Published by: Penguin

Published on: October 31, 2011

Page Count: 288

Genre: Memoir

My Reading Format: Audiobook sent to me for review through Audiobook Jukebox’s Solid Gold Reviewer program

Audiobook Published by: Blackstone Audio

Narrator: Carrington MacDuffie

Audiobook Length: 9 hours and 4 minutes

Available Formats: Hardcover, eBook and Audiobook

My Review

Donna Johnson’s mother grew up in a strict religious home. Her mother had a talent for playing the organ and, after a disastrous marriage, returned to her hometown with her tail tucked between her legs. She gains her footing once again when a young traveling preacher by the name of David Terrell visits her church. When Brother Terrell left town, Donna’s mother went with him, serving as the music minister. She brought her two young children with her. Donna was only three years old at the time. What follows is a childhood lived off and on the great sawdust trail blazed by Terrell and what happens when fundamentalist Christians don’t live up to the tenants of their faith.

Knowing nothing more than the premise of the memoir when I began, I found the unfolding of the story enthralling. For those readers who haven’t read a more detailed description, I am not going to discuss anything specific here. Donna Johnson has lived an extraordinary if not chaotic life. That she took the time to share the experiences of her young life is a gift. There were things that happened on that revival trail that were shameful, hurtful and dangerous. At the same time, people outside of David Terrell’s inner circle were healed in all ways possible. Johnson had all the reason in the world to simply shine the harsh spotlight on the scandalous, but she never hid those things that she cannot to this day explain. In that way I understood the draw of the tent. What’s real is what is in the heart of the believer. It matters not what is in the heart of the preacher or whether another single person under that tent believes along with you.

I was more than interested in reading this memoir and was pleased to have been selected for the Solid Gold Reviewer program. Growing up Roman Catholic, my religious upbringing was traditional and, while strict, not stifling. I was often bored of the services and wondered what it was like to have been brought up in a fundamentalist home. From the outside, those services always seemed lively and passionate. I wanted to know more. Donna Johnson wrote her memoir as if directly answering my questions. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise to me that this was a case of the grass being greener.

Carrington MacDuffie was fantastic as narrator. She made the atmosphere of a tent revival come to life. When she narrated Brother Terrell’s sections, I was glued to the story. She brought his charisma through the speakers. The Paris Wife was my first experience with MacDuffie as narrator. While I thought she did a good job with the story, it’s clear to me now that it didn’t do her justice. She thoroughly shined while reading Holy Ghost Girl.

Holy Ghost Girl is, like The Glass Castle, an example of why I enjoy reading memoirs. Donna Johnson grew up in less than ideal circumstances and was able to grow as a result. What might have given others an excuse not to take responsibility for their lives led her to ask questions. In her memoir, she explores the past and the questions it raised without bitterness. I find memoirs like this thought provoking and inspirational. You will, too.  Pick up a copy of Holy Ghost Girl and see for yourself.

A Year and Six Seconds: A Love Story by Isabel Gillies

Published by: Voice

Published on: August 2011

Page Count: 256

Genre: Memoir

My Reading Format: Audiobook provided to me by the narrator for consideration

Audiobook Published by: Tantor Audio

Narrator: Karen White

Audiobook Length: 6 hours 48 minutes

Available Formats: Hardcover, eBook and Audiobook

My Review

Isabel Gillies, the actress best know for playing Detective Stabler’s wife on Law & Order: SVU, was married with two young sons living in an Ohio college town when her husband asks her for a divorce. He has fallen in love with another woman. As there was no turning back, Isabel moves with her sons back to her parents’ lovely rent controlled apartment in Manhattan. It is there that she grieves her marriage, adapts to single motherhood, and finds a new footing for her life.

After reading A Year and Six Seconds and reflecting on Eat, Pray, Love while doing so, I’ve come to realize that divorce memoirs aren’t my cup of tea. I suppose on the one hand this is a good thing because I certainly never want to live through the experience myself. Even though these types of memoirs seem to end with the author in a much better place, I’m just not very interested in the details of why this person’s marriage  didn’t work out. These books start off strong for me. I enjoyed the first sections where Gillies describes how someone can fall in love in six seconds. The endings of her marriage and the beginnings of her new life back in her parent’s rent controlled apartment in Manhattan were interesting. It was what happened between those rough and tumble beginnings and the happy ending that seemed long and repetitive. At that point, unimportant details seemed like unnecessary speed bumps. For example, there is an important scene between Gillies and her mother. At the beginning of the scene, she is in her childhood bedroom with her sons. Before getting to what was important in that encounter, Gillies makes a point to write about her telling her sons to say hello to their grandmother. I know she loves her children. She is a good mother. However, in that situation, their presence and the prompt to say hello added nothing to the story. It made this reader, who was more than ready to get beyond the “what did I do wrongs,” impatient.

