For more, I hope you’ll read my new book.
How to Win 1 of 6 Copies of
The Memoir Project
MARGARET, KATRINA AND I are each giving away two copies of my new book The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life, and all you have to do to win is comment, answering the question:
What memoir that you have read mattered to you, and why?
Copy and paste your comment onto all three of our blogs to triple your chances of winning—again, each of us has two copies to share, and we’ll all draw winners at random (using the tool at random dot org) after entries close at midnight Saturday, June 18.
- Here.
- On Margaret’s book blog.
- And on Katrina Kenison’s, author of “The Gift of an Ordinary Day,” whose message has been heard not just in print but by nearly 1.6 million YouTube viewers so far.
Now we are pretty flexible, we three, so even if you don’t want to name a book, or have a title but not a reason why, that’s OK. Simply say, “I want to win,” or “Count me in” or some such, and your entry will be official. But remember: copy and paste it on all three blogs at the links bulleted above. Good luck! (And we can’t wait to see the booklist you help generate with your replies.)
Enjoyed this post, Marion. Memoir is such a complex form, and you have some great advice here.
I would love to win!! I want to write my stories and dig deeper, and reflect. Thank you.
My maternal Grandmother wrote about her life and her Norwegian ancestry. I ended up moving from the beaches of Santa Barbara, California to the prairies
of North Central Iowa (where I had been born) and have a daily connection with my grandmother, great grandmother and other ancestors who came here to make a new life and future for their families.
I grew up making road trips from California to spend time at “Grandma’s Farm”…..Never in a million years did I think that I would someday marry and raise 3 children of my own on this little piece of farmland that is most precious to all of us and many who were shocked that we made the move 27 years ago and stuck with it.
My Grandmother’s weekly letters (sermons;) to our family who left Iowa for California in the 50’s and the stacks of notes, cards, photos, stories, ledgers…..albums chronicling her 98+ years and all of the old “stuff” that we live with ~ inside and out…are a big part of what shapes our lives in this remote corner of the Midwest…now commonly referred to by guests, young and old, as ~
“Mark’s Pond”….that’s another story.
And I shall have some peace there has become one of my favorite books. I’ve been sharing it with all my friends as a treasure. Look forward to discovering Marion and Katrina’s work as well.
I just loved the gift of an ordinary day. would love to read the memoir project.
This year I have read: Gift of an Ordinary Day, Poser, enLIGHTened, And I Shall Have Some Peace There, and Devotion. I enjoyed all of them! Count me in the contest. I would love to win the book.
One of my favourites: Safekeeping by Abigail Thomas. In this book, she’s a minimalist, using short scenes and power-packed sentences in titled short ‘chapters’. Her use of varying points of view and pronouns—she, me, I, her—helps develop perspective. Use of the sister-as-confidante is very well done.
One of my favorite memoirs is Jill Ker Conway’s “The Road to Coorain.” It depicts the beautiful landscape of the Australian desert and farm life and an unemotional portrait of a strong woman in the making. Dr. Conway, who as a child faced often cruel, powerful nature on her homestead and the tragedy in her family, showed how she prevailed in the harsh reality of her childhood, and then ending with her encounter with sexism during 50s. I love this theme and this lady!!
And I would love to win a book! Thanks for the offer. Please post a list of favorites when you are done.
The first memoir I remember having an enormous impression on me is Marya Hornbacher’s “Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia.” Unlike the many badly-written eating disorder memoirs I’ve read, Marya’s writing made me ache.
In this season of my life, I have found immense comfort in Katrina Kenison’s memoirs. I’m a natural perfectionist, and can be very rigid about my plans: everything from household chores to my life goals. Having a 2-year-old has taught me to be more spontaneous and revel in all of those ordinary days. One of the passages in Mitten Strings for God, about how Katrina’s son Jack has been her most demanding teacher, has stuck with me since my daughter was small.
I loved Nuala O’Faolain’s memoir Are You Somebody? for its scorching honesty. And I would love to win a copy of this book. Honestly.
I loved Madeleine L’Engle’s A Circle of Quiet. I read it when was 20 or so. It helped me imagine that adult/family life could be full of joy. It expanded my image of what to hope for in my own life.
