Magical Memoir Moments
Bird Cloud: A Memoir Reviewed by Lanie Tankard
Constructing a House, Deconstructing a Life By now you know that when Lanie Tankard pens a guest post review of a memoir, you want to read the review whether or not you read the book! Bird Cloud: A Memoir by Annie Proulx (New York: Scribner, January 2011) Reviewed by Lanie Tankard Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie…
An Amish Memoir: Saloma Miller Furlong's Story of Why She Left
Saloma Miller Furlong has an amazing story. The little Amish girl on the cover of her memoir and the Smith College graduate on the back cover represent two worlds. These two photos illustrate a life journey that has covered, so far, a relatively short distance in time and space, but a huge one in world…
Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project: A Review
On a scale of 1-10, how happy are you? Honestly. Right now. Most people rate themselves as happy–as 7’s. In a 2006 survey 84 percent of Americans ranked themselves as ‘very happy’ or ‘pretty happy.’” If your number is anything lower than 10, you can benefit from reading The Happiness Project. And even if it…
Patti Smith Memoir Wins National Book Award: Read Lanie Tankard's Beautiful Review
Yea, Patti Smith, winner of the National Book Award in nonfiction for her memoir, Just Kids! Yea Women’s Memoirs! Yea, Lanie Tankard! Women’s Memoirs is a great place for readers and writers of memoir. I have featured the work of Matilda Butler and Kendra Bonnett, who maintain this great site, in past posts. We share a fabulous guest reviewer–Lanie Tankard (see…
Reposting a Tribute to My Mother-in-Law: A Mini-Memoir
Note to Readers: My first blog was created on the Santa Barbara Writer’s Conference site. When the site closed, I lost the web connection for this post written in 2008. I am reposting it so that others can appreciate the woman I considered a second mother–and so that one small piece of her legacy is…
Judging a Book By its Cover: Rosanne Cash's Composed
Your mother told you never to judge a book by its cover. Right? Well, your publisher isn’t likely to tell you that. And, admit it, when you go into a bookstore, you don’t follow Mom’s advice either. The cover of Rosanne Cash’s memoir Composed: A Memoir arrested me. The author is sitting on a bench…
Seven Creative Skills You Need to Master in Order to Reinvent Your Life
What do Pablo Picasso, Mary Cassatt, Rembrandt, and your favorite memoir writer have in common? A lot more than you might think. The book below will teach you not only to recognize patterns in the lives of great artists but to become a great artist yourself–a “life change artist.” Becoming a Life-Change Artist: 7 Creative…
Memory of Trees: Another Farmer's Daughter Memoir
I love reviewing books for Christian Century magazine. If editor Richard Kauffman had not asked me to review this book, I may never have found it, and that would have been a great loss. You can find the review below in the August 24, 2010 issue. When it is posted online, I will link to…
Rosanne Cash: Composed
I have always had a fondness for the best of country music and have always enjoyed making fun of the worst. One thing is true about country music: you get a lot of memoir packed into most of those three-minute songs. Johnny Cash and Ruth Carter Cash were some of the best. When I heard…