I took my corporate work outside for an hour yesterday—needed the air, needed to get my heart to stop pounding so hard. This little fellow greeted me. "What the heck are you up to?" he said.
Today I'm up to releasing
Handling the Truth: On the Writing of Memoir. I cannot believe this day has finally come. I know that there have been other Beth books before this one—and certainly this book could not have been written without the knowledge I'd gained from writing the memoirs, the poetry, the history, the fiction, too. Still, somehow,
Handling feels like the very first book. The jangle of nerves. The hopes. That sense of expectation. Here, in this book, are the things I've learned, the things I've taught, the books I've loved, and the students who inspire me. Also my mother, father, husband, son.
It's all here. Jangles. Tangles. Nerves.
That is one of the reasons I am particularly grateful to Serena Agusto-Cox for helping me celebrate this day with her absolutely beautiful reflections on this book. Serena came to my event in Alexandria, VA, and bought her copy there. She has been gracious ever since, sending me notes as she read through. I know how much time she spent putting together her review, and so, for that reason especially, I encourage you to read it
here.
My favorite part:
She shares her favorite places, her favorite music, her favorite
memoirs, and her students’ work, and she begs that anyone interested in
writing memoir do it because the story must be told and is relate-able
to someone outside the self. Writing the genre requires the writer to
be as honest with herself as she can be and to fill the gaps in memory
with facts from documents or cross-referencing conversations and moments
with those that share the memory. Reading this reference memoir is
like getting to know Kephart on a personal level, but it’s also about
getting to know the writer inside you — the one that wants to write the
book but doesn’t know where to start. Although this advice is geared
toward those who wish to write their own personal histories, there is
sage advice for other writers — fiction writers struggling with what
tense to put their book in, for example.
Thank you to all of you who have cheered me on in this endeavor. Thank you to those who will join me this evening at the Free Library of Philadelphia, 7:30, for a reading and workshop. Those who want to know more about the book—or read my students' work, or read about new memoirs I've loved, or see some of the reviews—please visit this
dedicated Handling the Truth page.
Finally, a few days ago, I put into motion a
Handling contest, asking readers to name their favorite memoirs. Such intriguing titles came forth—everything from
Crossing the Moon, Angela's Ashes, Wild, and
The Thing About Life is That One Day You'll Be Dead to
The Glass Castle, The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating, two Joan Didions, and several mentions of Anne Lamott's
Operating Instructions. But the winner, randomly chosen (and not by me) is .... Kim Nastick, who chose Joan Didion's
Blue Nights, a book I do write about in
Handling.
Kim, send me a note and I'll get you a signed copy.
Read more...
