Welcome to Litsy!

This book is fabulous! @Megabooks — I may have to bring back our hashtag #theyearofthememoir if they continue to deliver as well as this and Tucci‘s! Jessi Hempel and her entire family (save her mother) came out as gay/bisexual or transgender within a short period of time. Though her mother DID undergo a transformation around the same time, between her husband‘s sexuality and coming to terms with crimes in her past. A fascinating read!

I‘ve always been fascinated by psychiatry, so as soon as I heard about this I knew I would have to read it. Stern completed his training at Harvard, and his residency in the area. This book is a combination of his personal life including romantic relationships and friendships and an inside look at the training to become a psychiatrist as well as patients he‘s encountered along the way, identifying details changed, of course.
#theyearofthememoir

I‘d like to start using 👉#nonfictionnovember but I‘ve been on such a nonfiction kick this year, I can‘t say I‘m specifically dedicating the month to it. Also, this one continues #theyearofthememoir from the perspective of a survivor of a “troubled teen” program. Gilpin‘s ordeal began when her parents enrolled her in a program with Carlbrook School (now closed). She spent the first 3 months in the woods followed by intense “reform” at the school.

Read by the author, an immersive memoir of a child‘s immigrant experience from China to America. The details are visceral: the smelly man who took Qian‘s family to McDonald‘s, the comfort of the cat on her bed, the feelings of shame at school. I have no idea how the author was able to tap into her childhood with such feeling. Books like this are why I love memoirs; I have walked in the shoes of this young girl. Exceptional. #theyearofthememoir

#theyearofthememoir
Brandi Carlile‘s song “The Story” transports me back to my early days in college and feelings at the time. I love that song but haven‘t kept up much with her since. Turns out she‘s got quite an interesting life story (so far) and I loved hearing her perform the songs following each chapter of the audiobook. Audio is certainly the way to go, but I was lucky enough to get to read the physical book as well—there‘s lots of photos!

A nature memoir, totally in my wheelhouse. Sara bikes the migration path of the monarch butterfly, from Mexico to Canada and back again.
I felt inspired while reading this book. We‘ve already been working on areas in our yard to make more pollinator-friendly. This book made me look for milkweed around every bend in our area. I love it when a book inspires activism, which this certainly has in me. Loved it! #theyearofthememoir 🦋

#theyearofthememoir
A short #audiobook read by the author about all of the times she has been made to feel like a sex object and not a person. This is only 4 hours which I felt would have been overkill had it been any longer. Valenti begins her troubles as a child, (often the setting is the NYC subway where men expose themselves regularly to her) and ends after her premature daughter‘s birth. I‘m calling it a “pick”.

#theyearofthememoir
This is an excellently narrated audiobook of a childhood with upsetting details, but still manages to be full of humor. The author recounts her early life with her mother and brother and the struggles they went through. But the book is ultimately a love letter to her grandmother who had a huge impact on her life. Actually reminded me a bit of Hillbilly Elegy with the similar grandmothers, but without the bad politics 😆

I‘m just going to go ahead and name this #theyearofthememoir because I cannot get enough! Another heartbreaking mother-daughter relationship, this time focused mainly on the author‘s late mother. Known as “Dorothy Soames” during her childhood in a founding institution in Britain, she suffered tremendous trauma at a young age which impacted the rest of her life. I listened to the #audiobook which was very well done.