Story Circle Book Reviews

Book Report

• Editors' Picks: Every month, our editors choose remarkable books by and about special women. Here are our choices for this month: Where Am I Going?: Moving From Religious Tourist to Spiritual Explorer, by Michelle Cromer Wisdom Has a Voice: Every Daughter's Memories of Mother edited, by Kate Farrell Arapajo Journeys: Photographs and Stories from the Wind River Reservation, by Sara Wiles The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook, by Deborah Robson & Carol Ekarius Butterfly Tears: Stories of Entrapment to Empowerment, edited by Wil Drouin and Jennifer Thomas Good in a Crisis, by Margaret Overton Above Stairs: Social Life in Upper-Class Victoria 1843-1918, by Valerie Green Modern Homestead: Grow, Raise, Create, by Renee Wilkinson Every Day is a Good Day: Reflections by Contemporary Indigenous Women, by Wilma Mankiller Will Love For Crumbs, by Jonna Ivin Here are some of the other books we've enjoyed. You will, too! • Especially for Women's History Month (March) Pierce: Six Prairie Lives, by A. Mary Murphy Voluntary Nomads: A Mother's Memories of Foreign Service Family Life, by Nancy Pogue LaTurner Palestinian Women: Narrative Histories and Gendered Memory, by Fatma Kassem Deliver Us from Evil: A Southern Belle in Europe at the Outbreak of World War I, by Mary W. Schaller Nothing Daunted: The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West, by Dorothy Wickenden • Our Food, Our Health, Our Planet's Health Squeezed: What You Don't Know About Orange Juice, by Alissa Hamilton Farmer Jane: Women Changing the Way We Eat, by Temra Costa Diet for a Hot Planet: The Climate Crisis at the End of Your Fork and What You Can Do About It, by Anna Lappé Edible: A Celebration of Local Foods, by Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian Fresh: A Perishable History, by Susanne Freidberg • Spirits & Souls Goddesses for Every Day: Exploring the Wisdom and Power of the Divine Feminine Around the World by Julie Loar Untie the Strong Woman, by Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Ph.D. Holy Ghost Girl, by Donna Johnson Someone to Talk To: Finding Peace, Purpose, and Joy After Tragedy and Loss, by Samantha M. White The Artist's Rule: Nurturing Your Creative Soul with Monastic Wisdom, by Christine Valters Paintner • Strong Women, Strong Stories State of Wonder, by Ann Patchett Persistence: All Ways Butch and Femme, edited by Ivan E. Coyote & Zena Sharman Darkroom: A Family Exposure, by Jill Christman This is Not the Ivy League, by Mary Clearman Blew A Stolen Life, by Jaycee Dugard What Wildness is This? Women Write About the Southwest, edited by Susan Wittig Albert, Susan Hanson, Jan Epton Seale, Paula Stallings Yost • Our Favorite Authors Read Lisa Shirah-Hiers' interview with Susan J. Tweit, author of Walking Nature Home and the Sunday luncheon speaker at SCN's 2012 National Women's Memoir Conference, "Stories from the Heart VI." • Our Reviewers and Editors Make News SCN member and Star Blogger Susan J. Tweit has been invited to speak at TEDx in Homer, Alaska, on July 26th. TED, which calls itself "Ideas Worth Spreading," is the invitation-only digital channel that launched Jill Bolte Taylor and her best-selling book My Stroke of Insight, as well as dozens of other thinkers, speakers, musicians and writers. Tweit says that being invited to speak at TEDx "is kind of like being invited to an NBA draft camp: If I'm really good, my talk could get a slot on the main TED channel and be viewed by millions. Of course," she continues, "this is writing and not the NBA, so even if that happens, I won't get a contract worth millions of dollars." Her talk, "Love. Every Moment: Living with a Playful Spirit Through the End," will be streamed live from the TEDxHomer event, and also will be available on TED's video channel after the event. If you're interested in joining our review team, go here for all the details.

Cover Stories

• Advertising with SCN. As you plan the marketing campaign for your book, writing program, or writing-related workshop or conference, please consider Story Circle as a partner in your promotional efforts. Story Circle provides a unique voice and a wide range of services for women readers and writers. Partnering with us allows you to target your promotion efforts and take advantage of SCN's growing reputation in the international community of women writers. Depending on your budget, you can choose from five packages. • SCN Online Classes: The Story Circle Network offers the only online lifewriting program designed exclusively for women. We teach general writing skills, organization, and critical editing, as well as technical skills in book design and development, online marketing, blogging, and other Internet-related activities. Through our Mentor Program, we can connect you with a helpful mentor who will provides you with individually tailored, constructive assistance designed to help you strengthen your writing, sustain your efforts, and complete your projects. For full class listings, faculty bios, enrollment, and more, visit our website. • SCN is proud to announce the opening of the second annual Sarton competition. The Sarton Memoir Award will be granted to an outstanding woman's memoir published in 2012 in the United States or Canada. It is named in honor of May Sarton (1912-1995), distinguished American poet, novelist, and memoirist. For full details of the competition, including guidelines and application form, visit the Sarton Memoir Award website. You'll also want to check out our scoring rubric, so you can see what our team of judges will be looking for. The judging for the 2011 competition is now underway. The winning author's name and the title of her book will be announced at Stories from the Heart, the SCN National Memoir Conference, Austin TX, April 13-15, 2012. • HerStories and One Woman's Day. SCN hosts two blogs and dozens of bloggers. The HerStories bloggers are a dozen women writers and teachers who regularly share their passion for the how-to and why, the art and craft of lifewriting. The One Woman's Day bloggers share occasional stories of the special days of their lives. If you're a member and would like to contribute to OWD, visit the blog and see how to get involved. • Here at SCBR, we always receive more wonderful books than we can possibly review. So we've created a new feature on our website: a section called Briefly Reviewed, a selection of titles, briefly described, that represent the wide range of recently-published memoirs written by strong women who have been there, done that, and lived to tell the tale. Recommended for your reading pleasure! • Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.