What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing From Complex Trauma, by Stephanie Foo Hatred, I learned quickly, was the antidote to sadness. It was the only safe feeling. Hatred does not make you cry at school. It isn't vulnerable. Hatred is efficient. It does not grovel. It is pure power. Reading the new memoir... Continue Reading →
Some Books That May Help If You Need Help With These Things
Self-help is not my thing whatsoever. When I started this blog, it was with the intention to show how much nonfiction actually encompasses beyond areas like self-help. When telling people I only read nonfiction for years, I often got that response: that I must read a lot of self-help. Um, no. I'm perfect. But seriously,... Continue Reading →
New Essay Collections: The National Road & A Woman, A Plan, An Outline of a Man
Two new essay collections out this month, both with weird, different looks at aspects of Americana. First, Tom Zoellner's The National Road: Dispatches From a Changing America, which "attempts to paint a picture of 'American place' in this uncertain era of political toxin and economic rearrangement. These are observations collected from thirty years of traveling... Continue Reading →
A Couples Therapist Breaks Down the Psychology — and Potential — of Infidelity
Book review: The State of Affairs, by Esther Perel (Amazon / Book Depository) Almost everywhere people marry, monogamy is the official norm and infidelity the clandestine one. So what are we to make of this time-honored taboo—universally forbidden yet universally practiced? Reading the overhyped and even troubling Three Women, I found myself most interested in... Continue Reading →
‘My Favorite Murder’ Dual Memoir Tackles Mental Health and Personal Issues with Humor
Book review: Stay Sexy & Don't Get Murdered, by Karen Kilgariff & Georgia Hardstark (Amazon / Book Depository) We have gone from living inside your headphones to pouring ourselves out onto the page like a couple of Edna St. Vincent Millays. There aren't many podcasts that become phenomenons, but My Favorite Murder, styled as true... Continue Reading →