The Mother I Imagined, The Mom I Knew

Hi, I'm back and with some great news. I'm just about to launch a memoir about my mom on August 31 from Mindprints Literary Press. This is "I Love Memoir Day," so it's right on target.

Here's a short description and excerpt from:

The Mother I Imagined, The Mom I Knew
by Paul Alan Fahey

What is memory? How much of what we remember actually happened? How much is wishful thinking, added to and embellished over the years? These are questions you’ll be asking yourself while reading The Mother I Imagined, The Mom I Knew

In the tradition of Patrick Dennis, Truman Capote, and Tennessee Williams’ memory play, The Glass Menagerie, Paul Alan Fahey’s memoir recounts a son’s loving yet often maddening relationship with his mother over four decades. Told in a hybrid mix of memoir, short fiction, and poetry, the author tells of their nomadic existence in the 1950s; his mother’s four month visit in Africa while he completed his teaching contract; and the last decade of her life. 

“I remember Mother’s lime green dress, billowing in the dusty heat, as she stepped down from the Ethiopian Airlines jet, her hair recently died a reddish-blonde. I can see her standing at customs, smiling to airport officials, while I tried to explain in my best pigeon Amharic, which usually impressed foreigners and fractured locals, that this was my mother come to visit, all the way from California.
Waiting for her luggage, Mother opened her purse and pulled out a knife, fork, and spoon embossed with the airline’s logo of a lion about to pounce on an unsuspecting tourist. She smiled, then dropped the silverware into the pocket of her tote. “Amazing what you can carry in these things, honey.”
I nodded and began to bite my nails, a habit I’d thought I’d outgrown in grade school.

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I'll be posting more information about my new book as we get closer to the launch date. I'm working closely with two great writer friends, Mara Purl and Victoria Zackheim, and a wonderful publishing team at Mindprints Literary Press. What could be better?

Oh, here's what folks are saying about The Mother I Imagined, The Mom I Knew

PRAISE FOR PAUL ALAN FAHEY’S

The Mother I Imagined, The Mom I Knew

"A web of memories as delicate as the perfume of a flower, and yet as strong as the currents in the sea. It is joyous, funny and sad, and speaks not only of love but of infinite understanding.”
Anne Perry, International Best-Selling Historical Novelist and author of three acclaimed Mystery Series: Thomas & Charlotte Pitt; Monk; WWI

"Paul Fahey’s mother, Mary Eileen Smith, comes off as part Auntie Mame, part Joan “Mommie Dearest” Crawford, and part Mama Rose. She has a wickedly funny wit, sharp survival skills, and great poignancy and vulnerability. Fahey captures all of this in this unusual memoir that combines the art of fiction with the even deeper art of remembrance."
Perry Brass, author of King of Angels, and The Manly Pursuit of Desire and Love

"In his unique hybrid memoir, Paul Fahey artfully blends the lines between reality and memory. Part tribute, part confession and all parts sincere, the author lovingly recalls an often transient childhood with a strong, independent mother from whom he no doubt inherited his tenacity. Thinly-veiled short stories combined with snippets of their evolving relationship underscore the immutable truth of a complex mother-son relationship. In the end, The Mother I Imagined, The Mom I Knew is an earnest examination into human resilience, the power of love and ultimately, the gifts of forgiveness and self-acceptance."
Eldonna Edwards , Author of best-selling memoir Lost in Transplantation and the forthcoming novel This I Know

"This is as much an autobiography of the author as it is the story of his mother, and as such is an intimate and revealing view of all that influenced him. Included are some fascinating short stories that in many ways parallel both his and his mother’s life together. Fascinating reading."
Marilyn Meredith, author of Deputy Tempe Crabtree Mysteries

"Fahey’s strong writing and quirky characters unite to create a beguiling coming-of-age tale set in 1950’s San Francisco."
Sue McGinty, author of Bella Kowalski California Central Coast Mysteries

I hope you'll stay tuned because, "The Best is Yet to Come!"

Warmly,

Paul