“But the genius of this memoir lies in its letting us see how much the narrator becomes his father rather than struggles to separate from his father.”
Vivian Gornick, The Situation and the Story: The Art of Personal Narrative
When I read the quote cited above, I underlined it with my black pen, hard, and drew a big star next to it. Big stars mean business. Big stars make it easy to find what matters to me in a book long after I’ve read it.
When I drew that star, and every time I reread the quote, my heart turns icy. For me, this is terrifying. I can’t bear the idea that I would become my mother, yet I can bear it, otherwise I wouldn’t draw a star next to Gornick’s sentence.
Continue reading Geoffrey Wolff, Vivian Gornick, and the Art of Calling Out Your Own Bullshit
PSYCH/FLASH 