How Do I
Connie's Picks
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Hansen, Sig and Mark Sundeen North by Northwestern: A Seafaring Family on Deadly Alaskan Waters Nonfiction |
| For a few years, I just didn’t get the Discovery Channel’s hit documentary series, "Deadliest Catch." The program follows the captains and crews of several crab-fishing ships on the Bering Sea. I am not into adventure, risk-taking, boats, or anything like that. I hate cold, and I get seasick. Why would a program like this appeal to me? However, one weekend I caught the beginning of marathon of reruns, and something changed. I became enraptured. I have no attraction to “reality” television, but this show has me. I now care about Alaskan crab boats and the rough and scraggly guys that run them. When I learned that one of my favorite captains from the show, Sig Hansen, had written a familial memoir, I just had to read it. Again, I didn’t think I would get into it. Nothing about the subject matter on the surface is appealing to me. However, in two days, I read the book cover to cover. I could hardly put it down. Told in the honest and believable voice of Captain Sig, it is the story of three generations of Hansens, their bonds with the sea and each other. The affection and admiration the author shows for his brothers, parents and crew is sincere. Tales of life at sea are not tiresome and technical, but exciting and sometimes hilarious. There is enough historical perspective to provide interesting context for the stories, none of it bogged down in heavy rhetoric. Just like the television series, I had no idea what I was missing until I sat down and found out for myself. Recommended July 2010 |
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Small, David Stitches: A Memoir Graphic Non-fiction |
| Award-winning children’s author and artist Small had a
fascinating, horrifying, and chilling childhood. He grew up in 1950s
middle America with stony cold parents. Their lack of affection and
communication goes beyond discomfort, straight to abusive neglect
and malevolence. When adolescent David develops a lump on his neck,
his parents deny the seriousness of his condition and avoided treatment
until an advanced tumor claims half of his vocal chords and his voice.
No one tells him it's cancer. And no one mentions that his own father,
a physician, is probably responsible for the cancer, a result of radiation
treatments he gave David as a child. His mother is a humorless woman
loaded with anger, from a family who for generations suppressed frustrations
and experienced mental illness. She has no sympathy for her son, only
distaste for his sickness and disgust over the expense of treating
him. The young man’s life is bleak and cold. His story is told in
gray panels with a minimum of text, reflecting the author’s loss of
speech and disconnect from the outside world and other people. The
images are striking, anguished, and really impressive. I've never
seen an artist capture such desperation and desolation in someone’s
eyes. Recommended June 2010 |
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Peterson, Brenda I Want to Be Left Behind: Finding Rapture Here on Earth Nonfiction |
| I usually gravitate toward the shocking or hilarious when
I pick up a new memoir. Rarely am I excited by someone I relate to.
However, I make a generous exception for Ms. Peterson because her
spiritual autobiography is so refreshing and timely. She harkens back
to her conservative Southern Baptist childhood, remembering songs
and celebrations about shedding the world around us and leaving this
ruined planet for a heavenly reward. But young Brenda has a secret.
She's in love with the natural world. She sees the face of god in
plants and animals and waterfalls. Her idea of divinity isn't separate
from science, nor can she be a biologist who removes spirituality
from the earth. Eventually she forges a path that her family can’t
relate to, but the strength of their bonds endure. For once, I discovered
a memoir written by someone without a tragic or complicated or torturous
childhood who finds herself, cultivates happiness and success, and
still loves her parents. Recommended April 2010 |
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Klein, Stephanie Moose: A Memoir of Fat Camp Nonfiction |
| In the late 1980’s, teenager Klein equates everything
good in life with thinness. Her parents would love her more. She would
be worthy of friendship. She would be smarter, taller, prettier, and
funnier. So she agrees to attend a sleep-away summer camp that will
focus on nutrition and exercise – a fat camp. Here she encounters
other teenagers struggling with their weight, and she experiences
a whole new pecking order. There’s inter-cabin drama and forbidden
romance with the boys’ side. Somehow, this author has managed to write
a memoir about her obesity and health issues without complaining,
blaming, or playing any kind of victim card. She’s laugh out loud
funny through most of the book. Klein is candid and accessible, qualities
most memoirs lack. Recommended March 2010 |
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Stein, Elissa and Susan Kim Flow: The Cultural Story of Menstruation Nonfiction |
| The authors approach a subject buried so deep in myth
and taboo that I nearly hesitated to leave the book at the top of
my “to-read” pile. Of course, that was before I actually read it,
before I understood that my perspective was impeded by years of misinformation
and maladjustment sponsored by the feminine care product industry.
In friendly, well-researched narration, Stein and Kim describe the
social history of women’s cycles and the impact that fashion, religion,
politics, and economics has had on half the world’s population. I
don’t consider myself naïve, but I admit I was startled to put all
of the marketing and advertising revolving around menstruation into
perspective. Read this book. You will learn something. And did I mention
that these writers are hilarious? This is a realistic, easy-to-digest,
wickedly funny and sometimes alarming work of non-fiction that is
worth the time. Recommended February 2010 |
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Dully, Howard My Lobotomy: A Memoir Nonfiction |
| Howard Dully is a family man. He works a full-time job
as a shuttle-bus driver for special needs children. He is a contributing
citizen and a nice guy. He is a recovering alcoholic and drug abuser.
