Elizabeth Gilbert has a new book.

Ordinarily, this kind of thing is not huge news but this particular writers’ previous book was Eat Pray Love. So what? Well….several years ago, THAT book become a megabestselling and deeply beloved memoir about Gilberts’ process of finding herself by leaving home. She faced down a premidlife crisis by doing what we all secretly dream of…running off for a year!! She spent that time in spiritual and personal exploration while traveling abroad through Italy, India and Indonesia. The memoir was on The New York Times best seller list in the spring of 2006 and by October, 2008, after 88 weeks, the book was still on the list at #2!

But now what do you do?

Gilbert said, “There’s something very scary about having millions of people waiting to see what you’re going to do next. The people who love ‘Eat Pray Love’ are very dear and are very encouraging, but they also have their expectations” (Motoko Rich, The New York Times Book Review, August 19, 2009).

“At the end of Eat Pray Love, Elizabeth Gilbert fell in love with Felipe, a Brazilian-born man of Australian citizenship who’d been living in Indonesia when they met. Resettling in America, the couple swore eternal fidelity to each other, but also swore to never, ever, under any circumstances get legally married. (Both were survivors of previous horrific divorces.) But providence intervened one day in the form of the United States government, which—after unexpectedly detaining Felipe at an American border crossing—gave the couple a choice: they could either get married, or Felipe would never be allowed to enter the country again. Having been effectively sentenced to wed, Gilbert tackled her fears of marriage by delving into this topic completely, trying with all her might to discover through historical research, interviews, and much personal reflection what this stubbornly enduring old institution actually is.” (From the jacket)

Her next book, Committed, was born.

When she finished a draft in May 2008, she took it to a copy shop to print out a first version. As soon as she began paging through it, she recoiled. “It was different from just the anxiety and insecurities that you feel when you’re writing something,” she said. “It was non-debatable.”  Without showing it to Viking’s publisher, she wrote asking for a deferral on her deadline. They gave her another year. After taking six months off, she decided she could write again, this time in what she believed was a more authentic voice. “I was scared that all the people who loved ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ might not want to read that new voice,” she said. “But I knew that if I didn’t do it that way it would just be a lousy book” (Motoko Rich, The New York Times Book Review, August 19, 2009).

“Ultimately, Gilbert is clear about what she, like most people, wants from marriage: everything. “We want intimacy and autonomy, security and stimulation, reassurance and novelty, coziness and thrills. But we can’t have it.” Gilbert understands this, yet she tries to convince herself and her readers that she has found a loophole. She tells herself a familiar story, that her marriage will be different. And she is, of course, right—everyone’s marriage is different. But everyone’s marriage is a compromise” (Ariel Levy, “The New Yorker“, January 11, 2010).

Committed has not received the acclaim or initial devotion of Eat Pray Love but at least she had the guts to get back out there. We seem to long for books that enlighten, entertain and motivate change in its readers, etc, but we tend to turn right back around and skewer any follow-up writings from that same beloved author. Go figure. This new book is good. It’s just not as good as the other. So what? I still like her.

Just in case your wondering what Elizabeth Gilbert was up to before she wrote Eat Pray Love; I think you will be fairly amazed! She was no literary lightweight. Her previous books include the collection, Pilgrims, a compilation of short stories which received the Pushcart Prize and was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award. This was followed by her novel, Stern Men, (about lobster fishermen in Maine) which was selected by The New York Times as a “Notable Book” and a biography of the woodsman Eustace Conway, called The Last American Man, which was a finalist for the 2002 National Book Award and a finalist for the 2002 National Book Critics Circle Award.

Not too shabby!!!

Gilbert speaking at the 2009 TED Conference; Watch full talk at ted.com

But Gilbert writes: “I don’t think I will ever write another book as raw, intimate and revealing as Eat. Pray, Love, which I wrote without imagining that millions of people would ever read it. While Committed is also written in a familiar-enough memoir structure, it is far less personal, and much more a meditation, or a contemplation, on a vast historical subject. I use myself and Felipe as sort of stand-ins for the readers, who, I suspect, probably have similar questions and hesitations about their own marriages and relationships, but I actually don’t feel very exposed or revealed by this story. If anything, I think Felipe and I are pretty representative of modern day lovers…” (see Elizabeth Gilberts’ website for full Q & A)

On writing, in general, she shares this:

“I love this work. I have always loved this work. My suggestion is that you start with the love and then work very hard and try to let go of the results. Cast out your will, and then cut the line.” (see Elizabeth Gilberts’ website for full Q & A)

