Category: Memoir

SMSU Reading from Memoir, "My Mother Is Now Earth," by Mark Anthony Rolo, Minnesota Book Award Finalist

1/28/2013

Mark Anthony Rolo, author of the remarkable memoir My Mother Is Now Earth, will read at Southwest Minnesota State University, Marshall, Minn., as part of the Visiting Writers Series on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013 in Charter Hall 201 at 7 p.m. The reading is free and open to the public.

Rolo's book was named a finalist for the 2013 Minnesota Book Awards in the category of memoir and creative nonfiction. After the reading, you may purchase Rolo's book and have it signed. Please join us for an amazing evening.

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Streakers, Sprinklers and Colorful Escapades at ND

10/23/2011

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In 2002, a dear friend of mine, Sister Jean Lenz, OSF, one of my most inspiring professors at the University of Notre Dame, wrote and published a delightful book, Loyal Sons & Daughters: A Notre Dame Memoir, about her years as an administrator, theology teacher, mentor, minister and alumna of the University. Thankfully, she listened to the countless fellow Golden Domers who urged her to "get these stories into print, otherwise they will all be lost."

Now at 81, after a long, healthy life, Sister Jean is facing serious health issues. Two weeks ago when my husband, Jim, daughter, Elaine, and I were in South Bend, Indiana to visit my parents, celebrate my father's 85th birthday, and to cheer ND on to a victory over Air Force, I spent some time with Sister Jean. She's still telling amazing stories filled with wisdom, honesty and humor. And I'm grateful to have so many of her best stories preserved in her book.

In 1972, after 125 years as an all-male institution, ND threw open their doors to women. As rector of Farley Hall, Sister Jean had a front-row seat at a pivotal moment in ND history. I arrived in 1974 and took a class from her, The Gospels of Christ. After that, we became good friends. When Jim and I got married, we asked Sister Jean to give the homily at our wedding, and she did a terrific job sharing comical stories of our early courtship and reflecting on the mystery of married love.

A good memoir makes me laugh and cry, and I did both reading Sister Jean's book. As a pioneer of coeduation at ND, she dealt with some impossible situations, such as streakers, "brave marauders of spring," arriving outside her all-women dorm near midnight as she graded theology papers: "I suddenly heard the disturbing , heavily-throated chant, 'Farley, Farley, Farley.' . . . I swung the door open toward the crowd that was an arm's length away, only to discover some hundred young men ready to charge the hall in their birthday suits." Cupping her hands around her mouth, she shouted at the top of her lungs, "You're not coming in here dressed like that!" They dove into the nearest bushes and jumped behind bicycles, peeking through the spokes of the wheels. Recently, the father of a current ND student admitted to Sister Jean that he was one of those streakers, she told me with a grin.

In her epilogue, Sister Jean tells the story of a memorable midnight moment. On a sweltering hot June night, there was a knock on the door. Amalia, a young scholar, "overwhelmed with organic chemistry and the heat" asked "'Would you run through the sprinklers with me? I heard them swish on outside, but I don't want to go alone.' For a moment I stood still with a stare and an open mouth. Then I simply closed the door behind me and we left the building laughing.

"There was a great full moon in a hazy southeastern sky that night. I felt a touch of mysticism in the air. We ran south, taking the long way around the Peace Memorial through great sprays of water that arched every which way over the sidewalks, into our faces, and over our bodies. Then we ran north...catching a glimpse of the Dome." Finally, they arrived back at Farley--"drenched, laughing, out of breath, a bit exhausted, and so refreshed." Sister Jean has come to see that moment as "a fitting image of my years of ministry at Notre Dame. Having lived almost thirty years in Farley Hall, there are quiet moments late at night in all kinds of weather when I feel drenched in laughter or sorrow, out of breath, a bit exhausted, or so refreshed."

A good memoir has insight and drama, and Sister Jean's memoir is chock full of both. She is also totally honest, humble and open-hearted as she shares this unusual slice of ND history. Many excellent writers have technical skill, but it's these qualities of the spirit reflected in Sister Jean's words that make this memoir so compelling.

What are some of your favorite memoirs? What makes them rise to the top of the list?

