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Always Packed for Adventure!

It's the destination and the journey.

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Book Review- Rob Roberge's Liar

 

Thank You to Crown Publishing for providing me with an advanced copy of Rob Roberge's memoir, Liar, in exchange for an honest review. 

PLOT- Writer and musician Rob Roberge is trying to process his diagnosis of possible degenerative memory loss. Looking towards his future, he reflects on his past, including drug and alcohol addictions and mental health issues. When we look at the memories and personal stories that form our identities, how many of these are accurate? How much can we trust in our core memories and how much does the truth even matter?

LIKE- Roberge has led a wild and reckless life, which makes for a compelling memoir. It's unusual to read writing in a second person POV, but it works very well in Liar. Roberge uses this perspective deftly. It supports the story and doesn't come off as a gimmick. I was pulled right into the action, which was uncomfortable in many of the grittier parts of the memoir. Second person perspective feels dangerous, close, and unsafe, a perfect choice for Liar. 

Roberge suffered many concussions, which may have eventual led to his current memory loss. When we are young, we often don't think of the long-term consequences of our actions. In fact, Roberge mentions that he lived life fully intending on dying before thirty. Although, anyone could easily imagine the potentially devastating effects of heavy drug and alcohol abuse, I had never given much thought to the cumulative effects of multiple head traumas. This is timely, with the same issue arising in the film/book, Concussion. 

Liar leaps through different memories spanning Roberge's life. It's as if Roberge took all of his important memories and wrote them on index cards, scrambled up the cards and told Liar in this random arrangement. I'm sure that plenty of thought and care went into the arrangement of the memories, to make the effect seem casual. It works. It especially works well to not have the story linger too long in the darker, more depressing years of his life. Floating between time periods serves to lighten the memoir. 

I was drawn to Roberge's confession that sometimes he obsesses over other people's tragedies, for example the death of a classmate in elementary school. The internet has fueled this obsession, giving him easy access to information. This confession also played into the theme of memories and how we remember stories and "facts" from our childhood.

DISLIKE- Nothing. Liar is utterly compelling.

RECOMMEND- Yes! Liar isn't for people who like to read happy and uplifting stories. It's a very dark and heavy memoir. Fascinating and well-crafted, but dark. Buyer beware!

Side Note- As a current student, I got a kick out of the mention of UCLA Extension Writer's Program. His experience as an instructor and dealing with a crazy student cracked me up.   

 

 

tags: Rob Roberge Author, Rob Roberge Musician, Multiple Head Trauma, Memory Loss from Head Trauma, Degenerative Memory Loss, Liar Memoir Rob Roberge, Rob Roberge Memoir, Crown Publishing Rob Roberge, UCLA Extension Writers Program, UCLA Fiction Writing Program, Childhood Memories, Writing in Second Person, Second Person Perspective, Concussion Movie, The Danger of Multiple Head Traumas, Memories and Self Identity, Books About Addiction, Books About Mental Health Issues, NetGalley
categories: Read
Thursday 02.11.16
Posted by Karen Lea Germain
Comments: 1
 

Book Review- John Marshall's Wide-Open World

 

As many of my frequent readers already know, I'm taking a memoir class this quarter through UCLA Extension. I'm on a memoir kick, both in my writing and in my choice of reading. I saw John Marshall's Wide Open-World on Netgalley and it looked to be the perfect blend of my love for memoirs and travel writing. Thank you to Ballantine Books for approving my request for an advanced copy of Wide Open-World. 

John Marshall is living an average American life with his wife, Traca and two teenagers, Logan and Jackson. Their hectic lives revolve around work, school and being hooked on their gadgets. Although their lives are blessed in many ways, John and Traca can't help but feel like there is more out there. Prior to having kids, they had dreams of travel and they even spent a year in a Portuguese village when their children were young. On a flight home from a yoga retreat (Traca's idea that John eventually embraced), John had an idea come to him. The words Year of Service popped into his head. 

Traca was immediately on board with the idea of spending a year removed from their current lives, traveling the world as volunteers. Although they had hoped to move quickly, it took many months to get their affairs in order to make it happen. There is an interesting section at the end of the book where Marshall explains the logistics, like finances, renting their home and taking the kids out of school. He is very candid about the financial implications and gives great advice for anyone who wants to attempt a similar trip. 

The original plan was to spend a month in each location, moving to different continents. They would volunteer at an organization that would in turn, provide them room and board. It's not always an even exchange as many places are underfunded, so they need to charge an additional fee. The Marshall family soon realized that they would have to be flexible in their arrangements, as some places were a better fit for them than others and some of their travel plans had to be changed at the last minute. Flexibility and patience were key in many situations. Some of the organizations were located in remote regions, which included long bus or boat rides to reach their destination.

Marshall's memoir was compelling on many levels. It's an entertaining travel memoir. As much as I love the idea of traveling and adventure, I've come to realize that I'm more of a five-star hotel type of traveler. Marshall does a great job of writing for the reader like me, someone who wants to live vicariously through his experiences, rather than actually doing them myself. I love the idea of volunteer-tourism, but the thought of an eighteen hour bus ride through the jungle makes it a tough sell. Eventually the pains of travel are overshadowed by the clear joy that the Marshall family receives from their experiences in the various countries. It's infectious and touching. In particular, the way that the Marshall children learn to embrace the hard work and the relationships that they make is wonderful. It shows that teenagers can easily rise to the occasion, if they are given responsibility. I could feel Marshall's sense of pride in his teens. 

