“Unveiling the Hidden Truths: How Nicole Graev Lipson’s Memoir Transforms Fictional Characters into Real-Life Revelations”
Each of the 12 essays is a jewel, skillfully written with intelligence and candor. With so many fine choices, it is difficult to pick a favorite among them. Using a bright orange highlighter to mark favorite passages as I made my way through the book, its pages were soon illuminated with many neon streaks. Reading with my writer’s eye, I found the book was a masterclass in the art of the essay.
It is especially noteworthy to see how flawlessly Lipson braids the various narrative threads in her work. A hallmark in several of these essays is her use of favorite literary works as ways to illuminate her own life. In the book’s opening essay, “Kate Chopin, My Mother, and Me,” the writer revisits Chopin’s The Awakening, a landmark work of feminist literature. She draws parallels between a story in Chopin’s book about marital infidelity and her mother’s extramarital affair, which upended Lipson’s family of origin.
