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Ask Me Why I Hurt
by Randy Christensen, Rene Denfeld
by Randy Christensen, Rene Denfeld
I want to like this book a lot more than I do. It is an easy, enjoyable read that brings attention to a little-known problem in this country. Ultimately, however, I find myself troubled by its focus. This should be a book about "the kids nobody wants," a wake-up call to those fortunate enough to have the luxury of reading about -- instead of living a life defined by -- homelessness. Ultimately, though, this is a story about "the doctor who heals [the kids nobody wants]," and while I admire Dr. Christensen's dedication and hard work, I can't help but be frustrated by the book's near-constant focus on his life, his struggles, his triumphs.
It's a shame, really, as this book is engrossing when it concentrates on the children. I don't believe it was Dr. Christensen's intention to make himself the center of this book; everything he says and does suggests that he wants to help others, not himself. Still, the effect is problematic. Instead of providing deeper insights into the larger world these children inhabit, he paints a portrait of his efforts -- one that just happens to also include the children he helps. His portrait is also a sentimental one, and while I'm a sucker for a good tug at the heartstrings, I resent it when I can see the hands wrapping those strings and tugging oh-so-hard.
That said, I was impressed enough to want to read the book again and motivated enough to get more involved in community service. I can't think of too many books that can accomplish that.
It's a shame, really, as this book is engrossing when it concentrates on the children. I don't believe it was Dr. Christensen's intention to make himself the center of this book; everything he says and does suggests that he wants to help others, not himself. Still, the effect is problematic. Instead of providing deeper insights into the larger world these children inhabit, he paints a portrait of his efforts -- one that just happens to also include the children he helps. His portrait is also a sentimental one, and while I'm a sucker for a good tug at the heartstrings, I resent it when I can see the hands wrapping those strings and tugging oh-so-hard.
That said, I was impressed enough to want to read the book again and motivated enough to get more involved in community service. I can't think of too many books that can accomplish that.
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Meredith
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Apr 04, 2011 07:54am
Memoirs and autobiographies are focused on the person who is writing it, the author. Your complaint is essentially with the entire genre of Memoir & Autobiography. If you want to read an interesting book about homelessness and drug culture, I recommend "The Corner" by David Simon & Edward Burns. It reads almost like a documentary. It's categorized as "Current Affairs"/ Non-fiction.
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While the word memoir does indeed come from the French word for memory, the development of the genre as a whole is not specifically linked to the idea of a personal, subjective experience. Until fairly recently, memoir referred to any written account containing instructions to be followed and/or facts to be judged and interpreted. Indeed, the genre's relationship to the essay -- another word from the French, which means both an attempt/try (noun form) and to weigh/assign value to (verb form) -- hinges primarily on this concept of judgment and attempt. This is why many memoirs, real or imagined, take possessive modifiers.It's worth noting that Ask Me Why I Hurt is cross-classified as "Memoir," "Current Events/Poverty," and "Medicine/Doctor-Patient Relationships" by Amazon, but it is categorized under "Homeless children -- Medical care -- Arizona" and "Homeless children -- Arizona" by the Library of Congress.
Hence why your comment confuses me. I gave the book three stars because I liked it. The prose has many flaws beyond its typos, but it is still affecting. That's a good thing. Yet I never said anything about the memoir subgenre as a whole; I said something about this specific instance of nonfiction. Coming to that conclusion -- I must hate memoir because I didn't like this instance of it -- is known as a hasty generalization.
Additionally, your suggestion that the memoir genre is so narrow as to only be about the author is dismissive at best. And to say that a nonfiction book is like a documentary is like saying that an orange is like orange juice. They're part of the same genre, distinguished occasionally by media, style, purpose, etc.
Still, thank you for the recommendation -- regardless of the spirit in which it was given.
Sorry, there's no other way to say this without sounding rude, but I didn't think your review was very helpful and that was really the reason I decided to comment. Your follow-up comment didn't really convince me of your understanding of the genre, or provide any additional helpful information regarding the book being reviewed. My book recommendation was based on my assumption that you were looking for more observational, fact-based writing that was less like memoir in its "creative non-fiction," author-focused tendencies.
