SKU: 48623718659

Writing Hard Stories: Celebrated Memoirists Who Shaped Art from Trauma

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Description

Writing Hard Stories: Celebrated Memoirists Who Shaped Art from TraumaSome of the country's most admired authors including Andre Dubus III, Mark Doty, Marianne Leone, Michael Patrick MacDonald, Richard Blanco, Abigail Thomas, Kate Bornstein, Jerald Walker, and Kyoko Mori describe their treks through dark memories and breakthrough moments and attest to the healing power of putting words to experience. What does it take to write an honest memoir? And what happens to us when we embark on that journey? Melanie Brooks sought

Some of the country's most admired authors--including Andre Dubus III, Mark Doty, Marianne Leone, Michael Patrick MacDonald, Richard Blanco, Abigail Thomas, Kate Bornstein, Jerald Walker, and Kyoko Mori--describe their treks through dark memories and breakthrough moments and attest to the healing power of putting words to experience.

What does it take to write an honest memoir? And what happens to us when we embark on that journey? Melanie Brooks sought guidance from the memoirists who most moved her to answer these questions. Called an essential book for creative writers by Poets & Writers, Writing Hard Stories is a unique compilation of authentic stories about the death of a partner, parent, or child; about violence and shunning; and about the process of writing. It will serve as a tool for teachers of writing and give readers an intimate look into the lives of the authors they love.

Authors profiled in Writing Hard Stories Andre Dubus III, Sue William Silverman, Michael Patrick MacDonald, Joan Wickersham, Kyoko Mori, Richard Hoffman, Suzanne Strempek Shea, Abigail Thomas, Monica Wood, Mark Doty, Edwidge Dantict, Marianne Leone, Jerald Walker, Kate Bornstein, Jessica Handler, Richard Blanco, Alysia Abbott, and Kim Stafford

Insights from Writing Hard Stories

"Why we endeavor collectively to write a book or paint a canvas or write a symphony...is to understand who we are as human beings, and it's that shared knowledge that somehow helps us to survive."--Richard Blanco

"Here's what you need to understand: your brothers or family or friends] are going to have their own stories to tell. You don't have to tell the family story. You have to tell your story of being in that family."--Andre Dubus III

"We all need a way to express or make something out of experiences that otherwise have no meaning. If what you want is clarity and meaning, you have to break the secrets over your knee and make something of those ingredients."--Abigail Thomas

"What we remember and how we remember it really tells us how we became who we became."--Michael Patrick MacDonald

"The reason I write memoir is to be able to see the experience itself...I hardly know what I think until I write...Writing is a way to organize your life, give it a frame, give it a structure, so that you can really see what it was that happened."--Sue William Silverman

"After a while in the process, you have some distance and you start thinking of it as a story, not as your story...It was a personal grief, but no longer personal... It's] something that has not just happened to me and my family, but something that's happened in the world."--Edwidge Danticat

"Tibetan Buddhists believe that eloquence is the telling of a truth in such a way that it eases suffering...The more suffering that is eased by your telling of the truth, the more eloquent you are. That's all you can really hope for--being eloquent in that fashion. All you have to do is respond to your story honestly, and that's the ideal."--Kate Bornstein

"You can never entirely redeem the experience. You can't make it not hurt anymore. But you can make it beautiful enough so that there's something to balance it in the other scale. And if you understand that word beautiful as not necessarily pretty, then you're getting close to recognizing the integrative power of restoring the balance, which is restoring the truth."--Richard Hoffman

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Beacon Press
Published: 02/07/2017
ISBN: 9780807078815
Pages: 224
Weight: 0.66lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.40w x 0.70d

Review Citations: Kirkus Reviews 11/01/2016
Publishers Weekly 10/31/2016
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SKU: 48623718659

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E. Schall
Omaha, US
★★★★★ 5
My dogs favorite balls
Size: Medium
These are great for my dog who always has to have a ball in her mouth. Not too hard so I don't have to worry about her teeth. They last for ever. They do lose their shape a little over time (like I said, she always has a ball in her mouth) they become a little oval in shape. They still bounce, she still chases it and she still chews on it so I don't think she notices or cares. I've gotten her a bag full of these over time and I have only seen one that she chewed a chunk out.
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Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2023
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Kimmie is happy
Belleville, US
★★★★★ 5
My Dachshunds Love These
Size: Small
These balls are durable, flexible material, highly chewable without being easily destroyed. I stuff them with Milkbone Maro Snacks, which are just the right size to twist into the holes in the ball. My dogs literally get an hour+ chewing and chasing entertainment from these. They chew them, they sometimes 'pop' out of their mouths, go rolling across the floor, dogs chasing them. This satisfies their urge to hunt prey. Dachshunds can easily tear this kind of stuff-it-toy apart. These have lasted for a long time without tearing or shredding. I would NOT recommend them for a dog much larger than a tweenie weenie. They're a bit on the small side and might be swallowed by a larger dog. It would be cool it they also came in a larger size (and probably ball wall thickness also) for the bigger dogs to enjoy. These stuff-it chew balls are better than the kong balls my dogs had before these. Highly recommend them.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2024
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LJ
Grantham, US
★★★★★ 5
My puppy’s favorite fetch toy!
Size: Small
Update Aug 27, 2024: After 10 months, these are still his favorite ball. He’s obsessed with fetching and plays with them all day. They do bounce really high. Unfortunately, the small size aren’t available for sale anywhere anymore. I tried the medium size, and he has a bit of trouble hanging on to them, but he manages. Weirdly, he prefers the orange one, but he also plays with the blue one. My 7 month old Shih Tzu puppy loves to fetch, and these are his new favorites. They’re small enough to fit in his mouth, and they are made of hard plastic, so he’s able to hold on to them. They have a lot of bounce, and this adds to the fun for him. I highly recommend them.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2023
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Genuinely
Omaha, US
★★★★★ 4
Genuinely bummed that these great balls can’t stand up against my Chloè.
Size: Medium
I love all the Chuckit brand of balls. I found that the Strabo and glow balls in the Chuckit line are the softest, and as such, don't last as long as the rest of Chuckit line of balls. Having said that, they do last longer than than every other brand I've tried (and I do believe I’ve tried every brand available on the market today.) The strato balls do bounce higher than any of the other balls in the Chuckit line. They really are a good value.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2022
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Debbie
Charlottesville, US
★★★★★ 5
Great dog balls at a great price
Size: Medium
The balls are a favorite for my dog. I could have done without the hole through the middle because I don't do treats in balls anyway. My dog loves balls for their own merit. I needed replacement balls for my Nerf Dog Ball launcher. It seems the originals have disappeared from the market. I took a chance because the price is right and this Chuck-it ball works very well so we're liking this ball a lot. So far my Dachsund, who can destroy a tennis ball (the kind they are selling as Nerf Dog replacements) in 3 minutes has not done any damage to this one so that's a win. I recommend this as a much better ball than the fuzzy tennis balls. I like the colors too since many dog toys are green (which gets lost in the lawn, etc.) or red (even though dogs have red/green color blindness. Blue and orange are good and pretty easy to find. I liked these well enough that this set was my second purchase so I will have spares in case the others are lost.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2023

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