No one who read Jeannette Walls’ memoir, The Glass Castle, can forget her riveting opening sentence:

“I was sitting in a taxi, wondering if I had overdressed for the evening, when I looked out the window and saw Mom rooting through a Dumpster . . . Mom stood fifteen feet away. She had tied rags around her shoulders to keep out the spring chill and was picking through the trash while her dog played . . . at her feet . . . ”

Not your typical memoir! The Glass Castle is the story of Jeannette Walls’ life…her childhood primarily, in which she describes with beauty and matter of factness, what life was like growing up with her three siblings and their parents. Her family was at once deeply dysfunctional but also unique and surprisingly vibrant. Her brilliant, gregarious father taught them about physics, geology and how to make the everyday seem like an endless adventure, all the while moving from place to place to place. When he was drunk, though, he was dishonest and destructive.

Her mother was a free spirit who never wanted to take on the responsibility of being a parent. She was far more interested in pursuing her dreams of becoming an artist. The Walls children learned how to raise themselves; they fed, clothed and protected each other. The huge majority of this fell to Jeannette as she was the oldest. They were seemingly always on the run–from bill collectors mostly! They traveled from town to town, staying just enough ahead of all responsibilities. Schooling for the children was erratic at best. They lived in shacks without electricity or plumbing and their food came by way of scrounging or scrapping together nothing and making it into something. Yet, in spite of the hardships, Walls comes away with a belief that her childhood, though far from ordinary, had its moments of thrills and unusual freedom. The children eventually grow up and migrate to New York where they go their separate ways. The parents also move to New York and choose a life style of homelessness which Walls refers to in that gripping opening sentence.  Making peace with her bizarre life and her parents’ choice to live the way they do is the journey she takes us on. I honestly can’t recommend this book enough.

Glass Castle sold over 2½ million copies and has stayed on the best sellers list for several years.

In Half Broke Horses, Walls takes us on yet another remarkable family journey, that of her maternal grandmother, Lily. Now, here is a real character, just as rich as any I have come across in a long time. Lily lived out west and was a “rifle toting, horse breaking Annie Oakley in a biplane” says USA Today. She left her New Mexico home at age fifteen, and rode five hundred miles alone on her pony, to teach in the frontier town of Red Lake, Arizona. She lived through everything from droughts to floods to the Great Depression. She will remind you so much of Jeannette that it answers a lot of the questions we were all left with after reading Glass Castle. Walls’ mother makes so much more sense to me now after learning how she was raised (by Lily) and what she was like as a child. I would almost be tempted to suggest you read Half Broke Horses first and then Glass Castle.

Jeannette's Grandmother Lily

Resilience is the trait that seems to best describe these people…. three generations of a unique, fascinating and eccentric family. None of them seem to have had expectations of an easy life. Lily, in particular, was determined to take her fate into her own hands. She was a rebel with a cause, wanting to live and experience everything she could and always pick herself up when she was knocked down. Hard work was her trademark as well as a simple, humble acceptance of the world. She was practical to an extreme but could also be quite moved at the beauty of a sunset.

Frankly, in comparison to these women, we are all wimps! This book has been described as Little House on the Prairie for adults and that fits to some extent. But, I came away with a little different perspective. To simply say she was a frontier woman and these were old stories from a time and place we can only imagine cheapens this woman and the women who came after her. This extended family, as unusual as they were, seems to culminate in Walls who has reached a place of purpose and put to rest so many personal demons. She remains respectful of her history and never denigrates or exaggerates the highs and the lows. She shares her grandmother’s tenacity and sheer brilliance for survival.

There is a prevalent belief that our current generation has become jaded and cynical and thereby weak and spoiled; that we know nothing of the hardships previous generations endured. I don’t think that is 100% true. There will always be survivors; those who beat the odds and make their lives work from sheer will and determination. Jeannette Walls and her family will make believers out of all those skeptics time and time again.

In her acknowledgments, Walls writes:

“I will never be able to adequately thank my husband, John Taylor, who has taught me so much, including that its okay not to be completely ‘broke.'”

That’s pretty cool . . .

Jeannette Walls was here Wednesday, January 26th for a signing and reading. Half Broke Horses is now out in paperback.

-Norma

One of my responsibilities at the bookstore is the Presidents section. I have always loved history and Lemuria has quite an extensive history collection but this section is given over to just presidents. Among others, we have books on Bush, Carter, Ford, Clinton, Obama, all the Roosevelts, Hoover, Truman, Reagan and of course, the Kennedys. Our fascination with THIS family seems to be unquenchable! There are several new Kennedy books out right now that are certainly worth mentioning.