This audiobook is narrated by Karen White. She did a wonderful job rolling with the punches and small joys that filled Isabel’s Gillies’ account of her divorce and its aftermath. It was her reading of the book that made it possible for me to finish. Regardless of how I liked Isabel Gillies, I would have lost interest in the book in print somewhere in the middle. Luckily, with Karen White narrated the meat of the story, it was impossible not to continue. The way she read the scene where Gillies parents’ had to have bars placed over their beautiful window was perfect. I can honestly say that I’m glad I finished the book because the last 45 minutes redeemed the experience for me. There is a scene where Karen’s reading brings out the beauty in an otherwise sad experience that warmed my heart.

To Gillies credit, I never once considered tossing the CD across the room the way I did with Elizabeth Gilbert’s memoir. She is a kind, down to earth woman who means well in all that she does. I did think she was overly generous to her ex-husband, but in a world where people are tearing each other’s throats out in the public arena for less, this was something like a breath of fresh air. I liked her and I wanted her to be happy. While A Year and Six Seconds wasn’t a perfect read, but I am glad that I finished it. I simply would have preferred the middle section of the book to have been condensed.

Townie by Andre Dubus III

Published by: W. W. Norton & Company

Published on: February 28, 2011

Page Count: 400

Genre: Memoir

My Reading Format: Audiobook sent to me by Blackstone Audio for consideration

Audiobook Published by: Blackstone Audio

Narrator: Andre Dubus III

Audiobook Length: 14 hours 34 minutes

Available Formats: Hardcover, eBook and audiobook (paperback scheduled for release on February 6, 2012)

My Review

Today, Andre Dubus III is a sucessful novelist and a faculty member at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Despite being the son of writer Andre Dubus, his life didn’t lead him to this path directly or easily. After his parent’s divorce, Andre and his three siblings grew up with their mother in a poor neighborhood in neighborhoods around the Merrimack River. Their father paid what he could in child support, but he was not present in his children’s lives. The four Dubus children had to find their own way to survive poverty and the daily threat of violence. As an adult, father and son grow closer, but the pride his father has for him feels shallow because the senior Dubus knew nothing of the events that brought him to that place. Townie explores the childhood stories Dubus’ father never saw.

I have long admired Andre Dubus III. During graduate school many of my fellow students and friends raved about him. I read several articles about him and even purchased a copy of The House of Sand and Fog. For whatever reason, I wasn’t able to get to it. Then, the result of Stephen King’s raves about The Garden of Last Days in Entertainment Weekly,w I picked that up as well. It got lost in the mix with my review books. Dubus was brought back to mind when I read about his memoir and heard about the production of the audiobook. I knew I had to get started.  Townie was a perfect place to start.

Townie was  in turns heartbreaking, edgy and inspirational. The three eldest Dubus children used the freedom of growing up in the home of a single parent by experimenting with drugs. In fact, Suzanne helped to feed her siblings with the money she earned selling pot. Outside of the home lingered other dangers. The neighborhoods in which they grew up was filled with other kids who thrived on physical violence. He would regularly take beatings. His day-to-day life clashed drastically with the Sunday visits with his father, where they would attend Mass. He desperately wanted to  tell his dad what his life really was like, especially at those times when his father discovers that he has never been exposed to typical childhood pursuits like sports. When he gets to a point where he’s tired of being scared in his own neighborhood, he vows to do what it takes to be able to hit first and hit hard. His life takes a dramatically different direction and not one that seemingly leads to becoming an author. Yet, as he hones his body into that of a fighter, he never loses his longing for something more.

When the audiobook began, I wasn’t sure if Andre Dubus’ reading style was going to gel with me. I was glad that I was interested in what he was saying because otherwise I wasn’t certain I would finish the book. Over the course of the first few chapters, that changed. His voice and his cadence evoked the environment in which he grew up. It began to feel as though I wasn’t driving to and from work or sitting on the couch crocheting. I was nursing a beer at a local bar while first a stranger and then a friend told me his life story. The pride, the fear, the guilt, the confusion and the coming to terms were laid before me naked to take in and process. This story, which began tentatively, became a precious gift.

Andre Dubus III’s story is an American story. His journey through poverty, growing up in a broken home, violence, education, Marxism and contented happiness may not seem much like an American dream, but it is. Dubus took the cards he was dealt and forced himself to make the most of it. Without guidance or supervision, he made his body and will strong without neglecting the morality he pieced together along the way. So many people fill in “I am X because my parents (fill in the blank)” with all sorts of unfortunate realities. Dubus ultimately chose to fill it in with “an author and a loving husband and father.” To be able to look back, let the blame pass away and  continued to love and respect those who could have and should have done better by him was an inspiration.

