In his memoir, In the Memory of the Map (University of Iowa Press, 2012), Christopher Norment introduces readers to cartography, otherwise known as map-making. Norment translates his experiences into written word through revealing his own map of life in pursuit of the trail ahead. It is through this picturesque book that readers are given a…
Category: Reviews
An archive of our reviews of memoirs, essay collections, and other works of creative nonfiction.
Review: My Battle of Algiers: A Memoir by Ted Morgan
Graduate of Yale and Columbia Journalism School, Ted Morgan recounts his service to the French army in his memoir, My Battle of Algiers (Smithsonian Books, 2005).
Review: The Family Silver: A Memoir of Depression and Inheritance by Sharon O’Brien
The Family Silver: A Memoir of Depression and Inheritance follows the author Sharon O’Brien on her quest to discover the familial roots of her depression.
Review: Anthropologies: A Family Memoir by Beth Alvarado
“My mother and I are sitting in the small dining room of her town-house; we are sitting at the table she’s had since I was a girl, but I am nearly fifty.” Thus begins Beth Alvarado’s memoir Anthropologies: A Family Memoir. This first sentence sets the tone and style of the book—clear pictures and underlying emotions presented in brevity and concise language that reads like poetry.
Review: How Can You NOT Laugh at a Time Like This? by Carla Ulbrich
In How Can You NOT Laugh at a Time Like This? Carla, also known as The Singing Patient, outlines realistic coping strategies and supportive advice along with anecdotes of how she deals with several autoimmune diseases. Her unique approach is sincere and instructive.
Review: Happy Chaos by Soleil Moon Frye
Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not one to run out and buy the latest celebrity memoir, but when I was offered the chance to read and review Soleil’s new parenting book, Happy Chaos: From Punky to Parenting and my Perfectly Imperfect Adventures In Between, I wasn’t about to say no.
Review — Running the Books: The Adventures of an Accidental Prison Librarian by Avi Steinberg
In 2005, Avi Steinberg did what any Harvard-educated, obituary-writing, non-practicing Orthodox Jew would do at a crossroads in his life: he took a job as a prison librarian with the Suffolk County House of Correction in Boston.
Review — Confessions of a Left-Handed Man (An Artist’s Memoir) by Peter Selgin
In his collection of essays, Confessions of a Left-Handed Man, Peter Selgin unabashedly delves into some of the most intimate and often humiliating moments of his left-handed life. Selgin’s essays describe the difficulty of being a first-generation Italian-American twin in a small hat factory town in Connecticut.
Review: The 90-Day Novel: Unlock the Story Within by Alan Watt
As a long-time veteran of how-to-write books, there isn’t much I haven’t been told, studied, or devoured in an attempt to improve my craft. Any book promising writing miracles in three months instills in me the desire to leave the tome on the shelf.
Review: Damn the Rejections, Full Speed Ahead: The Bumpy Road to Getting Published by Maralys Wills
Yes, it’s a how-to book all right, but not just about dealing with the rejection of a manuscript. The goal of this book appears to be preemptive, an instruction manual on how to write so as to minimize the chance of rejection. That’s right: yet another tome on technique, writing dramatic scenes, developing characters, how and when to research, the do’s-and-don’ts of collaboration, writing query letters, preparing proposals, and, last but not least, marketing in all its facets, peddling to agents, publishers, self-publishing on the internet. But this one is different.
