6/9/20 HOW TO SURVIVE DEATH AND OTHER INCONVENIENCES BY SUE WILLIAM SILVERMAN

Print Length: 213 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1496214099
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press (March 1, 2020)
Publication Date: March 1, 2020

SYNOPSIS:

Many are haunted and obsessed by their own eventual deaths, but perhaps no one as much as Sue William Silverman. This thematically linked collection of essays charts Silverman’s attempt to confront her fears of that ultimate unknown. Her dread was fomented in part by a sexual assault, hidden for years, that led to an awareness that death and sex are in some ways inextricable, an everyday reality many women know too well.

Through gallows humor, vivid realism, and fantastical speculation, How to Survive Death and Other Inconveniences explores this fear of death and the author’s desire to survive it. From cruising New Jersey’s industry-blighted landscape in a gold Plymouth to visiting the emergency room for maladies both real and imagined to suffering the stifling strictness of an intractable piano teacher, Silverman guards her memories for the same reason she resurrects archaic words—to use as talismans to ward off the inevitable. Ultimately, Silverman knows there is no way to survive death physically. Still, through language, commemoration, and metaphor, she searches for a sliver of transcendent immortality.

TOUGHTS/REVIEW:

Haruki Murakami said that “Death is not the opposite of life, but a part of it”. Sue William Silverman writes a collection of essays and musings of what might suggest in the tile to be a morbid book, “How to Survive Death and Other Inconveniences”, but in fact is a clever book about a woman who very much wants to live and survive – so much so that she advices to survive death, one must believe in magic, language and memory. Silverman described death as the Ultima Thule – the great unknown that as much as death may terrify her, she vows to taunt it with “Death: Catch me if you can”. This latest collection of essays examines her life from a young age of 4 through her teenage years as she taunts death and takes calculated risks. Terrified of death she convinces herself that a headache could be an aneurysm, a stroke, a brain tumor – searching the web for answers and consults Google,MD. As a nurse, I found this piece the most fascinating and my favorite essay as she goes on to explain about her obsession and worry about her symptoms, and thank goodness because many times it has saved her from death. Silverman writes with so much wit and a way with words. I find her ramblings amusing and best enjoyed savored slowly over a glass of wine. I enjoyed this one. 

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT:

Sue William Silverman's forthcoming memoir is HOW TO SURVIVE DEATH and OTHER INCONVENIENCES (University of Nebraska Press, March 2020). Her previous memoirs are THE PAT BOONE FAN CLUB: MY LIFE AS A WHITE ANGLO-SAXON JEW (University of Nebraska Press); LOVE SICK: ONE WOMAN'S JOURNEY THROUGH SEXUAL ADDICTION (W.W. Norton), which aired as a Lifetime Television original movie, and BECAUSE I REMEMBER TERROR, FATHER, I REMEMBER YOU (University of Georgia Press), which won the AWP award in creative nonfiction. Her craft book is FEARLESS CONFESSIONS: A WRITER'S GUIDE TO MEMOIR, and her poetry collections are IF THE GIRL NEVER LEARNS (Brick Mantel Books) and HIEROGLYPHICS IN NEON (Orchises Press). As a professional speaker she has appeared on "The View," "Anderson Cooper-360," "CNN-Headline News," the Montel Williams Show, and the Discovery Channel. She teaches in the MFA in Writing program at the Vermont College of Fine Arts.

6/1/20 THAT'S NOT A THING BY JACQUELINE FRIEDLAND

• Print Length: 352 pages
• Publisher: SparkPress (April 14, 2020)
• Publication Date: April 14, 2020

SYNOPSIS:

Meredith Altman’s engagement to Wesley Latner ended in spectacular disaster—one that shattered her completely. Years have passed since then, and now she’s about to marry Aaron Rapp, a former Ivy League football player and baby-saving doctor. As they celebrate their engagement at a new TriBeCa hotspot, Meredith is stunned to find the restaurant owner is none other than Wesley, the man she is still secretly trying to forget.

When Meredith learns that Wesley has been diagnosed with ALS, her feelings about their past become all the more confusing. As she spends more time with Wesley and is pulled further under his spell, she discovers what kind of man her new fiancé really is—and what kind of woman she wants to be.

THOUGHTS/REVIEW:

I LOVED THIS BOOK. If you enjoy reading stories about the one that got away then this book is for you. The range of emotions I went through with this book - that when I started I could not stop reading until my eyes were strained, and everything else neglected. 

