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"Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail" by Cheryl Strayed 

12/2/2013

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Title: Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
Author: Cheryl Strayed
Genre(s): Memoir
# Pages: 336
Date published: March 20, 2012
5-star rating: 5 stars
Would you recommend it? Yes

Recently I was wondering through Barnes & Noble, when I stumbled across this book on one of the New York Times Bestsellers tables.  In 2012, the book maintained the number one spot on the list for seven consecutive weeks.  The book was also the first choice on Oprah’s Book Club 2.0 list in 2012.  Since this is a book club memoir, it was an extremely fast read.  I finished Wild in five days.

At age 22, Cheryl Strayed loses her mother to cancer.  The events surrounding her mother’s death take an emotional toll on her.  While Strayed’s mother is dying, her brother and sister distance themselves and continue to do so after the loss.  Her stepfather also becomes completely absent from her life afterward.  All of this forces Strayed to bottle in her emotions and leaves her feeling alone.  Her husband, as hard as he tries, cannot provide enough comfort.  They drift apart as a result from Strayed’s infidelity, heroin use, and lack of investment in the marriage.

As a result at age 26, Strayed wants to piece her life back together.  She admits that she still loves her ex-husband when she sets out, but she now wants to find and love herself.  The only way to find herself is to do it alone.  While wondering through a gift shop one day, she stumbles across The Pacific Crest Trail, Volume 1: California.  While she does not buy the book that day, the trail stays at the back of her mind.  Eventually, after making the decision three times, Strayed sells the few things she owns, packs her backpack, and goes to the Mojave Desert to begin her 1,100 mile journey on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) north to the Bridge of the Gods.

The PCT is one of the toughest hikes in the United States.  Strayed has no real or substantial experience hiking or living out in the wild.  Most of the people she meets are groups of young men.  While she is a woman traveling alone, by the end of her journey she exceeds others’ expectations and earns the hiker name “Queen.”  Many times she declines offers to join a group so that her only companion becomes her backpack that she names “Monster.”

Strayed weaves together her past and the hike into a seamless tale of self-discovery.  Her anecdotes make the story believable and relatable.  In the beginning, she cannot even lift her backpack without falling down.  By the end, she can hike 20 miles in a single day.  While she is a bit arrogant in the first few days of her journey, the overall experience humbles her and helps her realize who she is on her own.  Each day of her hike has a different event that keeps your attention so that you end up cheering for her as the story progresses.

I would recommend this book to anyone because it is a classical identity story.  Since Strayed is in her late twenties, it is better geared toward women in college.  Her reflections can provide insight into the reader’s own life.  You do not need to be from the west coast or a hiker to enjoy this book.  Strayed writes in a manner that makes the long journey seem to fly by for the reader.



Review by Liz Handler, A&S '15


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"Francona: The Red Sox Years" by  Terry Francona & Dan Shaughnessy 

11/18/2013

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Title: Francona: The Red Sox Years
Author:  Terry Francona & Dan Shaughnessy
# pages:  368
Date published: 2013
Rating:  4 out of 5 stars 
Would you recommend it? Yes

Because of my family’s background with the Boston Red Sox (read: obsessed), I couldn’t have been more excited to read Francona: The Red Sox Years, which details the career of Terry “Tito” Francona as manager of the Boston Red Sox. The highlights of Francona’s career include the World Series that broke the Curse of the Bambino in 2004, followed by another win in 2007. 

When I first started reading, I worried that his would be a stereotypical memoir—a little mundane and a little too long.  Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to discover a perfect glimpse into the life of Manager Francona, written with enough personal touch to feel like I was sitting in a room hearing his stories firsthand.  Tito is hilarious—he tells it like it is, and he really cares about his players.  With a perfect balance of insight into the inner workings of the franchise alongside contributions from players, managers, and others, this memoir proved easy to read, and it helped me understand the ups and downs of Red Sox fandom.  Francona comes across as witty, grounded, and talented, and Dan Shaughnessy, his co-author, demonstrates a gift for highlighting these qualities while moving the story forward at a reasonable pace.

