Guest Post by Emily Murdoch
To The Books (and Authors) Who Raised Me Up
I get a panicky feeling at the thought of where I’d be without books. Over a lifetime, my love for books and reading grew from ember to flame to wildfire, and the fiery love continues to burn to this day.
Books save. Yes, I’m a writer, and I know how dramatic that sounds. But I mean it literally. And I want to use this post as a way to give thanks to a handful of the books that impacted my life.
Are you there, Judy? It’s me, Emily.
Judy Blume – Ah, where to start? All. The. Books. You were the best friend, the hip, cool Auntie, the good mother. The honest one. At a time in society when people didn’t talk about so many things, you did. You pointed out the naked emperors. You guided girls back to their bread crumb trails and out of the woods into themselves. You broke it to the world that children should be seen AND heard.
I owned all of your books. I used to rake leaves and fetch neighbors’ mail and whatever else I could do to earn money to buy your books.
Thank you for being the writer you are in this world.
Anne Sexton – One of my favorite poets, for your confessional style. You opened Pandora’s Box. Your mind was flashbulb bright, your words brilliant. I pored over your poetry, which awoke something winged inside of me.
Laughter may be the best medicine, but so is art, and you knew that.
Second Star To The Right by
Deborah Hautzig
There is Vivaldi in If You Find Me, and it’s a smiling thank you in your direction. A thank you, not only for turning readers on to Vivaldi, but most importantly, a thank you for your book, published when eating disorder fiction was scarce. And not just your book, but the depth and honesty of your writing – you blazed trails. You offered a voice for the voiceless suffering from anorexia. You used your talent to change a corner of the world.
Wasted by Marya Hornbacher
Wow, did you go there. Your 90s, in your face style shook things up. When I was your age and starving myself, all we had was Karen Carpenter’s death and a world puzzled by this new malady.
With this blog tour, I know what it’s like to break silence and speak out, in an effort to use ones voice for the good of others. You gave so many lost people courage and, most of all, the truth in all its majestic grittiness. The truth really does set us free.
Hunger Strike* by Susie Orbach
You get it! A professional who gets it! The earth shook beneath my feet, it was that much of a moment, for me.
I can’t thank you enough. You and your book were another link in the chain of eating disorder survival, and part of my own writing process, in the sense of matching language to the thought processes that were pretty much pre-language and, at that time, just beginning to become a conversation in the arena of public consciousness.
Solitaire by Amy Liu
As a teen, I used to sneak between the stacks, heart hammering in case anyone saw me, hunting down the one or two eating disorder books in existence, if the library even stocked them.
The first book I ever found was Solitaire, and it gave me so much hope. THANK YOU. If I could fly a thank you banner through the sky, I would. A seed of life grows inside us, when we find out we’re not alone.
I just bought Ms. Liu’s recent book,
Gaining: the truth about life after eating disorders
I look forward to reading it as soon as I get a chance. It’s very important to show the other side: recovery.
The Forest For The Trees by Betsy Lerner
Words don’t exist for how much I love this book. I read it before I even began what I call the beginning of my publishing journey, Query Road, and as a writer, it was a friendly Mr. Tumnus sort of guide that provided both the street lights along the way and the encouragement every aspiring author needs.
And there you have it. Perhaps, like Carey, I wear my own “pee” coat, worried about how to answer the question: what books are your favorites, and who are your favorite authors?
Those are some above, and I’m forever grateful to these brave, shining, generous human beings.
Growing up, I read to stay alive, to find my way, to find the light. And if any of my books can do that for someone else? For the children, most of all?
<3 br="">What books changed your life? Saved your life? Brightened-opened-enhanced your life? Please join us in the comments with a book or author and let’s give them a proper tribute!
*Author’s Note: I did not steal this library book! I bought it at the English Town Auction in English Town, NJ, for the ridiculously low price of $1.25.
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