Meredith and Wesley met during college at Columbia and their love story was completely enthralling, until a tragic accident caused their horrible breakup. Years later, Meredith, was now in another relationship with Aaron, a pediatric heart surgeon, and engaged. In their search for a wedding venue, they ran into a TriBeCa chic restaurant owned by none other than Meredith’s ex Wesley. Information about Wesley brings them together in an unfortunate love triangle. 

Friedland’s writing was heartrending, emotional and beautiful. She was able to capture the emotions of old love and new, digging into deep seated emotions that we bury to move on, but never forgetting. It was about forgiveness and being true to yourself. Friedland’s brilliance was her writing of witty and smart dialogue, relatable characters, and fabulous pacing while perfectly unfolding the story in two timelines.

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT:

Jacqueline Friedland holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and a JD from NYU Law School. She practiced as an attorney in New York before returning to school to receive her MFA from Sarah Lawrence College. She lives in New York with her husband, four children, and a couple of crazy dogs.

5/17/20 ”Little Tea” by Claire Fullerton

Print Length: 252 pages
Publisher: Firefly Southern Fiction (May 1, 2020)
Publication Date: May 1, 2020

Sold by: Amazon.com Services LLC

Southern Culture … Old Friendships … Family Tragedy


One phone call from Renny to come home and “see about” the capricious Ava and Celia Wakefield decides to overlook her distressful past in the name of friendship.

For three reflective days at Renny’s lake house in Heber Springs, Arkansas, the three childhood friends reunite and examine life, love, marriage, and the ties that bind, even though Celia’s personal story has yet to be healed. When the past arrives at the lake house door in the form of her old boyfriend, Celia must revisit the life she’d tried to outrun.

As her idyllic coming of age alongside her best friend, Little Tea, on her family’s ancestral grounds in bucolic Como, Mississippi unfolds, Celia realizes there is no better place to accept her own story than in this circle of friends who have remained beside her throughout the years. Theirs is a friendship that can talk any life sorrow into a comic tragedy, and now that the racial divide in the Deep South has evolved, Celia wonders if friendship can triumph over history.

THOUGHTS/REVIEW:


Southern Fiction genre is new to me and I have quickly fallen in love with this style and subject matter of storytelling. It is a genre I love for its quirky and fun to read about characters that are full of sass, full of independent women with strong and unique personalities, life-long friendships, and a deeply rooted family legacy stories in a setting I enjoy reading about. The dialogue is superb with the addition of the southern colloquialism, the story will immerse you into the story. 

Claire Fullerton wrote a beautiful story set in two timelines. The current one telling the story of three friends - Remmy a veterinarian, Ava their flighty friend in marital distress and Celia from Malibu, California with a complex past story that she would rather leave behind - told through Celia's perspective. The other timeline picks up the story from the 1980's that tells of Celia's history set in Mississippi and alongside her best friend, Little Tea. I enjoyed the Historical Fiction aspect of the story and really enjoyed going back to the past to really learn about the characters' back stories. 

The portrayal of a very narrow minded southern culture that was cultivated within the lives of the people were eye opening to me. I loved how Fullerton addressed issues of friendship, love, marriage and second chances. The story was well written, had beautifully developed strong and unique characters that I loved reading about. This was a truly enjoyable Southern Fiction, Women's Fiction and Domestic Drama novel that I recommend.

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT:

Claire Fullerton hails from Memphis, TN. and now lives in Malibu, CA. with her husband and 3 German shepherds. She is the author of Mourning Dove, a coming of age, Southern family saga set in 1970's Memphis. Mourning Dove is a five-time award winner, including the Literary Classics Words on Wings for Book of the Year, and the Ippy Award silver medal in regional fiction ( Southeast.) Claire is also the author of Dancing to an Irish Reel, a Kindle Book Review and Readers' Favorite award winner that is set on the west coast of Ireland, where she once lived. Claire's first novel is a paranormal mystery set in two time periods titled, A Portal in Time, set in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. She is a contributor to the book, A Southern Season with her novella, Through an Autumn Window, set at a Memphis funeral ( because something always goes wrong at a Southern funeral.) Little Tea is Claire's 4th novel and is set in the Deep South. It is the story of the bonds of female friendship, healing the past, and outdated racial relations. Little Tea is the August selection of the Pulpwood Queens, a Faulkner Society finalist in the William Wisdom international competition, and a finalist in the Chanticleer Review's Somerset award. She is represented by Julie Gwinn of the Seymour Literary

5/15/20 THE PLEASURE PLAN BY Laura Zam

• Print Length: 287 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0757323502
• Publisher: Health Communications Inc EB; 1 edition (May 5, 2020)

Based on popular essays in New York Times' Modern Love and Salon, as well as an Off-Broadway one-person play, The Pleasure Plan is a sexual healing odyssey, a manifesto for women to claim pleasure as a priority, and a love story all at once.

