The Erratics
The Erratics

Author: Vicki Laveau-Harvie

Publisher: Knopf

Published: 2020-08-25

Total Pages: 159

ISBN-13: 0525658629

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Two sisters reckon with their toxic parents through the decline and death of their outlandishly tyrannical mother and with the care of their psychologically terrorized father, all relayed with dark humor and brutal honesty in this award-winning “brilliantly-written memoir... [that] reads like a novel” (best-selling author Margaret Atwood via Twitter). When her elderly mother is hospitalized unexpectedly, Vicki Laveau-Harvie and her sister travel to their parents' ranch home in Alberta, Canada, to help their father. Estranged from their parents for many years, they are horrified by what they discover on their arrival. For years their mother has camouflaged her manic delusions and savage unpredictability, and over the decades she has managed to shut herself and her husband away from the outside world, systematically starving him and making him a virtual prisoner in his own home. Rearranging their lives to be the daughters they were never allowed to be, the sisters focus their efforts on helping their father cope with the unending manipulations of their mother and encounter all the pressures that come with caring for elderly parents. And at every step they have to contend with their mother, whose favorite phrase during their childhood was: "I'll get you and you won't even know I'm doing it." Set against the natural world of the Canadian foothills ("in winter the cold will kill you, nothing personal"), this memoir—at once dark and hopeful—shatters precedents about grief, anger, and family trauma with surprising tenderness and humor.

Being Lolita
Being Lolita

Author: Alisson Wood

Publisher: Flatiron Books

Published: 2020-08-04

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 1250217229

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A dark relationship evolves between a high schooler and her English teacher in this breathtakingly powerful memoir about a young woman who must learn to rewrite her own story. “Have you ever read Lolita?” So begins seventeen-year-old Alisson’s metamorphosis from student to lover and then victim. A lonely and vulnerable high school senior, Alisson finds solace only in her writing—and in a young, charismatic English teacher, Mr. North. Mr. North gives Alisson a copy of Lolita to read, telling her it is a beautiful story about love. The book soon becomes the backdrop to a connection that blooms from a simple crush into a forbidden romance. But as Mr. North’s hold on her tightens, Alisson is forced to evaluate how much of their narrative is actually a disturbing fiction. In the wake of what becomes a deeply abusive relationship, Alisson is faced again and again with the story of her past, from rereading Lolita in college to working with teenage girls to becoming a professor of creative writing. It is only with that distance and perspective that she understands the ultimate power language has had on her—and how to harness that power to tell her own true story. Being Lolita is a stunning coming-of-age memoir that shines a bright light on our shifting perceptions of consent, vulnerability, and power. This is the story of what happens when a young woman realizes her entire narrative must be rewritten—and then takes back the pen to rewrite it.

Purge
Purge

Author: Nicole Johns

Publisher: ReadHowYouWant.com

Published: 2010-02

Total Pages: 302

ISBN-13: 1458766772

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Purge is a beautifully crafted memoir that has a Girl, Interrupted feel. In this raw and engaging account of her months in rehab, Nicole Johns documents her stay in a residential treatment facility for eating disorders. Her prose is lucid and vivid, as she seamlessly switches verb tenses and moves through time. She unearths several important themes: body image and sexuality, sexual assault and relationships, and the struggle to piece together one's path in life. While other books about eating disorders and treatment may sugarcoat the harsh realities of living with and recovering from an eating disorder, Purge does not hold back. The author presents an honest, detailed account of her experience with treatment, avoiding the clichd happily-ever-after ending while still offering hope to those who struggle with eating disorders, as well as anyone who has watched a loved one fight to recover from an eating disorder. Purge sends a message: though the road may be rough, ultimately there is hope.

All the Wrong Places: A Life Lost and Found
All the Wrong Places: A Life Lost and Found

Author: Philip Connors

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: 2015-02-16

Total Pages: 209

ISBN-13: 0393246485

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The prize-winning author of Fire Season returns with the heartrending story of his troubled years before finding solace in the wilderness. In his debut Fire Season, Philip Connors recounted with lyricism, wisdom, and grace his decade as a fire lookout high above remote New Mexico. Now he tells the story of what made solitude on the mountain so attractive: the years he spent reeling in the wake of a family tragedy. At the age of twenty-three, Connors was a young man on the make. He'd left behind the Minnesota pig farm on which he'd grown up and the brother with whom he'd never been especially close. He had a magazine job lined up in New York City and a future unfolding exactly as he’d hoped. Then one phone call out of the blue changed everything. All the Wrong Places is a searingly honest account of the aftermath of his brother's shocking death, exploring both the pathos and the unlikely humor of a life unmoored by loss. Beginning with the otherworldly beauty of a hot-air-balloon ride over the skies of Albuquerque and ending in the wilderness of the American borderlands, this is the story of a man paying tribute to the dead by unconsciously willing himself into all the wrong places, whether at the copy desk of the Wall Street Journal, the gritty streets of Bed-Stuy in the 1990s, or the smoking rubble of the World Trade Center. With ruthless clarity and a keen sense of the absurd, Connors slowly unmasks the truth about his brother and himself, to devastating effect. Like Cheryl Strayed's Wild, this is a powerful look back at wayward years—and a redemptive story about finding one's rightful home in the world.

