Memoir Round-Up: Picks for July

MEMOIR IS ALIVE and well, I’m happy to report. Despite the rumors of the death of publishing, marvelous books continue to appear all the time, many of which are not only great reads, but are also perfect primers for learning to write your own tale. Three books in particular come to mind, all of which I recently added to my suggested reading list for the classes I teach, and all of which reaffirmed for me perhaps the single most important lesson in writing what you know. Remember what that is? Come along, and I’ll remind you.

Last year I had the great good fortune to moderate a panel at the Spencertown Festival of Books, in upstate New York. (Now in their sixth year, the festival is coming up again on September 3-5, 2011. Make your plans to be there, and witness a lovely Labor Day weekend event in mid-state New York). In preparation for that panel, I got to read three marvelous books, all recently published, all breathtaking, and all by women. And when I arrived on the scene, I was delighted to find that the three authors were their own sisterhood, having previously presented together on panels and, as a result, having formed a pod of wisdom about writing what you know.

What a gift.

The writers are Alice Eve Cohen, author of What I Thought I Knew; Nancy Bachrach, author of The Center of the Universe; and Julie Metz, author of Perfection. Reading the three confirmed for me that making decisions of what not to do – what to leave out – are just as daunting as those you choose to commit to paper. This is what I pondered as I read the remarkable tale of the young husband who collapses and dies in the arms of Julie Metz, and how, during her grieving, she discovers that he had a very vibrant, and very separate life away from home. She reports the story, tracking down and communicating with the people in his other life, leaving me more than once to have to put down the book and stare out the window in contemplation of this shocking surprise, and her efforts to understand his other world. How much she learned about him—from his many sexual dalliances, to an utter spiritual change—is enough to carry you away until, that is, you think like a memoir writer, and begin to contemplate how she pulled this off, and did not merely get swallowed up in the enormity of the material. Her task was to choose wisely, and reading it, you know that she chose well.

The Center of the Universe is a tale of resilience, written by Nancy Bachrach, whose mother just might make you feel better about any crazy, outré, over-the-top mother you ever had, imagined, or heard about. And her mother is still alive. And yet, Nancy wrote this book, making it a great read, by not telling us her whole life story, or even her mother’s entire life story, but only about how complex—and entertaining, compelling, frustrating, and ultimately, illuminating—it is to have a mother who thinks of herself as that center of the universe.

What I Thought I Knew by Alice Eve Cohen is expertly crafted, using the device of a list—and you know how I love my lists – to take the reader through a tale of the real power of hope, as illustrated by perhaps the single greatest case of medical malfeasance I have ever imagined. Laughing and crying through this, the reader can almost feel Alice Eve wield her blade, cutting away anything extra, leaving only the sharpest of tales. It is brilliant.

What we leave out is a topic I cover in my new book, but as I gear up for the new teaching season, I’m thinking hard on how best to present this ethic in the class. Suggesting these three fine books is a good place to start, of course. Watch this space, writers, since I’ll be back with regular memoir writing updates, taken from my class curriculum. If you’re new to the site, please see all the other memoir-writing columns, and join in to learn how to write what you know.