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.
Pick up your copy here...
https://www.amazon.com/Survive-Death-Other-Inconveniences-American/dp/1496214099/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1590685564&sr=1-1
Her previous memoir-in-essays is "The Pat Boone Fan Club: My Life as a White Anglo-Saxon Jew." The book describes Sue's search for authentic self-identity - a search complicated by her conflicted feelings toward Judaism and her various efforts to "pass" as Christian. At the heart of this journey are three separate encounters with 1960s pop-music icon, turned Christian provocateur, Pat Boone, who plays a pivotal role in her desire to belong to the dominant culture. It is published with the University of Nebraska Press as part of their American Lives Series, edited by Tobias Wolff.
An earlier memoir is "Love Sick: One Woman's Journey through Sexual Addiction" (W. W. Norton), which is also a Lifetime Television original movie. During the filming, Sue visited the set and makes a cameo appearance in the movie!
Her first memoir, "Because I Remember Terror, Father, I Remember You" (University of Georgia Press), won the AWP award series in creative nonfiction. Her two poetry collections are "If the Girl Never Learns" and "Hieroglyphics in Neon." Sue's book on craft is "Fearless Confessions: A Writer's Guide to Memoir," which won Honorable Mention in "ForeWord Review's" book of the year award.
Check out the photos of Sue on this page! In one she is with Pat Boone after one of his concerts. In another, she stands beside the actress Sally Pressman, who portrays Sue in the movie "Love Sick." And another from the movie set shows Sue standing outside her movie trailer! There is also a photo of Sue teaching a workshop in creative nonfiction.
As a professional speaker, Sue has appeared on such television programs as The View, Anderson Cooper-360, and CNN-Headline News. She teaches in the low-residency MFA in Writing program at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Sue believes we all have a story to tell, that all our voices are important, and encourages others to write their life narratives, too.
Her partner is the poet Marc Sheehan, and they have two cats, Bijou and Siobahn.
For more information and photos of Sue, please visit www.SueWilliamSilverman.com.
My Thoughts...
Are you ready for this memoir? Silverman has given us a gift with this one. You will want to grab your favorite drink kick back and devour this one. I'm so thankful that I got a chance to read this, hurry and grab your copy.
I gave this memoir 4 stars.
The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required and all views expressed are our own.
Good posts.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThe title does not sound like one I would read.
ReplyDeleteInteresting title.
ReplyDeleteWell, this is an author, I have never heard of.
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