Memoirs Category Archives

Reason for Reading:

I’ve not read a book concerning Cambodia and this one caught my eye.

I also recommend:

Wild Swans by Jung Chang

Summary from GoodReads:

From a childhood survivor of the brutal Pol Pot regime comes an unforgettable narrative of tragedy and spiritual triumph. 8-page photo insert.

My Review:

I was blown away by the story contained in this book.

To give you some idea of context – I was born in 1976. The year I was born Loung Ung was five years old and living in Phenom Penh, Cambodia. Her life was relatively good (although nothing like mine here in the States). Her prize possession was a red dress. She had six siblings, and a father and mother who loved her.

Then the Civil War taking place in Cambodia stepped in and became personal for Loung and her family (and millions of other Cambodians). 1/4th of the population was killed – but that’s something we’re not taught about here. So thank goodness that there are books out there that record the story so those who died are not forgotten.

While I was being fussed and cooed over, Loung was dealing with starvation, attempted rape, the murders of those close to her, and illnesses which were ravaging her body. She was being trained in combat, her mind filled with fear, and forced to leave her family and adapt to conditions which I pull back in revulsion to think of. And she tells her whole story – crystal clear – in First They Killed My Father.

This is such a charged memoir. It’s hard to recommend because the read is so tough, but I couldn’t put it down. I think you’ll find the only critique (or at least the only one I have) is that the story is told in a bit of a sing-song simplistic way, but it doesn’t distract from the power of the story itself.

About the Author

Information regarding Loung Ung:

For more reviews on First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung, please follow the book tour.

24 April, 2012

4 comments

Cambodia, Civil War, Phenom Penh, Starvation, Ung

No Way Home by Carlos Acosta

No Way Home by Carlos Acosta

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Reason for Reading:

I’ve been reading stories about ballet dancers since I was a little girl. I couldn’t resist another one.

I also recommend:

Swing Low by Miriam Toews

Summary from GoodReads:

Carlos Acosta, the Cuban dancer considered to be one of the world’s greatest performers, fearlessly depicts his journey from adolescent troublemaker to international superstar in his captivating memoir, No Way Home.

Carlos was just another kid from the slums of Havana; the youngest son of a truck driver and a housewife, he ditched school with his friends and dreamed of becoming Cuba’s best soccer player. Exasperated by his son’s delinquent behavior, Carlos’s father enrolled him in ballet school, subjecting him to grueling days that started at five thirty in the morning and ended long after sunset.

The path from student to star was not an easy one. Even as he won dance competitions and wowed critics around the world, Carlos was homesick for Cuba, crippled by loneliness and self-doubt. As he traveled the world, Carlos struggled to overcome popular stereotypes and misconceptions; to maintain a relationship with his family; and, most of all, to find a place he could call home.

My Review:

I’ve always had a thing for the underdog. I mean, honestly, who hasn’t at one point or another in their lives? I put this book on my TBR list a few years ago, and only recently did the notification pop up that it was available in my library (granted, I wasn’t looking too hard when I was in GA, but I digress…).

I’m really torn on this book, because I really, desperately, want to admire what Carlos Acosta, and his family, sacrificed for him to achieve his status in the world today. I think what makes it hard to fully admire this is because the hard work is so downplayed in this memoir, and instead, the delinquency, the disrespect for his parents, the disregard for the world of ballet is brought to the forefront, cheapening the effect of what could have been a very, very powerful story.

So, rather than focus on the work, on detailing the hours of sweat, speaking of the performances and the struggles within the world of ballet, Carlos Acosta instead, focuses solely on the struggles in his outer world. Now, granted, they were struggles no one should have to deal with. His family frequently was in need of food, and Cuba is definitely not a paradise on earth. His descriptions of his hometown, and the nature surrounding it were lush and I felt like I could envision what he was trying to paint for me … but then he would move back to these, semi-dramatic moments that just distracted from the story.

The other issue I had with the story is the massive rise of ego – from virtually nothing at the beginning until I felt like I was being choked with it at the end. That could be his youth (he was only 25 at the time of this memoir), but it left me with a distaste for the person he’d become.

I’d only recommend this book if you are a fan, or a ballet enthusiast. Otherwise, pass this memoir by and go read his Wikipedia entry.