A good deal of Howard’s young adult years were spent bouncing between
mental wards, juvenile detention centers, and institutions for troubled
youth. Howard Dully is a survivor of a barbaric transorbital lobotomy
performed on him when he was only 12 years old. The procedure was
done by the infamous Dr. Walter Freeman at the request of his cruel
and abusive step-mother. It was wholly unnecessary. There was nothing
wrong with Howard. This book is the story of how Howard overcame the
assumptions of trauma and a culture of victimhood. It is sincere and
horrifying, and you won’t be able to put it down. Recommended November 2009 |
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Tamm, Jayanti Cartwheels in a Sari: A Memoir of Growing Up Cult Nonfiction Memoir |
| There is a huge difference between people who decide to
follow a questionable spiritual leader, and those who are born into
a cult and brainwashed from birth. Jayanti Tamm’s parents were among
the first disciples of Sri Chinmoy, a self-proclaimed “God-realized”
guru. Despite a strict celibacy policy for members, the Guru proclaimed
the arrival of Jayanti a blessed event. She was his own chosen soul
come from heaven to be the model follower of his principles. Her early
childhood is dominated by constant submission and total dedication
to Guru. School is not a priority, friendships in the ouside world
are forbidden, and worldly activities that do not benefit Guru are
reason for expulsion. However, as the cult grows globally, Jayanti
becomes a young adult with sparks of independence and intelligence.
Her internal struggle nearly destroys her. This memoir of her early
life is sincere and well-written, and portrays both hilarious and
heartbreaking moments. Recommended October 2009 |
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Nyhuis, Allen W. America’s Best Zoos: A Travel Guide for Fans and Families Nonfiction |
| As a serious fan of a well-run zoo, or any cause that
supports the conservation of endangered species, I recommend this
fun travel guide for folks who also enjoy gardens filled with ferocious
and delicate creatures. Organized by regions of the country, with
ample cross-referencing capability, America’s Best Zoos includes
helpful maps and black and white photos of some of the most exciting
animals. Every time I travel, I make a point to visit the public library
and the local zoo. Sometimes I travel specifically for the local zoo.
For example, who knew that the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden
has one of the best cat collections in the US, with 15 different species
of small cats alone? Right in our backyard, the Pittsburgh Zoo and
PPG Aquarium features one of the best exhibits of aquatic fish and
mammal life. A lot of people know how cool the San Diego Zoo is, but
perhaps they haven’t heard of the equally awesome San Diego Wild Animal
Park, which features safari-style bus tours through large natural
habitats. Even if I can’t make it to all of these places in person,
this guide is a “gotta have” in my collection. Recommended September 2009 |
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Trondheim, Lewis A.L.I.E.E.E.N.: Archives of Lost Issues and Earthly Editions of Extraterrestrial Novelties Graphic Novel |
| This is not the sweet and happy story the blissful characters
on the cover would have you assume it is. Purportedly “found” by the
artist while vacationing with his family, this tale tracks the activities
of several alien creatures haphazardly making their way through life.
Dark and terrible things happen to all of the aliens. Eyes are poked
out, beatings are given, friends are eaten. And it is all wickedly
funny. Maybe it's the charming colorful cartoon images. Or perhaps
it's all the alien language “dialogue.” Personally, I just can’t get
over the expressions on their faces. Recommended May 2009 |
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Smith, Philip Walking Through Walls Non-fiction, Memoir |
| An affectionate memoir of the author’s father, Lew Smith,
renowned interior designer turned spiritual guru. In 1950s Miami,
Florida, Philip Smith watched his father transform from a typical
white-collar family man into an aura reader, medium, psychic, exorcist
and metaphysical healer. For no charge, the senior Smith would cure
all manner of ailments, physical and spiritual. Frustrated by his
father's ability to know more about him than he revealed, Philip was
often at odds with his father’s work. He rebelled with drugs, an anti-macrobiotic
diet, and Scientology. Whether or not you believe in the stories of
healing and spirits, the magical relationship between father and son
is touching. Sometimes even hilarious. Recommended May 2009 |
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| Williams, Tad Tailchaser’s Song Fiction |
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| In the same vein as Watership Down by Richard
Adams, Tailchaser’s Song is an adventure story featuring
talking animals. Please don’t write it off as just another childish
talking animal fantasy. If Tolkien had written about animals instead
of people, this would be it. This is the story of Fritti Tailchaser,
a young feline approaching his adulthood. Part of a culture that values
meditative silence as well as rich storytelling, our hero is yet unsure
of where he fits into the world. He knows well the creation story
of his clan, as well as the grand mythology that makes up his history.
When a sudden, mysterious and ancient evil begins to slaughter and
steal, Tailchaser becomes a part of his own heroic epic. Full of poetry
and action, this novel easily captivates the imagination. The author
went on to write several series of fantasy novels involving human
characters, but this early effort begs for a sequel. Recommended by Connie, August 2008 |
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Cassidy, Tina Birth: the Surprising History of How We are Born Nonfiction |
| To be clear, this is not your mother’s What to Expect
When You’re Expecting. Tina Cassidy’s gripping and sometimes
stomach-turning exploration of the history of birth is honest, unbiased,
and very well-documented. She carefully takes into account many of
the physical, anthropological, political, and religious issues that
have influenced human birth rituals and customs through recorded history.
