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Writing Hard Stories: Celebrated Memoirists Who Shaped Art from TraumaSome of the country's most admired authors including Andre Dubus III, Mark Doty, Marianne Leone, Michael Patrick MacDonald, Richard Blanco, Abigail Thomas, Kate Bornstein, Jerald Walker, and Kyoko Mori describe their treks through dark memories and breakthrough moments and attest to the healing power of putting words to experience. What does it take to write an honest memoir? And what happens to us when we embark on that journey? Melanie Brooks sought
Some of the country's most admired authors--including Andre Dubus III, Mark Doty, Marianne Leone, Michael Patrick MacDonald, Richard Blanco, Abigail Thomas, Kate Bornstein, Jerald Walker, and Kyoko Mori--describe their treks through dark memories and breakthrough moments and attest to the healing power of putting words to experience.What does it take to write an honest memoir? And what happens to us when we embark on that journey? Melanie Brooks sought guidance from the memoirists who most moved her to answer these questions. Called an essential book for creative writers by Poets & Writers, Writing Hard Stories is a unique compilation of authentic stories about the death of a partner, parent, or child; about violence and shunning; and about the process of writing. It will serve as a tool for teachers of writing and give readers an intimate look into the lives of the authors they love. Authors profiled in Writing Hard Stories Andre Dubus III, Sue William Silverman, Michael Patrick MacDonald, Joan Wickersham, Kyoko Mori, Richard Hoffman, Suzanne Strempek Shea, Abigail Thomas, Monica Wood, Mark Doty, Edwidge Dantict, Marianne Leone, Jerald Walker, Kate Bornstein, Jessica Handler, Richard Blanco, Alysia Abbott, and Kim Stafford Insights from Writing Hard Stories "Why we endeavor collectively to write a book or paint a canvas or write a symphony...is to understand who we are as human beings, and it's that shared knowledge that somehow helps us to survive."--Richard Blanco "Here's what you need to understand: your brothers or family or friends] are going to have their own stories to tell. You don't have to tell the family story. You have to tell your story of being in that family."--Andre Dubus III "We all need a way to express or make something out of experiences that otherwise have no meaning. If what you want is clarity and meaning, you have to break the secrets over your knee and make something of those ingredients."--Abigail Thomas "What we remember and how we remember it really tells us how we became who we became."--Michael Patrick MacDonald "The reason I write memoir is to be able to see the experience itself...I hardly know what I think until I write...Writing is a way to organize your life, give it a frame, give it a structure, so that you can really see what it was that happened."--Sue William Silverman "After a while in the process, you have some distance and you start thinking of it as a story, not as your story...It was a personal grief, but no longer personal... It's] something that has not just happened to me and my family, but something that's happened in the world."--Edwidge Danticat "Tibetan Buddhists believe that eloquence is the telling of a truth in such a way that it eases suffering...The more suffering that is eased by your telling of the truth, the more eloquent you are. That's all you can really hope for--being eloquent in that fashion. All you have to do is respond to your story honestly, and that's the ideal."--Kate Bornstein "You can never entirely redeem the experience. You can't make it not hurt anymore. But you can make it beautiful enough so that there's something to balance it in the other scale. And if you understand that word beautiful as not necessarily pretty, then you're getting close to recognizing the integrative power of restoring the balance, which is restoring the truth."--Richard Hoffman
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Beacon Press
Published: 02/07/2017
ISBN: 9780807078815
Pages: 224
Weight: 0.66lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.40w x 0.70d
Review Citations: Kirkus Reviews 11/01/2016
Publishers Weekly 10/31/2016
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★★★★★ 5
Finally - the perfect sunscreen
Style: SPF 50, Size: 1 Count (Pack of 1)
I have become religious about using sunscreen - that's what one skin cancer scare will do to you. Since my laying out, baby oil/iodine days I have tried and tossed many sunsceens - facial sunscreens that melt, run and destroy my eyes, sunscreens that discolor my clothes. Enter Sun Bum Mineral - although I miss the sunscreen scent of summer, i will never go back. This brand delivers - rubs in easily, no ghostly cast (I am fair skinned), sprayers that actually spray, no killer eyes, protection that lasts thru sweat/swim. I am a true believer in this brand!
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Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2026
★★★★★ 5
Sun Bum Mineral SPF 50 Sunscreen
Style: SPF 50, Size: 1 Count (Pack of 1)
Nice clean spray with great coverage & protection from the sun!
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Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2026
★★★★★ 5
Great Protection w/out the White Cast
Style: SPF 50, Size: 3 Fl Oz (Pack of 1)
We had been using the ThinkBaby mineral sunscreen for years. I wanted to look for a similar alternative but with less white cast. I actually bought this on a whim because it had the fastest shipping at the time (needed it for an outdoor event we were going to). We are now three purchases deep with this product. In my opinion, I think it gives the same amount of sun protection as before without the white cast. It rubs in great. Non-greasy. Initially, the lack of added fragrance was a little off-putting because we were so used to the typical coconut or citrus scents, but we all got used to it. Definitely on my list of subscription purchases now. I wish it was available in a larger size.
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Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2025
★★★★★ 5
Smells good, covers well, it does leave a white sheen, I don’t need to reapply.
Style: SPF 50, Size: 3 Fl Oz (Pack of 1)
I use this just once on my face in the morning, apply makeup over it, and I haven’t burned yet! Been using it for two years now. Unfortunate thing is that my face is not tan at all because it doesn’t allow any rays. LOL So I my makeup has to match the rest of my body… I stay under an umbrella at the beach for about half of the time that I’m there. Otherwise I am out in the sun. And I do not reapply this. I am in the sun between the hours of 9 and 1 PM and I’m in and out of the shade and sun half of the time. Still no burning. Actually I don’t think I reapplied it at all once I got home from the beach and I was out at the pool regularly for another hour with no shade. So it seems to be pretty darn good! Some people say they don’t like the smell, but I specifically bought it because I love love love the coconut smell. My daughter says it smells like bananas but I don’t like the smell of bananas and I don’t think it smells like that.
It does definitely leave a white sheen. Hence my need for make up.
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Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2021
★★★★★ 5
Great for Hawaii!
Style: SPF 50, Size: 3 Fl Oz (Pack of 1)
I spent hours trying to find a sunscreen that was “reef safe” since I was going to be spending a lot of time near corals and this was the best one I found. It doesn’t have any of the 3 ‘O’ ingredients that are known to damage reefs. And the zinc is non nano as well.
Sunscreen goes on easily. One of the better mineral sunscreens I’ve tried, this one actually smooths out like lotion and feels hydrating. Only leaves a slight pinkish hue, but that is inevitable with mineral sunscreens (that’s literally how they work in reflecting the sun). I could feel it on even in the ocean so I get protected, but still reapplied almost every 2 hours. No burns!
I didn’t use it on my face but my partner did and it never stung his eyes nor caused any breakouts!
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Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2021