Magical Memoir Moments
All Over but the Shoutin': A Review
This book reminds me of the wilted dandelions my son used to gather and bring to me in springtime–not the dandelions themselves but the look on his face, beaming with pride and ardor. Rick Bragg has never lost that feeling about his momma. He brought her all his winnings–first the Pulitzer Prize in journalism, then…
What Have You Learned From Your Students?: A Mini-Memoir
If I had to boil down the answer to the question above to one word, what would that word be? Curiosity, honesty, courage, persistence, gratitude, hope, forgiveness, love? And how did I learn it? Was it from the student evaluations which came in a big, heart-thump-inducing envelope with CONFIDENTIAL stamped all over it? Was it…
Mini-Memoir: How Long Have I Been Teaching Memoir?
How long have I been teaching memoir writing? On its face, the answer is, “not very,” but I can also truthfully say “about 40 years.” How can both be true? The recent teaching comes in the form of workshops I have blogged about previously– three sessions at the Fetzer Institute and two about workshops given…
George Bush's Memoir Book Deal: Decisions
Well folks, the deal is struck. Our former president will in fact write a memoir to be published by Crown. Apparently he wrote 30,000 words already! That’s more than 500 words/day. Pretty good productivity, wouldn’t you say? Read all about it in this blog from the Huffington Post.
Does Facebook Cause Vanity? A Memoir Dilemma
One of my Facebook friends, Karin Larson Krisetya, a former Goshen College student now a graduate student and young mother living in Indonesia, recently noted wryly that she had search through 63 photos before finding one good enough for her profile. She wonders if Facebook causes vanity. Here’s her explanation to her friends about trying…
Here If You Need Me: A Profoundly Beautiful Love
This weekend I read two memoirs: one from a Mennonite doctor who spent a year in Somalia as a medical missionary and one from a Unitarian Universalist minister who is a chaplain in Maine. Neither of these topics may sound like scintillating reads, but both of them were. The book about the Mennonite doctor will…
A Memoir that Awakens the Spiritual Version of the American Dream
This morning, as is our habit, my husband and I attended Skyridge Church of the Brethren. Our pastor Debbie preached about healing, using as a lectionary text Psalm 30, the one that promises, in the majestic language of the King James Bible, that “weeping endureth for the night but joy cometh in the morning.” This…
Slumdog Millionaire: A Metaphor for the Power of Memoir
Well, folks, it may be time to create a new category. I saw a lot of good movies this holiday season. Did you? Here’s the list of ones I saw: Slumdog Millionaire, Frost/Nixon, Doubt, Milk,and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I recommend each of these films, and all of them have connections to memoir,…
The Latest Memoir Controversy: Angel at the Fence
“Read all about it!,” the newsboys could be saying, if there were newsboys today. “Another memoir bites the dust!” “Oprah decides to vet all future memoirists with truth serum!” Of course, there is brand new president, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and an economic meltdown to report on, too, but, hey, memoir dishes up conflict…