See a Little Light: The Trail of Rage and Melody

Published by: Little, Brown & Company

Published on: June 15, 2011

Page Count: 416

Genre: Memoir

My Reading Format: Audiobook sent to me for review from Hachette Audio.

Audiobook Published by: Hachette Audio

Narrator: Bob Mould

Audiobook Length: 12 hours 34 minutes

Available Formats: Hardcover, eBook and Audiobook

My Review

Coming from a dysfunctional home is so often a recipe for disaster. It’s refreshing when a person who grew up in a less than ideal home makes good. This is the case with Bob Mould. Shortly after he was born, Mould’s older brother passed away. This loss precipitated his father’s decline into alcoholism and abuse. Although his mother and sister were the primary targets, his childhood was stressful and uncomfortable. Mould turned to music. His interest and natural talent led him down a path that started with his punk rock band Hüsker Dü and continues to this day with his work as a singer/songwriter as well as DJing dance music parties. This isn’t to say that Mould left his upper New York hometown without a glitch. He had demons of his own to overcome in order find himself and his place in the homosexual community. See a Little Light gives his fans and music lovers unflinching insight into his journey.

As much as I would love for it to have been otherwise, Hüsker Dü was a band before my time. Although many of the artists who have meant so much to me list them as an influence, punk music was never something I listened to more than casually. When my musical tastes matured, it was what followed punk that captured my heart and imagination. I did not personally become aware of Bob Mould or his work until Sugar’s Copper Blue. I bought it with birthday money from my 21st birthday and treasured it. It was for this reason that I See a Little Light was a must for me. My 21st year wasn’t my easiest. My heart was broken, my uncle committed suicide and I was absolutely miserable at the prospect of beginning a teaching career. When I look back at my early adulthood, Sugar is most definitely there. It was somewhat of a mess and Copper Blue was one of my go-to albums during that time. Because it meant so much to me, listening to Mould recall recording that album and forming Sugar was one of the highlights of this audiobook.

Bob Mould may be an extremely talented musician, but See a Little Light was about much more than his success in the music industry. His sexuality and his relationships are central to who he is as a man, let alone as a musician. His article in Spin magazine, for all of the hoopla about his “I am not a freak” statement, was eye opening for this young Midwestern girl. I wasn’t unduly shocked that Bob Mould was gay. I never gave his love life much thought beforehand. What shocked me was that he was a man who rocked as hard if not harder than anyone else I listened to and he was gay.  I’m embarrassed to admit to this misconception today, but before Bob Mould, homosexual men were flamboyant people such as Liberace, the Village People or Boy George.

Bob Mould is painfully honest about his sex life, proving that love and lifestyle are minefields for everyone. His relationship during Hüsker Dü was not out of the ordinary for people in their earlier 20s. It was the second half of his relationship with Kevin O’Neill that was so difficult to watch. It’s unfortunate that one can’t see one’s relationships objectively at the time.  It’s amazing what humans, be they gay or straight, will do to keep a miserable relationship together. Love and the desperate grasp at what was once love is universal. While there were a couple instances of too much information, Mould’s “late bloomer” discovery of single life as a gay man was interesting enlightening. Since so much of what he wrote about was serious, it was refreshing to see him liberated and satisfied.

I can not imagine this book being narrating by anyone other than Bob Mould, but he is not a natural narrator. He is at his best when he is passionate. When he discussed his discovery of the Ramones and his love of punk music, it was as if you were sitting right next to him, catching the fever right along with him. Even his interest in professional wrestling reached out through his words. When he was discussing more serious and sometimes hurtful events, his narration wasn’t as polished. There were often times that he sighed and spoke too quickly at the end of sentences. While this wouldn’t have worked for me at all in another book, it lent credence to Mould’s professed inability to talk openly and effectively about difficult things. It always stood out, but it provided me with a sense of the artist I wouldn’t have otherwise gotten had I read the book in print.

Everything I expected and wanted from this memoir were there. It provided a look at what makes Mould tick as an artist, I learned about the origins of some of my favorite music from my early 20s, and he included some interesting tidbits of information about some of my other favorite musicians. This memoir, however, is much more than a simple record of an interesting time in music history. It’s the story of how a successful man with troubled beginnings and a few vices to overcome approached middle life. He continues to grow and expand. He made a place for himself in his community and discovered a love for dance music. He most definitely didn’t settle in to the patterns already set in place. He retained what worked for him and dropped what did not. I’m not at all sure this is what he intended, but that meant a lot to me as a reader approaching her 40th birthday.

In the past year, there have been several high profile rock star memoirs. Where Keith Richards and Steven Tyler were barely a blip on my radar, Bob Mould’s book was like a blazing neon sign. Where his work with Sugar was the music I needed at that time in my life, See a Little Light was the right memoir for me to read now. What might have made me scoff in a self-help book or roll my eyes at in light fiction hit home for me in this venue. I wanted to listen to this book because Bob Mould is an incredible musician who affected me and continues to influence some of the most amazing bands today. I choose to recommend See a Little Light because there is so much more to him and to his story than just that.