I highly recommend Francona: The Red Sox Years to any Red Sox fan, baseball fan, or anyone trying to better understand the culture of Boston—the Sox are undoubtedly a large part of the city.  Getting a look into the real Red Sox, not just their games on TV, made me love them more despite their faults and their quirky (and sometimes difficult) personalities.  The memoir is great look into what it takes to be a good manager and the debate between winning games and making money, and I learned that baseball is as much about the people who make it possible as it is about pitching and hitting a baseball. Ultimately, I finished both informed and entertained.



Review by Molly Saint, A&S '15


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"Angela's Ashes" by Frank McCourt

11/11/2013

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Title: Angela's Ashes
Author: Frank McCourt
Pages: 368
Publication: 1999 (1st edition, 1996)
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Recommendation: Yes

             
Frank McCourt offers no pretentions about his youth, which he describes as “the miserable Irish Catholic childhood.” Born in Brooklyn during the Depression, he and his family struggle economically and decide to move back to the home of his father in Limerick. But back in Ireland, things go from bad to worse as Frank’s alcoholic father, Malachy, has trouble finding work, and even when he does, tends drink away whatever wages he earns. Frank and his family are left to apply for charity, beg, and even steal just to put bread on the table.

I read Angela’s Ashes at the recommendation of my mother, who loved and read it so many times that her copy of the book was falling apart. Like her, I found that I couldn’t put it down. The memoir tells of a childhood filled with poverty and hardships; but despite his wretched situation, McCourt manages to tell his story with humor and lightheartedness. It is a wonder that McCourt survived his youth and made it out as hopeful and optimistic as he did. Filled with Irish wit that left me both sad and hopeful at the same time, Angela’s Ashes is a great book for anyone looking for an inspiring and honest read.  





Review by Serena Gibbons, A&S '17


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"Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir)" by Jenny Lawson 

10/25/2013

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 Title: Let’s Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir)
Author: Jenny Lawson
Genre: Memoir
Page # : 313
Date Published: 2012
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Recommend: Yes

If you’re anything like me, you could hardly express your excitement when you saw the mini Pop Collection section the O’Neill librarians added near the third floor printers over the summer. (I think I probably went down to the first floor once my entire freshman year. Much too far out of the way.) I immediately began to browse through the selection, looking for a book that would provide a lighthearted, fun contrast to the somewhat heavy readings required for my history and philosophy classes this semester. I found just that in Let’s Pretend This Never Happened.

 If you’re wondering who Jenny Lawson is and why she has a memoir, don’t worry – I asked myself the same question when I first picked up the book. Better known as “The Bloggess,” Lawson is best known for her popular blog, a knowledge of which I found unnecessary to appreciate Let’s Pretend This Never Happened: although I still haven’t read any of her blog, I thoroughly enjoyed the memoir. She begins with her childhood in rural Texas, where she lived with her sister, mother, and taxidermist father. This somewhat unusual upbringing provides fodder for dozens of hysterically disturbing stories, and although none of my childhood memories include humiliation by giant turkeys or puppets made from dead squirrels, somehow Lawson makes her recollections both hilarious and relatable.

The memoir continues on to cover various points of her adult life. While Lawson may no longer live in a house with a taxidermy shop in the backyard, these later stories are just as perversely funny. While she does have a tendency to flit from topic to topic – the book has very little structure – she does so in a way that seems natural, as if we’re listening to her stream of consciousness.

While sometimes I would feel almost guilty for finding Lawson’s bizarre experiences and crude sense of humor so entertaining, I did thoroughly enjoy Let’s Pretend This Never Happened. It was the perfect book to pull out whenever I was feeling stressed and just needed a good laugh. But I do have one piece of advice: don’t read this in public, or you’ll get weird looks for all the giggling. Because trust me – you will.


Review by Laura Baumgartner, A&S '16
 


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"Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?" by Mindy Kaling

2/17/2013

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Title: Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)
Author: Mindy Kaling
Genres: Humor, Memoir
# pages: 219
Date published: September 18, 2012
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Recommended? Yes



As an avid fan of The Office and a recent follower of The Mindy Project, there’s a special place for Mindy Kaling in my heart. I have never been an autobiography-reading kind of girl, but after reading Tina Fey’s BossyPants, I decided to give the genre a chance. Coupled with the realization that Kaling recently ventured into the egotistical category, I had to read it. Let me tell you, it was far from disappointing.  Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) was a hilarious depiction of Kaling’s life and her random tidbits of wisdom.


