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Memoir Armoire

book news and short reviews. all memoir, all the time.
by diane shipley.

Posts tagged grief:

He would have been a difficult interview,” says Baksi, on the line from his home in Stockholm. “He didn’t want to be a pop star, so he wouldn’t have wanted to do interviews on a big television channel like CNN. He would have preferred to do interviews with small, leftist magazines.” Baksi, a writer and publisher in his own right, has recorded his impressions in Stieg Larsson, My Friend, an insightful memoir that focuses mainly on Larsson’s early career as a crusading journalist. “It was a kind of therapy for me,” says Baksi of his motivation for writing the book. “Also, if the situation was reversed and I had sold three books and died, then Stieg probably would have written a book about me.

Memoir lets Stieg Larsson’s friend move on with life - thestar.com

It’s an honest and often very raw look at how she and her two teenage daughters came to grips with those grief-stricken early days, how they coped with others’ reactions and often clumsy words of comfort, and the techniques that helped them move on and heal.
Via
Really sad to hear about the death of Richard Carlson, whose self-help book Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff… And it’s all Small Stuff was really helpful to me a few years ago. (Didn’t stop me being neurotic, but I’m working on it.) But he always made his wife sound so great, it’s nice she can pay tribute to him, too.

It’s an honest and often very raw look at how she and her two teenage daughters came to grips with those grief-stricken early days, how they coped with others’ reactions and often clumsy words of comfort, and the techniques that helped them move on and heal.

Via

Really sad to hear about the death of Richard Carlson, whose self-help book Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff… And it’s all Small Stuff was really helpful to me a few years ago. (Didn’t stop me being neurotic, but I’m working on it.) But he always made his wife sound so great, it’s nice she can pay tribute to him, too.

“I wrote this for Alice. Actually, I wrote everything for Alice.”  That’s the poignant dedication at the front of Tepper Isn’t Going Out, the last book Calvin Trillin wrote before the death of his wife Alice in 2001. Alice was the star of many of Trillin’s autobiographical stories and articles, his muse and mentor, as well as the mother of his two children and a brilliant writer and teacher in her own right.  About Alice is his tribute to her, and it’s poignant and heartbreaking.  Which isn’t to say that it’s sentimental. Everything about this book is understated, from the plain cover to the emotional tone to the length (just 78 pages). Trillin chooses not to dwell on the details of Alice’s death; instead, he writes with great humour and love about their life together. This book made me laugh, but it also made me cry.
Read it yourself — you won’t be sorry.

“I wrote this for Alice. Actually, I wrote everything for Alice.” That’s the poignant dedication at the front of Tepper Isn’t Going Out, the last book Calvin Trillin wrote before the death of his wife Alice in 2001. Alice was the star of many of Trillin’s autobiographical stories and articles, his muse and mentor, as well as the mother of his two children and a brilliant writer and teacher in her own right. About Alice is his tribute to her, and it’s poignant and heartbreaking. Which isn’t to say that it’s sentimental. Everything about this book is understated, from the plain cover to the emotional tone to the length (just 78 pages). Trillin chooses not to dwell on the details of Alice’s death; instead, he writes with great humour and love about their life together. This book made me laugh, but it also made me cry.

Read it yourself — you won’t be sorry.

A guest post by the lovely Jenni, soon-to-be student of Information and Library Studies and self-described bookworm. 
When actor Jim Beaver’s wife Cecily was diagnosed with cancer he wrote an email each evening to update friends and family on what that day had brought. This book brings together those emails and tracks the effect such a devastating diagnosis has on a close-knit family unit.  The book is a beautiful and moving read, with very little censorship involved you really get an idea of how Beaver was feeling as he wrote each email. I found myself moved to tears on a number of occasions, but soon after found myself laughing as he told the story of something funny their toddler daughter, herself living with a diagnosis of autism, had done.  A wonderful yet heartbreaking book that really shows what it means to love someone.
Amazon linky-link.
Thanks so much Jenni for a fab review! Want to submit your own? Email me. (100-200 words is ideal, and it must be a memoir).

A guest post by the lovely Jenni, soon-to-be student of Information and Library Studies and self-described bookworm.

When actor Jim Beaver’s wife Cecily was diagnosed with cancer he wrote an email each evening to update friends and family on what that day had brought. This book brings together those emails and tracks the effect such a devastating diagnosis has on a close-knit family unit. The book is a beautiful and moving read, with very little censorship involved you really get an idea of how Beaver was feeling as he wrote each email. I found myself moved to tears on a number of occasions, but soon after found myself laughing as he told the story of something funny their toddler daughter, herself living with a diagnosis of autism, had done. A wonderful yet heartbreaking book that really shows what it means to love someone.

Amazon linky-link.

Thanks so much Jenni for a fab review! Want to submit your own? Email me. (100-200 words is ideal, and it must be a memoir).