Don’t just take my word for it! Check out what these bloggers say!

Book Addiction

Nomad Reader

20 January, 2012

0 comments

Acosta, Ballet, Cuba, Social Issues

If You Ask Me by Betty White

If You Ask Me by Betty White

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Reason for Reading:

It has Betty White on the cover – I couldn’t resist. It was a weak moment.

I recommend:

Black Heels to Tractor Wheels by Ree Drummond

Summary from GoodReads:

Drawing from a lifetime of lessons learned, seven-time Emmy winner Betty White’s wit and wisdom take center stage as she tackles topics like friendship, romantic love, aging, television, fans, love for animals, and the brave new world of celebrity. If You Ask Me mixes her thoughtful observations with humorous stories from a seven- decade career in Hollywood. Longtime fans and new fans alike will relish Betty’s candid take on everything from her rumored crush on Robert Redford (true) to her beauty regimen (I have no idea what color my hair is and I never intend to find out”) to the Facebook campaign that helped persuade her to host Saturday Night Live despite her having declined the hosting job three times already.

My Review:

I wish I could say that this book had me in stitches, but… it didn’t. The Betty White in print is definitely not quite the Betty White as shown in movies and on TV. Is she sweet? Sure. Nice? Sure. She comes across as a very down-to-earth, grandma sort of person, but what I thought would be a funny set of essays was more of a grandma’s advice on how to live life, and a lot of admonitions on taking care of animals.

Don’t get me wrong – there’s nothing wrong with either of those things. It just didn’t make for very fun reading, and definitely wasn’t what I was expecting. Actually, the best part of the book were the photos that were included.

I think part of it was my fault – I should have looked to see if she’d written anything before this book (she has), but I didn’t. Instead, I got a lot of essays about the show she is in currently (that I haven’t seen), and just a few mentions here and there of The Golden Girls (a show I absolutely love).

Another upside to this book is, if you are looking to pad that book count, I think this one took me about an hour to read. Short and sweet essays, lots of pictures, these things add up to a quick and easy read.

Check out these reviews!

Reading in Winter

10 January, 2012

Comedy, Memoirs, Non-Fiction, reviews

1 comment

Famous Actors, Life Advice, Pet Advocacy, White

So Far Away by Christine W. Hartmann

So Far Away by Christine W. Hartmann

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Reason for Reading:

I was in the mood for a memoir.

I also recommend:

Swing Low by Miriam Toews

Summary from GoodReads:

Christine Hartmann’s mother valued control above all else, yet one event appeared beyond her command: the timing of her own death. Not to be denied there either, two decades in advance Irmgard Hartmann chose the date on which to end her life. And her next step was to tell her daughter all about it. For twenty years, Irmgard maintained an unwavering goal, to commit suicide at age seventy. She managed her chronic hypertension, stayed healthy and active, and lived life to the fullest. Meanwhile, Christine fought desperately against the decision. When Irmgard wouldn’t listen, the only way to remain part of her life was for Christine to swallow her mother’s plans–hook, line, and sinker.

Christine’s father, as it turned out, prepared too slowly for old age. Before he had made any decision, fate disabled him through a series of strokes. Confined to a nursing home, severely impaired by dementia and frustrated by his circumstances, his life epitomized the predicament her mother wanted to avoid.

My Review:

I struggled with this memoir. Granted, I should have known I’d struggle with it – the subject matter was just so hard.

Christine Hartmann is a strong woman. I don’t know that I could have done what she did. She builds the story over a period of about ten years, but the psychological impact her mother had on her lasted longer than that. Can you imagine? Living with the knowledge that your mother plans to die by suicide? I can’t.

This book inspired a good, heartfelt talk between me and my parents which essentially started with, “Look, I know you don’t want to lose your dignity as you get older, but I’m here to help you as you age. I like you around, and I don’t want to lose you before your time.” And that was something that needed to be said. I know I would not have the strength to hug my mother, who is perfectly healthy, and walk away with the knowledge that I won’t see her again.

I really struggled with Christine Hartmann’s decisions throughout the book, and I was glad to see that, toward the end, these decisions are finally challenged in a way that they needed to be. I wont’ give more information then that, but I do feel that it’s vital to know that there is a reason to keep reading – even though the subject matter seems to drag you down deeper and deeper into this horrible muck.

