National Lifewriting Month: the staying power of memoirs

Posted on November 10, 2009 by moonbridgebooks
November is National Lifewriting Month. Have you started your memoir yet? Memoirs have been hitting the charts for many years now and readers have not show signs of exhaustion. Library Journal recently noted that “publishers are putting a fair amount of push behind memoirs for winter and spring 2010,” which will include the following interestingly titled books:

The Ticking is the Bomb by Nick Flynn
The Boy Who Loved Tornados: A Mother’s Story by Randi Davenport
You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up: A Love Story by A. Gurwitch and J. Kahn
The Shaking Woman: Or, A History of My Nerves by Siri Hustvedt
Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog by Lisa Scottoline

In a Philadelphia Inquirer article entitled Celebrating the Memoir, Dianna Marder construes that “The emphasis on memoir is so strong that autobiography, history and fiction may be endangered. And the reasons for memoir’s popularity may rest in our very nature as Americans: In a land where the majority rules, individuality is exalted and memoir is more befitting the American ideal of resourcefulness.”

Indeed, memoirs are much more fascinating than nonfiction history books since a personal perspective is involved. Who doesn’t love a good story of how it really was versus a bunch of dry facts. Autobiographies tend to suffer the same fate of dry regurgitation, while fiction…well, Ben Yagoda, author of Memoir: A History says “When it comes to proving points and making cases, fiction’s day is done.” Mary Karr, whose publisher claims she “kick-started the memoir revolution” with The Liar’s Club (1995), has this to say: “The failures of other genres to provide an emotional connection with some of their characters and narratives gives memoir a toehold.” Comparing bad memoirs to bad novels, “But the most whiny memoir is written by someone passionately attached to his or her subject matter. And the connectedness of that single voice is something readers long for now.” Karr, also wrote the memoirs Cherry and the recently published Lit.

Everyone has a story to tell. Not all are meant to be published, but all are meant to be told.

Linda Austin
“Cherry Blossoms in Twilight”
http://www.moonbridgebooks.com
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

The legacy of a child

Posted on October 31, 2009 by moonbridgebooks

Six-year-old Elena Desserich died of brain cancer in 2007, but she left behind treasures for her family that became a book for everyone. Notes Left Behind is a tribute to Elena and helps to raise funds for The Cure Starts Now, a foundation started by her parents supporting research towards curing pediatric brain cancer. Perhaps you’ve heard about Elena’s story on Good Morning America or the Today show.

Elena was an artist, and when she became sick, and especially after she lost her ability to speak, she began drawing pictures and writing notes to her parents, her little sister, other relatives, even her great-aunt’s dog. After her death, her parents began finding notes hidden not just in Elena’s room but in their own books and dresser drawers, in a briefcase, in a box of Christmas ornaments. They were the simple drawings and misspelled notes of a beginning writer, but Elena’s mother thinks they were her daughter’s way of letting them know everything would be okay. Each note found was “like a little hug from her.” Elena’s parents did everything they could to hide from her the fact that her illness was terminal. Did Elena sense the end coming and want to leave love notes behind, or was she just a prolific and fun-loving artist expressing herself?

Elena’s father kept a personal journal for younger daughter Grace during the family’s ordeal so that she might know her sister, but the idea grew into something larger. Notes Left Behind is a sad and unflinching story of how a family coped with having a child with cancer, but is also about capturing “the love, the compassion, the minutes of life – not necessarily the milestones.” A reminder for all.

Linda Austin
“Cherry Blossoms in Twilight”
http://www.moonbridgebooks.com
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Inheriting emotional pain

Posted on October 16, 2009 by moonbridgebooks

Bending Toward the Sun by Leslie Gilbert-Lurie is a new memoir out this fall that delves into an interesting concept of whether one person’s emotional trauma can be inherited, in a sense, by their children and grandchildren. Little Rita Lurie lived through the Holocaust hidden in a tiny dark attic, near starving with fourteen other family members. She watched her mother and brother die and after the war wandered for years with the rest of her family looking for a country that would accept them. Many years later, in California, Lurie’s grown up and successful daughter probed into her mother’s childhood and discovered the fear and guilt that remained embedded in her character, and despite a deep mother’s love for her children, the effect of the pain was passed on to her daughter and filtered down even to her granddaughter. Bending Toward the Sun is now on my reading list.

Writing my own mother’s memoir, Cherry Blossoms in Twilight, I also discovered how her childhood pain and trauma permanently affected her, and thus my sister and I. When painful emotions do not heal well, the wounds can affect one’s whole outlook on the world as well as everyday behavior. The parent cannot help but pass on that outlook and behavior to the children. It takes a recognition of the negative thoughts and actions, a willingness to face what has caused them, and an ability to come to peace with them for the ghosts to be laid to rest, allowing a sense of freedom from the past and an openness towards other people and the future. That kind of awareness is rare, unless it is pointed out by someone. The desire and courage to confront the devil is rarer still. And it takes an aware child to recognize aspects of their parent’s behavior that they do not want to duplicate themselves and a lot of determination to be able to resist the strong temptation of that behavior. Our life threads are so entwined.

This inheriting of pain should give us all a stronger urge to settle with our past so that we can live a brighter future ourselves and free our families from the monkey on our back. A good start is to write it all down.

Linda Austin
“Cherry Blossoms in Twilight”
http://www.moonbridgebooks.com
Posted in bad memories | 2 Comments