Tears of Joy!
photo caption: me dancing the labyrinth on Stout’s Island in the Before Times, in another ecstatic moment
Dear friends,
Something amazing just happened. My memoir, The Part That Burns, was named a finalist for the Next Generation Indie Book Award in the Women’s Literature category. What an honor. I am ecstatic & happy crying! This book is my heart. It took me until I was in my 40s to be able to write about my stepfather's sexual abuse and my mother’s unraveling, and it took almost decade after that to finish this book that would otherwise have haunted me forever.
One thing I want to say to those of you who are still working on your haunted stories: don’t give up in response to what the world tells you is yours to write or not. I remember one lovely literary agent at one of my dream agencies who loved loved loved my writing but ultimately passed on the manuscript. What she said was, "I just find it too difficult to see such a young child molested so early in the story." I found that too difficult to live through, as well. But live through it I did, and now this book is being loved on in ways I could never, ever, ever have foreseen.
One big dose of love includes the exciting news that I’ve been invited (and accepted the invitation!) to be on the debut author panel at HippoCamp 2021 this August in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. HippoCamp, organized and hosted by the staff of the outstanding Hippocampus literary magazine, is an incredible conference devoted to creative nonfiction, I'll also be teaching a session on writing the body, especially trauma memories, using inventive writing constraints. This will be my first ever in-person author event for The Part That Burns, and I'm over the moon! Maybe I will see some of you there!
Giant and heartfelt thanks to all of you for sharing this journey with me. And here are a few more opportunities:
1. This Thursday May 20 at 5 Central I will be reading and in conversation with Athena Dixon (The Incredible Shrinking Woman) hosted virtually by Philly’s A Novel Idea. We’ll be discussing questions around writing the body. What does it mean to write the body, the whole body, the real body--how does one face the fear and open to the joy of it? Join us for an electric, truth-telling conversation. Register at A Novel Idea here.
2. On Saturday May 22 at 3 PM, I will be interviewed by Chris Moore on her feminist podcast, The Situation & The Story. I cannot wait! Other recent guests have included the powerhouses Melissa Febos, Sophia Shalmiyev, Michele Filgate, Erin Khar & more. Check out the podcast here.
3. Next Thursday May 27 I’ll be reading with Marcela Sulak (lyrical memoirist and poet!) at the Brighthill Word Thursdays Reading Series. If you love to be introduced to new writers and their work, pop in! Free and virtual, just register here.
4. We’ve got just two spots available for the Wed and Thurs sections of Writing in the Dark VII. This inventive, intense, generative, craft-based workshop is for you if you want to reconnect with your writing practice, get yourself back up close to the words, find your path deeper into the work. Writing in the Dark is an incredible community and we would love for you to join us! More info here.
With so much love,
Jeannine
