Intimate Reading: The Contemporary Women’s Memoir

Writing American Women

by Janet Mason Ellerby

An innovative study of the contemporary memoir, blending autobiography and literary analysis to illuminole the intellectual, cultural, and emotional dynamics of life writing Maintaining that the memoir requires a more personal relationship with its readers and critics, Janet Mason Ellerby calls for intimate readings. She begins this work with her own memoir, narrating a long-held secret - her pregnancy at age sixteen, her life in the Florence Crittendon Home for Unwed Mothers, and the birth and adoption of her first daughter. She goes on to tell about the aftermath of this pivotal time in and the painful consequences of keeping a secret. Included are detailed analyses of more than a dozen contemporary memoirs by American women, all of which share a common purpose: the disclosure of secrets. Ellerby describes the costs of this secrecy and explores the possibilities of breaking intractable codes of silence. It is a study that is germane to the intellectual and emotional lives of all women. This book is the first serious exploration of a genre that has gained acceptance with an expanding audience of readers. Ellerby maintains that the efforts of memoirists to plumb their painful pas

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction

234 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2001

Reviews

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

A study of memoirs, including the author's story of giving up a child for adoption.

[Theryn Fleming]

Intimate Reading takes a feminist approach to memoir, focusing in particular memoirs of the confessional vein, with the author first revealing her own long-held secret. She examines the shift from a culture of secrecy to the current tell-all society, analyzes shame and its ramifications, discusses risks of revelation, examines narratives of sexuality, and explores trauma and struggles with psychiatric illness. Because of its focus on secrets, trauma, etc., most of the chapters are not particularly pertinent to my research. The most useful chapters for my purposes are the final ones where she discusses who a secret (story) belongs to and what truth means.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was written by a professor of mine at UNCW. Her story is amazing! Knowing her made her story closer to me, so I cried a bit in the first couple chapters. Gripping and important.