Ever By My Side: A Memoir in Eight [Acts] Pets

Published by: Broadway

Published on: February 2011

Page Count: 320

Genre: Memoir

My Reading Format: Audiobook purchased using a monthly Audible credit

Audiobook Published by: Tantor Audio

Narrator: Simon Vance

Audiobook Length: 9 hours

Available Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook

My Review

Veterinarians, just like members of any other profession, are made, not born. What led young Nick Trout from his upbringings in England to his passion as a veterinarian surgeon isn’t as simple as being a lifelong lover of animals. It was the culmination of his relationship with his father, his mother and sister, and the pets he’s had or gotten to know along the way. His journey didn’t end upon graduation from University of Cambridge. It continued on through each part of his adult life. He tells his story, which is neither fantastic nor ordinary fluidly and with a humor unanticipated by this first-time Nick Trout reader.

I am not an animal lover by nature. It’s not that I don’t like them. I just have extremely little experience with them. Unlike my daughters, I never enjoyed zoos as a child. There were times that my siblings and I begged our parents for a dog. Knowing how much responsibility came with dogs, my parents never gave in to our pleading – even the time we worked up a pretty complex presentation for them. My husband also grew up largely without pets. Once we were married and moved into our own home, we never pursued pets of our own. You may be surprised that I ever picked up a copy Ever By My Side to listen to at all, even with Simon Vance as narrator. To be honest, you’re not wrong. There are so many things I am interested in that non-fiction about pets is something my eyes barely scan. That changed in this instance after I read a blog post about Ever By My Side on Simon Vance’s website. His heartfelt response to this book put in on my must listen list. I am happy that I did. Dr. Nick Trout’s discussion of his journey to and through his veterinary career was interesting and compelling.

There were many aspects of this memoir that were interesting: his early experiences as a veterinarian, selecting his daughter’s first puppy and joining a household with a resident cat, what stands out to me the most about Ever By My Side was the relationship between Nick Trout, his father and his father’s dogs. The first family dog, who was really his father’s dog, entered the house without the agreement of Mrs. Trout. I thoroughly enjoyed how the household adapted to the new family member. I could see my own dad doing something like that. It was interesting how the vision of veterinary school and Nick Trout’s future career diverged between father and son. There relationship was a thread woven throughout Ever By My Side. Pets aren’t the only creatures who stand by you no matter what you choose to do in life. All who stand ever beside you are your greatest blessings.

I fear I’m beginning to sound like a broken record, but this is yet another excellent audiobook narrated by Simon Vance. That he himself is an animal lover added to the performance. That the book prompted him to write that beautiful post about his pets past and present was clear to me as I listened. Nick Trout’s memoir could not have been narrated better by anyone else.

I’m not sure what higher recommendation I can give Ever By My Side than to say that I was invested in Trout’s story from the very beginning. This woman, who was once a girl who easily grew bored at zoos, smiled, laughed, pondered and, in a few places, cried my way through this memoir. This isn’t just a memoir for animal lovers or those who would like to a look at the life of a veterinarian. It’s a memoir for everyone who appreciates how deeply humans can experience relationships with each other and with the animals who capture their hearts.

Everything I Never Wanted to Be: a memoir of alcoholism and addiction, faith and family, hope and humor

Published by: Dream of Things

Published on: October, 2010

Page Count: 204

Genre: Memoir

My Reading Format: ARC sent to me by the publisher

Available Formats: Paperback

I have a lot of fun working as a tour host for TLC Book Tours.  They always have great books and authors on tour.  Check out their website for more information on this tour and the others that they are hosting.

Everything I Never Wanted to Be is a look inside the cycle of substance abuse. Everywhere Ms. Kucera turned, there were adults using alcohol or pills to cope with life. It’s no wonder that she ended up dropping out of high school after the 9th grade. There wasn’t a parent responsible enough to counsel against it. From there, she ended up divorced with two daughters by the age of 19. She herself started using alcohol to get through each day. In fact, she wasn’t sober until her youngest daughter was hitting adolescence. As her second husband abused marijuana until about the same time. Is there any surprise that all three of Ms. Kucera’s daughters became substance abusers as well? In fact, what she found was that her children got involved with even more destructive drugs at an earlier age.

She discusses how addicts can delude themselves into thinking they don’t have a problem because they don’t fall into X or Y category. She discusses the difficulty in raising children with dependencies. She had to work through a lot of blame because she found that blaming herself got no one anywhere. Most importantly, her humor was everywhere. Without that, she would probably be locked up and the book, which probably would never have seen the light of day, would have been much too morose.

