Family trouble : memoirists on the hazards and rewards of revealing family

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Title:

Family trouble : memoirists on the hazards and rewards of revealing family

ISBN:

9780803246928

Physical Description:

224 pages ; 23 cm

Contents:

Introduction : mapping hope / Chewing band-aids : one memoirist's take on the telling of family secrets / Sally could delete whatever she wanted / Case by case : when it comes to family you still have to talk to / At its center / The day I cried at Starbucks / Memory lessons / The part I can't tell you / What the little old ladies feel : how I told my mother about my memoir / Truths we could live with / Writing the black family home / The deeper end of the quarry : fiction, nonfiction, and the family dilemma / Mama's voices / Living in someone else's closet / The true story / I might be famous / A spell against sorrow : writing my father in / Things we don't talk about / You can't burn everything / Done with grief : the memoirist's illusion / The seed book / Calling back / Like rain on dust / The bad Asian daughter / Your mother should know / Writing about family

Subject Term:

Autobiography -- Authorship

Biographers -- United States

Family secrets

Added Author:

Castro, Joy,

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury)	808.06692 FAM	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Stillwater Public Library	808.06692 FAM	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

Whenever a memoirist gives a reading, someone in the audience is sure to ask: How did your family react? Revisiting our pasts and exploring our experiences, we often reveal more of our nearest and dearest than they might prefer. This volume navigates the emotional and literary minefields that any writer of family stories or secrets must travel when depicting private lives for public consumption.

Essays by twenty-five memoirists, including Faith Adiele, Alison Bechdel, Jill Christman, Judith Ortiz Cofer, Rigoberto González, Robin Hemley, Dinty W. Moore, Bich Minh Nguyen, and Mimi Schwartz, explore the fraught territory of family history told from one perspective, which, from another angle in the family drama, might appear quite different indeed. In her introduction to this book, Joy Castro, herself a memoirist, explores the ethical dilemmas of writing about family and offers practical strategies for this tricky but necessary subject.

A sustained and eminently readable lesson in the craft of memoir, Family Trouble serves as a practical guide for writers to find their own version of the truth while still respecting family boundaries.

Author Notes

Joy Castro is an associate professor of both English and ethnic studies at the University of NebraskaLincoln. She is the author of two memoirs, Island of Bones and The Truth Book, both available from the University of Nebraska Press, and two novels, Hell or High Water and Nearer Home.

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

This collection of essays, edited by memoirist Castro (Island of Bones), shares the ruminations of 25 memoirists (including Robin Hemley, Dinty W. Moore, and Mimi Schwartz) on the troubles, strategies, and results of writing about family, and how to deal with the ensuing consequences for family relationships. Most of the contributors understand the lack of easy answers when writing about family, and simply share their experiences, successes, and failures. Though the collection contains the occasional "we write because we must" cliche, the book's standouts include Ariel Gore's "The Part I Can't Tell You," in which she talks about the difficulty of choosing how to tell stories as she slowly releases information about her stepfather's death. Another highlight is Alison Bechdel's "What the Little Old Ladies Feel," which succinctly and bluntly sums up the impossibility of baring a person's secrets without hurting them. Meanwhile, Richard Hoffman's "Like Rain on Dust" both acknowledges issues relating to writing and family while firmly arguing for the need for some stories to be told in public. The collection may hold the general reader's interest only as a curiosity, but for any writer of memoirs, it's a must-read. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Kirkus Review

A chorus of noteworthy memoirists reflects on the ethical consequences of airing dirty laundry. "With family stories, the stakes are always high," writes Castro (English and Ethnic Studies/Univ. of Nebraska; Island of Bones, 2012, etc.), who published her harrowing experiences as the abused child of fundamentalist parents. Naturally, she has firsthand knowledge of the memoirist's internal struggle: a personal obligation to convey an honest narrative while straddling the thin line between authenticity and oversharing. This conundrum of writing within the "self-disclosing genre of our reality-hungry era" is pondered throughout 25 reflective essays from a wide-ranging group of writers. The four-part collection opens with essays personifying the ethical boundaries authors like emergency room physician Paul Austin must skirt when divulging a life working in a high-pressure environment while raising a disabled child. Novelist Paul Lisicky discusses the fragile "line between life and art" after his published remembrances became surprisingly offensive to his aunt, a reaction similar to that of gay memoirist Rigoberto Gonzlez's grandparents to his poignant, revelatory autobiography. Wrestling with artistic integrity, despite the pain caused to others, is also a theme running through the collection, along with the expected preponderance of the matriarchal mother figure. Several authors who share their experiences are also creative writing instructors, and they offer advice on crafting an effective, epiphanic memoir. All of the entries deserve attention, though some are disappointingly brief, while others excessively agonize over unresolved emotional baggage. "Such is the calamity of authorship and authenticity in revealing secrets," writes Allison Hedge Coke of her process in exorcising personal demons onto the printed page. Other contributors include Ariel Gore, Alison Bechdel and Dinty W. Moore. A well-balanced panoply of family-centric musings from authors conflicted between responsibility and retribution.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Joy CastroJill ChristmanPaul AustinMimi SchwartzPaul LisickyRuth BeharRigoberto GonzálezAriel GoreAlison BechdelRobin HemleyFaith AdieleDinty W. MooreSusan OldingSusan ItoKaren Salter McelmurrayRalph James SavareseJudith Ortiz CoferAaron Raz LinkAllison Hedge CokeSandra ScofieldStephanie Elizondo GriestLorraine M. LópezRichard HoffmanBich Minh NguyenSue William SilvermanHeather Sellers

Introduction: Mapping Hope	p. 1
Part 1 Drawing Lines
Chewing Band-Aids: One Memoirist's Take on the Telling of Family Secrets	p. 17
Sally Could Delete Whatever She Wanted	p. 29
Case by Case: When It Comes to Family You Still Have to Talk To	p. 33
At Its Center	p. 38
The Day I Cried at Starbucks	p. 41
Memory Lessons	p. 50
The Part I Can't Tell You	p. 58
Part 2 The Right to Speak
What the Little Old Ladies Feel: How I Told My Mother about My Memoir	p. 71
Truths We Could Live With	p. 73
Writing the Black Family Home	p. 78
The Deeper End of the Quarry: Fiction, Nonfiction, and the Family Dilemma	p. 88
Mama's Voices	p. 95
Living in Someone Else's Closet	p. 114
Part 3 Filling the Silence
The True Story	p. 125
I Might Be Famous	p. 131
A Spell against Sorrow: Writing My Father In	p. 137
Things We Don't Talk About	p. 146
You Can't Burn Everything	p. 160
Done with Grief: The Memoirist's Illusion	p. 169
Part 4 Conversations of Hope
The Seed Book	p. 177
Calling Back	p. 182
Like Rain on Dust	p. 189
The Bad Asian Daughter	p. 197
Your Mother Should Know	p. 201
Writing about Family	p. 208
Gratitude	p. 215
Source Acknowledgments	p. 217
Contributors	p. 219

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Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Kirkus Review

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