Book Recommendation: I'm the One Who Got Away by Andrea Jarrell
I met Andrea at a ModernWell literary event in Minneapolis back in January and was entranced by her from the beginning. She served on a panel talking about writing memoir and I knew I had to read her book. Modernwell's Julie Burton hosted her in a fireside chat the next day and as she read a scene from her book. I was completely mesmerized by her words and the flow of her story -- I couldn't wait to get my hands on the rest of her memoir!
She was gracious enough to send me an autographed copy (I wasn't quick enough to snag one of the copies she had brought with her to Modernwell) and I devoured it over our spring break vacation. This is her debut novel but has been published in many difficult to land places such as the Modern Love column of The New York Times, Narrative, Washington Post and Brain, Child just to name a few.
Her memoir is actually a collection of some of those wonderful essays, all strategically placed into thought provoking chapters. This 153-page book carries us through various stages of her life as we discover with each trial and dysfunctional episode, we get to witness Andrea unfurl into the beautiful butterfly she is today.
Here's the description of her book from SheWrites Press, her publisher:
Fugitives from a man as alluring as he is violent, Andrea Jarrell and her mother develop a powerful, unusual bond. Once grown, Jarrell thinks she’s put that chapter of her life behind her—until a woman she knows is murdered, and she suddenly sees that it’s her mother’s choices she’s been trying to escape all along. Without preaching or prescribing, I’m the One Who Got Away is a life-affirming story of having the courage to become both safe enough and vulnerable enough to love and be loved.
Sooo good! "She suddenly sees that it's her mother's choices she's been trying to escape all along." Applause for her publicist on that one! Holy Hannah, that's some good therapy right there in just a few words. The chapters with her alcoholic father read like a thriller movie and often I found myself holding my breath, wondering if Andrea and her mother will make it out alive. Since she wrote the memoir, I was 99% sure of it but that's just how good of a storyteller she is!
What I love about memoirs is about the same as what I love about fiction. You get to escape into another world (or in this case, someone else's life), and learn about the life behind the person and get the meatiest parts of their story. It's like a highlight reel unlike biographies where you get the whole damn timeline. This memoir took to me to far away places ("Traveling Companions") yet back to familiar haunting places of my own ("A Measure of Desire").
It definitely shows that Andrea's lofty writing credits honed these pieces into what I can only describe as lyrical prose. Her words are chosen carefully and used exquisitely. Andrea's writing is hardly debut but since it's her first book, this is where it has to be categorized. The only fault I could find is that she had me wanting more. As much as I loved the last line of the memoir with all my heart, I wasn't ready to say goodbye to Andrea and her stories.
There may or may not be a petition in the works to demand another memoir. You'll be eager to sign it along with me seconds after you close the book.
Get your copy at these various places...