Category Archives: Book review

Good writers read. Good memoirists read memoir. Thoughts on books…

“Freckled” by Toby Wilson Neal

Posted on December 2, 2020 by first person productions

I asked Jeremiah to review this book, realizing that since he grew up in Hawaii, he would offer a more informed perspective than I could. I enjoyed the book and highly recommend it. As an entrant in the “awful childhood … Continue reading →

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“Black Is the Body” by Emily Bernard

Posted on June 3, 2020 by first person productions

By Sarah White Is there anything so satisfying to hold in one’s hands as a new hardcover book, purchased from a good independent bookstore found on a solo getaway, cracked open in the bookstore’s café? It’s like settling in for … Continue reading →

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Let’s add some reading and writing (forget the Arithmetic)

Posted on March 18, 2020 by first person productions

These are troubling times. I’m self-isolating (as if my lifestyle weren’t already pretty self-isolated, as a home-based freelance writer). I’m trying to meet the world as if I were the one carrying contagion, protecting those around me with social distance, … Continue reading →

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Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World

Posted on February 12, 2020 by first person productions

Review by Sarah White You want to do good. But how do you figure out how to do good, well? That is, how do you ensure you make your contributions in ways that actually achieve positive results? I believe that … Continue reading →

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The Yellow House–new memoir by Sarah Broom

Posted on January 1, 2020 by first person productions

Review by Sarah White I don’t recall, nor does it matter, what brought Sarah Broom’s memoir The Yellow House to my attention. Maybe a “best new memoirs” list (it won the National Book Awards 2019 first place for Nonfiction), or maybe … Continue reading →

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Wallace Stegner’s “Crossing to Safety” and the Rolling Now

Posted on July 31, 2019 by first person productions

By Sarah White While staying at Windhorse Farm leading a writing retreat in Nova Scotia in May, I ran into an old friend—Crossing to Safety,Wallace Stegner’s 1987 novel and one of my favorite books of all time. I began reading … Continue reading →

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“The Business of Being a Writer” by Jane Friedman

Posted on April 17, 2019 by first person productions

The final required text for my Big MFA Adventure was The Business of Being a Writer by Jane Friedman. If you don’t recognize that name, it’s time to change that. Advice and resources from publishing guru Jane Friedman have consistently … Continue reading →

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Jello Girls

Posted on January 2, 2019 by first person productions

By Sarah White When I saw Jell-O Girls: A Family History on a “new nonfiction” list recently, it caught my eye, since I’m researching and writing about another 20th century company with the intent to produce a social history/memoir. I can … Continue reading →

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“It’s Never Too Late to Begin Again,” by Julia Cameron with Emma Lively

Posted on June 21, 2018 by first person productions

In January 2017, I convened an unusual book club. We were comprised of members of the Association of Personal Historians, coming together around the book It’s Never Too Late to Begin Again: Discovering Creativity and Meaning at Midlife and Beyond, … Continue reading →

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“What It Is” by Lynda Barry

Posted on March 28, 2018 by first person productions

Book Review by Rebecca Ahl I first started reading Lynda Barry in 1990, when her comic strip Ernie Pook’s Comeek ran in Seattle’s free weekly paper, The Stranger. The oddly ugly drawings and scathing observations about childhood grabbed me every week. … Continue reading →

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