Magical Memoir Moments
Memoir First Lines–A Contest for Readers of this Blog
Recently I had an inquiry from a writer who asked if I had a list of excellent first lines from memoirs. That sounded like something I should have. First words contain the vital “hook” that overcomes the reader’s resistance and skepticism. Think about how you challenge a book to speak to you when you gaze…
Leon Fleisher's Memoir My Nine Lives: Reviewed by Beverly K. Lapp
Introducing Beverly K. Lapp, Associate Professor of Music at Goshen College. Bev came into my life first as a student at Goshen College, then as a faculty colleague. She writes as well as she plays piano and teaches–which is saying a lot. Enjoy her review below. Fleisher, L. & Midgette, A. (2010). My nine lives: A…
The Sound of Rain on a Corrugated Iron Roof: Another Lanie Tankard Review
Our popular guest blogger Lanie Tankard has reviewed a pre-publication copy of One Day I Will Write About This Place: A Memoir by Binyavanga Wainaina Minneapolis, MN: Graywolf Press (July 19, 2011) Reviewed by Lanie Tankard Binyavanga Wainaina busts clichés about Africa in his memoir, One Day I Will Write About This Place, due…
Jack Kerouac–Gives a Great Rationale for 100Memoirs!
Today my friend Ruth Davis, an expert on all things related to Mac computers, shared a link to a Donna Baier Stein’s website called “Words, Spirit & You.” I loved it and actually “liked” the page after just one experience with it. Here’s today’s picture and the quote that goes with it. “I have been writing my…
Another Short Memoir Query Letter Critique Video–And a Lovely Shout Out from Marla Miller
Marla Miller has been helping writers “market the muse” for a long time. Now she is sharing her knowledge of the publishing industry via YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. Here’s a recent video featuring a memoir called Nadia. Imagine my surprise when I heard her mention 100memoirs.com in the introduction! Marla manages to offer some pointed…
Memory and Truth–Three Different Memoirs from One Family
You may have read about how Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs created dissension in his own family and in the family of Dr. Finch, the psychiatrist with whom Burroughs went to live at the age of 13. There have been law suits charging defamation of character and invasion of privacy. This book, which was…
More Memoir Lists! Take Some of These to the Beach this Summer!
If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you know that we collect lists of top memoirs from people who write or study memoir. Now that summer is breathing down our necks, we are beginning to see summer reading lists popping up like dandelions. The LA Times list was circulating on Twitter, and another…
My Mother's Magic Rainbow Story: A Lifelong Influence
I spent last weekend with my 84-year-old mother, who made her first trip from Pennsylvania to Virginia in many years, thanks to her escorts–my sister Doris, her husband Dave, and their standard poodle Rodney. We celebrated Mother’s Day live and in person, albeit a week late. Yesterday I posted two wonderful Mother’s Day tributes found on other…
Two Mother's Day Memoir Treats–In Case You Missed Them
“What We Nurture” with Sylvia Boorstein from On Being on Vimeo. I love Krista Tippett’s American Public Media show called On Being. The broadcast she did on Mother’s Day, seen in video above and in this online link–an interview with Sylvia Boorstein–allows the listener to experience the power derived from claiming motherhood (and grandmotherhood) as…