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… |
на этом сайте tripskan
перейдите на этот сайт трип скан официальный
I don’t even know the way I ended up here, however I believed this submit used to be good.
I don’t understand who you’re but definitely
you are going to a well-known blogger should you aren’t already.
Cheers!
Hello There. I found your weblog the usage of msn. This is a really well written article.
I’ll be sure to bookmark it and return to learn extra
of your useful information. Thank you for the post. I’ll definitely return.
Да не магазин ровный несколько раз покупал у них, качество отличное. Только в аську бывает недостучатся. купить мефедрон Оплатил 3 февраля, 6 получил трек-трек не бьётся, посылкинет. Раньше заказывал за 2 дня всё приходило, на данный момент по почте не отвечают, в аське сказали скоро придет, в общем, ребята, попридержите коней.
Audio started playing any time I opened up this internet site, so irritating!
Wonderful website you have here but I was wondering if you knew of
any message boards that cover the same topics discussed here?
I’d really like to be a part of community where I can get opinions from other knowledgeable individuals that share the same interest.
If you have any suggestions, please let me know.
Bless you!
Nice post. I learn something totally new and challenging on websites
I stumbleupon on a daily basis. It’s always useful to read through articles from other authors and use
a little something from other web sites.
mudon real estate dubaifirst abu dhabi properties dubaiemaar payment plans https://amozeshbartar.org
Cavalli Estatesgeo estate surveying engineering dubai
подробнее tripscan вход
Sweet blog! I found it while surfing around on Yahoo News. Do you have any suggestions on how to get listed in Yahoo News? I’ve been trying for a while but I never seem to get there! Cheers
roulette odds united statesn, bitcoin gambling united kingdom and real nye
online casino 2022 (Roseanne) casino australia, or casinos in alberta australia
страница трипскан
Excellent article! We are linking to this particularly great post on our
website. Keep up the good writing.
I’m not that much of a internet reader to be honest but your sites really nice, keep it
up! I’ll go ahead and bookmark your website to
come back in the future. All the best
https://ponsaeliusmusic.com/
Друзья ВВ 200мг. Дикая головная боль. И всё. купить мефедрон сегодня в 16:25 на почте получен конверт ,в нем было вещество лимоного цвета 0,3 г , сохнет ,позже подробно опишу
https://frsansordonnance.online/# Viagra 100mg prix
hello!,I like your writing very much! percentage we be in contact extra approximately your article on AOL? I need a specialist in this area to solve my problem. May be that’s you! Taking a look forward to look you.
dubai leasing companythe fairways the greens & views apartment building in dubaiapartment in dubai al rigga https://atlanta-football.com
properties to sell is real estate dubaicomfort class interior decoration llc
подробнее трип скан официальный сайт
Hi there every one, here every person is sharing these kinds of familiarity, so it’s fastidious to read this web site, and I used to pay
a quick visit this blog daily.
https://sansordonnancefrance.sbs/# Viagra prix pharmacie paris
p2p lending
Pretty! This was an incredibly wonderful post. Many
thanks for providing these details.
You need to be a part of a contest for one of the finest blogs on the web.
I most certainly will recommend this site!
play pokies online free canada, no deposit bonus codes
cooking fever casino double gems usa and
united statesn gambling legislation, or united statesn casinos in california
нажмите, чтобы подробнее трип скан
посмотреть в этом разделе трипскан
Hey everyone! In this thread we discuss about car wrapping in Moscow. And also about paint protection — how to choose:
https://krd.best-city.ru/forum/thread120040/
OMT’s engaging video lessons tᥙrn complex math concepts ｒight into interеsting stories, assisting Singapore
pupils fɑll foг the subject ɑnd feel influenced to
ace tһeir exams.
Join our smаll-group on-site classes іn Singapore for tailored assistance іn a nurturing environment
that develops strong foundational mathematics abilities.
Ӏn a system wһere math education һas developed to cultivate development ɑnd worldwide competitiveness, enrolling іn math tuition еnsures students ｒemain ahead by
deepening theiг understanding and application օf essential
concepts.
Ultimately, primary school math tuition іs
imрortant fߋr PSLE excellence, аs it gears սp students ԝith
tһe tools tо achieve leading bands and protect preferred secondary school positionings.
Structure confidence ѡith constant tuition support is crucial, as O Levels can be demanding,
and confident pupils execute fɑr bеtter ᥙnder pressure.
Junior college math tuition іs critical foｒ A Levels аѕ
іt gгows understanding of sophisticated calculus topics ⅼike integration techniques ɑnd
differential formulas, ѡhich aгe main to tһе exam syllabus.
Distinctively, OMT’s curriculum complements tһe MOE structure by ᥙsing modular lessons tһat permit repeated reinforcement ߋf weak аreas at the trainee’ѕ speed.
Gamified aspects mаke alteration fun lor, urging m᧐гe method and leading to
quality improvements.
Math tuition integrates real-ᴡorld applications, mɑking
abstract syllabus topics ɑppropriate and muсh easier to use in Singapore exams.
mｙ pawge :: best math tutors
проверить сайт сайт трипскан
Hello there! Do you know if they make any plugins to safeguard
against hackers? I’m kinda paranoid about losing everything I’ve worked hard on. Any suggestions?
https://app.readthedocs.org/profiles/actuabdcom/
каталог сайт трипскан
нажмите здесь трипскан официальный
native united statesn quick hits Casino free games
rights, best online casino australia no deposit bonus and united statesn pokie machine hack, or
uno spin australia
I’m not that much of a internet reader to be honest but your
blogs really nice, keep it up! I’ll go ahead
and bookmark your site to come back in the future.
Many thanks
property for sale marina pinnacle dubai8 blvd walk emaar apartment building in dubaiCavalli Casa Tower https://buypenthouseindubai.com
most hot areas of dubai in propertiesdubai properties owned by offshore companies
С 10-11 утра по МСК ежедневно кроме праздников и выходных. купить мефедрон вот как то это всё не ахуенно.Если вас не затруднит проясните ситуацию.
https://lespouletsbicyclettes.org/articles/?investicionnye_kompanii.html
Highly energetic article, I loved that bit. Will
there be a part 2?