(In no particular order)
A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken
SO GOOD. I just want to be their friends. Sheldon and Davy, their deep love, intelligence, coming to faith and story of grief is so compelling. Sheldon does a great job of exploring the themes of faith and grief throughout with personal relfections and life lived to back it up. It’s also very well written with honest reflection and beautiful, intelligent people that you learn from throughout. Bonus, there are also 18 letters written by C.S. Lewis to Sheldon that give you even a little bit more insight into the legacy that is Mr. Lewis.
Points of interest: Honestly, I just didn’t like Sheldon sometimes. hah. His undisciplined nature, stubbornness and whims made me feel as though he didn’t deserve Davy (his wife). He gets points for honesty, but you may struggle with his person too.
Just Kids by Patti Smith
I came across this memoir because one of my very favorite artists, Allman Brown, created a song based on the book called “Just Kids (Patti and Robert)“. The song was lovely and intriguing (you should listen to it), so I thought I’d give it a read. Turns out, Patti Smith was a Rock N Roll artist in the 70’s and a poet with a genuinely brilliant and original mind. Her talents are all on display in this memoir, an honorary ode to her friendship with the artist and photographer, Robert Maggelthorpe. I was impressed with this book. The writing is poignant and articulate, and the story is historically romantic, raw, heart warming and heart breaking all at the same time. Patti is not only a wallflower, but a wallflower of wallflowers, and Robert is intriguing, but also lived quite a tormented life. It was a tale of friendship with a lot of humanity and artistry mixed in.
Points of interest: There are some very complicated and depraved themes in here dealing with spirituality, sexuality, drugs, idolatry of art, etc that was hard to read, especially when you can see it destroying the people you become acquainted with in the book. I also felt odd toward the author- Like i knew Patti, but didn’t. She has a way of disconnecting herself from the writing, but also providing you with some of her most intimate thoughts in an undeniably authentic matter. It was hard for me to imagine someone sober and so unaffected by the offenses against her. I also did wonder if she had some manic seasons, one being where she was genuinely convinced that she was destined to discover lost treasure of Rimbaud (a French poet) in Ethiopia. These recounts made me feel… uncomfortable? Like I wasn’t sure she was a reliable source for the story, but alas, she is an artist and a story teller, so the strong sense of imagination lines up.
To the Golden Shore by Courtney Anderson
This book still lingers with me. A thorough and excellently written biography on the life of Adoniram Jduson, the first American missionary that ventured to Burma (currently Myanmar). His life is one of simple conviction, intelligence, bitter hardship and loss, as well as fantastic romance. This book challenged my own motives for becoming a missionary (which I did for a few years in my early 20’s) by returning me from the “glory story” of missionary life to the simple person of Jesus.
Points of interest: With all biographies, it leaves you wanting to the know the truest thoughts of the person under study. Because of the nature of the writing, you feel as though you have almost a false sense of who someone was, though very personal accounts to draw from. A small critique that the author couldn’t really avoid, considering the way she chose to write it.
The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts by Tom Farley and Tanner Colby
I think we all have a memory of this guy somewhere stored in our brains, which actually was why I picked up the book. You will be wooed by the endearing man that is Chris, and also frustrated by his seemingly slippery nature toward temptation and addiction. You see so much hope and potential in him and despite knowing the ending, I just kept thinking that someone would save him and he’d make it through. I think that’s just how much you wanted to root for Chris. This story perfectly reflects the dual natures we can have, our weaknesses, and just how destructive they can be. On a side note, the societal and cultural environment Chris grew up in helped paint a picture for me, reminding me of the importance of guarding our youth and confronting the troubles and addictions we see in those close to us.
Points of interest: Gosh, the ending. What a sad ending. Also, as a disclaimer, this book includes alcoholism and drug use.
The Woman in Me by Britany Spears
It’s Britany bitch. haha. Pardon my language, it was just the perfect intro. (This is a reference to one of her songs if you didn’t know). Well, the writing was “eh”, but wow. This memoir was heartbreaking in just the worse ways. I was left upset about our societal pressure and microscopic interest in musicians/actors/influencers as she recounted her story. Our consumption of their life destroys them, and it was apparent in this memoir. Britany is… complicated. And she seems to have a sense of knowing that. She self discloses as becoming weird, and also identifies parts of herself that have simply regressed. I applaud her self awareness. The reasons however, for this weirdness/regression, you learn, are VERY different than what we all contributed to drug or alcohol use. Everything she did made sense with how old she was/the stress she was under/the people in her life. Britany was just unfortunately not shrewd enough to be famous and was not given the right tools to handle all of it in a healthy manner; she was too easily taken advantage of, and wasn’t able to identify what was happening before it was too late. You can sense her learning even more of herself and her story through each page, and that was a beautiful thing.
Points of interest: You can kind of hear the regression of her person in the writing; it feels like a 16 year old girl writing the story of a 40 year old woman, so it’s not necessarily a very well-written tale. You may be off put by the cover (I chose not to put a picture up of the front because I didn’t want to thrust the image on anyone, as it’s a bit revealing) but the story is genuinely not explicit. Britany mentions her lovers and the ways she was sexualized as a young teen, but it’s actually quite innocently written, and I think the cover was more her artistic way of symbolizing her vulnerability in the story. And alas, one thing to keep in mind is that we can’t fact check Britany. This is a personal account and her side of the story, so just leave room for that.
I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jeannette McCurdy
Ufda. Jeannette. She takes you along on her mental journey and experiences becoming a famous childhood actress in Nickelodean’s very popular show, iCarly, and all of the ish that came with it. The beginning of the book is fairly simple writing, as she writes through the eyes of her 6 year old self, which was artistic, but not as enjoyable as a reader. However, you grow with her throughout the book, and by the end you see her brilliance as a person and reader. I watched a few of her interviews and honestly just want to be her friend. She is smart, self-aware, articulate and most admirably honest. Her story is BRUTAL, cringey, relatable, and eye-opening. By the end of the book, I was simply so proud of her.