Kaling paints a picture of her life through self-deprecating humor. She talks about how much she admires her parents and the numerous times she embarrassed her brother in summer camp. She explains how rare it is to be an overweight Indian child and yet how her mother embraced her for it. She also humorously describes why romantic comedies are the best genre and what clothes every man should own. She strongly believes that JC Chasez was the cutest member of ’NSYNC and Converse sneakers have a lifetime of one year. With every topic Kaling hits on, whether it’s serious or ridiculous, she uses her humor and personable character to engage the reader. Kaling is a role model to all women due to her humility, intelligence, and work ethic. I not only admire her, but I wish she were my best friend.


I won’t lie to you; I could not put this book down. I read it in the gym, in between classes, even before bed. It took me a little less than two days to finally finish it. Obviously,  Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) isn’t the epitome of classic literature, but it’s still a captivating book which I highly recommend. Kaling covers topics every young woman has thought about, but she does so with a hilarious twist. This is the perfect novel to finish in a few days and to pass on to your best friend. 


Review by Hallie Sullivan, A&S '15

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"Drop Dead Healthy" by A.J. Jacobs

2/5/2013

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Title: Drop Dead Healthy
Author: A.J. Jacobs
Genre: Memoir
# of Pages: 371
Date Published: 2012
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Recommend: Yes

I’ve read A. J. Jacobs’ work before.  In addition to being an editor at Esquire, he has filled the bookstore shelves with funny memoirs about the crazy experiments he regularly attempts.  The last book of his I picked up, A Year of Living Biblically, portrayed his experience trying to live a year following every rule of the Bible.  Full of sass, he drives his family crazy with his social experiments. Jacobs’ books move quickly with reasonably paced chapters that get to the point and include pictures to hasten the dialogue!  Normally, I’d give any book two stars minimum for having pictures.  His latest work is the concern of this review, however. In Drop Dead Healthy, Jacobs attempts to become the healthiest man alive.  After having a mid-life crisis, he realizes that he needs to get his act together on the health and fitness front. This book follows his journey as he embarks on a series of entertaining visits to a myriad of health experts.


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I’m always trying to read different things and push myself out of the comfortable light reading I like to do outside of class.  Being a tame yoga-going, stationary bike riding, sometimes-elliptical-if-there’s-no-one-to-watch-me-fall-off kind of girl, I was intrigued by the extreme health trends Jacobs tried; he described his experiences in a way that didn’t leave me feeling like I was reading another textbook for class. Instead of going to get acupuncture, going vegan, or turning my own desk into a treadmill, I witnessed him consult experts in every field in the hopes of finding the very best, but easy to follow advice for all aspects of health.  From confronting germ phobias to discovering new tricks for dealing with stress, to trying out the “caveman movement” (don’t ask, just read), he attempts all sorts of extreme “hip” movements as well as trusted, old-fashioned exercise.  

I’m pretty picky when it comes to books, so I gave this one three stars.  It moves quickly enough hold your interest, but I didn’t find it as witty as his other works.  Overall, he addressed a lot of different issues in a casual way that held the reader’s attention from the very beginning.  If you’re curious about ways to live well, just want to laugh, or need a fast read for your time on the treadmill/stationary bike/elliptical, this is the book for you!

Review by Molly Saint, A&S '15                                 Illustration by Kayla D'Ambrosio, A&S '14

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"The Broken Cord" by Michael Dorris

11/13/2012

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Title:  The Broken Cord
Author: Michael Dorris
Genre: Memoir
Number of Pages: 281
Date Published: 1989
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Recommended: Yes!

Set in the early 1970’s, the voice and hand behind The Broken Cord, Michael Dorris, decides that he would like to become a father. Single, and without an ounce of parental experience, Michael applies to adopt a young Native American boy. It is here that the novel begins, and serves as an account of Dorris' struggle to understand the physical and mental impairments of his sweet and loving son Adam.  Dorris begins his quest for the answers behind his son’s difficulties and searches to find out more about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, which is the clinical condition that Michael discovers is affecting his own son.  Michael’s account is told with such openness that it would engage the heart of any sensitive, knowledge-seeking individual  whether or not those symptoms were found among loved ones or friends.