I admire Hartmann as well – for putting this story down on paper. I hope it helps to heal her, and I hope the bad memories fade over time until all she can remember are the good ones.

About the Author

Information regarding Christine W. Hartmann:

For more reviews on So Far Away by Christine W. Hartmann, please follow the book tour.

Caregiving, Family Studies, Hartmann, Suicide

Swing Low by Miriam Toews

Swing Low by Miriam Toews

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Reason for Reading:

For some reason, reading books about bi-polar disorder fascinates me, and this one seemed really interesting, as it’s a daughter writing from her father’s point of view.

I also recommend:

What is Left the Daughter by Howard Norman

Summary from GoodReads:

After her father took his own life in 1998, Miriam Toews decided to face her confusion and pain straight on. In writing her father’s memoir, she was motivated by two primary goals: For her own sake, she needed to understand, or at least accept, her father’s final decision. For her father’s sake, she needed to honour him, to elucidate his life and to demonstrate its worth.

My Review:

Let me just say … I did not enjoy Irma Voth – the fiction novel that Miriam Toews wrote and I reviewed just a few weeks ago. So it was with some trepidation that I picked Swing Low up off my shelf.

I was blown away.

Seriously, this book was nothing at all like Irma Voth. It was clear, concise, and a beautiful tribute to her father. Miriam’s voice, as she speaks from her father’s point of view, is crystal clear, heart-breaking and filled with love. I never once got the sense that he was, in any way shape or form, a bad man. I understood that he was sick, broken in a way, I understood that he loved his family – his wife and his children, and I wept when we came to the point of his last decision.

All through the book what spoke loudest to me was his daughters forgiveness. Miriam shows with complete clarity that, while she loved her father dearly, she cannot hate him for what he did. How powerful is that forgiveness? It spoke to my heart, it made me weep, it made me appreciate my own parents more and think about just how serious, how dreadful and how dangerous mental disorders can be.

Take the time to hug your family. Tell them you love them. Read this book if you need a good kick in the pants to remind you of how special they are.

About the Author

Information regarding Miriam Toews:

Miriam Toews is a Canadian writer of Mennonite descent. She grew up in Steinbach, Manitoba and has lived in Montreal and London, before settling in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

For more reviews on Swing Low by Miriam Toews, please follow the book tour.

22 September, 2011

3 comments

Bi-Polar Disorder, Suicide, Toews

Too Close to the Falls by Catherine Gildiner

Too Close to the Falls by Catherine Gildiner

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Reason for Reading:

This was our book club selection for August.

I recommend:

The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls

Summary from GoodReads:

Heartbreaking and wicked: a memoir of stunning beauty and remarkable grace. Improbable friendships and brushes with death. A schoolgirl affecting the course of aboriginal politics. Elvis and cocktails and Catholicism and the secrets buried deep beneath a place that may be another, undiscovered Love Canal – Lewiston, New York. Too Close to the Falls is an exquisite, haunting return, through time and memory, to the heart of Catherine Gildiner’s childhood.

And what a childhood it was …

My Review:

I’m really torn on how to write a review on this for one simple reason: this book is labeled and, according to the author, is a memoir. That means non-fiction, truths as told from the memories of the person writing the book. However, as a non-fiction book, it was.. outlandishly unbelievable.

Now, as a fictional book (or a book that is mostly fiction, or non-fiction events taken and made more sensational through fiction), the book was a hoot. I enjoyed it quite a bit! But, even while I was enjoying that book, I was enjoying it as a fictional story because, frankly, it was too unreal to be real.

The author takes many pains to assure her readers of her “elephant-like” memory throughout the book. I got the feeling that she was needing us to know this because the stuff in the book was just outlandish. I have no doubt that she met Marilyn Monroe, that she had numerous adventures with Roy (who was one of my favorite characters, by the way), that she hung out at her father’s store – although the whole “working at 4 years old” thing was… yeah, you’re getting the point.

