No Tricks, No Trends, No Manipulation
Just great writing by Howard Norman
Hi and welcome into Flight School:
While I devoted myself to reading a pile of memoirs when writing my own, I don’t read many today because most of them make me feel…meh.
This is not because the writing isn’t stellar, it often is, but rather this is because it’s rare to see a writer go the emotional distance. Instead, what I often read is more about trends, or being clever, or simply spinning an idea out without showing me much of anything in the end.
One memoir I have read cover to cover and will read again and again is this one:
I learned of Howard Norman from literary agent who recommended his novel The Bird Artist which I purchased and read over night. When his memoir came out, I got it and consumed it in a couple days.
I Hate to Leave This Beautiful Place is advertised as a memoir but technically is five interconnected essays under the heading of one idea: love of place. The title succinctly tells the reader what they will be getting, which includes Norman’s longing the leaving. Artful. Smart.
I recommend Beautiful Place, often and eagerly for many reasons. One being how he writes about nature. Norman loves landscape and birds in particular, and Nature seems to love him right back.
Soon the mallards cautiously drew close to me. At such proximity, they were, in the intricacies of their plumage, surprisingly lovely. The expressiveness of their muttering, gargling, and quick nostril-fluting, the repertoire of coded signals, was hypnotic.
~ Pg. 21
Note, this is just before he (as a young boy) inadvertently kills a swan…so, this book isn’t all lovely prose about nature. No. It’s also about the blundering stupidity of humans and the resounding guilt that follows, which makes the author a man who has done personal work and will not pawn off easy answers about the paradox of life. Norman arrives on the page with the grace of confident befuddlement that is endearing, perplexing, and a little annoying (in the best way).
I hadn’t meant to kill the swan. It was a beautiful, mean bird, and spent nights in my secret haunt. Nearly fifty years later, I can still hear its strange guttural exhalation; fifty years of hapless guilt and remorse. So often, I close my eyes and picture the water closing over.
~ Pg. 37
For the memoir writer, one dragging up the deepest hurts and confusions, and trying to figure out what can and should be passed over to a reader, Beautiful Place also provides lessons a-plenty.
On restraint.
On elegance.
On how to write quietly.
On heartbreak fashioned with humor.
And on craft and structure too. It’s all here.
It won’t hurt to read Norman’s work. Oh, it will hurt a bit, he doesn’t coddle his reader. Nor will he offend her intelligence or waste her precious time. I spent hours in Norman’s world and never felt cheated of my money, lied to by the copy on the book jacket, or manipulated by some fad-follower-movement. I was able to feel self-exploration and humility in his words but also in the white spaces between the words. That’s remarkable.
On my journey as a memoir writer, I don’t want to read books like this, I need to read books like Beautiful Place. Norman calms me down, gives me hope, and demonstrates what this art form is all about.
I hope you’ll find something within the pages of Beautiful Place, too.
XO J. 🍎
Thanks for the recommendation, Jennifer. There have only been a handful of memoirs I’ve not finished or came away with a confused “What the f@!? was that about?” feeling. I love reading memoirs because of the true story element—feel there is always something to take away from another’s experience. I do get frustrated when the writing is poor—incorrect grammar, incomplete sentences, etc. drive me crazy and can’t fathom how an editor or writer could allow that to be published!—but I can usually get through, especially when there is a 5 star rating from some other reader somewhere. Of course there is nothing like reading a Mary Karr or Frank McCourt! But maybe since I am in the process of writing my first, any recommended memoir I dive into looking for what the writer is trying to convey through their story, where their pain point and truth lie.
I just discovered and downloaded both of your recommended Howard Norman books from Scribd. I have read many memoirs, some I found 'meh' and others that both moved and taught me. I'll mention two in this post and appreciate any comments.
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
I found Jeanette's raw and honest account of her childhood parented by an alcoholic father and mentally ill mother fascinating. More than her well-written description of how she and her siblings endured, I was inspired by Jeanette's profound ability to transcend her childhood experiences to feel deep love and compassion for her dysfunctional parents. Reading Jeanette's memoir supported my own spiritual journey, healing from the effects of an unhealthy family dynamic.
Can't Breathe by Laesa Faith
In her debut memoir, Laesa delivers an account of medicine, disability, stigma and systems. She is steadfast in caring for and advocating for her medically complex child, all the while recognizing her need to nurture her older child and her marriage. Her baby girl, born too soon, unable to breathe, launches her into a series of life changing and life threatening events. Doctors, hospitals, appointments, surgeries and emergencies, all with the highs and lows of emotion are captured and delivered with a unique writing style and format.
I discovered Laesa on Instagram and liked the writing style of her posts. Following her memoir writing and self-publishing journey has inspired my own writing.