Writing Is Cathartic
Writing Is Cathartic

Author: Writing Cathartic

Publisher:

Published: 2021-09-09

Total Pages: 100

ISBN-13:

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A journal for your everyday writer, who is a Mom, Daughter, Son, Poet, Author who loves to write and express their inner most feelings down on paper.

The Art of Cathartic Memoir
The Art of Cathartic Memoir

Author: Krista Burlae

Publisher: Balboa Press

Published: 2013-05-02

Total Pages: 114

ISBN-13: 1452570140

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For countless years, emotional pain has been a catalyst for creation. Musicians and mystics, artists and authors have transformed personal tragedy into works of sublime beautyand in doing so, often found inner peace. The Art of Cathartic Memoir explicitly shows writers how to recast their experiences into art while encouraging them to find such inner peace. It offers exercises, structure, and inspiration based on a wide range of literary, psychological, and spiritual sources. Drawing upon the ideas of Carolyn Myss, St. John of the Cross, and many others, The Art of Cathartic Memoir supports writers in constructing their life stories in a mystical yet artful way. Whether writing a full-length book or a shorter piece of memoir, The Art of Cathartic Memoir facilitates transformation on many levels and speaks to writers, why they need to create, what keeps them from it, and how to overcome resistance. Krista has been a friend and trusted editor for several years. She has worked with me and my brother on a manuscript authored by our deceased father. As a skilled writer, Krista quickly identified and sensitively corrected the technical and grammatical issues involved in dealing with a non-native English speaker. More importantly, she readily grasped the meaning and intent of what was written. She was able to delve into what our father was thinking and his motivation as he wrote particular passages and recalled specific scenes. A. Zygielbaum, Lincoln, Nebraska Kristas workshop and gentle facilitation enabled even the beginning writer to tap into skills never before realized. Her workshop gave me permission to play with words in my head and allow those words to dance on paper. D. Brown, Lincoln, Nebraska

Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls
Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls

Author: T Kira Madden

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2019-03-05

Total Pages: 247

ISBN-13: 1635571863

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“The book I wish I'd had growing up.” -Chanel Miller, author of Know My Name Best Books of 2019: Esquire O, The Oprah Magazine Variety Lit Hub Book Riot Electric Literature Autostraddle Finalist: NBCC John Leonard First Book Prize Lambda Literary Award New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice Selection Paste Best Memoirs of the Decade Elle Best Books of the Season Washington Post Best Books of the Month Indie Next Pick Indies Introduce Pick "A fearless debut." -New York Times "[A] gorgeous reckoning." -Washington Post "Flat out breathtaking." -Lit Hub "Gripping and gloriously written." -Elle "Utterly unforgettable." -NYLON "Unnervingly satisfying." -Oprah Magazine "Deeply compassionate." -NPR.org "Truly stunning." -Cosmopolitan Acclaimed literary essayist T Kira Madden's raw and redemptive debut memoir is about coming of age and reckoning with desire as a queer, biracial teenager amidst the fierce contradictions of Boca Raton, Florida, a place where she found cult-like privilege, shocking racial disparities, rampant white-collar crime, and powerfully destructive standards of beauty hiding in plain sight. As a child, Madden lived a life of extravagance, from her exclusive private school to her equestrian trophies and designer shoe-brand name. But under the surface was a wild instability. The only child of parents continually battling drug and alcohol addictions, Madden confronted her environment alone. Facing a culture of assault and objectification, she found lifelines in the desperately loving friendships of fatherless girls. With unflinching honesty and lyrical prose, spanning from 1960s Hawai'i to the present-day struggle of a young woman mourning the loss of a father while unearthing truths that reframe her reality, Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls is equal parts eulogy and love letter. It's a story about trauma and forgiveness, about families of blood and affinity, both lost and found, unmade and rebuilt, crooked and beautiful. One of the Most Anticipated Books of the Year: Entertainment Weekly, Huffington Post, BuzzFeed, The Millions, Nylon, The Rumpus, Electric Literature, Lit Hub, Refinery29, and many more

What Is Your Catharsis? 
What Is Your Catharsis? 

Author: Bhaanvee Anthraper

Publisher: Notion Press

Published: 2021-09-27

Total Pages: 63

ISBN-13: 1639975810

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Do you have any idea what it’s like to tap into your suppressed emotions? The author of this book went so far as to name her emotions Kath. Short for Katharsis. What Is Your Catharsis? is a collection of letters and poems that allow you to feel; feel anger, love, vengeance, forgiveness, nostalgia, disgust amid the myriad of emotions we feel daily. You are going to be privy to some of the most unique characters who will change the way you look at life; some you may want to embrace and some you may want to unmeet. But what they do have in common is that they burst with emotion. Sometimes it’s easier to feel somebody else’s emotions than feeling your own. So allow yourself to feel intense emotions from a distance and let it all out when a character you relate to experiences catharsis. Remember, catharsis is power, and to use this power, you must undergo emotions. When something makes you smile, stop for a minute. Highlight a quote that reminds you of someone. Divulge in the nostalgic experiences in the book and look at your old photos. Read on, and let What Is Your Catharsis? help you find your catharsis.