I love memoirs and have read so many! What is your favorite memoir that I may love????
I love memoirs and have read so many! What is your favorite memoir that I may love????
0 Answers
Denise A Wind wrote on :
Just wanted to let all of you know I have read about 6 of the books you so kindly recommended!! I am loving them all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks to all of you Fabulous ladies!!
Claudia Marcus wrote on :
This is a brief list of the best memoirs I have read in the last few months: Stefanie Powers, One From the Heart. Barbara Eden, Jeannie Out of the Bottle. My Life in France, Julia Child. As SharShar wrote, Letters of a Woman Homesteader is so good that I have read it several times. It’s also a movie with marvelous Conchata Farrell (note different title for the movie-Heartland).
catinski wrote on :
Claude & Camille: A Novel of Monet by Stephanie Cowell
When artist Claude Monet sees a young woman in a train station, itâs love at first sight. Fate brings them together and Monet asks the young woman, bourgeoise Camille Doncieux, to be a model for his paintings. She agrees and the two ultimately fall in love. She leaves behind her fiance and her family and runs away with Monet.
I know very little about the personal life of Monet. Cowell does an outstanding job of relaying this information via Camille and Monetâs contemporaries, including Renoir, Bazille, and Pissaro. It was enlightening to see the struggle each of these now-famous artists went through to achieve status in the art world. Everyone is familiar with the term âstruggling artist.â Cowell portrays just how desperate this struggle was in such a unique and vivid way.
One of the many strong characters in this novel was Monetâs good friend, Bazille. Bazille had a tremendous impact on Monetâs success, for he served as both a close confidant and a financial supporter of Monetâs work. Without Bazille, Monet had almost nothing.
Camille is another unique and strong character in this novel. She was the muse for several of Monetâs memorable paintings. Their relationship, while based on love, was constantly ridden with financial struggle. Her love for him was obvious, but on several occasions I detected a bit of emotional instability on her part.
Monet himself was painted as a sensitive man, extremely dedicated to his passion. He gave up the financial comforts of living with his father to move to Paris to paint. Seeing this side of Monet was tremendously rewarding. Monet was an artistic genius, and seeing his faults and insecurities relayed how ânormalâ he really was.
The strong characters and the relationship between each of them is without a doubt my favorite aspect of this novel. As mentioned, I never truly got an inside look at the life of such an important figure in art. Viewing Monetâs life in this aspect was tremendously rewarding, something I am forever grateful for Cowell for presenting.
I highly recommend this book to fans of historical fiction. While the storyline is scattered with bits of history, the relationship between Monet and Camille transforms it into a well-rounded novel. Fans of art and the Impressionist movement would also find great benefit in reading this, as it provides social and emotional background on a very imporant figure in art history.
Julianne McMahon wrote on :
for something totally different try Memoir by Rebiya Kadeer Dragon Fighter: One Woman’s Epic Struggle for Peace with China with an intro by The Dalai Lama it will give you insight into the struggles of minority people in China and success/loss of one
Diana Kelson wrote on :
George Hamilton’s autobiography, “Don’t Mind if I Do” was hard to put down. He had a unique childhood, a must read!
Denise A Wind wrote on :
Thanks so much!!!
victoria dorney wrote on :
There are a few “Circling My Mother” by Mary Gordon, “Welcome to the Departure Lounge” by Meg Federico, “The Center of the Universe” by Nancy Bachrach, “But Enough About Me-How A Small Town Girl Went From Shag Carpet to the Red Carpet” by Janice Dunn
Denise A Wind wrote on :
All of your suggestions have been so helpful!! I can’t wait to start reading them! I ordered so many of them on Amazon! Thanks!!!!!!!!
Lisa Layton wrote on :
One of my favorites is Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt and if you are looking for something more recent and on the lighter side, try Dead End Gene Pool by Wendy Burden.
Karen Cunningham wrote on :
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson is an inspiring memoir by a man who has made it his mission to build schools in Afghanistan. Adventurous, eye-opening, and touching
Grace Papaseraphim wrote on :
Just finished “Bucolic Plague” by Josh Kilmer-Purcell. Loved it.
Karen Hernandez wrote on :
I just finished reading “News to Me: Adventures of an Accidental Journalist”, by Laurie Hertzel I really enjoyed this book. It says alot about how the world for women was in the early 70’s.
Hertzelâs journey into the world of print journalism in the mid-1970s; a chronicle of a small-city newspaper on the cusp of transformation, a portrait of Duluth, and the account of a persistent journalist. Hertzel worked at the Duluth News Tribune in multiple roles. Her journalistic work has won numerous national awards. She is most known for her work on NPR.
