THERE IS SO MUCH NEW MEMOIR, and so much of it is good, that I cannot stop myself from grinning from earring to earring. This is fine news, folks, since it indicates that the genre is alive and well, despite the effort by some to pull it into the kiss-and-tell and leave it there to languish. Instead, we’ve got some real exploration of human life on this planet, complete with transcendence, humor, insight and – hold the phone – fine writing. Good for them, those diligent writers. Good for us, the grateful readers. And good for all of us who write memoir.
Atop my night table pile is Mardi Jo Link’s, The Drummond Girls: A Story of Fierce Friendship Beyond Time and Chance. This Michigan Public Radio piece on Mardi Jo Link and her book will delight you, as will the upcoming post here on The Memoir Project blog with Mardi about one aspect of memoir writing. Keep checking for that.
If it’s money and living in the aftermath of losing it all that interests you, you are in for a wild ride. This Washington Post piece on Christina McDowell’s new book, After Perfect, A Daughters’ Memoir, brought this memoir to my attention. Apparently, after her dad went to prison for securities fraud, the family learned what it was like to be rebranded by their friends and associates. The book is getting lots of press. If reading about what it’s like on the way down is your thing, this one’s for you.
I’ve mentioned this one once before, but I am partial to addiction memoirs, I admit it, though only those that hit the issue with a hammer and teach me something new. So I am in luck this season. Just in time to feed my addiction for these books comes Blackout: Remembering the Things I Drank to Forget, by Sarah Hepola.
And if it’s the beach you love – and who does not? – consider the surfing memoir of New Yorker writer William Finnegan. I know, I know. I do not surf either, but this is not about that. It’s about obsession. I remember well his 1992 New Yorker piece that begat this memoir, and it was howlingly great. And the piece appears in the book, almost intact. Don’t believe me, read this review of Barbarian Days in The New York Times. It will change your mind.
Last year, the world lost one of our great poets with the death of Maxine Kumin. But this year we get her memoir, The Pawnbroker’s Daughter, a generous, beautiful book from the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for poetry. An ardent feminist, Kumin struggled against what was expected of her in her roles as wife and mother and channeled her frustration into her work. Here, she writes about that. Read up.
And if you need something to look forward to, Carly Simon is coming out with a memoir in November. Entitled Boys in the Trees, the advance news is that it is worth the read, despite the hype that she will reveal the object of her “You’re So Vain,” seventies song — not enough to drive a book, as far as I’m concerned. What I look forward to is her discussion of the artistic process in writing all those songs I still love to hear. I hope it’s there amid the gossip.
What’s on your night table?
Judith Henry says
Marion, thanks for the recommendations. Right now, I’m reading a beautiful mea culpa by Bob Morris, “Bobby Wonderful,” about the experience of caring for his parents. It’s quite a read. Funny, thought-provoking and very honest.
Prissy Elrod says
Marion, I loved the Memoir Project! I bought one for each member of my writing group as a gift. I can honestly say it inspired me to write and publish my own memoir, Far Outside the Ordinary which was recently acquired by a NY publishing company. Many thanks for your part in every writer’s dream. You rock! And thanks for these new book recommendations.