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A RIVER COULD BE A TREE: A Memoir by Angela Himsel


Angela Himsel’s fascinating new memoir, A RIVER COULD BE A TREE (Fig Tree Books Hardcover; Nov 2018) traces her seemingly impossible road from childhood cult to a committed Jewish life with warmth, humor, and a multitude of religious and philosophical insights. 

How does a girl who grew up in rural Indiana as a fundamentalist Christian end up a practicing Jew in New York? Strict adherence to the church’s tenets was Angela Himsel’s only way to escape a certain, gruesome death, receive the Holy Spirit, and live forever in the Kingdom of God. With self-preservation in mind, she decided, at nineteen, to study at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. But instead of strengthening her faith, Angela was introduced to a whole new world with different people and perspectives. This experience slowly opened her eyes to the church’s shortcomings. Ultimately, the connection to God she relentlessly pursued was found in the most unexpected place: a mikvah on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. This devout Christian girl found her own form of salvation—as a practicing Jewish woman.

The media has enjoyed reviewing the book, interviewing the author, and sharing some of her original essays:

Tulsa Book Review: Review, 12/20/18

Give and Take Podcast: Interview, 12/12/18

Jewish Woman’s Archive: Angela’s essay posted posted on 12/11

Jerusalem Post: Review, 12/6/18

PopSugar: Angela’s essay posted on 12/5

Arroe Collins: Unplugged and Uncut Podcast: Interview, 12/3/18

Lilith Magazine’s Blog: Q&A with Yona McDonough, 11/30/18

Jewish Book Council’s Visiting Scribe Series: Angela’s essay posted on 11/26:

Jewish Community Voice (Cherry Hill): Interview, 11/21/18

Forward: Excerpt published, 11/15/18

The Herald (Jasper, IN): Interview, 11/13/18 arranged by Moshe Schulman

Book Q&A with Deborah Kalb: Interview, 11/13/18

Too Jewish Radio: Interview, 11/12/18

The Virtual Memories Show Podcast: Interview, 11/12/18h

Times of Israel: Interview, 11/10/18

The Jewish Week: Interview, 11/6/18

The Jewish Standard: Interview 11/2/18

The Herald Times (Bloomington, IN): Interview, 10/21/18

The Jewish Week: Included in Fall Arts Preview 9/13/18

ForeWord Reviews: Review, September/October Issue

Lilith: Review, Summer Issue

Kirkus Reviews: Review, 6/18/18

Filed Under: Books, Memoir, Reviews & Features Tagged With: Angela Himsel, Fig Tree Books, Jewish, Jewish author, Jewish Book Council, Judaism, Memoir, Religion

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Al Schmitt On The Record: The Magic Behind the Music

Foreword by Paul McCartney

Do you ever wonder what goes into the creation of some of the best music ever recorded? AL SCHMITT ON THE RECORD: THE MAGIC BEHIND THE MUSIC (Hal Leonard Books) is the remarkable account of one of the most respected music engineers in the business. 

A thorough and compelling account of life in and around the recording studio, AL SCHMITT ON THE RECORD offers an unprecedented window into some of popular music’s most seminal moments as told from Al’s unique perspective as “the man behind the glass.” This compelling memoir also shares some of the tricks, techniques, and tactics that have set Schmitt apart, from his approach to microphones, effects, and processors to setup diagrams from lauded recording sessions and, perhaps most importantly, his methods for catering to an artist’s vision and preferences. The resulting text is a must-read for audio pros and music fans alike.

Here is some of the great coverage this memoir has received:

The Entertainment Report – one of 2018’s best biographies

Focus TV’s On the Note – interview   

SiriusXM’s The Diner with Lou Simon – interview

MIX Online – review 

New York Journal of Books  – review 

The Inner Circle Podcast – interview/

Billboard – interview  

SiriusXM’s Debatable – interview

CNET– review 

SiriusXM’s Fab Forum on The Beatles Chanel – interview 

Music Repo – included in roundup

Filed Under: Books, Memoir, Reviews & Features, Uncategorized Tagged With: Al Schmitt, Billboard, CNET, Hal Leonard Books, Memoir, Music Engineer, Paul McCartney, Rock music, SiriusXM

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TV writer Rita Lakin’s THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE ROOM debuts this week from Applause Theatre & Cinema Books

 

Only Woman in the Room

In a recent New York Times op-ed, TV producer and writer Nell Scovell wrote an eye-opening piece about women in the TV industry. She argues that “the ‘Golden Age for Women in TV’ is actually a re-run” (The New York Times).

Rita Lakin is one of those women who made great strides in shaking up the status quo in TV. Though her name may not be immediately recognizable, Rita Lakin touched the lives of millions of TV viewers week after week for over 25 years. In THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE ROOM: Episodes in My Life and Career as a Television Writer — published this week by Applause Theatre & Cinema Books — Rita Lakin writes about an era when a woman’s “place” was in the home. Lakin stepped out and climbed the ladder to the top, becoming one of the most respected television writers in the business, an inspiration and a passionate advocate for women’s rights.

