… every time she sat down at a computer, the blank page and blinking cursor questioned her: “Why are you writing this story?”
Review: Writing Hard Stories by Melanie Brooks
Category: Reviews
An archive of our reviews of memoirs, essay collections, and other works of creative nonfiction.
Review — Empire of Cotton: A Global History by Sven Beckert
If you own a couch, a bed, jeans, shirts, t-shirts, towels, sheets, a handkerchief, or even a single pair of socks, then you are in direct contact with cotton.
REVIEW: Shackleton’s Heroes by Wilson McOrist
Sir Ernest Shackleton set out on the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition to cross Antarctica in 1914. If you’re savvy to this sort of history, you’ll remember that he never made it.
REVIEW: Body Memory by Joel Peckham
While the cover of the book states: “Essays by Joel Peckham,” these are not the common essays you’d would expect.
REVIEW: Even When Trapped Behind Clouds by Patty Somlo
Patty Somlo was good at packing her sparse belongings in a box, moving to a different city, and beginning a whole new life. It wasn’t until she met her husband, Richard, that she began to question the true meaning of “home.”
REVIEW: The Education of Kevin Powell: A Boy’s Journey Into Manhood
This memoir of an African-American man finding his way is a catalog of stepping stones from childhood to middle age, each footfall landing on the beauty, the sadness, the joy, the mistakes, the second chances.
REVIEW: Chronicles: Volume One by Bob Dylan
Dylan’s (Nobel) win encourages a re-examination of his memoir, Chronicles: Volume One (Simon & Schuster, 2005).
Review: I’ll Tell You Mine: Thirty Years of Essays from the Iowa Nonfiction Program Edited by Hope Edelman and Robin Hemley
I’ll Tell You Mine: Thirty Years of Essays from the Iowa Nonfiction Program is not a “best of collection,” according to its editors
REVIEW: Memoir Your Way: Tell Your Story Through Writing, Recipes, Quilts, Graphic Novels, and More
We all have stories to tell, yet we are not limited to simply performing or writing these stories. Other interests, such as knitting or cooking, can help in portraying our personal stories.
REVIEW: Land of Enchantment by Leigh Stein
Leigh Stein has a problem. This problem’s name is Jason. He’s an abusive, manipulative, imposter of a man. But here’s the thing; she just can’t get enough of him.