Michael Dorris explores the disintegrating culture of Native American communities within the United States, of which he was a part of as a child and now values as an adult.  The prevalent abuse of alcohol and other damaging substances among these communities is explained and examined by Dorris in both an informative and understanding manner.  A product and student of the Native American community, Dorris can show us how two cultures wrestle with such issues. Or, alternatively, how two versions of the "social contract" might try to cope with the human devastation inherent in a woman's consumption of drugs during her child-bearing years. His research led him to the realization that FAS and FAE have been surmised and counseled about in most of Western culture as far back as Ancient Greece.

I recommend The Broken Cord as a personal story, admirably told and exhaustively researched, which will add one more example to our human dilemma to keep rights and duties in balance in the course of our own personal exploration for meaning and justice for the communities of which we are all apart. 


Review by Morgan Healy, Lynch '16



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"Truth & Beauty" by Ann Patchett

9/2/2012

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Title: Truth & Beauty
Author: Ann Patchett
Genre: Memoir
Number of pages: 257
Year published: 2005
Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

To begin, I would like to encourage my fellow seniors not to flee from the name Ann Patchett. While many of us may not be particularly fond of her due to the fact that she was the reason that we had required reading the summer before college, Ann Patchett is actually a very talented author. Truth & Beauty was written in light of the death of Patchett’s great friend, American poet and author Lucy Grealy. The book traces their friendship from its beginning in 1985 through nearly twenty years of love, rejection, hope, and despair. By recounting specific conversations, citing real letters from Lucy, and describing each moment with an enormous amount of detail, Patchett provides insight into the intricacies and overall beauty of her relationship with Lucy Grealy. It is a book on loyalty, devotion, and love.

I started reading Truth and Beauty after it was given to me by a professor who called it “her favorite book on women’s friendship.” I decided I would give it a chance, but braced myself for a slow-paced, drawn-out novel. To my surprise, once I began reading this book I found myself genuinely looking forward to the next time I would pick it up. While it wasn’t something I would sit down and read for long periods of time, it was a book that I could easily read in small sections whenever I had a free moment.

The friendship between Ann Patchett and Lucy Grealy was unique, unexpected, and at the same time, perfect. Ann, a level-headed writer, served as a stabilizing factor for the erratic Lucy Grealy. Lucy, who was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer at the age of nine that required the removal of her jawbone, spent great chunks of her life in hospitals, recovering from facial reconstructive surgeries. Despite this obstacle, she remained a vivacious character that only exhibited her insecurities to those closest to her.

Naturally, once I finished reading this book I had a compulsion to see who my new friend Lucy Grealy was, to place her in a real world context. I found myself watching a Charlie Rose interview of Lucy from 1994, during which I felt as though I was watching an old friend speak. In my head, I already knew Lucy Grealy more intimately than Charlie Rose could ever know her. The Lucy I had met through Truth and Beauty was exuberant, energetic, dynamic, complex, and profound in a way such that she could only be truly understood by those closest to her—including myself, of course.

By all of this, what I mean to say is that Ann Patchett did such an outstanding job of bringing Lucy Grealy back to life that the written Lucy now seems more alive to me than the real woman that was captured on film. It is the detail of her writing, the honesty in each of her words, and the vivacity of her memories that serve to develop Lucy’s personality, Ann’s love, and their friendship so completely.

While this novel is not necessarily a “page-turner,” it still kept my attention. The sections of the novel that are slow or frustrating are only that way because Ann Patchett did such a tremendous job of portraying each event without any sugar-coating. I would recommend this book to any woman that is interested in reading about true friendship. In addition, writers should consider checking out this memoir since Ann Patchett describes her career path and the struggles she faced to become the author she is today. It is an entertaining and emotional novel in which Ann Patchett offers the reader a chance to be a part of the beautiful friendship between her and Lucy Grealy.  


Review by Christie Wentworth, A&S '13


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