Tag: memoir

37 Difficult Questions From My Mixed-Race Son

~ cafebedouin

“Mommy, I have changed my name to “The Sixth Jackson.”

Wait, really? I’m supposed to say, ‘This in my son, ‘The Sixth Jackson.’?’

No. You are supposed to say, “This is the Sixth Jackson.” And then I will show them my moves. And then they will understand.

Damn.”

—Mira Jacob. “37 Difficult Questions From My Mixed-Race Son.” Buzzfeed. June 8, 2015.

New to me. Mentioned as part of Mira Jacob’s just released, “Good Talk,” which is a graphic memoir of conversations that have this quote at their heart:

“I can’t protect you from spending a lifetime caught between the beautiful dream of a diverse nation and the complicated reality of one.”

h/t Longreads.

Book Review: To Throw Away Unopened by Viv Albertine

~ cafebedouin

Enjoyable memoir on processing the death of her mother and coming to terms with her family history. Viv Albertine has a candor that is as refreshing as a pint of beer to the crotch, which I liked.

Recommended to women over 50, parents, and men who get The SCUM Manifesto by Valerie Solanas.

Quotes I liked, some of which are quoting others:

“Every decision you make in life sends you off down a path that could turn out to be the wrong one.”

“Forcing something, whether a shit, song or a relationship, never gets the best results.”

“Let a person be who they are. If they do something that makes you feel uncomfortable or doesn’t work for you, tell them. If they don’t or can’t adjust, and it doesn’t bother you too much, ignore it. If it does bother you, leave.”

“Finding another person to love is finding another person to lose.”

“Sometimes the key arrives before the lock.”

“The worst four words in the English language are, ‘We need to talk.'”

“Love is in the eye of the beholder.”

“You should always call a person when you think of them.”

“You shall know the truth and the truth will make you odd.”

“Sometimes life needs a bit of a nudge to live up to our expectations.”

“No one comes through life clean.”

“Truth is splintered.”

Seymour Hersh’s “Reporter”

~ cafebedouin

“‘Reporter’ demonstrates that Hersh has derived three simple lessons from that rule:

  1. The powerful prey mercilessly upon the powerless, up to and including mass murder.
  2. The powerful lie constantly about their predations.
  3. The natural instinct of the media is to let the powerful get away with it.”

—Jon Schwarz, “Seymour Hersh’s New Memoir Is a Fascinating, Flabbergasting Masterpiece.” The Intercept. June 2, 2018.