Hideous and miraculous practices that have governed the lives of women
are seldom talked about in such frank terms. From the days of women-only
birthing huts, to the ousting of midwives in favor of learned male
medical practitioners, to the recent trend to have births scheduled
around doctors’ business hours, Cassidy’s dry wit and accessible language
make this sometimes harsh topic absolutely fascinating. I would recommend
this book to anyone, even those of us who don’t foresee ourselves
experiencing childbirth firsthand. Recommended January 2008 |
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Vaughan, Brian K. Pride of Baghdad Graphic Novel |
| The Iraq War is observed from a unique and unexpected
angle. For four lions from the freshly bombed Baghdad Zoo, there is
no meaning to the destruction. They are simply freed from their confines,
lost and isolated in an environment not suited to large predators,
other than human beings. They must find food. They must find clean
water. And they also must avoid the hideous barbarism of other creatures
also freed during the shelling and fires. The artwork is stunning,
both beautiful and brutal, and it elegantly highlights the poignancy
of the text. The authors stay true to the nature of the animals; their
voices, while using human words, are appropriately spoken from the
mouths of lions. It is a heartbreaking story of war and its victims,
without useless talk of politics and the typical breast-beating of
the media and all those who either support or condemn the war. Art
by Niko Henrichon. Recommended May 2007 |
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Gregory, Julie Sickened: the Memoir of a Munchausen by Proxy Childhood Nonfiction |
| Julie Gregory's book is gut-wrenching memoir at its finest.
For anyone unfamiliar with Munchausen by Proxy, it is a type of abuse
in which a caregiver feigns or induces an illness in a person under
their care, in order to attract attention, sympathy, or to fill other
emotional needs. This author was a victim put through unspeakable
horror from her own mother. Her mother hauled her to every doctor's
office in driving distance to have her tested, and medicated, and
even operated on for a phantom heart defect. Under the spell of a
seemingly devoted and genuinely concerned parent that fooled the medical
professionals, Julie believed that she was meant to die. Julie grew
up dying. She lived dying. The epitomes of dysfunction, her parents
were brutal abusers, chronic liars, and some-time arsonists. The fact
that this woman lived to shed light on her past is remarkable. Read
it and weep - literally. Recommended February 2007 |
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Hofmann, Corinne The White Masai Nonfiction |
| In the late 1980s, Ms. Hofmann goes on holiday to Kenya
with her fiancé. In a matter of days, she falls impossibly in love
with a native Masai warrior who caught her eye on a public bus. What
happens from there is nothing short of ridiculous. She drops her life
as a successful, fully independent, educated woman, to become the
wife of a man with whom she does not share a word of common language
and to immerse herself in a culture in which tradition does not permit
females any semblance of equal rights. This memoir of her first few
years living in the bush is absolutely fascinating. However, it is
difficult to sympathize with Corinne. It is more likely that the reader
will be horrified and alarmed with the malarial episodes she experiences
or the very avoidable, very high risk situations she allows not only
herself, but her infant daughter, to become subject to. Despite all
of this, the narrative drives forward, scene by scene, in a way that
makes it a satisfying read, something like a train wreck. Recommended January 2007 |
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McCarthy, Cormac The Road Fiction |
| Reading The Road made me want to totally curl
up into the fetal position. Humankind has descended into an Apocalyptical
Hell of global proportions after an unidentified calamity. Our protagonist
is never named by the author, and therefore he is never awarded the
individual identity taken for granted in a pre-disaster world. Nostalgia
and optimism are irrelevant and dangerous in a present that has no
use for either past or future tenses. But how to remove the humanity
from the man? What can you do with both memories and dreams? All that
exists is the now and the road. The man, his son, and the constant
fear of death and hunger are the major players. The writing itself
is both sparse and elegantly poetic. This is an intense, unrelenting,
and beautifully sublime portrait of human emotion and the value of
humanity. Recommended January 2007 |
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| Mason, Bobbie Ann Feather Crowns Fiction |
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| In 1900, Christie Wheeler becomes the first recorded
American woman to give birth to quintuplets. In the backwoods of rural
Kentucky, a family already on the brink of utter poverty is pushed
further toward the edge. As the five tiny infants struggle to stay
alive, the word of their miraculous birth spreads rapidly. Christie
finds herself in the center of a national spectacle as train loads
of people literally stream through her home. The Wheeler family is
denied every semblance of normalcy and privacy. Tragedy inevitably
strikes, and Christie breaks down, calling into question her identity
as a mother and the validity of her relationship with her husband
and older children. Bobbie Ann Mason has a talent for integrating
the grotesque with the sublime. She has painted here a portrait of
an American woman from an era when women were not expected to do extraordinary
things. Yet, the character of Christie Wheeler transcends expectations,
and is neither defined by traditional roles, nor by her grief. Recommended June 2006 |
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