Ms. Kucera could have used a good editor. My main issue with the book was that she tended to wander in her storytelling. For example, from out of nowhere she mentions how she and her family spoiled her youngest brother as much as they could because they were poor. Just as quickly she’s on to something else. I found myself in Sr. Irene Mary’s shoes, mumbling about the benefits of using index cards to organize your thoughts. For example, I am sure that this fact about her youngest brother is important to her, but was it important to her story?

As much as her tales of parenting drug addicts scared the death out of me, I am glad that I read it. While not perfect, Dina Kucera’s story of her life surrounded by drug and alcohol abuse was quite compelling. I read it in just a day.  She shows that it’s never too late to make a change in your life for the better. I hope that she is proud of how she’s turning her life and her family around. Her humor and her offbeat look at faith and God worked well for me. I wish her and her family health and happiness in the future. Here’s hoping she never has to spend another hour working behind a checkout counter again.

Dina Kucera’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS

Tuesday, November 9th: Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

Wednesday, November 10th: Sara’s Organized Chaos

Tuesday, November 16th: Silver & Grace

Wednesday, November 17th: Knowing the Difference

Thursday, November 18th: A Fair Substitute for Heaven

Thursday, November 23rd: Lit and Life

Tuesday, November 30th: Suko’s Notebook

Wednesday, December 1st: {indie}pendent books

Thursday, December 2nd: my books. my life.

Monday, December 6th: Books Like Breathing

Tuesday, December 7th: Natty Michelle

Thursday, December 9th: Lisa’s Yarns

Monday, December 13th: Reading on a Rainy Day

Tuesday, December 14th: Rundpinne

Wednesday, December 15th: Tina’s Book Reviews

Thursday, December 16th: Life In Pink

Not That Kind of Girl

Published by: HarperCollins

Published on: June 29, 2010

Page Count: 288

Genre: Memoir

My Reading Format: Trade paperback review copy provided by the publisher.

Available Formats: Hardcover, paperback, eBook

I have a lot of fun working as a tour host for TLC Book Tours.  They always have great books and authors on tour.  Check out their website for more information on this tour and the others that they are hosting.

Raised in evangelical churches that preached apocalypse now, Carlene Bauer grows up happy to oblige the God who presides over her New Jersey girlhood. But in high school and college, her intellectual and spiritual horizons widen, and she becomes skeptical of the judgmental God she’s been given. Still, she finds it hard to let go of the ideals she’s been raised with, and to rebel as she knows she should. She loves rock and roll, but politely declines offers of sex and drugs; she thinks the Bible and the Norton Anthology of American Literature are equally authoritative guides to life. Since there are no churches worshipping the Jesus Paul Westerberg sang about in “Can’t Hardly Wait,” and no tidy categories for those who are neither riot grrrls nor altar girls, she hovers between a hunger for the world and a suspicion of it.

In her twenties, however, determined to make up for lost time, Bauer undertakes a belated and often comic coming-of-age in New York City. Between late blooming at parties and staying late at work, it seems that she might become as bold as she’d hoped to be—even if the late blooming is a little more hapless than highly erotic. And yet the city and its pleasures do not distract her from another hope: that she might learn how to have a faith that she can truly call her own. Enter the Catholic Church, and a conversion. But then she falls in love, and loses her religion—which leaves her wondering just what it means to be good.

Sharply written, hilarious, and touching, Not That Kind of Girl is the story of one young woman’s efforts to define worldliness, ambition, and love on her own terms—while believing in, among other things, The Smiths, Virginia Woolf, and the transformative power of New York City. Fellow restless seekers will find solace in Bauer’s struggle to create meaning in the face of overwhelming doubt, and fall in love with the highly original voice at the center of this unforgettable debut.

My Review

All things pointed to me loving Not That Kind of Girl, a spiritual memoir by Carlene Bauer.  She tells of her upbringing in an evangelical Christian home, her conversion to Catholicism, and ultimately letting go of God and her inner good-girl. I’m intersted in the stories of those who grew up in an evangelical household because it’s so much different than my own, Catholic upbringing. That she later chose to become Catholic made me want to find out why.  Once I started reading, I discovered that we are roughly the same age and that we share very similar musical tastes and influences I became even more excited. While very well written, Not That Kind of Girl did not work well for me. Bauer is extremely intelligent and is logical in the examination of her spiritual history. It’s just that cerebral approach that kept me at an arm’s distance.  She provided intellectual arguments for who she was and the choices she made, but she doesn’t let her readers see into her heart.

While very different memoirs, Not That Kind of Girl reminded me of Eat, Pray, Love.  In both memoirs, I felt that the author were prone to over-analyzing.  In tone, this memoir reminded me of The Mistress’ Daughter.  Both are well written memoirs, but with a cynical edge that made the authors remote and untouchable.  That’s not why I read memoirs.  I read them because I want to share in another person’s experiences, be they delightful or terrifying.  It’s a way of connecting to others and consider my own life.  I just wasn’t able to get that close this time.