In addition to being touching, Marshall's book is very funny. He has a keen sense of humor as he finds himself out of his element and he does a solid job at translating that in his writing. As a protagonist, Marshall is extremely likable, even when he has a misstep. One of the more horrendous and semi-funny parts of the book was a cautionary tale as to why you shouldn't just rent out your house to the first person who comes along. The Marshall family came home to a huge problem with their renter! Also, watch out for spider monkeys in Costa Rica. 

I didn't expect one of the last chapters, where Marshall reflects on his marriage to Traca, to leave me so heartbroken. He had some very profound thoughts on what it means to be married, thoughts that stuck in my mind for several weeks after finishing the book. I don't want to give it away, but I highly recommend this book, even if you skip to the very end to read the marriage portion.

Wide-Open World is highly enjoyable. I really grew to love every member of the Marshall family as I read this book. I hope that Marshall plans to write more on his travel adventures, as I would definitely want to be along for the ride.

tags: Ballantine Books, Wide-Open World, Wide-Open World John Marshall Book Review, Travel Writer John Marshall, John Marshall Traca Jackson Logan, The Marshall Family Travels, Year of Service John Marshall, UCLA Extension Writers Program, Volunteer Tourism, Spider Monkey Bites, Advice on Marriage John Marshall, Tips on Volunteer Tourism, Travel Memoirs John Marshall, Netgalley, Netgalley Ballantine Books
categories: Read
Tuesday 02.10.15
Posted by Karen Lea Germain
 

Obligatory New Years Resolution Post 2015

It's that time again...time to make some new resolutions and to see how I did with the ones that I made for 2014.

Let's check out what I attempted to accomplish in 2014.

WRITING - My goal was four writing classes through UCLA Extension, which would keep me on target for finishing my certificate in three years. I ended up taking five classes and the summer off for traveling. I wanted to blog a minimum of five days a week. I managed to only do half of this goal, averaging 2.5 posts a week. I've boosted my blog readership, but I did not spend quite as much time as I would have liked promoting my blog. Thank you readers for sticking around!

READING - I exceeded my fifty book goal by two books, but I did not read any classics. My goal was one classic a month. I've made this goal for many years and it ends here. Who am I kidding, I definitely prefer modern books for pleasure reading!

EXERCISE/HEALTH - This time last year, I was very motivated by an episode of Modern Family, where Phil Dunphy walks the equivalent of CA-Canada on his treadmill. We started off strong, but with all of our travels and dealing with my aunt's estate, that quickly ended. I had also wanted to sign up for Yoga or Pilates, which sort of happened with my doing two months of steady Cardio Barre classes last spring. I wanted to eat a minimum of five fruits/veggies and track my food, also something that didn't happen. My fitness and exercise goals were a mess in 2014 and will be a priority for the new year.

TRAVEL - I didn't make it to a new state, but I did see a new country, Sweden. I also saw Lake Tahoe for the first time. I have a Southwest Airlines Companion Pass valid until the end of 2015, so time/money willing, Dan and I will do some United States traveling in the new year.

ORGANIZATION - I've done well in this area, mainly out of necessity from handling my aunt's estate. I have our file cabinet from last year orderly and I have a system in place. I'm even ready to go when it comes to tax time. I didn't have a chance to scan in the family photographs, but I have organized them all by date and the photo scanner has been bought. Organizing them was a bigger effort than I had initially realized, so I'm pleased with the progress made on this goal.

MISC - I did learn slightly more in Swedish than just saying poop (which is still hilarious to my stepkids). I would like to learn more, but I learned enough via an iPad App, that I was able to pick out words on signs and understand bits and pieces of overheard conversations. I didn't start volunteering, but I did donate a lot more money to several organizations this year. I'm not sure that money is better than time, but it's something. I reconnected with several friends, again though, not as much as I had hoped.

 

2015 RESOLUTIONS

1. Finish four more writing classes through UCLA Extension.

2. Send out my short stories ( fiction and non-fiction) to a minimum of fifteen publications/contests.

3. Finish the first half of my novel.

4. Blog a minimum of three times a week. Keep consistent with publishing blog content on a regular basis, rather than in large clumps when I'm on class breaks. 

5. Start or join a writing group

6. Read a minimum of fifty books

7. Starting Jan 5th until June Cruise - no alcohol/sweets/ fried food ( only exception is Jeep Jamboree or other special occasion)

8. Log food and exercise in daily notebook.

9. Starting Jan 5th, attend regular exercise sessions with trainer. Make working out a priority in 2015. 

10. Travel to a new state or country ( hopefully both and several)

11. Scan and organize 1/4 of family photographs. Print and frame family photographs to hang in both homes.

 

I'm keeping it less broad this year, focusing on my two top goals, writing and health. Here is to a healthy and productive 2015!

 

 

 

 

tags: 2015 resolutions, 2014 resolutions, New Years Resolutions 2015, New Years Health Resolutions, New Years Travel Resolutions, New Years Reading Resolutions, New Years Writing Resolutions, New Years Writing Goals, UCLA Extension Writers Program, New Years Organization Goals, Southwest Airlines Companion Pass, Learning Swedish, Modern Family Phil Dunphy walks to Canada, Cardio Barre
categories: Life
Wednesday 12.31.14
Posted by Karen Lea Germain
 
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