Musical Chairs
Jen Knox
Indie Memoir/YA
[rating: 5/5]
Available in…
• Mobi/Kindle
… from…
• Amazon
• MobiPocket
Also in paperback
Some time ago, Jen Knox and I swapped memoirs. She sent me a copy of Musical Chairs, which explores her family’s history of mental health diagnoses, her years of strip-dancing, alcoholism, and estrangement, and her struggle for reconciliation. (That’s from the cover.)
I also sent her a copy of Love through the Eyes of an Idiot. In full disclosure, just as I had started reading her book, Jen sent me an email about mine:
I finally posted my review of your delightful book. Oh how it made me remember how lucky I am to have found Chris after all the relationships (if you can call them that) that came before him. He thanks you. I thank you, for writing a great read.
Truthfully, I’m gratified that Jen enjoyed my book. And I did really want to like hers as well— I always want to like a book from a fellow author, and it upsets me when I don’t. But I will tell you exactly what problems I had with Musical Chairs:
-
I ran across numerous line-editing issues, including misspelled words, bad punctuation (like ending a sentence with a comma, in at least two places), and sentences that made no sense in context. The best typo I found on page 152, where Jen wrote about working at the bookstore: “As I cleared dust from a self in the psychology section…” So, was that an ego or an id? (Ba dum bum.)
-
Some details were missing from spots in the story where I would naturally expect them, popping up as surprises elsewhere. For example, all the time Jen was staying with Miss Sarah and her daughter (in the chapter entitled “Miss Sarah”), I thought Sarah was a white, single mother. It was only much later in the book that I was told that Sarah (or at least her daughter) had darker skin, that she was married to a Latino who had treated Jen rudely, and that she had some pretty bizarre racial ideas.
-
Jen begins with a panic attack, and she concludes as the panic attacks disappear… I think. I have nothing against waxing eloquent, as she did in the epilogue; I’m just not sure how she concluded the story. (But otherwise the epilogue did leave me feeling uplifted and satisfied.)
All of my complaints were counterbalanced, however, by the fact that I literally couldn’t put the damn book down! That’s why I’ve been absent this week. I blew through the entire thing in a little over a day, immersing myself in her story every moment I could. Really, no joke, no exaggeration: I read until I got tired; then I napped, woke up, and continued where I left off; lather, rinse, repeat.
Truthfully, before I started the book, I half expected a melodramatic pity party for a life beset by personal tragedy and self-destruction. On the contrary, Jen drew me into her story, the story of a girl I could hardly believe existed.
At one point, I reclined in a hot bath with Jen’s book in one hand and a cup of Earl Grey in the other. I looked at the cup, a commemorative mug, dated November 20, 1994, for the centennial anniversary of the facility at which my Beloved interned. I suddenly realized that at that very time, Jen had run away from home, 15 years old, and was living with her 19-year-old boyfriend. My Beloved was about to launch her career, and during the same autumn, Jen was about to launch herself into boyfriends and sex and statutory rape and the real thing, erotic dances for money, fights and alcohol and the battle for control and delusions and psychosis and abandonment— But through it all, Jen seemed so… normal to me. I genuinely sympathized with her, felt for her in her quest, desired to reach out to her and provide what I saw she was missing in her life. And I smiled when she finally began to find it.
This is the reason I read independent memoirs, to meet people I might never otherwise know, through them to live experiences I could never otherwise fathom, and to win victories I would never otherwise have even pursued. And Musical Chairs generously filled that need.
-TimK
|
Musical Chairs |
Available in… |
нейросети для студентов нейросети для студентов .
Ahaa, its pleasant discussion concerning this piece of writing
here at this website, I have read all that, so now me also commenting here.
Hmm it appears like your blog ate my first comment (it was extremely long) so
I guess I’ll just sum it up what I wrote and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog.
I as well am an aspiring blog writer but I’m still
new to everything. Do you have any tips for rookie
blog writers? I’d really appreciate it.
Spot on with this write-up, I seriously believe that this amazing site needs much more
attention. I’ll probably be returning to read through more, thanks for the information!
Hey would you mind stating which blog platform you’re working with?
I’m planning to start my own blog soon but I’m having a hard
time making a decision between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal.
The reason I ask is because your design seems
different then most blogs and I’m looking for something completely unique.
P.S Apologies for being off-topic but I had to ask!
Spot on with this write-up, I absolutely think this site needs a great deal more attention. I’ll probably be back again to see
more, thanks for the information!
нейросеть для студентов нейросеть для студентов .
нейросеть для рефератов нейросеть для рефератов .
匹兹堡医护前线第二季2026 海外华人职场医疗剧 高清高压节奏 全球加速
Having read this I believed it was really enlightening.
I appreciate you taking the time and energy to put this
short article together. I once again find myself spending a significant
amount of time both reading and posting comments.
But so what, it was still worth it!
An outstanding share! I have just forwarded this onto a friend who had
been conducting a little homework on this.
And he in fact bought me breakfast due to the fact
that I stumbled upon it for him… lol. So allow me to reword this….
Thank YOU for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending some time to discuss this subject here on your website.
pin up Uzcard pinup63481.help
1win время вывода https://1win52609.help/
mostbet apk Киргизия http://www.mostbet72413.help
веб-сайте vodka bet casino
ии реферат ии реферат .
узнать больше vodkabet
QQ88 định vị mình như một trung tâm giải trí trực tuyến tối ưu trải nghiệm, nơi tốc độ truy cập và sự ổn định luôn được đặt lên hàng đầu.
мостбет mines коэффициенты http://www.mostbet72413.help
pin-up hisobni tekshirish pin-up hisobni tekshirish
стоимость согласования перепланировки квартиры стоимость согласования перепланировки квартиры .
мостбет мобильные ставки mostbet72413.help
внедрение 1с на предприятии внедрение 1с на предприятии .
Запойное состояние опасно не только токсическим воздействием алкоголя на организм, но и последствиями резкого отказа от спиртного. В таких случаях промедление может стоить здоровья. Нарколог на дом в Рязани приезжает по вызову и проводит процедуру прямо в домашних условиях, используя проверенные медицинские методики. Такой подход сочетает анонимность, оперативность и возможность контроля состояния без госпитализации.
Подробнее можно узнать тут – частный нарколог на дом в санкт-петербурге
приложение мелбет приложение мелбет .
зеркало мелбет рабочее зеркало мелбет рабочее .
mostbet версия для ios https://www.mostbet26148.help
mostbet способы оплаты mostbet способы оплаты
Very nice post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wished
to say that I’ve truly enjoyed surfing around your blog posts.
In any case I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again soon!
Howdy! I realize this is sort of off-topic however I had
to ask. Does building a well-established website like yours take a massive amount work?
I’m brand new to blogging but I do write in my
journal every day. I’d like to start a blog so I can easily share
my own experience and thoughts online. Please let
me know if you have any kind of suggestions or tips for brand new aspiring blog owners.
Appreciate it!