The Memoir Revolution

Tag: Japan

December 20, 2011

Ghost Wrote Her Mother’s Memoir, Part 3

Author Interview, Family, Linda Austin, Parents

autobiography, Book Review, ghost written, ghost-writing, Japan, Linda Austin, memoir, personal history, World War II

Linda Austin: I learned why my mother behaves the way she does, which is one reason why I strongly encourage telling life stories. What happens to us affects who we are and how we behave. Once I cried with my mother while parked in the lot of the Social Security building. She had told me…

Written by

Jerry Waxler
December 13, 2011

Ghost Wrote Her Mother’s Memoir, Interview Part 2

Linda Austin

autobiography, Book Review, ghost written, ghost-writing, Japan, Linda Austin, memoir, personal history, World War II

My mother liked telling stories and talking about the festivals, but hated being interviewed, and she thought I was crazy for writing about her life. She thought her life was difficult and sad so who’d want to hear about that. She also thought since everyone in Japan had lived through those tough times that her…

Written by

Jerry Waxler
December 7, 2011

Parent’s Memoir: Finding Roots Across Generations

Author Interview, Family

autobiography, Book Review, ghost-writing, Japan, Linda Austin, memoir, personal history, World War II

Is it co-authored or ghost written? Is it a memoir or a biography? These distinctions blur into artistic interpretations rather than hard definitions. When James McBride wrote about his own search for his mother’s past in “Color of Water,” he stayed inside his own point of view, with occasional well-marked shifts into his mother’s voice.…

Written by

Jerry Waxler
October 11, 2011

Memoir Author Finds Drama in Everyday Life

Author Interview, Lisa Fineberg Cook

Coming of age, culture, Hero’s Journey, home coming, Japan, Jewish American Princess, memoir, travel

None of it was easy and what’s true is that if I had decided to write the book immediately after returning to the States, it would NOT have been a humorous book, it would have been a much more serious, angst-filled memoir because Japan was incredibly challenging for me, very painful and an enormous growth…

Written by

Jerry Waxler
October 6, 2011

Memoir Author Offers Writing and Story Insights

Author Interview, Lisa Fineberg Cook

author, editing, interview, JAP, Japan, Lisa Fineberg Cook, memoir, revising, travel, writing tips

My female friendships are such an integral part of my life and my sanity. They are my ‘other husbands’ and they are the ones I call when the laundry basket gets too full and the fridge is empty and my hair is a mess and my kids are driving me crazy. I can literally call…

Written by

Jerry Waxler
September 27, 2011

Interview with Memoir Author Lisa Fineberg Cook

Author Interview, Lisa Fineberg Cook, travel

author, interview, JAP, Japan, Lisa Fineberg Cook, memoir, travel

I have never been particularly concerned with hiding flaws. I think flaws make people more interesting and because I look for humor in just about every situation, flaws can be especially funny. As far as learning things about myself, I think I learn more in reflection than I do in the moment. I’m usually just…

Written by

Jerry Waxler
September 20, 2011

Endings of Memoirs: She Returns Home

Hero’s Journey, Lisa Fineberg Cook

Coming of age, culture, Hero’s Journey, home coming, Japan, memoir, travel

I have become accustomed to discovering this structure at the heart of many stories that I like, so I was not surprised to see it peeking out through the pages of “Japan Took the JAP Out of Me.” The author travels from her familiar world of Los Angeles to the land of the adventure, Japan,…

Written by

Jerry Waxler
September 13, 2011

Spoiled brat? What does spoiled even mean?

Lisa Fineberg Cook, travel, Women

Coming of age, culture, Japan, launching, memoir, newlyweds, travel

During Lisa’s reaction, readers must make a choice. We could either say, “Dear Lord. It’s only a night with an inconvenient sleeping arrangement. Get over it.” Or we could cheer for her, the way her husband did. And that is the real charm of the book. Lisa lets us in on the debate she is…

Written by

Jerry Waxler
September 6, 2011

Cultural Crossroads: Memoir of An American Princess In Japan

Girls to Women, Transitions, travel

Coming of age, culture, Japan, launching, memoir, newlyweds, travel

Each time I turned the page, I learned more about how people must learn about and get along with each other. In each contrast, whether between sexy single and married adult, Japanese and American, charismatic and ordinary individuals, husbands and wives, I feel like I am peering into the heart of the human condition.

Written by

Jerry Waxler