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Telling your family story

10/17/2011

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Have you ever thought about exploring your family history some day? How did your parents meet? What is your grandparents' story? What about some of those well-kept family secrets?

Mark Whitaker, the former editor of Newsweek and Washington bureau chief for NBC News, is CNN's managing editor and the author of a new book My Long Trip Home: A family memoir.

Here's a review from Better World Books:
"After an astonishing early career as a groundbreaking black scholar of Africa, his father spiraled into an alcoholic descent that resulted in the abandonment of his French wife and their two children—an issue that impacted Whitaker greatly and one he explores in-depth. It is this event that sets the scene for the memoir, as Whitaker and his family struggle to overcome that rejection.

"My Long Trip Home is in many ways a coming of age story, told with a reporter’s attention to detail and, remarkably, without prejudice. Only once his father has passed does Mark fully learn to accept his parents for who they are and come to terms with his rough childhood. I love stories of family relationships, and this one does not disappoint. Whitaker explores the ways his past continues to impact his present, contrasting his depressed and impoverished upbringing with the sophisticated lifestyle he became a part of as an adult. My Long Trip Home is a reporter’s search to identify himself amid a complex family, and the emotional burden that is lifted once he learns the truth about his past."

Whitaker published an article today, "Reporting your family story: A user guide" that gives some of the lessons he learned in writing his memoir:

Don't take "I don't remember" for an answer.
Look for every written document you can find.
Explore the surrounding history.

Whether or not you are obsessed enough to write a book as Whitaker did, what family stories do you have to tell? Who will tell them if you don't?

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Awakening the Storyteller in All of Us

9/18/2011

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Do you have stories about your life that you want to tell, but you're not sure how to get started?

This weekend I attended an inspiring memoir workshop in Ortonville, Minnesota taught by Maureen Murdock. Murdock is the author of the bestselling book, The Heroine's Journey, Woman's Quest for Wholeness. She has also written Unreliable Truth: On Memoir and Memory, Spinning Inward, and Fathers' Daughters: Breaking the Ties that Bind.

The workshop was hosted by the Big Stone Arts Council in an effort to expand high quality art experiences in rural areas. The powerful stories people wrote and shared throughout the weekend moved all of us to laughter as well as tears. At the end of the workshop, Maureen asked us to complete the sentence, "I write because...". The answers were beautiful and as varied as the wide range of our life experiences.

Maureen will be offering a tele-workshop on "Making Meaning from Myth and Memoir" on Tuesday evenings on Oct. 4 through Nov. 1. I encourage you to sign up and attend this workshop from the comfort of your home. Maureen is a wise, compassionate, brilliant teacher. If you have stories to tell, Maureen's books and her workshops may be just what you've been seeking.

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SMSU Reading from Memoir, "My Mother Is Now Earth," by Mark Anthony Rolo, Minnesota Book Award Finalist

Streakers, Sprinklers and Colorful Escapades at ND

Telling your family story

Awakening the Storyteller in All of Us

Author

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Nicole Helget
No Ideas But in Things
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Categories

SMSU Reading from Memoir, "My Mother Is Now Earth," by Mark Anthony Rolo, Minnesota Book Award Finalist

Streakers, Sprinklers and Colorful Escapades at ND

Telling your family story

Awakening the Storyteller in All of Us

Author

Archives

BlogrollArts BeatA Year of Being HereBearded VeganBecky's BlogBetter World BooksBirth Breasts and BeyondCarrie EtterChristine Stewart-NunezDana YostHeroic Yes! ProductionsJames A. ZarzanaLanding on Cloudy WaterNicole HelgetNo Ideas But in ThingsStory GuruThe Marsco SagaWrite Right

Categories

Blogroll
Arts Beat
A Year of Being Here
Bearded Vegan
Becky's Blog
Better World Books
Birth Breasts and Beyond
Carrie Etter
Christine Stewart-Nunez
Dana Yost
Heroic Yes! Productions
James A. Zarzana
Landing on Cloudy Water
Nicole Helget
No Ideas But in Things
Story Guru
The Marsco Saga
Write Right