MemoirsCategory Archives

Lies My Mother Never Told Me: A Memoir by Kaylie Jones

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Short Summary:

Her mother was a brainy knockout with the sultry beauty of Marilyn Monroe, a raconteur whose fierce wit could shock an audience into hilarity or silence. Her father was a distinguished figure in American letters, the National Book Award–winning author of four of the greatest novels of World War II ever written. A daughter of privilege with a seemingly fairy-tale-like life, Kaylie Jones was raised in the Hamptons via France in the 1960s and ’70s, surrounded by the glitterati who orbited her famous father, James Jones.

My Review:

Memoirs seem to be hit and miss for me this year. When offered the opportunity to read Lies My Mother Never Told Me I jumped on it because, honestly, the title is great and it looked interesting. My mistake was not looking to see who it was about and learning more about it.

Normally this wouldn’t be a big deal. Most memoirs I read are about people I’ve never been “introduced” to. That’s the whole point of a memoir, right? Getting to know someone. It was different in this book though. Because Kaylie Jones is the daughter of a famous writer (James Jones), there was a lot.. and I do mean a lot… of name-dropping in this book. Mostly names I’d never heard of due to the writers/actors/directors being people outside of the circle I am usually interested in.

This would not have been a big deal to me, I’m always happy to expand that circle, if I hadn’t felt so put off by everything she was writing. I felt as if she was writing to impress and as if she was just a bit whiny, to be honest. While I could feel sympathy for her and how she was raised, still.. she was the recipient of so many things that most of us never get to see or do. This especially struck home when, while discussing her mothers estate, she and her husband were “okay” so long as her daughter received a private education and ivy league college.

Each section of the book begins with a short story told by her mother. I think these stories are where the title comes in (although I can’t be absolutely sure of that). Most of the stories went right over my head or were un-interesting. The only one that got a chuckle from me was the Frank Sinatra one.

I’ll shelve this memoir as another in a growing group of memoirs that seems to be written for a certain niche of people. To anyone unfamiliar with James Jones’ work, as I am, it just doesn’t carry anything of interest.

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About the Author

Kaylie Jones is the author of Lies My Mother Never Told Me, a Publishers Weekly starred review memoir chosen as one of the hottest summer reads by The Palm Beach Pulse, The Daily Beast, and The Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Kaylie was born in Paris, France and attended French schools until she returned with her family to the U.S. in 1974. Her father was the novelist James Jones.

To learn more please visit Kaylie Jones’ Website.

Find Kaylie Jones on Twitter here.

Find Kaylie Jones on Facebook here.

For more reviews of the book, 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.”

The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan

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Summary:

For Kelly Corrigan, family is everything. At thirty-six, she had a marriage that worked, two funny, active kids, and a weekly newspaper column. But even as a thriving adult, Kelly still saw herself as the daughter of garrulous Irish-American charmer George Corrigan. She was living deep within what she calls the Middle Place—”that sliver of time when parenthood and childhood overlap”—comfortably wedged between her adult duties and her parents’ care. But Kelly is abruptly shoved into coming-of-age when she finds a lump in her breast—and gets the diagnosis no one wants to hear. When George, too, learns that he has late-stage cancer, it is Kelly’s turn to take care of the man who had always taken care of her—and to show us a woman who finally takes the leap and grows up.

My Review:

When I started reading THE MIDDLE PLACE I expected to read a memoir about a woman who battled with breast cancer. What I got was a story about an incredible man, George “Greenie” Corrigan, and everything else just seemed to pale in comparison.

This book made me appreciate my own father. Like George Corrigan, my dad has an ability to make a stranger feel as if he or she is the most important person in the right there and then. My mom and I laugh whenever we take him out places because he enjoys just sitting down and striking up a conversation with whomever is closest to him – and he always finds something they are interested in to talk about. It’s what made him a fantastic minister and continues to make him a father that I love with all my heart today.

Kelly talks about how, as an adult, she is stuck somewhere in the middle place now, between being a daughter and a mother and struggling with finding her place in both roles. This was something I related to on so many levels. It’s such a difficult thing – trying to figure out what you are supposed to let go of and what to cling to. I can’t say I envied Kelly her parents because, like her, I have supportive, amazing parents who want to be actively involved in my life and, despite the ups and downs we have, I thank God daily for their support.

This book stirred something in me that was very personal. It’s a story full of quiet humor, love, strength and vulnerability and well worth the read.

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Happy Birthday to the most fantastic Dad.

I love you.

