Director Jay Cheel’s debut film, Beauty Day, introduces audiences to the lively and entertaining Ralph Zavidil. Better known to Canadian audiences as his alter ego Cap’n Video…
Reel Life: Beauty Day, directed by Jay Cheel
Category: Reviews
An archive of our reviews of memoirs, essay collections, and other works of creative nonfiction.
Review: Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala
“They are my world. How do I make them dead?” This is Sonali Deraniyagala’s thought after losing her husband Steve, their two sons, and her parents to a tsunami.
Review: The Scientists: A Family Romance by Marco Roth
When still considering writing a memoir about his father’s death from AIDS in the 1980s and the secretive atmosphere in his parent’s stylish Central Park West apartment, Marco Roth was deeply concerned that he “mustn’t write about any of this.
Review: House of Stone by Anthony Shadid
At the end of July 2006, Anthony Shadid travels to his grandfather’s house in Lebanon in hopes of restoring it.
Review: The Animal Dialogues by Craig Childs
This is a collection that offers the best of what creative nonfiction can be: stories that capture the essence of a moment…
Review: Braided Worlds by Alma Gottlieb and Philip Graham
Not only does Braided Worlds tie two cultures together with their differences and similarities, it also braids the very different perspectives of Alma and Phillip as they each write about their personal experiences.
Review: Gathering Noise from My Life, a Camouflaged Memoir by Donald Anderson
Gathering Noise from My Life, a Camouflaged Memoir by Donald Anderson is an eclectic array of memories…
Review: January First by Michael Schofield
January, or “Jani,” was born a genius; at three years old, she could read and calculate mathematics in her head. But if she didn’t receive constant mental stimulation, she could succumb to violent meltdowns.
Review — Guts: The Endless Follies and Tiny Triumphs of a Giant Disaster by Kristen Johnston
Love is exactly the word that comes to mind when reading the memoir of actress and literary newcomer Kristen Johnston. Guts: The Endless Follies and Tiny Triumphs of a Giant Disaster (Gallery Books, 2012) encompasses her brilliant journey from darkness to light.
Review: The 90 Day Rewrite by Alan Watt
“At the heart of every story lies a dilemma.” So begins the new book by Alan Watt, The 90 Day Rewrite. Latching onto the success of his first book, The 90 Day Novel, he attacks the rewrite process with the same vigor. He starts off with a review of what we learned from his first…
