Posts tagged with "memoir"
All I Can Handle: I'm No Mother Teresa
Posted by Pam I am on 10/18/12
Kim Stagliano is a nationally recognized autism advocate and speaker. She is also the managing editor of Age of Autism, a daily web newspaper dedicated to autism.
But, most importantly, Stagliano is in the unique position of being a mother to three girls that have autism. Obviously, this is not the parenting life that she imagined, but she has embraced this new normal with a fierce sense of purpose. She is sometimes controversial as she rallies against vaccines and mainstream medicine. Her writing is powerful, sometimes funny and filled with a sense of love above all.
Blood, Bones and Butter
Posted by mingh on 05/18/11
Gabrielle Hamilton is the head chef and owner of the popular New York restaurant Prune. The subtitle of this book is "the inadvertent education of a reluctant chef." Hamilton learned much of her cooking from observing her Mother and Father. Her Mother, a French ballet dancer, had to use all parts of whatever she was cooking to make everything last. Hamilton's Father was an artist and sometime theater producer. But the family of five children never had a lot of money. They tried to live off the land as much as possible and her Father even taught Hamilton how to kill a chicken.
You can read a lot of love and admiration in her stories of her parents when she was young. When Hamilton was 13, her parents divorced and everything seemed to fall apart in her life. So much so, that her parents forgot who was watching the youngest children and left them on their own for four weeks at their rural house. The children had been taught a lot of self-sufficiency. It even gave Hamilton enough confidence to walk to town and present herself as a 16 year old waitress for a local restaurant. This sets up a pattern for her life as she confidently starts to reinvent herself as older and more experienced at many different jobs--almost always in the food industry. The catering chapters alone will make you re-think any catering you are needing or wanting.
This is a memoir more than a foodie book. There are some deeper issues in this book that Hamilton presents than just becoming a chef. There is some bitterness, arguably understandable, considering she was basically abandoned by her family at 13 years old. As she grows older, Hamilton makes some interesting choices in her life, she tries to reconnect with her family, and finds in her travels to Italy that food is what can bring people together.
House of Prayer No. 2
Posted by mingh on 03/21/11
House of Prayer No. 2 : a writer's journey home is the story of writer Mark Richard's growing up as a "special" child because of his disabled legs and mental blocks. Some teachers found him slow, others found him above average. But when everything looks bad along the way he always finds a teacher or mentor who can help him in his journey to become a writer. Some of the mentors are men of faith of different religions. At one point he considers joining an Episcopal seminary. He attends Baptist Services and helps to rehab a Church. But there is a wild ride to go through before he is at that point.
Mark Richards grows up in the South with parents who seemed to have little time for him except to bring him to doctors who all tried to fix his legs. He spent weeks in the Crippled Children's Hospital without his parents at seven years old. Some of the nurses become his close caretakers and he met many friends. But it was still devastatingly lonely.
As a young adult he doesn't know what to do with his life, hitchhiking across the country, sleeping on friend's sofa's and squatting in abandoned homes on the coast. Taking some writing courses he is able to sell stories to such magazines as Esquire and The New Yorker. Not enough to live off of but enough to get noticed. Soon he is off to Hollywood and writing for TV.
This memoir is told in the second person. It as is if the writer was saying to you, if YOU lived my life YOU would be doing this. YOU would find yourself in a hospital surrounded by other children with disabilities. YOU would wonder how they felt. This can be jarring but it also creates a very immediate experience for the reader.
An interesting memoir about a man who wanted to write, but had to go through a lot of living to get to that point.
I remember nothing : and other reflections
Posted by Ultra Violet on 03/17/11
I picked this up because I wanted something light and fun. It was certainly witty, but it was much more than I expected in terms of the insight into women's rights. Nora Ephron's stories of her struggles as a young journalist were fascinating, and they were so clearly, objectively written that I felt like I was getting a real sense of what it was like in New York in the 60's for a young woman with ambitious career goals. Some of the other essays included in this book are about aging and her memory loss. Her anecdotes were poignant and charming.
I remember nothing: and other reflections is an enjoyable, pleasant read. Women of Ephron's age can relate to her personal stories, while younger readers can take away some valuable women's history told first hand.
I'm Kind of a Big Deal
Posted by Pam I am on 09/16/11
Stefanie Wilder-Taylor is a former stand-up comic, and I'm Kind of A Big Deal: and Other Delusions of Adequacy highlights her biting humor and self depreciating wit. This memoir is more a series of stand-alone tell-all essays. If you want a light, humorous, quick read then this is a great choice for you.
Life on the Line
Posted by mingh on 06/09/11
Subtitled, a chef's story of chasing greatness, facing death, and redefining the way we eat, Life on the line is a foodie memoir and more. Grant Achatz (pronounced AK’etz), tells of growing up in Michigan with family restaurants scattered throughout the St. Clair region. When he was five he was helping out at the restaurant. He knew he wanted to work in food but was looking for something more than family restaurants. So he started school at The Culinary Institute in New York and quickly moved onto different places, including a short stint at Charlie Trotters.
