Three Things:
- My memoir got its 223rd review on Amazon today.
- On Saturday 10 am I’ll be on a memoir-writing panel called Thanks for the Memories at the Genre-LA writers conference at the Los Angeles Valley College.
- Sunday I’ll be online all day at We Love Memoirs Sunday Spotlight.
I actually thought I’d be done with book marketing a year after the memoir was published. Was I wrong! It seems that this book keeps re-emerging and providing inspiration for would-be memoir writers or the right words of encouragement for those also affected by mental illness and suicide. I feel so grateful for that.
Here is its latest five-star review from Lindsay De Felix: on Amazon for Leaving the Hall Light On: A Mother’s Memoir of Living with Her Son’s Bipolar Disorder and Surviving His Suicide.
This is a very hard book for me to write a review on. It is about a subject which I have no knowledge of – a bipolar son who commits suicide. I don’t know anyone well who suffers from bipolar or anyone close whose children have committed suicide so I could not identify with the author or the book. But OMG this was a brilliant book, one which I could not put down. Leaving the subject matter aside, which is heartbreaking, touching, tear jerking and emotional, it is the raw honestly of the writing which takes your breath away. I had no idea a memoir could be so honest, so stripped to the bones, so completely revealing without any glossing over the subject matter in order to just keep that little bit of privacy and secrecy. And that honesty makes this an amazing piece of writing, which I loved. It is peppered with photos which really help the reader to understand and then there are the poems. Personally, I have read many poems in memoirs, most of which I just skim over. But there is no skimming over these, and I have never read or appreciated such powerful poetry. Congratulations Madeline Sharples for a fabulous work of writing both prose and poetry.
And here’s some information about We Love Memoirs and the Sunday Spotlight:
I’ll be available all day starting at 10 am PST to answer any and all of your questions – about my memoir, my writing life, my experience regarding mental illness and suicide – whatever. Just ask and I’ll answer. However, you must join We Love Memoirs to participate. Here’s the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/welovememoirs/
I look forward to seeing you and talking to you all virtually on Sunday.
Speak Your Mind