Summer at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart

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Summary:

SUMMER AT TIFFANY is a memoir of the summer of 1945, when Marjorie Jacobson and her best friend Marty travelled from the Kappa House at the University of Iowa to New York City, hoping to land sales jobs at Lord and Taylor or Sak’s Fifth Avenue. Turned away from the top department stores, they made their way to 57th Street where refusing to be deterred, Marty lead Marjorie into the legendary Tiffany store, and somehow these best friends talked their way into positions as pages–the first women to ever work on the sales floor. Their salary left them penniless and pondering the “Wheaties and Celery Diet,” but their diamond filled day–job was the envy of other romantic minded girls who had flocked to New York City that steamy June. Their dream was made complete by their Manhattan apartment–conveniently close to the dashing Navy Midshipmen at Columbia University, and their college friends summering on Long Island.

My Review:

I don’t know about you – but when I think memoir I think of some of the more depressing stories I’ve read; stories of abuse and abandonment. I don’t know when Memoir became synonymous with those subjects in my head but thank goodness Marjorie Hart was there this week to show me how different memoirs can be.

This book was one of the most pleasant, most nostalgic memoirs I’ve read. It almost felt like fiction in spots so fantastic were the names and the places being seen.

Tiffany has always been a magical name to me, I mean, what girl doesn’t love at least looking at sparkling diamonds or watching Audrey Hepburn on the screen as she emerges from a taxi in front of the famous store. I loved getting an “inside” look at what was like in the 40′s during wartime for these girls who made a place for women working in the established store.

Although there wasn’t as much store talk as I had hoped there would be, I still wasn’t disappointed. Marjorie has some amazing memories and brought goosebumps to my arms more than once as she described the scenes she was seeing in New York at the time of the Japanese surrender.

Overall the book was a very light, perfect summer memoir to read and I highly recommend it if you are looking for that perfect story to read on the beach.

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Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

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Summary:

In this profoundly affecting memoir from the internationally renowned author of The Caged Virgin, Ayaan Hirsi Ali tells her astonishing life story, from her traditional Muslim childhood in Somalia, Saudi Arabia, and Kenya, to her intellectual awakening and activism in the Netherlands, and her current life under armed guard in the West.

My Review:

Unlike Ayaan Hirsi Ali I grew up in a loving home with the right to practice religion freely. I was able to read Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte and dream of falling in love and marrying some day – knowing full well that the man I chose would be one I loved. The concept of abuse was foreign to me as was the idea that young girls were being genetically mutilated in countries across the globe from me.

As with all memoirs, I’m sure that there are parts of this book that were embellished as well as glossed over – but that does not distract from the powerful story that Ayaan tells.

Before starting to write this review (and while taking time to gather my own thoughts) I decided to read a few others, and while the reviews were interesting it was comments that really caught my eye. In the comments people were attacking one another based on their own religious views. I read attacks on Muslims, Christians and Mormons and marveled at the strength of a message and of one woman’s words to be able to incite people so angrily.

One review in particular had me a bit confused. It stated that, in the end, Ayaan turns away from God. I did not get that message from this book. Instead I saw a woman who was crying out for God wanting to understand why, in their interpretations, men were given license to abuse and mutilate women in the name of their faith. This was Ayaan’s life; things that she experienced, and while I did not read this book for “pleasure”, I did read it to be informed and to have my eyes opened. Seeing the world through Ayaan’s eyes only causes me to feel grateful and thankful for my own world and to pray in my own faith and spread the word to help fight against the abuse of others, be they women, children or men.

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The Piano Shop on the Left Bank: Discovering a Forgotten Passion in a Paris Atelier by Thaddeus Carhart

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Summary:

Walking his two young children to school every morning, Thad Carhart passes an unassuming little storefront in his Paris neighborhood. Intrigued by its simple sign—Desforges Pianos—he enters, only to have his way barred by the shop’s imperious owner. Unable to stifle his curiosity, he finally lands the proper introduction, and a world previously hidden is brought into view. Luc, the atelier’s master, proves an indispensable guide to the history and art of the piano. Intertwined with the story of a musical friendship are reflections on how pianos work, their glorious history, and stories of the people who care for them, from amateur pianists to the craftsmen who make the mechanism sing. The Piano Shop on the Left Bank is at once a beguiling portrait of a Paris not found on any map and a tender account of the awakening of a lost childhood passion.

My Review:

“You can never have too many dream pianos.” – Luc, Desforges Pianos

A book that was recently recommended to me, and which I loved, spurred me to further investigate more books similar to it. That book was A Romance on Three Legs: Glenn Gould’s Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Piano“>A Romance on Three Legs: Glenn Gould’s Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Piano by Katie Hafner. When I stumbled across The Piano Shop on the Left Bank I felt a little thrill and knew I was in for another treat, and I wasn’t disappointed.

