CPH Readers Corner

My Year with Eleanor

Noelle Hancock has just lost her job and her 30^th birthday is looming.  Unable to find another job, and at a loss as to what to do, she finds inspiration in an Eleanor Roosevelt quotation written on a coffee shop blackboard. “Do one thing every day that scares you.”

In this warm and funny memoir, Noelle Hancock recounts her yearlong attempt to do just that. Some of the things she chooses are huge in scale—skydiving, climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, shark diving in a cage—and some are small (but big to her) going out without makeup and confronting old boyfriends about what went wrong. Interspersed throughout the book are passages from Eleanor Roosevelt’s writings recounting how she learned to overcome fear and adversity. Using Eleanor as her mentor, Noelle‘s yearlong efforts help her understand that facing her fears is about facing life.

Did you ever want to write your story? Every person has an individual, compelling story that’s unique to them and shaped them into who they are.  Even lives that may seem commonplace to whoever lived them are interesting snapshots of a time and place that is foreign to many others.  Many people want to save those stories for not only themselves but for their children and generations to come.  But getting those moods, events, and times down on paper can be extremely challenging and intimidating.

Marion Roach Smith is a local author and teacher who specializes in memoir writing. She teaches classes, has a great blog, AND a wonderful new book out all about getting started and getting inspiration for writing your memoir.   Continue reading ‘Memoir Writing’ »

Have you read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks?  If you enjoyed this true story by Rebecca Skloot, come to the library’s Book Discussion Group on Tuesday August 9^th at 7 pm and share your impressions!

The book is about the all-too-short life of Henrietta Lacks,a poor black woman who died of cervical cancer at the age of 31 in 1951.  But Henrietta lives on today as “HeLa” in labs and hospitals around the world.

HeLa – code for HEnrietta LAcks – are cells from Henrietta’s tumor that
apparently can go on dividing forever.  Henrietta’s doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital removed and cultured the original HeLa cells without informing their patient or her family.

HeLa helped scientists discover the polio vaccine and understand how cancer grows.  Henrietta’s cells have also led to advances in cloning, gene mapping, and in vitro fertilization.  HeLa made medical history, but Henrietta herself was virtually unknown until Skloot’s bestselling book appeared in 2008.

Well-written and meticulously researched – Skloot devoted 10 years to interviewing the medical community and Henrietta’s children – the book raises questions about race and medical ethics, and is a compelling read.

Have you ever wondered if your favorite non fiction book ever hit number one on the NY Times Best Seller List? I found a website that does just that. It’s on the Hawes Publishers site and covers the 1940’s to the present decade. It can be searched by date, by author or by title. Just for fun, check it out here.