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shirleytupperfreeman's review against another edition
Raised by alcoholic, poor, fairly dysfunctional parents, Mary Karr became a substance abuser herself as a young mother. But she had an incredible gift in her writing ability. And in spite of herself, she experienced a slow, but true, conversion to a belief in God... and to a belief in her writing ability. Her descriptions of life as an alcoholic are amazing - as are her stories of being changed. To top it off, she's very funny! I would highly recommend it if you can take a little language.
kathieboucher's review against another edition
4.0
My favorite of Mary Karr's memoirs. Feels like I've gone the distance with her; hoping she has peace in her life.
gpollack's review against another edition
Awful. Sad, depressing and couldnt even finish it. :(
lindamooreauthor's review against another edition
5.0
WOW! Are there six stars? Not a fan of memoirs but when a poet writes one, the words on the page are magic.
tommyhousworth's review against another edition
4.0
I loved having Mary Karr read this to me (audiobook). Her voice captures the wit and sorrow that balance "Lit" beautifully. Alcoholism, depression, and writing - they've become the trilogy of doom for so many talented writers. Karr shows us - without pity - how she got to such a dark place in her life, and her ascent toward recovery and a begrudging, but well-earned faith.
I love her candor, her cards-on-the-table confessional approach to her work and her demons, and how she had to reconcile her past (two alcoholic parents) to salvage her future (doing the best she could for her son in her efforts to recover).
I would imagine it would be easy to say that Karr spends too much time blaming her parents, or spelling out the details of her spiral into full-fledged addict, but to hear her read the story herself, the self-pity seems minimal, and the willingness to find the humor, and the humanity, in each misstep along her path, cut through. As much as I love Anne Lamott's writing - and the similarities between the two ladies are many - I find Karr to be the one who wallows less, and packs a more palpable punch.
I look forward to going back and reading "Liar's Club" next, the memoir with which I likely should've started.
I love her candor, her cards-on-the-table confessional approach to her work and her demons, and how she had to reconcile her past (two alcoholic parents) to salvage her future (doing the best she could for her son in her efforts to recover).
I would imagine it would be easy to say that Karr spends too much time blaming her parents, or spelling out the details of her spiral into full-fledged addict, but to hear her read the story herself, the self-pity seems minimal, and the willingness to find the humor, and the humanity, in each misstep along her path, cut through. As much as I love Anne Lamott's writing - and the similarities between the two ladies are many - I find Karr to be the one who wallows less, and packs a more palpable punch.
I look forward to going back and reading "Liar's Club" next, the memoir with which I likely should've started.
wdudley89's review against another edition
5.0
At the risk of developing a reputation as a soft grader, I have to give this 5 stars. Fearless, witty, and astute, it's a rich source of reflection on human frailty, the forces that shape us, and the process of discovering faith.
johndiconsiglio's review against another edition
3.0
The priceless Karr gets credit for kicking off the memoir boom with her brilliant Liars Club. In the finale (?) of her life’s trainwreck trilogy, her virtuoso voice shifts sentence-by-sentence from smart-alecky to emotional depths. (She can’t write about her laconic cowboy dad without bringing on tears.) Lit is less rich in the surgical details that made Liars & Cherry an almost visual feast. Is that why there’s a disappointing aftertaste? Am I weary of her drama-magnet mom? Does her Christian-awakening feel flighty? Or does this chapter’s roadmap—marriage, motherhood, alcoholism—seem like a trip I’ve taken before?
meghan111's review against another edition
4.0
The best thing about this, and it's something that's really hard to do well, is the epigraphs. An epigraph is the "apposite quotation at the beginning of a book, chapter, etc". This has them at the beginning of every chapter and they are all great. Maybe because she also writes poetry?