AI Attribution
✏️🧑🏽🤖🛠️ : Human text w/ AI edits
📸 🧑🏽: Human photography
🎤🤖🧑🏽: AI narration based on the author's voice
Event Overview
The “How They Did It: High Stakes Memoir” events, organized by Litquake and Litcamp, offer a blend of diverse writer panels and insightful book discussions. The vibe is kind of like a mini writers’ conference with a bit of book signing at the end. A well-prepared moderator asks thoughtful questions that encourage the authors to reveal the “why” and “how” behind their books.
These types of conversations rejuvenate my belief that books remain a vital medium. Memoir, in particular, defies the notion that all the stories have already been told.
I’ve attended two of these events so far, and both were sold out, which speaks volumes about their value and the trust attendees place in the event's curation.
Featured Authors
Yesterday’s panel, moderated by Rachel Howard, featured five authors whose memoirs could easily have remained untold—but we are glad they overcame their challenges. Eddie Ahn (Advocate), Sylvia Brownrigg (The Whole Staggering Mystery), Margaret Juhae Lee (Starry Field), Susan Lieu (The Manicurist's Daughter), Carvell Wallace (Another Word for Love).
If you order these books through my recommendations on bookshop.org, a percentage of the sales will go to my neighborhood bookstore, Fabulosa Books.
My Purchase
📚 Carvell Wallace (Another Word for Love)
“Another Word for Love” appeals to my affinity for evolving stories and identities. Wallace’s voice carries a sense of the physical and emotional self that is permeable, sensual, resilient, and purposeful.
Before reading from his memoir, Wallace said with kindness and complete sincerity that it was his “and possibly our responsibility to each other, to the earth, and to our lives to recover from trauma.” I wanted to stand up and clap. Aside from Gabor Maté, who else can speak so clearly and intimately about trauma?
Here is a beautiful moment from Wallace’s reading. “I wanted to feel your anger. I wanted to feel your touch on the small of my back. I wanted to feel your distance, your history, your aches and pains and traumas that are sometimes overwhelming and frightening. I may struggle to hold it. But still, I want it. That is what my body is for, to feel.“
“Another Word for Love” is available for pre-order, with a release scheduled for mid-May, 2024. And if audio is your thing, there’s an audiobook sample on the MacMillan website. I think you’ll be able to hear the trauma-informed tone I experienced firsthand.
Final Thoughts
Wallace’s memoir is just one of the many gems from the event. Susan Lieu in particular, is incredibly engaging. Check out the trailer to 140 LBS: How Beauty Killed My Mother, which is the precursor to her memoir.
While I may acquire more titles from the list, I’m trying to slow down my impulse buys for now and focus on reading and events that enhance my understanding of topics relevant to my own work—in this case, my own memoir.
Where to Next?
If you're in the SF Bay Area and know of any must-see literary or cultural events, please share them with me at carlo@carlovsantiago.com.
Let’s Stay Connected
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What a great write-up, Carlo! I was at this event and I, too, wanted to clap at many of Carvell Wallace's comments. "The point of a body is to love," is one of his quotes that I wrote down. Just beautiful. And that idea of his that you noted, that we all have a responsibility to ourselves, to each other and to the earth to recover from our trauma.... YES! I loved that so much. I enjoyed hearing from all of the authors. There was something about Mr. Wallace's comments, though. Profound and moving, and very energizing for me as I work on my memoir.
Lovely to see Sylvia Brownrigg and Rachel Howard on that panel. I loved Rachel's The Lost Night (talk about high stakes memoir) and Sylvia's Pages for You. Enjoyed hearing your voiceover too.