Brothers in Arms: the Kennedys, the Castros, and the Politics of Murder by Gus Russo and Stephen Molton caught my eye. With Cuba back in the news, learning more about our connection with this small but strategic country seems very important. The “brother component” on each side also fascinated me. At this particular point in time (the 1960s), you have John and Robert Kennedy, who represent American privilege and a renewed youthful sense of hope and on the other side; you have Fidel and Raul Castro, reformers whose grand scheme of a utopia was slumping into violence and betrayal. In the middle of this, strangely enough, is Lee Harvey Oswald, whose ties with Cuba will cause immense interest in the days to come. This book looks primarily at Kennedy’s assassination and how these five people each play a defining role and are bizarrely inter-connected.  The authors wrote out of 30 years worth of intense research. What they uncover about Oswald’s motive in killing Kennedy and the role that the Castros played is really quite fascinating and the book is a must for anyone who is a history/Kennedy nut!!

Joseph P. Kennedy presents His Hollywood Years by Cari Beauchamp is another book that looked really interesting and fun to me. If I once knew it, I had forgotten, but the foundation of the Kennedys wealth came from Joseph Kennedy owning and running three movie studios in Hollywood. He made his fortune by masterminding the creation of RKO and it profited Kennedy millions. He was only 31 and was very hands on in the running of these studios. It was rumored that he had an affair with Gloria Swanson during this time and was instrumental in the making and the ruination of many Hollywood stars. He was a shrewd businessman and seemed to know a good risk. He was a contemporary of William Randolph Hearst, Cecil B DeMille and David Sarnoff. Kennedy was smart, greedy and believed that motion pictures were a gold mine and he was proven right. A great book for anyone interested in movie history, the Kennedys or both!!

Edward Klein’s latest book is entitled, Ted Kennedy: The Dream that Never Died. Obviously, this is not the first book written on Ted Kennedy but it is up to the moment and really tries to reconcile the disparities in this incredibly complicated man. The book examines his life ranging from Chappaquiddick; his marriages, his increasing prestige within the Senate all the way up to his niece, Caroline’s, almost run for the New York Senate. The author deals pretty sympathetically with Kennedy and doesn’t get mired down in so much early history that has been written on ad nauseum. He shows Kennedy as an American patriot whose real devotion was to serve his country. Chappaquiddick has always overshadowed every accomplishment of Ted Kennedy’s forever after but Klein is insistent that what he did after that disaster should weigh just as much and be seen just as clearly. With Kennedy being the last remaining brother and knowing that his health is very fragile, it would seem that we are coming up on the closing of a family history that has intrigued people for so long.

Lastly, Matthew Algeo has written a new book called, Harry Truman’s Excellent Adventure. It chronicles the road trip that Truman and his wife, Bess, took right after he finished his term as president. He decided to load up his Chrysler New Yorker and with only Bess along for the ride did what no other president, before or since, has ever done. They drove across America! There were no Secret Service along and their plan was to visit old friends, see a Broadway play, celebrate their wedding anniversary and blow a bit of the money he had just received to write his memoirs. Algeo meticulously recreates their route and has wonderful stories and antidotes that he uncovered along the way. We are selling quite a few of these and it looks like so much fun. Way to go Trumans for doing something novel and exciting as well as believing that they could somehow get away with resuming a normal life.

Award winning author, Christopher Buckley, has written a wonderful memoir Losing Mum and Pup that chronicles the year in which he lost both of his parents. Those parents just happened to be rather famous. His father, William F. Buckley, was the father of the modern conservative movement and his mother, Patricia, was one of New York’s most glamorous and colorful socialites. He was their only child and their relationship was close and complicated. He makes it very clear on the front book flap that they were not your typical mom and dad and that is quite an understatement!!  The book is both a nostalgic look back on their lives together but also offers understanding, humor and warmth to those dealing with the death of a parent. The book definitely enticed me to read more about these two people which is exactly what a good book is supposed to do! I will keep you posted on what I find. Just this week on The New York Time’s Best Sellers List, it has reached number 8 so I am not alone in enjoying this unique memoir….. and my mother loved it too.
I have also just finished Elizabeth Edward’s book, Resilience which is number 4 on the Time’s list this week. We all know her story, married to politician John Edwards; she has lived a life filled with wonderful times and the most heart-wrenching experiences possible. She lost her oldest son, Wade, in a freak car accident when he was only 16 years old. Later in her life while her husband was running for president she was diagnosed with breast cancer. After rounds of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, the cancer went away- only to return in 2007. It was during this time that more heartache was discovered . . . that being her husband’s infidelity. The book was so sad in parts but this part was really hard to read.

