Caitlin Hicks's Blog: Book Reviews, page 13
July 8, 2020
The Naked Truth, by Leslie Morgan
I’m penning reviews for The New York Journal of Books, but how I’m required to write for the journal totally goes against my style: I like to take responsibility for my opinion, my words, my ideas. This means speaking in the first person. And besides, I think in the first person. The journal requires reviewers to use the third person, to make the review as ‘objective’ and non personal as possible. But the use of the third ‘person’ sets up a distance that seems to shut down inspiration, and I write my way, somewhat woodenly through the exercise. Words don’t come rushing in, that’s for sure!
While reading The Naked Truth, a memoir by Leslie Morgan, bestselling author of Crazy Love and Mommy Wars, I felt like I was in the hands of an experienced writer and so I relaxed, even though she said ‘trust me’ in the fourth line of the prologue and ‘I kid you not’ in the first paragraph of Chapter 1.
Leslie Morgan writes with such chatty confidence about her personal dilemmas as a woman at 49, that when she went into the backstory of her failed second marriage after only a teaser about her intention for the rest of the book, I thought, ‘backstory, failed marriage, I’ll give her a break.’ When she described the first sex she’d had in three years – with a blue-eyed, charming younger man whom she met at the airport waiting for her flight, I kept reading. I stayed with her as she was attracted to and bedded five different men in pursuit of self-discovery and confidence. I only began to wonder about the men (every one was so grateful, so gushing in his praise of her body, her generosity in sex; each one seemed so decent and trustworthy and sexy and good looking) after she fell for the fifth guy. She recounted one heady experience after another; when men noticed her, as she welcomed their gaze, their comments, their lust and affection. There was no such thing as inappropriate touching. The #MeToo took on a different meaning, i.e. I’m going to have my fun, too! But I grew tired of the words, ‘pussy’ and ‘cock’.
The Naked Truth was an easy and compelling read even when the narrator lost confidence in what she was doing. Even when her relationships got messy, when her heart was broken. Although my divorce was years ago and under completely different circumstances, I wanted to know how her journey concluded. I saw red flags when the guy she finally falls for shows himself to be an alcholic, a hoarder, a jealous mate. But Morgan talked me out of it again and again until finally I truly felt trapped in that vulnerable emotional landscape of being in love with the wrong person. It became less about a steamy sex scene and more about What did she learn?
As I was reading I thought of two people I wanted to share the book with.
To link to my podcast, SOME KINDA WOMAN, Stories of Us: https://www.caitlinhicks.com/wordpress/podcasts-some-kinda-woman/
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Joseph Andrew and Marie Klein with their son, Harold
That’s my Grandpa, Joseph Andrew Prudell and my Gramma, Marie Klein Prudell with their first born, Harold.
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July 6, 2020
The Christmas Monster of Ripple Rock
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Intro to SOME KINDA WOMAN & Read Island Santa
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June 25, 2020
The resilience of Karissa Williams
“My son literally saved my life”
“My boyfriend said, ‘Karissa, I slept with so many women, and none of them got pregnant, so you don’t have to worry.’ “
“He punched me in the gut. I fell over. I was 14 years old; I lost that baby.”
“You’re not that smart, why don’t you just drop out of school and be a full time mom?”
“I very much felt like property.”
“I’ve met this great guy – he doesn’t beat me!”
“I was sitting on the couch looking at the photo of my Mom. It was the first time in my life I saw all 350 pounds of her.”
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Meet Karissa Williams:
a resilient woman whose grief in life includes losing a baby at 13, giving birth at 15 and being trapped in an abusive relationship with an addict and drug dealer. Who attempts suicide only to be saved by her child, needing her.
When she marries a ‘great guy’ (he doesn’t beat me) she has a daughter and gains more than a hundred pounds. Soon loses her mother to cancer. And her own self-esteem.
Getting through it all, Karissa discovers her strength to recover and in the process, empowers women to live their best life possible. An inspirational story about the real person behind 365 Daily Hustle
Illustration by Gordon Halloran http://www.gordonhalloran.com
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June 12, 2020
A couple of criminals
From a New York Times Op/Ed piece
“As Stanley Cohen wrote in “States of Denial,” many people “know” and “not-know” the truth about oppression and suffering. He explains: “Denial may be neither a matter of telling the truth nor intentionally telling a lie. There seem to be states of mind, or even whole cultures, in which we know and don’t know at the same time.” –
America, This Is Your Chance
We must get it right this time or risk losing our democracy forever.
The following podcast “A couple of Criminals” is a moment in the life of a 17-year-old white girl in 1968 when her eyes are opened to the brutal racism that had been an invisible force in American life for hundreds of years. It is an excerpt from another chapter from my second novel, KENNEDY GIRL. Annie Shea is a high school senior who is beginning to taste not only the adventurous discoveries her coming-of-age during the Sixties, but also the changes rumbling in the society around her. When she falls in love with another Catholic student from Watts who sings and dances in a high-school production of HAIR, she begins her awakening to the alternate reality of life in black and white.
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June 5, 2020
1968 – Change Gonna Come
“We were in the middle of something big, so very big and important and I didn’t understand what it was.”
This episode is part of my new novel KENNEDY GIRL, the story of a white, Catholic high school senior Annie Shea, who sneaks out of her enormous family home to volunteer for Robert Kennedy’s campaign for President in 1968. In this podcast, Change Gonna Come, it’s the day Martin Luther King Jr. is murdered. At the Wilshire Boulevard offices of KENNEDY FOR PRESIDENT campaign, Annie begins her awakening to the powerful racist forces that drive white society in 1968.
#Podcast Sound design & Illustrations by Gord Halloran
Music in this podcast written by Rose Kirchner and used in the film SINGING THE BONES: Also Sam Cooke, Change Gonna Come
Other podcasts in the series SOME KINDA WOMAN, Stories of Us can be found here:
PATREON.COM/SOMEKINDAWOMAN
Each podcast is like a song, a short story collection of ideas and experiences we can all participate in from our own perspective. It’s a cultural invitation to further exploration for discussion; an opening to sharing your own experiences with others. To join the conversation, sign up to SOME KINDA WOMAN, Stories of Us Group Page on Facebook
And please SHARE! To receive extra content, as well as other perks related to these podcasts, while supporting their creation, both hard costs and artist’s contribution, visit: http://Patreon.com/SomeKindaWoman
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