I think what tipped me was two things, and rather than talk directly about them I’ll talk about them in the form of asking a question:

Would you send your pre-teen daughter unsupervised to New York, New York to stay with a strange family and compete in an athletic tournament?
Do you really think a full-grown man (Jesuit) would let a 13 year old girl read, out loud, a full page and a half of one of the steamiest scenes in Lady Chatterly’s Lover – and not do ANYTHING to stop her?

Those two questions were the straw that broke the camels back for me with regards to viewing this book as pure non-fiction. There’s plenty more, but those bugged me the most, and in speaking at length about the book with my book club, we all agreed.

As fiction, the book worked great. As non-fiction, not so much.

Check these reviews!

A Bookworm’s World

Gildiner, Memoirs, Niagara Falls

A Jane Austen Education by William Deresiewicz

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Reason(s) for Reading:

Jane Austen with a paper-doll cut-out cover. I was hooked by the title and the pretty picture.

Summary from Goodreads:

Former Yale professor William Deresiewicz has been reading, teaching, and writing about Jane Austen for decades; now, at the conclusion of his academic career, he describes his almost lifelong personal encounter with an author whose insights transcend those revealed by mere scholarship. A Jane Austen Education illuminates the novelist’s craft by showing how her mastery of everyday relationships still speaks to our times. Deresiewicz’s unconventional memoir helps explain Austen’s extraordinary appeal among readers otherwise immune to classic literature.

My Review:

A man? Writing about Jane Austen? Really?

Those were the first thoughts through my head when I took this book out of the shipping envelope it came in. Then I remembered why I requested it – because I loved the cover and for that cover alone I was willing to give it a shot.

And as I began reading I began to really understand just why it’s a bit significant that a man wrote this book.

If you are anything like me, you’ve attempted to get at least one boyfriend to read Jane Austen. And then you have heard them scoff at the suggestion. William Deresiewicz did the same – he thought of Jane Austen as inane, dull, she just didn’t match up to the other great writers. He had pretentious thoughts based on his reading of Russian literature, of James Joyce and more. And then he was faced with the prospect of reading Emma.

And so his love of Jane Austen began – but not at first. Oh no, first he needed to be taught a lesson, he needed to learn that life is to be enjoyed for the little things that happen every day and for the relationships we form about us. This is just the first lesson.

This book wasn’t so much a memoir of Deresiewicz’s life as much as a lecture on Austen, I felt. And I enjoyed it for being just that. I found it smartly written, thought-provoking and filled with new insights (at least for me) on Austen’s works. I really enjoyed my time reading this book and plan to recommend it!

About the Author

William Deresiewicz was an associate professor of English at Yale University until 2008 and is a widely published book critic. His reviews and essays have appeared in The New York Times, The New Republic, The Nation, Bookforum, and The American Scholar. He was nominated for National Magazine awards in 2008 and 2009 and the National Book Critics Circle’s Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing in 2010.”

For more reviews on A Jane Austen Education by William Deresiewicz, please follow the book tour.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from TLC Book Tours. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

19 May, 2011

Black Heels to Tractor Wheels by Ree Drummond

5 comments

Austen, Deresuewucz

Black Heels to Tractor Wheels by Ree Drummond

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Reason(s) for Reading:

I visit The Pioneer Woman on a daily basis and love her recipes.

I also recommend:

The Pioneer Woman Cooks by Ree Drummond

Summary from GoodReads:

“That’s when I saw him—the cowboy—across the smoky room.”

I’ll never forget that night. It was like a romance novel, an old Broadway musical, and a John Wayne western rolled into one. Out for a quick drink with friends, I wasn’t looking to meet anyone, let alone a tall, rugged cowboy who lived on a cattle ranch miles away from my cultured, corporate hometown. But before I knew it, I’d been struck with a lightning bolt . . . and I was completely powerless to stop it.

Read along as I recount the rip-roaring details of my unlikely romance with a chaps-wearing cowboy, from the early days of our courtship (complete with cows, horses, prairie fire, and passion) all the way through the first year of our marriage, which would be filled with more challenge and strife—and manure—than I ever could have expected.

This isn’t just my love story; it’s a universal tale of passion, romance, and all-encompassing love that sweeps us off our feet.

It’s the story of a cowboy.

And Wranglers.

And chaps.

And the girl who fell in love with them.