Because of the potential it had at the start, I wish that I had enjoyed this memoir more.  I have always been curious evangelical churches.  To someone used to the same routine week in and week out, those services seem so alive.  Having attended many such services over the years, they just haven’t clicked with me.  As lively as they are, they’ve never clicked with my soul the way the Mass has as I’ve grown older and matured.  I really wanted to know why Ms. Bauer left and joined the Catholic Church.  In the end, I never really understood.  She related to Dorothy Day and her conversion.  She liked the Liberation Theology and the focus on social justice.  Still, knowing about the history of the Church and the sexual abuse scandals, she converts.  Shortly thereafter, she finds herself unable to sit through Mass thinking about what the priest might have done, might have thought to do, or might have covered up.  Without the emotional connection to the author, it all seemed hollow.

I am glad that Ms. Bauer is happy with her life in New York and with the spiritual choices she’s made.  Perhaps her memoir would be more up your alley, though.  If you’d be interested in reading Not That Kind of Girl, I would be happy to send you my gently read copy.  Leave a comment here letting me know.  I’ll use my favorite Randomizer to select the lucky reader.

Please be sure to check out the rest of the stops on this tour:

Thursday, July 1st: Tales of a Capricious Reader

Tuesday, July 6th: The Book Nest

Monday, July 12th: Drey’sLibrary

Wednesday, July 14th: As Usual, I Need More Bookshelves

Thursday, July 15th: she reads and reads

Tuesday, July 20th: Heart 2 Heart

Friday, July 23rd: Knowing the Difference

Monday, July 26th: Bookshipper

Tuesday, July 27th: Life In Pink

Wednesday, July 28th: my books. my life.

Thursday, July 29th: Suko’s Notebook

Friday, July 30th: A Fair Substitute for Heaven

Monday, August 2nd: A Certain Bent Appeal

Wednesday, August 4th: Sara’s Organized Chaos

This Time Together: Laughter and Reflection

Published by: Crown Publishing Group

Published on: April, 2010

Page Count: 288

Genre: Memoir / Personal Essays

My Reading Format: Audiobook purchased in CD format from my local Barnes & Noble store

Available Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook

This Time Together is a collection of Carol Burnett’s memories from her life.  This book sprang from her question and answers tour, similarly to how she used to open The Carol Burnett Show each week.  Since she won’t be performing this show much any more, she tried to answer some of the questions she’s answered over time for those who haven’t seen her show.

I have loved Carol Burnett for as long as I can remember. Although I was alive when her comedy sketch show was originally taping, I’m quite sure I watched them in reruns because I had a strict 8pm bedtime until I was in junior high. It was her “Went With the Wind” sketch that first brought Gone With the Wind to my radar screen and for that I’ll be forever grateful for that introduction. What I love the most about that show was how Tim Conway could always make the other comedians laugh when they weren’t supposed to. Some of my favorite characters were Ms. Awiggins, Tim Conway’s dentist, and, of course, the main characters in the Mama sketches. I think those sketches highlight just how extremely talented that group was. The dynamics between Mama, Eunice, and Ed were hilarious and priceless.

When Ms. Burnett published her biography in the 1980s, I remember reading it with my mom. I loved the story of her and her beloved grandmother. I wasn’t mature enough to fully understand exactly what delighted me about Carol Burnett then, but isn’t a wonderful to read about a person who makes lemonade out the lemons instead of just being bitter? Remembering how much I enjoyed One More Time, I was excited to hear that she would publishing another book. I meant to pre-order it, but it slipped my mind. It’s all just as well because when I saw it at Barnes & Noble displayed along with the audiobook, I noticed that she did her own narration. I walked out of the store with the audiobook and started listening immediately.

Here are the highlights:

