Memoir Monday (11/6/23)

We’re starting our week off right with these memoirs, including one in which the author highlights his ability to find levity in even the most difficult situations, another in which a young woman reflects on raising her younger brother by herself, and one more in which the author shares her thoughts over the past ten years in alphabetical order.

TEN BRIDGES I’VE BURNT: A MEMOIR IN VERSE BY BRONTEZ PURNELL

Available for download on Edelweiss know more. LibraryReads votes due by January 1st.

“Purnell looks inward with 38 autobiographical vignettes ranging from a poetry-conference brawl to the blessings and curses passed on through four generations of his family. As [he] says, ‘The most high-risk homosexual behavior I engage in is simply existing.'”–Library Journal, Pre-Pub Alert

MY SIDE OF THE RIVER BY ELIZABETH CAMARILLO GUTIERREZ

Available for download on Edelweiss know more. LibraryReads votes due by January 1st.

“The U.S.-born daughter of Mexican immigrants, Gutierrez was entering high school as a top-notch student when her parents were forced to return to Mexico after their visas expired. [She was] left to care for her younger brother and get herself through school… Here she discusses separation trauma, the opportunities and costs of staying in the United States, and the love between her and her brother.”–Library Journal, Pre-Pub Alert

ALPHABETICAL DIARIES BY SHEILA HETI

Available for download on Edelweiss know more. LibraryReads votes due by January 1st.

Sheila Heti kept a record of her thoughts over a ten-year period, then arranged the sentences from A to Z. Passionate and reflective, joyful and despairing, these are her alphabetical diaries.

TEN BRIDGES I’VE BURNT: A MEMOIR IN VERSE by Brontez Purnell; 9780374612696; 2/13/24
MY SIDE OF THE RIVER by Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez; 9781250277954; 2/13/24
ALPHABETICAL DIARIES by Sheila Heti; 9780374610784; 2/6/24