NARRATIVE NON-FICTION – BOOK REVIEW

NARRATIVE NON-FICTION

It’s no secret that I’m an avid non-fiction reader, and I love narrative non-fiction. I sometimes feel the need to apologize for this affliction to my fiction loving friends. While I understand the love of fiction, I’ve come to value real life stories in addition to the depth of knowledge many writers bring to their craft.

Learning something new energizes me, but that’s not to say that I don’t enjoy good fiction!  I do. Fiction offers a different way of getting to the same realities, but perhaps in a more nuanced and subtle manor. Readers tend to grope their way toward a shift in perspective, whereas non-fiction clobbers us over the head with it! Narrative non-fiction does both.

A SHIFT IN PERSPECTIVE

Jungians like story, for that very reason. They believe story takes us deeper, beneath our unconscious biases and opens doors we are not quite aware are even there to be opened. The unfolding of the story takes us on a journey that ultimately allows a shift in perspective. We are changed by hearing the tales of another and often don’t realize how, or why. We may recognize ourselves in a story, consciously or unconsciously, and learn vicariously.

TWO REVIEWS – Narrative Non-Fiction

The following two books are memoirs of a sort. The author’s tell their story and also imparts information and knowledge acquired in their journeys. They are both narrative non-fiction, combining non-fiction with story. It’s the best of both worlds! Each element has the potential to deliver a shift in perspective.

HERE THEY ARE!

HEARTLAND, A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth by Sarah Smarsh

Sarah Smarsh’s book is a must-read. The author shares her own story of growing up on a Kansas farm, and in the process adds generational depth that sheds light on the generations of farmers and the lives they lived. She shares a lifestyle and how it shaped her and the generations before her, but is now quickly fading as corporate farming takes over. Smarsh exposes the biases inherent in a lopsided culture and its shifting values through the impact on her life.

Readers will come away with an enhanced perspective and a deeper understanding of the Kansas farming legacy.

 

THE CHOICE, Embrace the Possible by Dr. Edith Eva Eger

A powerful, moving memoir, as well as a guide and source of inspiration for anyone who has suffered debilitating hurts and trauma and has struggled to heal – written by Dr. Edith Eva Eger, an eminent psychologist whose own experiences as a Holocaust survivor and her healing journey, shares her experience and what she learned from her efforts to help other trauma survivors heal and allow them to escape the prisons of their own minds.

“Your pain matters and is worth healing: You can choose to be joyful and free.” Edith Eger is 89 years old and still dancing.

I listened to both in the audio version and both were well-read. I found The Choice to be exceptional in audio form and would recommend it. While the reader was not the author, the narrator Tovah Feldshuh was excellent and delivered a performance worthy of the story and author. 

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FINDING JOY AS WE AGE – It’s a Choice