Blog Assignment #5: Responding to a Personal Memoir

Abradabra by Sharon Solwitz 

"Dialogue Between Two Halves of a Brain

X: I can't think straight. I want to die. It's like I'm already dead.
Y: Oh shut up. By it's nature, self is in bondage to death. Find a purpose apart from your desire to "feel better".

• This quote shows a strong sense of metaphor in Sharon's writing. This shows the humane thoughts of depression when dealing with loss, from one side of your mind. It then shows the other half rationing as to why it's alright to feel this way. In a broader sense, Sharon is writing with two opposing parts of her brain throughout this entire piece. Half the time she is teaching how to write effectively with distance and disconnect (without getting to personal) and half the time she is drawn into her heavy emotional feelings and reflects her free-associated thoughts into her writing. 

“Oh, Jesse

I want other people to miss him, to be affected, hurt, overwhelmed by the loss of him. Nick cries in his room, Meesouk’s grades have gone down, my friend Sheryl has upped her Zoloft. Good. Good, good, good.”

• This quote is incredibly real. This quote is effective to me as a reader because I find myself sympathizing with Sharon and her story as she shows a very vulnerable and realistic part of herself. This is an example of Sharon's personal feelings seeping into her work.

"Advice

Write what you can't remember"

• This is a clear quote that shows Sharon's attempt to stay on topic with the central theme of this piece which is how to write effectively. This quote is also effective because it is great advice for any non-fiction creative writer.. It is a reminder of how important and useful details can be in any piece. It also shows that details that are hard to remember or to heavy to remember, can be the most effective. 

Sharon Solwitz wins my attention in this piece with her inability to stay on topic in her piece. Her mind is always clouded with thoughts of the beloved child she had lost. I feel a sense of true self whenever she opens up to her overwhelming feelings. I can feel her longing to have her child back throughout the entire piece. Sharon also has a lot of literary pointers in this piece that I have learned from. Her contrast in her personal story and her actual lesson in writing is what kept me reading. I eagerly wanted to know more about each subject as the piece went on.

I think this memoir was published because it is a relate-able piece that shows it is okay to include personal heart wrenching details in one's work. This was a successful read because of the contrast and metaphor throughout the piece that I had mentioned earlier. This is a realistic fight between emotion, clarity and distance all at once. The author does a good job in balancing her emotions with the theme of teaching how to write effectively. Even when she is a little too drawn into her self, the reader is drawn in as well. I think this would be a best-seller because it shows the natural struggle of a person trying to regulate the natural feelings of depression and trying to function as normal as possible while dealing with the loss of a loved one. This piece is universally relate able on many levels and also is a piece with lots to learn from.