She was incredibly honest in her description of hopes that were dashed to pieces. She writes “I am imperfect in a million ways, but I always thought I was the kind of woman, the kind of wife, to whom a husband would be faithful. I had asked for fidelity, begged for it, really, when we married. I never need flowers or jewelry; I don’t care about vacations or a nice car. But I need you to be faithful. Leave me, if you must, but be faithful to me if you are with me.” If that doesn’t break your heart there is something wrong with you! I did enjoy the book, though, I always learn from other people’s lives but this one really is just plain tough; she has terminal cancer, young children and a marriage that is still unsure. One thing, though, is that she is strong and clearly proves that you can learn to live with horrible things, the death of a child, the diagnosis and return of terminal cancer and the loss of the one dream you longed for. She really is quite something.

I had heard about this next book from my sister-in-law whose book club is reading it, and it was in my memoir section so I picked it up and couldn’t put it down. This makes three books that deal with all forms of loss (this was unintentional, really). It is called Perfection: A Memoir of Betrayal and Renewal by Julie Metz. It reminded me of another book that I blogged about several months ago called, Happens Every Day by Isabel Gillies. There seems to be a lot of books out now written by strong, articulate women who have survived real and difficult experiences. Both of these women dealt with the loss of dreams and the realization that your life is not playing out the way you thought it would.

In Metz’s book, her life changed in an instant when she heard a thud in the room above her while she fixed her daughter’s lunch in the kitchen below. The thud was her husband, Henry, who collapsed from an aneurism when he was only 44. The ride to the hospital, the confirmation of his death and subsequent experiences are raw and emotional. She is left a single mother of a six-year-old daughter. She takes the reader on a seven month journey through a widow’s deep grief. Metz believes she is coming along alright when something even worse happens. Through a course of events, it begins to unravel that Henry had been consistently unfaithful to her, with many women, throughout their entire 16-year marriage. This was completely unbeknownst to her. His last affair took place over the past 2 years and was with one of her closest friends whom she had relied on so much following Henry’s death. One life ended in his death but another life ended when she had to face the fact that her marriage was never what she thought it was.

She slowly begins to rebuild after seeking out each of the women in her husband’s long line of lovers and those interactions are fascinating though painful. I thought each woman’s initial reaction upon hearing from “the wife” was especially interesting. We follow along with her as she comes to terms with betrayal and widowhood. She genuinely seeks rebirth and happiness….if not perfection.

I really liked this woman. Henry was a fool.

Neil White had a great life!!  He was doing what he loved, publishing magazines, and he had a great beautiful family and lots of friends.  He was the type of guy that if a friend was in trouble and needed help Neil was there to help.  He loaned money to friends and family, was active in the church and invested in his community but then something went wrong.  He realized that his bank accounts couldn’t handle his lifestyle and instead of asking for help himself he just starting moving money from one account to another.   Then one day the phone rang and a friend at the bank asked to him to come in for a meeting.  During an audit, the bank realized what Neil had been doing and the FBI became involved.  Neil went to court was found guilty and a judge sentenced him to serve 18 months in a federal prison.  The prison was located in Carville, Louisiana, and Neil thought–Okay, it is close enough where at least my family can come visit.  His two children were young and he wasn’t sure how to explain all of this to them.  “Daddy is going to camp.  That’s what I told my children.  A child psychologist suggested it. ‘Words like prison and jail conjure up dangerous images for children,” she explained.  But it wasn’t camp…” and Carville was no ordinary prison.

When Neil walked in the prison gate he knew something was different about Carville.  The grounds were beautiful, live oaks lined the driveway and the buildings were all built in Colonial revival style Federal architecture.  Not only did the facility house federal inmates but Carville was home to the last people in the United States disfigured by leprosy.  The “patients,” some who had lived there for decades, had formed their own small community and were protected from the outside world–that is until the state of Louisiana thought it would be a good idea for part of Carville to become a federal prison. Neil realizes–that in this place full of nuns, inmates, and leprosy patients, rich history and where the Mississippi River runs north–he is going to begin a journey that will change his life and the way he looks at things.

*

He befriends eighty-year-old Ella, who has been in Carville since developing leprosy as a child, and other “secret” people and “wacky” inmates and begins to realize the value of simplicity and friendship.  

Infirmary at Carville                                      

Sacred Heart Catholic Chapel

Neil White will be here at Lemuria for a signing at 5:00 p.m. today and a reading will follow around 5:30 p.m.