A (fun) Emotional Memoir
- Vanessa Bettencourt
- 1 hour ago
- 2 min read
My review: 5 stars
What a great discovery. This memoir is a duology but reads as a single volume. It's easier to write this review by saying what connected me to it. I used to answer people with book titles or the chorus of songs ( it was a thing). The author connects specifically to one band: R.E.M., but he gives a song title to each chapter and they are on point with what he describes in the chapters. The history of his life is quite sad in many moments, and relatable in more than a few instances. For me, it's a direct insight into an American family without the filters of social media or movies. The author took a long time to write this book and I can see how hard it must have been to go through all of these memories and how brave it is to share them with strangers to their scrutiny. Still, the author invites us to sit in the front row during his darkest times and enjoy it as a stand-up (dark, but it couldn't be easy to accommodate us to listen. Us with an empathic smile and a prepared hug for the backstage). Each chapter is short (1 page or 2). It becomes a small episode of life told with wit and honesty. We keep thinking just one more and then I'll take a break, but there is always always something new, a theme to explore, another brick on the wall (see what I've done there? Eheh) Plus if you recognize the things that were part of his childhood or growing up it makes it super nostalgic. Ducktales, wo-uh-uh.
Totally recommend it.
To put it in a very basic way: The story of a boy with a very mean older sister, an addicted father who sold all he could put his hands on for his addiction, a mother who found in religion a cult to follow, and traumatized her kids.
Life and How to Live It:
Begin the Begin (Vol 1) AMAZON: https://amzn.to/4qVgBV2 B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/life-and-how-to-live-it-chaz-holesworth/1144858519;jsessionid=2AB2C02926B9E490D163BC69F70D3FA7.prodny_store02-atgap07?ean=9798317608460
GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/214302880 Life and How to Live it: Near Wild Heaven (Vol 2) AMAZON: https://amzn.to/4cflXa7 B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/life-and-how-to-live-it-chaz-holesworth/1149106587
GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/245422800-life-and-how-to-live-it Author Website: http://chazholesworthbooks.com/
Social Media Links: Facebook: @chazholesworthauthor @acornsireadbooktours Instagram: @chazholesworthauthor @lauren.iReadBookTours
BookBub: @laurenireadbooktours
Pinterest: @iReadBookTours Twitter: @iReadBookTours hashtags: #iReadBookTours #books #authors #chazholesworthbooks @chazholesworthbook
iReads Book Tour Page: https://www.ireadbooktours.com/blog---current-tours/bookstagrambooktok-tour-life-and-how-to-live-it-begin-the-begin-life-and-how-to-live-it-near-wild-heaven-by-chaz-holesworth
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