The most recent memoir which I have read,is yours Katrina– The Gift of an Ordinary Day. Reading this made me laugh, cry and say oh my gosh someone else is doing these crazy things too!! my life recently has in many ways mirrored yours. I’m still quite in the middle of my version and after reading yours it gave me the first glimpse that however this turns out it will be okay–thank you for that!
Your memoir, The Gift of an Ordinary Day, and Dani Shapiro’s, Devotion, together changed my life. I hope Katrina know this already, but reading those two books back to back had an impact whose reverberations are still being felt. In the best possible way. I look forward to reading Marion’s book! (incidentally: two of my four great-grandmothers were called Marion, both of my mother’s grandmothers, and it has always been a name I adore).
xox
Without a doubt, I can say that The Gift of an Ordinary Day has been life changing for me. Last year, I decided to uproot my family and move for the sake of a better education for my three kids. We have been living in a rental for far longer than I ever expected while we build a new house. Although this isn’t the first house we’ve built, I intend it to be the last, and that brings a whole new level of stress to every step of the process. I’m also at an age and a time in my life where I’m trying to decide what I want to do next. My oldest child is in middle school and I’m contemplating what life looks like as my three kids don’t need me in quite the same was as they did as small children. I stepped off the career track when my youngest child was born 6 years ago and I’ve decided that I won’t go back into that field (law) because it’s not my passion, but I’m not sure what to do next. This past year has been agonizing to the say the least. This spring, a friend recommended Katrina’s book and it was, quite simply, a revelation. I felt like she must be living inside my head. Her book and her wise words helped me hold onto my last shred of my sanity. So thank you, Katrina, for letting your readers walk with you on part of your journey! It has meant so much to me personally. Yours is a book I plan to pick up and read again very soon!
When I was pregnant with my oldest daughter (who is now 11) and hyperaware of the 50% chance she would inherit my significant physical disability (she did), my pastor’s wife gave me Martha Beck’s “Expecting Adam.” Beck has since become an Oprah regular and written a highly controversial other memoir about sexual abuse that all of her siblings say is patently false…I haven’t read that memoir, nor do I watch much Oprah. But “Expecting Adam” changed my life and dictated my own path as a writer. In it, Beck wrote about her pregnancy with her son Adam, who was prenatally diagnosed with Down syndrome. It was about learning to value all lives, even those deemed imperfect by both medical providers and Beck’s colleagues and friends, who kept asking her when she would schedule her abortion. I have gone on to build a writing career centered on the questions raised by rapidly developing genetic and reproductive technologies that allow people to choose how and when they have babies, and to some extent control what sort of babies they get. I write about how these technologies are changing our conceptions (literally and otherwise) of human beings, God, fate, destiny, health, disability, choice, human value, and the giftedness of every life. My own book, partly a memoir, will be out next January. Beck’s memoir was the first to raise these vital questions for me, and to show me that it’s possible to write about those questions in a way that changes other people’s lives and perceptions.
I would love to win.
I almost only read memoirs. Each one impacts me in a different way.
Joan Didion’s A Year of Magical Thinking was so beautifully and honestly written.
I have written a rough draft of a memoir of my own and there it sits. I hope that having a copy of Marions book will push me to the next step!!
GOING OVER EAST, Linda Hasselstrom wrote about a woman who ran a ranch in Dakota.
A Gift of an Ordinary Day, Devotion and A Gift from the Sea are my favorites so far.
Thanks for the opportunity to read this as well.
I would love to win! The Rocket Boys by Hyrum Hickam had a great impact for me because I could identify with the 50’s and 60’s and having the opportunity to “grow up” in the space age and understand the personal struggles the boys experienced to change our world.
As I am trying to start writing myself, and not “flee the room”, one of the most recent memoirs I read made the most impact on me. It is called Beautiful Boy by David Sheff. This memoir had such an impact because it is not only about a topic I was afraid to read (the story of parenting and loving a child who is addicted to drugs), but because it was written with such unflinching honesty and raw painful reality, that I glimpsed the possibility of maybe being able to look at my own fear of putting truthful and honest stuff “out there” and maybe living through it. I hope I will at least give it a try….
Gift From The Sea-Anne Morrow Lindberg always a fav with me!