Fifty percent of adult women have some form of sexual difficulty at some point in their lives, preventing them from enjoying vibrant, soul-satisfying sex. Such was the case with Laura Zam, who suffered the shame and embarrassment of feeling "bedroom broken."

For her, delving between the sheets meant physical pain, zero desire, and emotional scars from being molested in her early years. However, in her forties, after meeting and marrying the love of her life, Zam was determined to finally fix her sensual self.

The Pleasure Plan is what happened when she decided to challenge her hopelessness. In partnership with her initially reluctant husband, Zam visited 15 healers and tried 30 pleasure-enhancing methods, including hypnosis with a bawdy therapist; Tantra with a geriatric mistress; and cutting edge workshops in desire, arousal, and orgasm. She also learned about pelvic floor mishaps, hormonal imbalances, and female erections! Amidst these adventures, the author seamlessly interweaves her recovery from child abuse, tales of her Auschwitz-surviving mother, and a clear-eyed view of how medical and mental health professionals might better serve women with sex problems.

Packed with humor, heart, and a healthy dose of prescriptive advice, this memoir also chronicles how Zam and her husband grow, in and outside the bedroom. Her healing becomes their healing. In this #MeToo era, partners can learn from Zam's journey how to support a significant other who's been affected.

Today, Laura works as a sexuality educator, wellness coach, and speaker helping other women who suffer from sexual dysfunction, the effects of trauma, or those who would simply like more pleasure (of all kinds) in their lives. She also consults with health care providers so they may better assist their clients in achieving sexual well-being.

The Pleasure Plan is a roadmap for sexual healing that empowers women to speak up, seek help, and take charge of their health.

THOUGHTS/REVIEW:

The Pleasure Plan by Laura Zam is a very personal medical memoir and a self help book that was exceptionally well written, beautifully expressed, and sensitively addressed women's sexuality issues. The stories shared are funny and heartfelt, yet deeply personnal. Women's sexuality is a very important topic - most especially for those women who have suffered any type of trauma. Laura Zam is a sexuality educator that is also a Certified Trauma Professional, and I found her voice in this guide and memoir as the subject matter expert in this topic based on her extensive research, as well as her own personal experiences.

Laura Zam shared very intimate details of her life and relationships including her sexual dysfunction. In doing this, she has made herself very vulnerable and I found this to be such a courageous act to share with her readers. In discussing this topic, many women fear being judged and misunderstood, or maybe it's a taboo subject based on their religious or cultural upbringing. I commend Zam for her bravery in writing this very important topic that women can benefit from, especially those who feel broken.

The book is presented into three parts and each of the chapter ending has a self-help tip and journal entry prompts to encourage self evaluation and introspection on the topics addressed. An extensive resource and guide is also provided at the end, in the Appendix on a listing of medical professionals that can help such as Gynecologists, sex therapists and even pelvic floor Physical Therapists to name a few.

As a medical professional reading this beautifully written memoir and guide, I highly recommend this book.

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT:

Laura Zam is a Sexuality Educator, Certified Trauma Professional, wellness trainer, award-winning solo performer, HuffPost blogger, TEDx speaker, and workshop leader, whose work focuses on sexual healing. Her writing appears in The New York Times (Modern Love), Salon, HuffPost, SheKnows, NextTribe, the Forward, in international journals, and in five book anthologies. Her solo pieces have been performed in New York at The International Fringe Festival, The Public Theatre, the United Solo Festival (Off-Broadway), and others. National venues include The Kennedy Center, The National Theatre, and the U.S Holocaust Memorial Museum, as well theaters, conferences, schools, libraries, and universities across the U.S. and abroad. Laura has been awarded numerous grants, including a Tennessee William's Fellowship and five Artist grants from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. She has also taught at a number of universities including Brown University and UC Berkeley.