Family Trouble: Memoirists on the Hazards and Rewards of Revealing Family

This collection of essays, edited by memoirist Castro (Island of Bones), shares the ruminations of 25 memoirists (including Robin Hemley, Dinty W. Moore, and Mimi Schwartz) on the troubles, strategies, and results of writing about family, and how to deal with the ensuing consequences for family relationships. Most of the contributors understand the lack of easy answers when writing about family, and simply share their experiences, successes, and failures. Though the collection contains the occasional “we write because we must” cliché, the book’s standouts include Ariel Gore’s “The Part I Can’t Tell You,” in which she talks about the difficulty of choosing how to tell stories as she slowly releases information about her stepfather’s death. Another highlight is Alison Bechdel’s “What the Little Old Ladies Feel,” which succinctly and bluntly sums up the impossibility of baring a person’s secrets without hurting them. Meanwhile, Richard Hoffman’s “Like Rain on Dust” both acknowledges issues relating to writing and family while firmly arguing for the need for some stories to be told in public. The collection may hold the general reader’s interest only as a curiosity, but for any writer of memoirs, it’s a must-read. (Oct.)