In Joyride: A Memoir, Susan Orlean – one of the greatest practitioners of narrative nonfiction of our time – writes about finding her creative calling and purpose, and invites us to approach life with wonder, curiosity, and a sense of delight. Orlean’s account is a treasure trove for writers and a practical master class on embracing a creative life. Jayne Anne Phillips’ Small Town Girls: A Writer’s Memoir is part coming-of-age story, part social history, and a love letter to the place and people who have shaped her perceptions and writing. With tenderness and wisdom, she brings us into Appalachia, the distinctly American landscape that shapes her fiction, and reflects on her origins and the mysteries of memory.
Presented in Memory of Myrna Palley