Judith Barrington

I have read the author's memoir, Lifesaving, and her book on writing memoir, and liked both of them. I'm not a good judge of poetry, beyond my feeling in the flow of the words and imagery. Some of these poems I found to be evocative and visual and lyrical. Others, not so much. All of the poems in this volume have some reference to the sea, to the water. I think my favorite was the last one, where the second stanza is a mirror of the first, with the same words on the same lines but different show more punctuation, telling a different story. I'm sure there's some term for this form, but I don't know it. Barrington does have a way with words, and much of her writing is lyrical and melodious. show less

Second time through, and I still like it and find it helpful. Quite a bit of practical nuts-and-bolts advice for memoir writers, or those aspiring to write one. The author has a number of memoirs that she refers to in a positive light and I have been very happy with the suggestions that I followed up on. Has a permanent place on my writer's reference shelf.

Starts a bit slow but steadily improves, although I admit that I had a hard time personally relating to the situations. The writing was very good. The included photos added a lot of depth to the story since they were from the time and place.

Best memoir-writing book I've read so far. Good exercises, clear organization comprehensive instruction.