memoir Archives

True Confessions of an Ambivalent Caregiver

The Personal Cost of Care Author: Cindy Eastman In the spare 168 pages of True Confessions of an Ambivalent Caregiver, Cindy Eastman dispels the myth of the exultant caretaker, blessed and honored to give up everything, to thwart desires and change routines, to take care of an aging, dependent parent. Eastman writes short essays during the four-year ordeal of caring for her dying father, who gradually becomes unable to take care of himself. Wishing to avoid the teary-eyed grief of after the fact, she writes in blunt prose about the feelings of the moment, the complications of duty, the inadequacy of [...]

Frances Carden2024-09-02T12:12:29-07:00August 30th, 2024|Tags: aging, book review, caregiver, essay, memoir, read, reading, reviews|

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|