misery memoir

misery memoir
 n.— «Last monday, the mother of Constance Briscoe lost the libel action she had brought against her daughter for the publication of Ugly, Briscoe’s memoir of her upbringing of neglect and abuse. The case was both astonishing and tragic. We are fascinated, in part, by what have come to be called “misery memoirs” because they seem to offer a spectacle that is against nature—surely mothers and fathers love their children.» —“Erica Wagner on how memoirs prove our lives are not lives alone” by Erica Wagner Times (London, United Kingdom) Dec. 4, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Further reading

As If the Italian Language Were Already Inside Me

Writer Jhumpa Lahiri grew up speaking Bengali and later English, then became passionately devoted to a third language, Italian. Her book In Other Words: A Memoir (Bookshop|Amazon) is a love letter to Italian and a vivid account of the challenges and...

I Don’t Have the Spoons (episode #1597)

Whether it’s a Rubik’s cube or a round of Wordle, why do so many of us find puzzles irresistible? A new book celebrates the allure and psychological benefits of brain teasers. Plus, powerful language for talking about the chronic...

Recent posts