While A Romance was a book more focused around one particular piano and the lives that it touched, The Piano Shop deals more with the technical aspects of repairing, restoring and re-awakening a love of music in Thad Carhart, the author of this memoir. Parts of the book read like a novel, a story about a man finding again his love and pleasure in creating music – and other parts of the book read like a technical manual, detailing the various processes of repairing and restoring pianos (something I was already somewhat familiar with, my own father being a piano technician for many years). There’s history – stories of famous composers, performers and piano builders, there’s opinions, some of which I share and some of which were new to me. And most of all, through it all, it’s easy to feel the love that the author has for music and for beautiful instruments in the way he thoroughly and thoughtfully weaves together the story.

Recently, while in Chicago I experienced an old bookstore. I walked in, smelled the musty smell of books that have seen more than I ever will in my lifetime. I chatted with the owner who sized me up with just a few questions and was able to match me with a book that was perfect for me. Much like the wand-maker in Harry Potter (for those of you who are still searching to understand what I’m talking about), Luc finds and matches up individuals to the perfect piano for them.

By the time I finished this book I found myself wishing I lived in Paris, just so that I could stop by Desforges and look for myself. I felt an aching to experience, once again, the feel of a perfect action and the sound of a well-tuned instrument. Maybe someday I’ll get to go there, it’s definitely something that’s made its way onto my bucket list.

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Angry Conversations with God: A Snarky but Authentic Spiritual Memoir by Susan E. Isaacs

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This book came along at the perfect moment in my life.

First, this is the second memoir I’ve read this week and this one, by far, stands out as combining all of the elements of what makes good reading. Humor, thoughtfulness, anger, honesty – it’s all contained along with a good dose of humility and, of course, faith.

I laughed out loud at several portions of this book. Basically, Susan has decided that her marriage with God is in serious jeopardy and she takes him to couples counseling with a pastor, Rudy. Rudy encourages Susan to give voice to God and Jesus (She believes the Holy Spirit just.. is around), so she can work through her perceptions and beliefs in an environment that is there to aid her in her faith.

Susan struggles (as I myself have struggled) with finding a good church, a good body of Christ to worship with, to be strengthened and encouraged by. And she does find some doozy’s, I’ll tell you that right now. She struggles with finding a mate, a man who fulfills her needs both spiritually and physically (and by this, she really struggles with finding someone who wants her sexually but is willing to wait until, as Beyonce says, “he puts a ring on it”).

SUSAN: Just say it: I’m angry and no one will like me.

GOD: No. I will not say that. But don’t you think we ached for you to find a lover you could share your whole life with? I used your teachers to encourage you creatively when the church could not. I used Georgina to build structure in your life when you had none. I used the Rock’n'Rollers to heal you, and Pedro to wake you up. I worked with whatever I got my hands on. Can you see that?

SUSAN: The church terrified me to live.

GOD: The church healed your wounds. The church introduced you to me. And you’re ungrateful because I didn’t adhere to your timetable?

It’s easy to get carried away with things and then, while repenting from them, blame God for not putting the right people in your life, blame Him for seemingly allowing temptation to step forward and take hold of you.

SUSAN: Well, you know who got the joke? You know who got me? You know who appreciated me and made me feel like I mattered? Heathens and drunks and potheads and Jews.

GOD: I sent whomever I could get!

SUSAN: That was you? You put those people in my life? Then why were you so upset when I fell in love with David?

GOD: Don’t boink the messenger.

JESUS: (To God) At least David was a Jew. She could have fallen for a pothead.

Through humor Susan takes us through her life, the ups and the downs. And how does it all end? .. Well I encourage you to check this book out and see for yourself.

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Dead End Gene Pool by Wendy Burden

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Bravo to Wendy Burden for writing what was seriously the most messed up, psychotic memoir I’ve read to date.

For those who don’t know, Wendy Burden is the Great-great-great-great Granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt. Yes, that Vanderbilt. Between reading about the morbid fascinations Wendy had growing up, suicidal dogs, alcoholic mothers, sexual deviancy… the list literally goes on and on.

As I read through the book I had two main threads of thought going on. Number One was: how much of a spoiled brat was this girl. Number Two was: Good lord, this book is way too long.

It just rambled and rambled. The last half of the book I really had to force myself to focus in on what I was reading because, at times, it felt as if I were just reading the same thing over and over, just in a different time and place. Too much.

I will say this for the writing though – Burton pulls of the snarky, wickedly funny humor with quite a bit of pizazz. I snorted with laughter quite a few times and it was only for those moments that I actually felt any desire to finish the book.

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