A Memoir and Two Autobiographies...

For the past several years I have challenged my reading selections by creating categories and reading several books from each category.  This idea came from my use of library thing.com: in 2012 and 2013, I chose 12 categories with the plan to read at least six books for each one.  Using the categories, I enjoyed the way they forced me to think about what I was reading in new ways and see the connections between the books I read.  Because I did not write reviews over the past few months, I am posting comments on these books by categories.  Perhaps some of my readers will also enjoy seeing the flow of my reading.  I did not read one category at a time; however, as the year drew to a close, I did attempt to complete each one.

Each August during my annual pilgrimage to the Stratford Festival, I always make several stops at Fanfare Books on Ontario Street.   I have followed this bookstore through two locations and owners; it is my favorite bookstore.  This past year marked my 40^th year of annual visits to “Fanfare.”  Over the years I have developed an addiction to books written by Canadians.  Although some writers, like Alice Munro and Margaret Atwood, are readily available in the United States, many are rarely found here.  There are several Canadian writers whose work I purchase without hesitation; one is Helen Humphreys.  This past August two of her books made their way back to Dansville; Nocturne:  On the Life and Death of My Brother took my breath away.  Part of the attraction for me was the affinity I felt for her; reading her description of her relationship with her brother, I knew it as I know the feelings I have toward my own brother.  Although my brother is not a professional musician, his love and talent for music is strong.  Her reflection on the death of her brother was poignant and profound:  “Maybe when you died what left your body, following the last few staccato beats of your racing heart, the last harsh gasping of your breath, was not so much your soul as the last true notes of you” (91).  I want to listen to my brother’s notes for many more years.

Humphreys, Helen. Nocturne: On the Life and Death of My Brother. Toronto:  Harper Collins Publishers Ltd., 2013. Print.

                

                I am not sure when I purchased Dreaming in Color by Kaffe Fassett, but it was the first time I saw it advertised on Amazon.  Fassett was the first person to truly inspire my knitting, and he continues to do so.  When I first started knitting, all I wanted to do was plain stockinette: knit on one side; purl on the other.  I did not want to learn any other stitches like cabling or lace – just simple combinations of knit and purl.  Then one day I saw a book of knitting patterns by Kaffe Fassett, Glorious Knits.  Here was a treasure trove of gorgeous colors and patterns and designs.  All I had to do was knit on one side and purl on the other; I had no idea the technique with multiple yarns was called Intarsia, and far more experienced knitters felt it was too hard.  I just started knitting his patterns. 

                I met him once at a book signing in Rochester, NY held in a yarn store.  I was wearing one of his basic striped sweaters that I had knit.  I was astounded because there were many women in line, and none of them wore a sweater of his design.  He was very gracious and complimented me.  On my way out a woman stopped me to say she thought I was very brave to wear my sweater.  I told her how surprised I was to be the only knitter wearing a Fassett design.  She said most knitters were too nervous about their knitting to wear one in front of him.  I discovered when reading this book that was his first book tour, and he was nervous and overwhelmed by the reaction. 

                What I enjoyed about this autobiography was the choice Fassett made: he focused on his love of color.  I learned of his life including his family, upbringing, and education, but the focus was on color and how he sees it.  I learned different ways to look at the world around me.  The book is filled with color photographs and reassured me that my love of mixing colors is a creative gift.  It reminded me of William Whitehead’s Words To Live By.  Whitehead’s memoir focused on his love of words.  Neither book became a gossipy sounding, too personal expose.

Fassett, Kaffe. Dreaming in Color An Autobiography. New York: Abrams, 2012. Print

Finally the last autobiography I read in 2013 had been on my shelf since 2005.  I saw it on display at Borders and remember thinking it would be a good book to share with middle school students.  The Story of My Life: An Afghan Girl on the Other Side of the Sky by Farah Ahmedi with Tamim Ansary is not a great book, but it is an enlightening true story with an inspiring inception. 

When ABC News’s Good Morning America asked its viewers to write essays describing true-life experiences about romance, adventure, loss, and overcoming tremendous odds, the network never imagined receiving more than twenty thousand pages of inspiring, heartbreaking, and hopeful stories.  But that’s exactly what happened.  After a panel of bestselling authors and editors chose three finalists, America was given the opportunity to vote on which aspiring author would have his or her story published. (Back Cover)

I learned about life in Afghanistan from a girl who feared the Taliban.  As a child Farah Ahmedi was injured in a bombing incident and lost a leg.  She was taken to Germany for treatment.  After returning to her war torn country, she later lived through attacks that killed her father.  Her brothers disappeared.  She was forced to fend for herself and her mother. 

                When she describes the difficulties of wearing a burkha, which she calls a chadri, it is horrifying.  “That mesh at eye level lets you see only what is straight ahead of you.  You cannot really look down at your feet, and you have no peripheral vision….You have to study the path ahead and memorize the landmarks, because as you move forward, the path disappears from view into the blind spot near your feet and on your two sides” (98).  Imagine having this challenge in addition to a prosthetic leg.

                As soon as I finished reading this autobiography, I googled her name and found a video of the speech she made when becoming a citizen.  Hers is a remarkable story and definitely accessible to younger readers.

Ahmedi, Farah with Tamim Ansary. The Story of My Life: An Afghan Girl on the Other Side of the Sky.  New York: Simon Spotlight Entertainment, 2005. Print.