Last Saturday something magical happened. I took the day off from all responsibility and read. With wine. I know, I know. A book club party of one and wine pairing is always a good decision.
Stray by Stephanie Danler was my confidant all day. Her words, her story, her memoir was my entire weekend. And it was a weekend well spent.
Why I Love Stray by Stephanie Danler
I’d been longing for a book in which I could imagine being friends with its protagonist. Lately, it’s been hard to find that in fiction. True stories have been delivering though. Danler is unabashedly authentic as she shares her experiences growing up, complicated feelings around central relationships, and with her little moments of private honesty (the ones we all think but do not dare share).
I was in wonder and curiosity for the California she describes. A lot of her feelings are relatable and universal, even though her background and childhood were different than my own. If you know an addict, this book will help you understand the nature of that disease and its impact on everyone in that person’s life. And, if you simply want a good read that’s honest, pick it up. Despite the darker subjects it explores, I never felt like I was drowning in her story. I found myself rooting for her, laughing out loud and fully committed to finding out how this chapter of her life ends (and sets her up for her future).
My Book Club Wine Pairing for Stray
No good book is complete without wine, and for this book nothing would do but a bold red. From California, naturally. To my bookish delight, I read and sipped wine and let myself be in a world vastly different and yet similar to my own. In fact this experience reminded me why I love memoirs. Nonfiction storytelling reminds us how alike we really are. We have so much more in common than what is visible on the surface. Books like Stray make me feel connected to the world around me, to people. Something I am desperate to feel, given the current pandemic circumstances.
What’s up with life right now?
Life is. That’s the only way I can end that sentence. Good, bad, tiring, thrilling, terrifying, delightful… they all work depending on the time of day you ask me. Covid-19, everything that has come up this year, the election, my book launch, these things have contributed to my slowly becoming an eccentric woman in the woods liable to extreme emotions provoked at the drop of a hat. Some days I give convincing speeches of hope and inspiration. A small voice inside me asks, who even are you? Other days I am so filled with rage and confusion, the same voice has disappeared… probably gone to fetch that nice inspired person from earlier.
A Video On Life Lately
Book News
Being an author has been a highlight of this year and one accomplishment that will always make me grateful for 2020. Embrace That Girl had its Book Club debut with The Bambina Diaries and was well received in its tight-nit community of readers. I am still swooning over the feedback!
I was recently the guest on Meet Them Mondays podcast, where I spoke to its host Christian Portilla about our twenties, all the lessons we learned, and most notably: how I look back fondly at the girl in the mirror now that I’m in my thirties. Embrace That Girl received a favorable book review from Book Life of Publisher’s Weekly, which will run in the print version of the magazine this December.
I recorded an honest conversation with The Imperfect Pod host Luke West whose mission it is to explore masculinity across cultures and its effects. I’ve sent my book out more than I can count to perspective podcast hosts, reporters and bookfluencers, like Jami from My Shared Stacks. And I’ve been terrified at almost every turn to continue to put myself and my work out there.
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It’s quite cliche, I know. Being scared of rejection isn’t exactly original. But, it’s honest. Life right now looks like sipping wine, reading, giving into my whims in my house in the mountains and yet still, committed to being seen, connecting and finding that connection however I can. Sometimes that’s in a book, other times it’s by sharing my own book or having conversations with new people from around the globe.
I’m doing my best, which also looks different every day. And it’s all good.
Do you love fiction or nonfiction? Any memoir recommendations?
ps. you may like Get Over Your Troubles with Blue Jelly and Currently Reading: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett.
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