• Carol Burnett is the epitome of class and grace. Of all the people she’s ever known and all the things she’s seen, she only shines a spotlight on what is good, fun, and heartfelt. There are a few sections where she had to point out quirks in people’s characters to completely tell a story, but she never names them. She doesn’t have a negative word to say about anyone. What a decent and stand up woman she is. Her lasting legacy will be laughter, love, and friendship. Those who feel the need to tear others down to lift themselves up should look to Carol Burnett before publishing a memoir or autobiography.
• The chapter about meeting John Steinbeck cracked me up. If you’ve ever met an author you admired, you will relate to Burnett’s story and see yourself in it.
• I love it when people are as obsessed with their soap operas the way I was (was only because it was cancelled)!  If you’re a fan of soaps or just like a laugh at their expense, Carol Burnett’s story about keeping up with All My Children will really tickle you.
• There are many touching moments in This Time Together. When she speaks of her late daughter Carrie it is clear how much she loved her daughter and how much she appreciated the moments she had to spend with her. The most touching part of the book for me revolved around her story about Kathy, a sick young girl she met toward the end of her life. Unfortunately I had to stop listening to that story just at the end because I had to get to a meeting. If I’d been able to listen to it all the way through I would have been crying like a baby when it was all done. As it was, it took me a second to stop the tears.
• Several years ago Tim Conway and Harvey Korman came to perform at our local Civic Center. Danny and I knew it was something we wouldn’t want to miss. I am glad that we went, but it was apparent how much they’d aged from their heyday. It shouldn’t have been shocking because those shows premiered nearly 30 years ealier, but a shock it was. I am still so thankful to have had that opportunity to see them in person. They are part of what shaped my sense of humor and just thinking about them makes me smile. Carol Burnett did moreso. I suppose you don’t think of your icons as mortal because I got a little of the same sense listening to This Time Together. Carol Burnett sounded just like Carol Burnett, but you can hear the age in her voice. This might be a touch sad, but she has lived her life well and without regrets.  Who could ask for anything more.

My Final Thoughts

If you are a fan of Carol Burnett, you must read this book.  You’ll feel like you were able to attend one of her Question and Answer shows.  Listening to her read the book made this feel even more intimate.  I enjoyed every minute I spent with Carol listening to her stories.  I plan on passing this along to my mother and grandmother.  It is sure to be a treat for every Carol Burnett fan in your life.

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I’m publishing this review as part of Audiobooks Week, coordinated by Devourer of Books.

First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria: How a Peace Corps Poster Boy Won My Heart and a Third World Adventure Changed My Life by Eve Brown-Waite

I enjoy reading memoirs from time to time.  It’s a nice break from the norm and, typically, the person writing the memoir has had an eventful, if not sad, life story to tell.  The first memoir I wrote about was A Girl Named Zippy, which was a wonderful story of growing up in the Midwest.  Although not everything smelled of roses for Zippy, her memoir is full of humor and is heartwarming.  I read The Glass Castle shortly thereafter.  Although Jeannette Wall’s life had a good deal of hardship, there was a touch of humor to it.  You could tell that she didn’t take herself terribly seriously.  The other memoirs I’ve read and reviewed here are more brooding, such as The Mistress’s Daughter and Without a Map.  They may not have had the humor of the others, but they provided insight and were cathartic for the author.  First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria most definitely falls into the first category.  Eve Brown-Waite tells of her struggle to marry the man of her dreams while taking a bite out of third world hardship is a hilarious, delightful, and hopeful read.

As a young adult, Eve seemed to live her life based upon declarations she had made.  At one point she announced that she would join the Peace Corps.  It’s not that she didn’t think that the Peace Corps performed a great deal of good work, but she ultimately makes the appointment to see the recruiter because she said that she was going to join and she didn’t want to look like a wimp.  What she doesn’t foresee is that she would fall in love with her recruiter and not want to leave him for two years.  The kicker is that it would be darn difficult to impress John, the Peace Corps poster boy, by chickening out of what brought them together in the first place.  Besides, being clingy would be a sure way to lose him.  So, off to Ecuador she went full of misgivings about her future with John. The road to destiny was a rough one, which the author mostly remembers with a smile.  There would be no memoir had they not ended up together, but the best part is the way that Eve writes about herself.  She is self-deprecating and continually second guesses herself, but the reader is able to catch of glimpse of the woman John met.  We knew that he wouldn’t be able to live without her, either.  What other woman would pack up and move with him to perhaps the most desolate and unsafe part of Uganda? While there, Eve is secure in her relationship with her husband, but getting a handle on life in Africa provided a new sort of insecurity.   She isn’t a natural housewife, but she doesn’t believe that she’ll be strictly a housewife for long.  Her background in AIDS prevention in the United States was a gift waiting to be opened in Uganda, or so she believed.  The people and organizations in Uganda didn’t see her as the gallant knight riding in with the answers she needed. What she found out that for the most part she was in Uganda to learn, not to teach.

Throughout this memoir, Eve’s style and sense of humor made exploring some less than exotic regions meaningful.  She clearly illustrated that people might live and play within very different cultures, but that humans were more alike than different, be they from South America, North America, or Africa.  There is, however, one notable exception (full disclosure – Literate Housewife is nearly 75% Dutch):

“I’d come to prefer the pilots who were Dutch, like Coby.  She was competent and full of common sense, which I’d come to think of as a Dutch trait.” ~ pg. 148

“I envied Coby’s lean, athletic body and had begun to think of her natural athleticism as another Dutch trait. Right up there with cheery competence and a fondness for cheese.” ~ pg. 162

In these two sections, she quite eloquently said what Egbert Dodde, my wise yet not quite so eloquent grandfather has taught me since birth:

“If you ain’t Dutch, you ain’t much.”

