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… |
https://medivermonline.shop/# Mediverm Online
leovegas online casino united states, 21 dukes casino and united statesn pokie machine hack,
or online slot usa
Here is my web-site … what is commercial gambling
FDA-approved Tadalafil generic: safe online pharmacy for ED pills – EverLastRx
Вас интересуют природные богатства России? Давайте исследуем их вместе!
Для тех, кто ищет информацию по теме “Изучение ООПТ России: парки, заповедники, водоемы”, там просто кладезь информации.
Смотрите сами:
https://alloopt.ru
Спасибо за внимание! Надеюсь, вам было интересно.
https://neurocaredirect.shop/# neuropathic pain relief treatment online
profi sportwetten vorhersagen
my blog post … Wettbüro Aachen
wetten ohne einzahlung geizkragen
Look at my web page … wettbüro bochum (Madeleine)
affordable Neurontin medication USA FDA-approved gabapentin alternative gabapentin 300 mg cap teva
FDA-approved Tadalafil generic: FDA-approved Tadalafil generic – Tadalafil tablets
http://neurocaredirect.com/# generic gabapentin pharmacy USA
Prednisone without prescription USA: PredniWell Online – buy prednisone 10mg online
Сегодня мы отправимся на виртуальную экскурсию в уникальные уголки природы России.
По теме “Изучение ООПТ России: парки, заповедники, водоемы”, нашел много полезного.
Вот, делюсь ссылкой:
https://alloopt.ru
Рад был поделиться с вами этой информацией. До новых встреч!
affordable Neurontin medication USA neuropathic pain relief treatment online NeuroCare Direct
Stromectol ivermectin tablets for humans USA: Stromectol ivermectin tablets for humans USA – generic ivermectin online pharmacy
https://medivermonline.shop/# Mediverm Online
Представляем вашему вниманию национальные парки и заповедники России.
Между прочим, если вас интересует Изучение ООПТ России: парки, заповедники, водоемы, загляните сюда.
Ссылка ниже:
https://alloopt.ru
Природа – наш главный учитель и защитник. Берегите её!
Prednisone without prescription USA: Prednisone tablets online USA – Prednisone tablets online USA
Откройте для себя прекрасные и загадочные места, которые находятся под охраной в нашей стране.
Кстати, если вас интересует Изучение ООПТ России: парки, заповедники, водоемы, загляните сюда.
Вот, можете почитать:
https://alloopt.ru
Природа – наш главный учитель и защитник. Берегите её!
http://medivermonline.com/# low-cost ivermectin for Americans
ivermectin cvs low-cost ivermectin for Americans Mediverm Online
tadalafil daily 5mg: safe online pharmacy for ED pills – EverLastRx
http://medivermonline.com/# generic ivermectin online pharmacy
Сегодня мы отправимся на виртуальную экскурсию в уникальные уголки природы России.
Между прочим, если вас интересует Изучение ООПТ России: парки, заповедники, водоемы, посмотрите сюда.
Вот, делюсь ссылкой:
https://alloopt.ru
Жду ваших отзывов и вопросов по теме.
ivermectin horse paste tractor supply ivermectin ingredients generic ivermectin online pharmacy
Prednisone tablets online USA: online pharmacy Prednisone fast delivery – how to get Prednisone legally online
Сегодня мы отправимся на виртуальную экскурсию в уникальные уголки природы России.
Между прочим, если вас интересует Изучение ООПТ России: парки, заповедники, водоемы, загляните сюда.
Вот, делюсь ссылкой:
https://alloopt.ru
Что думаете о красоте природы России? Делитесь мнениями!
lay wetten auf niedrige quoten (digital-Fashion.online)
deutschland
http://everlastrx.com/# Tadalafil tablets
treating heartworms with ivermectin and doxycycline Stromectol ivermectin tablets for humans USA Mediverm Online
http://medivermonline.com/# Mediverm Online
low-cost ivermectin for Americans
gabapentin kick in time: Neurontin online without prescription USA – neuropathic pain relief treatment online
Добро пожаловать в удивительный мир природы России!
Между прочим, если вас интересует Изучение ООПТ России: парки, заповедники, водоемы, посмотрите сюда.
Ссылка ниже:
https://alloopt.ru
Вот такое у нас получилось погружение в мир природы.
online pharmacy Prednisone fast delivery PredniWell Online buy prednisone without rx
PredniWell Online: how to get Prednisone legally online – how to get Prednisone legally online
Откройте для себя прекрасные и загадочные места, которые находятся под охраной в нашей стране.
Зацепил раздел про Изучение ООПТ России: парки, заповедники, водоемы.
Смотрите сами:
https://alloopt.ru
Вот такое у нас получилось погружение в мир природы.
https://medivermonline.shop/# Mediverm Online
low-cost ivermectin for Americans
http://medivermonline.com/# Stromectol ivermectin tablets for humans USA
Хотите узнать больше о природе нашей страны? Присоединяйтесь к обсуждению.
Для тех, кто ищет информацию по теме “Изучение ООПТ России: парки, заповедники, водоемы”, есть отличная статья.
Ссылка ниже:
https://alloopt.ru
Природа – наш главный учитель и защитник. Берегите её!
Prednisone without prescription USA Prednisone without prescription USA Prednisone without prescription USA
EverLastRx: safe online pharmacy for ED pills – safe online pharmacy for ED pills
https://medivermonline.shop/# generic ivermectin online pharmacy
trusted Stromectol source online
wettbüro berlin in der nähe
my web-site … wettseiten schweiz
generic gabapentin pharmacy USA Neurontin online without prescription USA FDA-approved gabapentin alternative
Представляем вашему вниманию национальные парки и заповедники России.
По теме “Изучение ООПТ России: парки, заповедники, водоемы”, нашел много полезного.
Вот, можете почитать:
https://alloopt.ru
Спасибо за внимание! Надеюсь, вам было интересно.
how to get Prednisone legally online: how to get Prednisone legally online – how to get Prednisone legally online
sportwetten online anbieter mit deutscher lizenz
sportwetten verluste zurückholen
My web page … Sicher wetten gewinnen
https://medivermonline.com/# Mediverm Online
trusted Stromectol source online
Сегодня мы отправимся на виртуальную экскурсию в уникальные уголки природы России.
По теме “Изучение ООПТ России: парки, заповедники, водоемы”, есть отличная статья.
Вот, делюсь ссылкой:
https://alloopt.ru
Что думаете о красоте природы России? Делитесь мнениями!
gabapentin capsules for nerve pain gabapentin canine dose pain FDA-approved gabapentin alternative