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)
Further reading
In 1971, when a new public library opened in Troy, Michigan, famous authors and artists were invited to write letters to the city’s youngest readers, extolling the many benefits of libraries. One of the loveliest was from E.B. White, author of...
Lisa calls from Huntsville, Alabama, to say that whenever Lisa was looking sharp in an attractive dress, one “tight enough to show that you’re a woman and loose enough to show that you’re a lady,” her mother would compliment...