He also often said that there were two types of people in this world: Doddes and those who only wish they could be Doddes – but that’s a whole other story.  Now that I think about it, I don’t remember the author mentioning anything about how naturally modest and humble the Dutch are. That’s curious.  I’m sure it’s in there some where…

In all seriousness, I do have a fondness for cheese. Can you tell that I had so much fun with this memoir?

In First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria, Eve Brown-Waite shares about life and her experiences in other countries with humor and honesty.  Never once does she get preachy or self-righteous.  She doesn’t paint Peace Corps volunteers or others from the outside working in the Third World amazingly selfless heroes or holier than thou saints.  They are human beings who simply feel called to do what they do, no differently than the teacher, dentist, or computer programmer next door.  Nor does she write about those living in the Third World as simply victims of tyrannical governments or uncivilized heathens.  Everyone was well-rounded and flawed.  No one saved anyone, yet everyone saved each other. Eve was leading the charge and I loved her for it. You will, too.  This is a perfect memoir to read this summer.

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To read this memoir, click here.

Admit One: A Journey into Film by Emmett James

When I was offered the opportunity to read this memoir, I was extremely excited. I’ve always loved movies and this love is something my husband and I share in common. Danny studied to work in film during college, where he worked very hard to create and direct his senior project. I believe that if my husband were to ever write a memoir it would be a combination of Admit One and Love is a Mix Tape (hopefully without the widower connection). Knowing that my husband and James shared a similar passion made this book a must read for me.

Admit One details the childhood and early acting career of Emmett James as framed by the films that have impacted his life. A different movie provides the backdrop of each of the 22 stories making up this book. From The Jungle Book to It’s a Wonderful Life, James shares his memories and what he learned about life in both Croydon, South London and Los Angeles, CA. If you are a film lover, you will appreciate that James writes about the way this medium can interweave with our lives and shape our perspective on what it means to live.

Reading this memoir brought back a lot of wonderful memories for me. I believe that almost everyone has tried to dig to China or Australia (or vice versa) during childhood. It was the first thing Emmett James did after seeing Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. At first his dig started out as an archaeological excursion in search of some Indy-worthy treasures. After coming up empty, he changed his motivation entirely and that made this chapter came alive for me. There is something about watching dramatic representations of other people that can drive both the young and old take on the characteristics of heroes or even glamorous villains if only in our imaginations. That is the true beauty and worth of film.

Unlike for the James family, a trip to the movie theater was an infrequent yet beloved treat in our household. It was a reward for a semester’s good grades, or more often an excuse for my father to see an adventure film. Being of a similar age to the author, my childhood was likewise shaped by E.T., the original Star Wars trilogy, The Karate Kid, The Wizard of Oz, and Ghostbusters. Although our backgrounds are extremely different, we could most certainly communicate clearly and concisely using the language of movies. Reliving my life through each of these films, among others, was the best part of reading this book.

Whereas film has brought a great deal of joy to the author’s life and ultimately brought him to Hollywood’s door, this memoir isn’t entirely happy. James’ relationship to his family is distant and even a little cold. In the same section where he is dreaming of uncovering precious artifacts, James reminisces about the last time his family went to a movie together. He wishes he could recapture that experience once again, but the rest of his story is about moving further and further away – first emotionally, and then physically. When he writes that “movies have always meant everything to [him],” I believe that they have become his family in a way that his flesh and blood family never did. I can’t help but feel saddened by that.

In addition to weaving film throughout his stories, I enjoyed this peek at what life was like for a young boy growing up in a working to middle class neighborhood in South London. Once James left England and became acclimated to Hollywood, I felt that the book started to lose its direction. While he did learn about himself and what he wanted out of life working on the set of Lap Dancing, I’m not it was deserving of an entire chapter. It could have been tightened up and combined with Honeymoon in Vegas. I was also surprised by what he chose to write about when discussing Titanic, I eagerly anticipated reading about being directed by James Cameron or acting opposite Kathy Bates. Instead, he describes both the poverty of Mexico and an odd and somewhat alarming experience with a cab driver. As a result, those chapters lack the cohesion I felt throughout the rest of the memoir.

At its heart, Admit One is a love letter to film. The author rightly points out that movies can have a powerful effect on viewers. They can serve as entertainment, promote wonder and imagination, educate, help us communicate with one another, and challenge us. In addition to being a lover of film, James has the added pleasure of being a working actor in Hollywood. It is his passion for his life’s work that made this book a reality, and I was not disappointed. If you ever wanted to ride your BMX through the sky or fight storm troopers with your very own light saber, this is the book for you.

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To buy this book, click here.