Monthly Archives: April 2011

Want to Write a Great Memoir Query Letter? Marla Miller Can Help!

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Shirley Hershey Showalter

Meet Marla Miller, marketing expert, blogger, writer, columnist in The Writer, workshop giver, and query letter critique-er I first met Marla in 2007 when I attended the Santa Barbara Writer’s Conference. I was totally new to both creative writing and … Continue reading →

Posted in Marketing Tips, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

A Million Little Pieces of Memoir Genre Trust

Posted on April 25, 2011 by Shirley Hershey Showalter

Like most of my readers, I am an admirer of Greg Mortenson and think what he has done  in Afghanistan and Pakistan–building schools (helping girls, especially) and building relationships of trust–is the best way for Americans to interact with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Memoir Controversies, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

Audio Books v. Kindle v. Old Fashioned Book–Which is Better?

Posted on April 21, 2011 by Shirley Hershey Showalter

One of the best rewards of blogging is discovering a new or old friend in the comments section. Fun! Since I spent 28 years interacting with undergraduates at Goshen College, I love encountering them and hearing about their lives. Several … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal Reflections | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

Doris Kearns Goodwin on Work, Love, Play, and a Bit of Memoir

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Shirley Hershey Showalter

Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin combines her knowledge of American presidents with Eric Erickson’s observation that we need to balance three needs–love, work, and play–in order to be fulfilled people. She describes Lincoln’s love of the theater and storytelling and contrasts … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal Reflections | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Say It Ain’t So, Greg! Three Cups of Tea Comes Under Memoir Scrutiny

Posted on April 18, 2011 by Shirley Hershey Showalter

I loved the book Three Cups of Tea. You likely did also if you read it. This morning The New York Times carried an investigative story that questions the veracity of the central narrative about stumbling upon Korphe, a village … Continue reading →

Posted in Memoir Controversies, Memoir in the News | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

The Remembering Self v. The Experiencing Self–A Crucial Distinction for the Memoir Writer?

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Shirley Hershey Showalter

The video below of a TED talk given by Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman is a must-watch for all memoir writers. In this talk Kahneman, psychologist and inventor of the field of behavioral economics, describes how hard it is to study … Continue reading →

Posted in Memoir in the News, Personal Reflections | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Emma: A Widow Among the Amish–A Son’s Perspective

Posted on April 11, 2011 by Shirley Hershey Showalter

Since my own memoir focuses on growing up Mennonite, I have read a number of Mennonite and Amish memoirs and reviewed them here, here, and here. Ervin Stutzman, the current executive director of the Mennonite Church USA, gave himself an … Continue reading →

Posted in My Reviews, Spiritual Memoir | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Joshua Foer’s Moonwalking with Einstein: A Year-of-Memorizing Memoir

Posted on April 4, 2011 by Shirley Hershey Showalter

Meet Joshua Foer, a 28-year-old whose first book, Moonwalking with Einstein, reminds me of Malcolm Gladwell’s books–quirky, researched subjects with personal and other anecdotes sprinkled generously through out. Moonwalking actually fits another memoir subcategory: the year-of-memoir. In these memoirs the … Continue reading →

Posted in My Reviews, Personal Reflections | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

The Cycle of Life: All Shall Be Well

Posted on April 1, 2011 by Shirley Hershey Showalter

Some pictures are worth a million words. Introducing our first grandchild–Owen William Showalter. Born March 31, 2011, at 11:15. As he was being born, my dear Aunt Lois was dying. I’m feeling the full impact of the life cycle today. … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal Reflections | Tagged , , | 22 Comments