memoir Archives

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

A Moving Memoir Author: Maya Angelou I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is a powerful memoir about survival, about finding beauty and a voice even in the most desperate circumstances. It’s a story about self-definition, one that starts with five-year-old Maya watching her grandmother, a respected, educated Black woman who owned a shop, being mistreated by jealous white people. From the opening lines, then, we see that Maya’s growing up will be interspersed by moments of connection and cataclysmic disruption, unfairness both inside and outside of the family. Maya doesn’t belong anywhere: not with the white community and not with [...]

Frances Carden2024-06-29T20:24:49-07:00June 29th, 2024|Tags: book review, classic, memoir, read, reading|

All You’ll See Is Sky

A Memoir of Tragedy and Redemption in Africa Author: Janet A. Wilson Janet Wilson has had enough of her staid existence – of coloring within the lines, of abdicating her dreams, of the mundanity of daily life and an unexciting marriage. With or without her husband, she is determined to make a 25,000-mile drive across Africa, from Cape Town to Cairo. This time, she’ll answer the call to adventure, the struggle and strife of truly being alive, regardless of what’s smart, what’s responsible, what other people think she can and should do as a woman, a wife, a mother. Along the way, she [...]

Frances Carden2024-07-01T07:36:25-07:00June 29th, 2024|Tags: adventure, book review, journey, memoir, read, reading, reviews, travel|

Underwater Daughter

A Lyrical Memoir of Abuse Author: Antonia Deignan As a child, Tuni didn’t know that her father was sexually abusing her. She thought it was love. A special bond, a secret kind of affection. The fact that her mother knew and was present only galvanized this normalcy, or so she thought. But as an adult, she reflects on the abuse in Underwater Daughter, on the way its wrongness colored her entire life, from the gradual realizations growing up, to the body dysmorphia and solace sought in alcohol and drugs, and finally to her own approach to motherhood and finally caring for [...]

Frances Carden2024-05-31T19:47:47-07:00May 31st, 2024|Tags: abuse, book review, memoir, read, reading|