The message he seemed to learn from Charlie Trotters is how NOT to run a kitchen. But Achatz soon was on his way to The French Laundry and the man who would become his mentor, Thomas Keller. At The French Laundry, Achatz learned not only how to run a kitchen but also how to run a restaurant. It was Thomas Keller who sent him to a workshop in Spain run by Ferran Adria, the avante-garde Chef. Adria changed Achatz’s whole view of food. Achatz knew that this new way of preparing and presenting food was not right for The French Laundry. When Achatz saw an ad looking for a chef to run the restaurant Trio in Chicago, Achatz applied and got the job.
Achatz was on top of the world when he learned that he had a virulent form of tongue cancer. A chef needs his tongue for developing new foods and tastes. This was devastating to Achatz. And so he writes about how he had to deal with a prognosis that would possibly end his life in two years.
An interesting read for foodies, anyone interested in the restaurant business, and reading about someone dealing with a life-threatening illness.
Surviving the Island of Grace
Posted by mingh on 12/07/11
Sometimes love can take you to unexpected places. Leslie Leyland Fields learns this when she marries the son of an Alaskan fisherman. She moves to Bear Island, a small island off of Kodiak Island in the Alaskan peninsula.
There, subsistence living is the norm. No running water for bathing, dishes or drinking. Running to a well to bring up the water that you will need for the day has to be done. If it is washing day, sometimes making three or more runs to fill the wringer washer. Because washing is difficult and time consuming, wearing the same clothes day after day is done making them even dirtier and harder to clean. They also must use oil or kerosene for lighting. As Leslie and others remark, their life has not really entered the 20th century.
In this memoir subtitled, Life on the Wild Edge of America, you learn how the salmon fishermen live and work. Although they have nine months off during the Fall/Winter/Spring, their Summers are nonstop with 20 hour days separated by four hours sleep. It is very grueling and dangerous work setting the nets, picking the fish from the nets and bringing them in to the cannery. This goes on for weeks until they are doing it in their sleep.
Sometimes Leslie is out on the boats and sometimes she is at home doing the laundry, mending the nets, making the meals for the workers and eventually tending to her own children. Leslie, her husband, and eventually two children live alone on an island off of Kodiak island. If they want company, they need to take a small boat known as a skiff to other islands. If the weather is bad or the waters are difficult then they are on their island for weeks at a time. In the Fall they travel or take part-time jobs to help with the expenses. But home is the island.
This is a truthful memoir of the difficulties and joys of living on an island with no electricity or running water, where reading is a major past-time and just watching the beautiful landscape fills hours. Leslie has her faith to help her during difficult times but she is also very capable in her own right. Her Mother would purchase and rehab houses and then re-sell them. All the children were expected to help with the rehabilitation. They were poor but the skills she learned growing up helped to make her adjustment to the island easier.
This is a realistic but loving portrait of the people and environment of the Alaskan peninsula, specifically the salmon fishers. While she is there, she experiences the Exxon Valdez oil spill and its impact on the beaches, the fishing and the economic impact to the small fisher communities. These are hardy people who work hard and love what they do. Having read this book you will appreciate the work that went into your salmon dinner.
Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts On Faith
Posted by Pam I am on 09/28/12
I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked up Traveling Mercies . . is this a religious book, a serious book, a humorous memoir? If it is possible, I think it is all of the above. I personally found this book to be more of book about spirituality that includes many humorous and touching thoughts on life. Anne Lamott chronicles her own exploration with Faith and God starting with childhood through motherhood. She takes ordinary moments in life and adds insight and wit without being preachy. Anne Lamott is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Grace (Eventually), Plan B, Traveling Mercies, and Operating Instructions, as well as seven novels, including Rosie and Crooked Little Heart.
Two Kisses for Maddy: A Memoir of Loss & Love
Posted by Pam I am on 05/06/11
As a follower of Matt Logelin's blog, I was anticipating the release of this book and I devoured it in one day. This book is an emotional memoir chronicling the first year after the tragic death of Matt's wife, Liz. As Matt explains, on March 22, 2008 his daughter Madeline came into this world and the next day, her mother, Liz left it after suffering a pulmonary embolism. He experienced the best joy in the world, and the worst tragedy all in 27 hours. To deal with his grief and struggles of new single fatherhood, he turned to the blogging world. He was overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity he found among internet friends who reached out to help him and Maddy. This book is an honest and heart wrenching look at loss and grief. But, it is also a love story from a father to his daughter. Matt admits that the only thing that got him out of bed in the mornings was knowing that his daughter Maddy needed him and was depending on him. This book is also a tribute to his love for Liz. What a wonderful tribute it is.
West by West
Posted by jfreier on 12/16/12
The autobiography of an NBA legend is both sad and inspiring. West starts with his growing up in a small West Virginia mining town dealing with an abusive father and depression. Jerry uses his natural athletic gift of playing basketball to escape from his abused childhood.
West becomes a local high school star and then a star at U of West Virginia, where he came within one point of a national championship. West then was drafted by the Lakers and became an NBA all star from 1960-1974, and winning the title in 1972 after losing numerous finals to the his nemesis the Boston Celtics.
The book is filled with his struggle to overcome his depression and low self esteem despite all of his success as a player and General Manager with 3 NBA title to his credit. The anecdotes and inside stories relating to NBA greats like Bill Russell, Elgin Baylor and others are wonderful, a must read for sports fans.