Early reviews are flush with praise:

“Every woman in the entertainment business should read this book as an example of courage, fortitude, and self-confidence. It’s a survival manifesto. And every man in the entertainment business should read this book as a cautionary tale of arrogance, conceit, and privilege.” –Steven Bochco, creator/writer/producer of Hill Street Blues, LA Law, NYPD Blue and Murder in the First

“At turns hilarious, tender, and tough, this is the fabulous memoir of a woman who forged her own path to the writers’ room in an industry dominated by men. —Foreword Reviews

“From my experience I have found that there are two kinds of autobiographies, one is written for your family and friends knowing full well that others would not be very interested in your life, and the other is where the author really has something interesting to say. Rita Lakin’s The Only Woman in the Room falls into the second category, particularly if you have grown up during television’s golden age in the 1960’s and up to the 1980’s when Lakin was crafting dozens of television stories such as Dr. Kildare, Peyton Place, Mod Squad and Dynasty and many more.” — Norm Goldman, BookPleasures.com

You can learn more about Rita in these features that are running this week:

  • Feature in EMMY Magazine
  • 3-part feature on the Jewish Book Council’s Visiting Scribe Blog
  • Interview in Jungle Red Blog
  • Feature on Shelf Pleasure/On the Nightstand
  • Interview with Norm Goldman of BookPleasures

Filed Under: Memoir, Reviews & Features, Uncategorized Tagged With: Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, BookPleasures.com, feminism, Foreword Reviews, Memoir, Nell Scovell, Only Woman in the Room, Rita Lakin, Steven Bochco, television memoir, television writer, The New York Times, TV industry, TV memoir, TV writer, women in TV industry

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“Sometimes it’s the so-called ordinary people who have the most interesting stories” — like Debra Monroe’s MY UNSENTIMENTAL EDUCATION

Since Debra Monroe’s new memoir, My Unsentimental Education (University of Georgia Press Hardcover; October 1, 2015, $24.95), debuted less than two weeks ago, stellar reviews have been pouring in. Sara Nelson, the Editor of Omnivoracious.com, suggests why Ms. Monroe’s memoir is so appealing:

“Nothing wrong with a good celebrity memoir – say, Chrissie Hynde, Elvis Costello, or Drew Barrymore. But sometimes it’s the so-called ordinary people who have the most interesting stories…My Unsentimental Education “reads like a country ballad,” one reviewer said – but I’d say it’s even better than that. (And I love country ballads.) I first came across Debra Monroe when she was pitching ideas to a magazine at which I worked – and then, as now, her voice was perfect: earthy and self-deprecating and funny and world weary – but not cute, or thank your greater power, not plucky, exactly, either. You know how some children just seem born into the wrong family? That’s Monroe, except that Monroe was also born in the wrong place and station.”

Debra Monroe is an outspoken advocate for the memoir of discovery (not recovery), and she writes compellingly about the new wave in memoir nonfiction in a recent article for Kirkus Reviews: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/features/memoir-discovery-not-recovery/#continue_reading_post

This new trend in memoirs is resonating strongly with reviewers, and MY UNSENTIMENTAL EDUCATION is receiving rave reviews:

“While this book is engaging as an account of its author’s intellectual and occupational awakening as well as her adventures — or misadventures, really — in sex and relationships, it is above all a love story, but with poetry and fiction more than with any person, and that’s what makes it a pleasure to read.” —Chicago Tribune

“Blunt and salty, Debra Monroe’s new memoir traces the jagged line of her improbable trajectory: from a blue-collar girl in Spooner, Wis., to a professor in Texas State University’s Master of Fine Arts program…Monroe has written the sort of memoir she herself likes to read, built around the ordinary dramas of adolescence, dating and work.” —Houston Chronicle

“In its overarching trajectory, it’s a story of a woman determined to chart her own course through a maze of confinement. It dances through themes of domesticity, feminism and burgeoning sexuality. It risks becoming a story about the female rise to selfhood, which it is. But it’s also decidedly unique, distinct from the I-Made-It-Despite-the-Odds navel-gazing of many personal tales.The book is a map of Monroe’s road out and up, but also a testament to the distinctive voice she’s honed in the process.” —Dallas Morning News

“Monroe establishes the friction between two selves pulling in opposite directions through the blunt, no-nonsense style of her first memoir, “On the Outskirts of Normal.” With unwavering honesty and flashes of sly humor, she describes how, while the Spooner left hand continues to launch her toward Mr. Wrong and domestic drudgery, the right hand clings to the life raft of academic advancement with a steady, iron grip.”
—Atlanta Journal Constitution

“Monroe does not glamorize one moment of her early years with constant financial worries and juggling of complicated relationships with college and graduate school work that her father warned her would ‘educate her out of the marriage market.’…a rich literary life that sings from the pages of this book.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune

“She recounts her failed relationships with wit and candor in “My Unsentimental Education,” also offering forgiveness along the way.” —Wisconsin State Journal

Eager to learn more? You can read a great excerpt from MY UNSENTIMENTAL EDUCATION on Longreads.com.

Filed Under: Books, Memoir, Reviews & Features Tagged With: Debra Monroe, discovery memoir, feminism, feminist, Memoir, My Unsentimental Education, relationships, women's interest

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Debra Monroe talks honestly about social class jumping in Salon.com

Here’s a great way to start your morning — a new essay by Debra Monroe about social class “jumping” and how strangely and comically lonely it can be. If you find this essay as painfully honest, witty, and true as we do, you’ll love her memoir, MY UNSENTIMENTAL EDUCATION, which the University of Georgia Press will publish on October 1, 2015 (you can even pre-order it now!). In the words of Rosellen Brown, Debra’s memoir “raises a dozen potent questions about what has changed for a generation of women not so much disillusioned but unillusioned about what it means to ‘live like a man.’”

Debra Monroe, Salon.com

Debra Monroe_Salon.com

 

 

Filed Under: Books, Memoir, Reviews & Features Tagged With: Debra Monroe, Memoir, My Unsentimental Education, Salon.com

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