Obviously, the story of the hour (and day, week, month, and year) is the Six-Word Memoir Book. But if you’ve already read ‘em, written ‘em, and bought a hundred and six books, you might be craving something longer. Click over to Memoirville for an excerpt from Felicia Sullivan’s new book The Sky Isn’t Visible From […]

I’m going to disclose right here that I know Felicia Sullivan, author of the new memoir The Sky Isn’t Visible From Here. Not especially well, but from the New York writery scene—a book party here, a KGB reading there. She’s a blogger, an online marketing whiz, a radio host, and the founder of a terrific […]

Once upon a time there was a woman who dreamed of writing a book. She had a husband, a waitressing job, and four children, but she also had talent and determination. Eventually she finished it, and scored an agent and a book deal. All that remained was the dream come true—and, of course, the grueling […]

(read the first installment of Green Girl at the Eco-Inn here)
Though the season is technically over, I’ve decided to stay open year round. Why not? The people are lovely and my sanity is intact. As this venture has proved fiscally viable, I’m also exploring ways to expand the inn.
This will involve renting my […]

When I was growing up, any time my mother observed two of her children doing something alike—wearing the same color, picking out the same pair of sneakers in the shoe store—she’d laughingly ask, “What are you, The Bobbsey Twins?”
I find myself saying it today, but I doubt many of my own generation understand the second-hand […]

Chapter One
1953: Amherst, Massachusetts
Read an in-depth interview with Leslie Garis here. Buy the book here.
In those years I spent a lot of time in the dumbwaiter, moving up and down behind the walls, listening to voices. I sat with my knees up: sometimes I clasped my arms around my legs, sometimes I kept my hands […]

Ten years ago, while rehabilitating from a traffic accident, Ann Marie Fleming came into possession of several reels of 16-millimeter film, home movies of her great-grandfather that revealed a curious bit of family history: her great-grandfather had been a famous magician who performed under the name Long Tack Sam. Inspired by this discovery, Fleming […]

After reading Matt Tanner’s interview with Ann Marie Fleming, check out the excerpt below. It’s a little tough to read, but after you see how beautifully and originally it blends storytelling forms, you’ll want your own copy anyway.

SMITH is pleased to present an excerpt from Jason Thompson’s memoir in progress, Stella, about the writer’s experience growing up as the child of an angry, abusive, mentally ill mother. “A decade after leaving home I became suicidal,” says Thompson. “This excerpt describes my time in a psychiatric hospital after I tried to kill myself, […]

Deaf since childhood, Josh Swiller always perceived the world a little bit differently than everyone else. And post-collegiate indecision hits a bit harder when you’re looking for a place beyond deafness. As a Peace Corps volunteer in Zambia, Swiller found a place where, if his deafness wasn’t irrelevant, it was at least not the most […]