Sharon Gimperling wrote on :
The Glass Castle by J. Walls
Denise A Wind wrote on :
Loved that book! One of my favorites!!
phobiaaid@aol.com wrote on :
I enjoyed Barbara Walters book, however, being over 50, the name escapes
me. Lots of references to how she built her career and the famous names
she met along the way
Denise A Wind wrote on :
Thanks everyone for all of the terrific suggestions!!
Kathleen Silloway wrote on :
I love the one by Katherine Graham. I listened to it on audiotape; the actress reading it has that perfect slightly patrician yet warm tone that I imagine Kay would have had. And the story is absolutely amazing. A strong woman who didn’t realize her strength.
Jill Jones wrote on :
I have not read many memoirs, but those that I HAVE read were many years ago. Good luck in your search. Jill
Claudia Rouge wrote on :
I relish memoirs and autobiographies too! I recently loved “Never Have Your Dog Stuffed” by Alan Alda, and “American on Purpose” by Craig Ferguson.
Kathleen Pearlman wrote on :
The last one I read was Louis Auchinloss’ A Voice from Old New York: A Memoir of My Youth. It was more interesting than I had thought – and a short book, too. A fascinting glimpse of “old New York” and wealth. Just enough to be interesting and not boring.
Denise A Wind wrote on :
Thanks!!
Jo Cavins wrote on :
Someone has already mentioned Reading Lolita in Tehran, which is excellent. You might also like Susan Shapiro’s Five Men Who Broke My Heart or Ann Patchett’s Truth & Beauty: A Friendship.
Lina Perl wrote on :
I second DallasArts—the Patti Smith memoir was the best one I read this year. But an all-time favorite is “The Liar’s Club” by Mary Karr. It’s definitely in the same vein as The Glass Castle. It’s excellent.
Katie McDougall wrote on :
Depending on your interests, here are a few you may like: House of Testosterone: One Mom’s Survival in a Household of Males by Sharon ODonnell, Self-Consciousness by John Updike
Too Close to the Falls by Catherine Gildiner and Just Like Someone Without Mental Illness Only More So by Mark Vonnegut M.D. (yes, he is Kurt Vâs son).
Marla H Bane wrote on :
Sorry predominantly a fiction reader but did read both the Keith Richards and Patti Smith autobiographies which i enjoyed and recommend.
Denise A Wind wrote on :
Thanks!!
Cathy Buckwalter wrote on :
“Patrimony” by Philip Roth; “The Calligrapher’s Daughter: A Novel” by Eugenie Kim (which is a novel about the author’s grandmother!); “A Tale of Love and Darkness” by Amos Oz (fantastic and incredibly beautiful writing); “Memoirs” by Elie Wiesel; and I heartily agree about “Reading Lolita in Tehran” by Azar Nafisi.
Sharon Murner wrote on :
I think that “Letters of a Woman Homesteader: The Life and Times of Elinore Pruitt Stewart” has probably been one that I enjoyed the most recently. It reminds the reader of how lucky we are to be living in our times and not hers!
Ivy Pittman wrote on :
I have read many…..The Tender Bar by J. R. Moehringer, The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls, That Mean Old Yesterday by Stacey Patton, and The Black Girl Next Door by Jennifer Baszille. Enjoy!
Denise A Wind wrote on :
Very Helpful!!! Thanks!!
Lisa Eskelin wrote on :
“I Feel Bad About My Neck,and Other Thoughts on Being a Woman” by Nora Ephron-she made me laugh out loud, and what woman in her 50s can’t use a good laugh?!!
Jane Robbins wrote on :
I loved “The Glass Castle” by Jeannette Walls. The author writes about her bizarre and nomadic childhood with generosity and affection toward her parents, even though most of us would consider it a nightmare. How she overcame the obstacles is an amazing story and well worth reading.
Denise A Wind wrote on :
I read The Glass Castle and loved it too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Amazing book! Thanks!!
Eileen Davis wrote on :
For a fellow booklover I recommend “Reading Lolita in Tehran” by Azar Nafisi — the clandestine struggle of a young Iranian professor to continue teaching literature to her devoted students even after she’s been expelled from the university for being pro-western.
patricia mcnew wrote on :
i love jackie kennedys and farrah fawcetts both these when were very high profile women and to learn that they not much different than us
Denise A Wind wrote on :
Thanks
Marcia Reed wrote on :
well, I don’t know if it’s my favorite, but I have recently read Keith Richards’ and it was surprisingly entertaining.
Karen Canning-Millar wrote on :
I found “True Compass: A Memoir” by Edward Kennedy a very good read and my husband, the best read person I know, is greatly enjoying “Life” by Keith Richards.