This was an interesting memoir, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I were familiar with any of the author’s other work. But it was a very quick read (less than 100 pages) and wonderful writing.

This book will be traveling on a bookray. Send me a private message if you're interested in participating. Please include shipping preferences if you have any.

Tips for successful participation in a bookray or ring:

• As soon as you receive the book, add a journal entry so the sender knows it wasn't lost in transit.
• Try to read the book within 1-3 months so those after you in the shipping order don't have to wait too long.
• When you mail the book, add a journal entry with the date you mailed it. This will help me track it down with the postal service if it gets lost in transit.

Here are the BookCrossers who have expressed an interest in this bookray. We'll try to stick to this order if at all possible. When you're done, send a private message to the next person on the list and arrange to mail it to him or her. The last person on the list can pass it on to whomever they want. Enjoy!

amber-h
tiatia
mrsjones
quinnsmom (received)
MonkeyGirl
huntersmith
MollyGrue
SiniMeri
Secretariat
HikingReader
brideofmessiah
WritinReader
Lindsaygail
bookshop

I'll send this to amber-h via media mail tomorrow. Enjoy!

Got it today in the mail, and I'll start reading ASAP!

A soon as I wrap up the last 20 pages or so of the book I have buried myself in, I will start this one. Since it is so short I'll try to get an addy before I am done to hurry the book along. I read Bastard out of Carolina so I am looking forward to this autobiography.

A different slant on family dynamics and perception. I encountered something similar myself when my sister and I were discussing why our family immigrated to the USA. Her very phrasing "that's not the family story I know" resonated throughout this book. I think that the author had much more of a need to reinvent herself than most and she wrote of the transformations well.

Off to Ohio....

Received this in the mail today. Looks like a good one. I'll get started on it this weekend.

I didn't like this book as much as I'd expected to. I think Allison skimmed over so much of her childhood. I can't remember what I read that talked more in detail about her childhood. I read "Bastard Out of Carolina" and "Cavedweller" for a literature class in college, which is how I was first introduced to Dorothy Allison's work. This memoir fell flat for me. There just wasn't enough detail or depth to such enormous childhood issues. Maybe she was too close to her subject matter to give it the importance it deserved??

Will send on to quinnsmom once I have an address.

I am SO sorry about the delay in journaling, but believe it or not, I fell down the stairs in my house, landed on my tailbone, and have had trouble moving, much less using my computer. So I wanted you to know that the book is here, that I'll read it and move it along next week. Thank you so much for including me!