My Review:

I am a hopeless romantic. I’m also a bit of a cheeseball (as my family will vehemently attest to). In addition, I can thoroughly understand the lure of Wranglers, and cowboy hats, and cowboy boots, and work-roughened hands. So it was inevitable that I pick up this book.

I’ve been a follower of Ree’s blog for a few years now. I picked up her cookbook when it was released and took the opportunity to meet the lady and her sister, Betsy. They were sweet, and perfect. I loved every minute of the five hours I spent waiting for my 30 seconds of hello.

I first started reading her love story on her blog about 5 months ago, but I struggled because I like to do my reading lying down, and sitting at a computer doesn’t really let you do that. So I was thrilled when I saw her story was picked up by a publisher and that I’d be able to indulge to my pj’d, warm blanketed delight.

I’m not going to say this book is filled with some of the best writing out there. I mean, how many times can a guy be described the way Ree describes him. Of course, that doesn’t mean I didn’t love it every time she did it either (see earlier descriptions of myself). Ultimately, this story is for those women out there who, like myself, love the idea of love and want to also experience a bit of the reality of it. Yes, Ree paints things in an incredibly rosy light when it comes to Malboro Man, but not everything in the story is painted as such. There are laugh out loud humilating moments, moments when she is completedly candid about things that paint her in a less-than-flattering light.. but the story has a ring of truth to it and it gives me hope – not necessarily for myself.. but hope that there are still couples out there that are that madly in love and their children are there to see that example set.

This is the perfect story to give that gal in your life (or yourself!) who loves a pure love story. Fun, tear-inducingly hilarious, sweet and everything else it was promised to be.

Check out these review(s):

Silly Little Mischief

19 February, 2011

Comedy, Memoirs, reviews

0 comments

City, Country, Cowboys, Kisses, Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond

Cheap Cabernet by Cathie Beck

Cheap Cabernet by Cathie Beck

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Confessions of a Rebel Debutante by Anna Fields

Reason(s) for Reading:

I won this title from LibraryThing first reads and decided to give it a shot.

I also recommend:

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Summary from GoodReads:

I didn’t know that people come into our lives, and sometimes, if we’re terribly lucky, we get the chance to love them, that sometimes they stay, that sometimes you can, truly, depend on them. Cathie Beck was in her late thirties and finally able to exhale after a lifetime of just trying to get by. A teenage mother harboring vivid memories of her own hardscrabble childhood, Cathie had spent years doing whatever it took to give her children the stability–or at least the illusion of it–that she’d never had. More than that, through sheer will and determination, she had educated them and herself too. With her kids in college, Cathie was at last ready to have some fun. The only problem was that she had no idea how to do it and no friends to do it with. So she put an ad in the paper for a made-up women’s group: WOW . . . Women on the Way. Eight women showed up that first night, and out of that group a friendship formed, one of those meteoric, passionate, stand-by-you friendships that come around once in a lifetime and change you forever . . . if you’re lucky.

My Review:

It’s not often I finish a memoir and think, “My goodness, this would make an interesting book club read”. But Cheap Cabernet brought that thought immediately to the forefront more than once as I read through Cathie Beck’s story.

As a 39 year old woman, Cathie has two grown children and an empty home. She’s lonely and she needs friends – so she does what most women would never even consider doing, she starts a woman’s club with eight strangers. And one of those strangers is Denise.

To be honest, I didn’t think I was going to enjoy this memoir. I knew I needed to read it and review it and was, in a way, sort of dreading it because I figured it was going to be another “pity me my life sucks” story. It had all the ingredients, teenage mother, skipped-out husband, friend with MS, horrible family life growing up – yup, all there. But still Cathie manages to be upbeat, to learn from Denise, to explore and challenge fear more than once. Basically, Cathie made memories of life with Denise – at a time when Denise was losing her life.

I did not once get a “pity me” feeling from this book. The hard things were talked about matter-of-factly, the good times were talked about much the same. There are lots of fun stories, scary stories and heart-breaking stories of memories shared by Denise and Cathie.

Mostly though – I think this book does what it’s labeled to do. It talks about a friendship, a special friendship. And man, it would make a good book club discussion book.

Check out these review(s):

Beck, Friendship, Multiple Sclerosis

Confessions of a Rebel Debutante by Anna Fields

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