Daddy Was a Punk Rocker by Adam Sharp

This memoir was extremely emotional: Happy, sad, and everything in between.

Adam was not born into an easy family. His parents were heroin addicts and often seemed to be interested in everything except being around to raise him.

Growing up always trying to get his parents’ attention was hard on Adam and lead to a lot of inner conflict.

Crying when his dad didn’t show up for their scheduled meetings, dealing with his mother’s physical and verbal abuse growing up, Adam did not have it easy, but he still loved his parents.

The one common theme in this book was music. It was sort of all centered around his father’s love for music and how they did not share the same music tastes. Adam felt if he could just listen to the same music as his father, they would have a closer connection, and maybe he would want Adam to stay with him.

As his life progresses and he tries to find himself, he ends up in a bunch of different places with a lot of different people, but it always comes back to his parents. Whether he has talked to them recently or if something reminds him of them while he is away.

This is a memoir of self-discovery. Even if the road to it is difficult, it can be achieved.

Adam's writing style in this memoir is very visual. You can almost feel as though you are in every scene. It adds a nice depth to the story and makes it all the more real as well. 
His descriptions are well done and never drag on for longer than they have to. They are long enough so that you do not feel as though you are missing anything, but they aren't so long that they bore the reader. 
Aside from the actual story itself, that was my favorite part of this one. 

It was really well written, I felt that it flowed nicely together with the use of narrative and dialogue.

I found it hard to put it down at time. It was such an intriguing story that I just wanted to know what was happening next.

Even if you cannot relate to Adam's story, you will be pulled into it, and it is hard to stop reading once you start. 

4/5 stars

Memorable Quotes: 

"I was born healthy and strong. I shouldn’t have been. I’d shared my mother’s poisonous blood for nine months and I was supposed to be born addicted to heroin. I should have spent my first few weeks fighting for my life, suffering from vomiting, shaking, and sweating as I was weaned off my drug dependence with morphine or methadone."

"More important than the adulation was the lesson I’d learnt. I had learnt what could be achieved with the power of the mind, and more specifically, with the power of dreams."

"But sometimes the best way to grow is to stand still for a while. I needed to stop running, to stop trying to become someone new, to stop escaping painful memories and uncomfortable thoughts. It was time I stayed and faced them, worked out who I really was, who I wanted to be. No more pretending."

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The Girl Who Had No Enemies: And the Man Who Hated Women by Dennis Patrick Fleming

This might be one of the best books I will read all year. 

This memoir was unlike any that I have read so far. It was a mix of a true-crime novel as well as a memoir.

It is a story about the tragic death of Dennis Fleming’s sister Mickey and the man who was messed up enough to cause harm to not only their family, but countless others around the country.

It details the struggles of a hurting family torn apart by not only this tragic incident, but personal relationships and beliefs as well. No family is perfect, but this shows how a family can come together through a tragic incident even if they don’t always see eye-to-eye.

I could not put this one down. From the moment I read page one, I was hooked.

I knew what the book was about before going into it, so the first section was so bittersweet to read. It establishes Dennis’s relationship with his sister and shows the reader who she was.

Knowing that something bad was coming to her and the family made me not want to get attached, but after reading so much about her and the family, you feel like you start to really know them.

Once I got to the section about Mickey’s death, I almost called it quits. I didn’t want to read about what happened because it is just so sad, but as I said before, I was hooked.

I reluctantly turned the page, and even though I may have shed a tear or two, Dennis did such a wonderful job at writing it that I do not regret continuing. You can really just feel his emotion, and it is just heartbreaking to read.

I really liked the parts about LaRette and his past that were inserted to break up the story. It added a certain flow to the book that made the reader aware that something was going to happen, but also kept them informed. It was a nice touch that I don’t see very often. When done wrong, it could completely mess with how the story is read, but Dennis inserted those sections at just the right times and it really added to the whole reading experience.

A must-read for true crime fans.

5/5 Stars

Memorable Quote: "A feeling, pure, and as powerful as the love I felt witnessing my first child enter the world, seeing her face for the first time—a feeling that powerful crystallized like a black diamond in my heart—I had to kill a man."

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The Face of A Miracle by Jodi Sampson

The Face of A Miracle tells a touching story of finding faith through adversity.

Growing up, Jodi always wanted to have a family. She always wanted to be a mother, but this didn’t come easy for her.

Faced with the reality that she might not be able to have children after a few miscarriages, being able to birth her first child was a true godsend.

She went onto have two more children, but it never got easy.

With her youngest child, they had to face the hurtful truth of his cancer diagnosis.

He had a tumor in his head, and he was too young to have radiation treatment without serious damage to his brain.

This memoir follows their family’s struggles with basically living in the hospital, and how they kept their faith the whole way that he would be alright.

Jodi knew that God was on their side, and through the good times and the bad, she didn’t let her faith waver. She kept her spirits high, and it seemed to keep her family going.

This was a very sweet memoir with a touch of emotion as well. I felt myself getting very connected to this family and just rooting for them the whole way through. I’m not sure if that was because of how it was written, or just because of what kind of people they are (or maybe it is because hockey was involved a little bit…. Just kidding ;] )

I really liked the pictures that were inserted in the middle of the book. It added an even more personal touch to an already emotional memoir.

4.5/5 Stars. Highly recommended for people who like memoirs or books about finding your faith.

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13 Years in America by Melanie Steele

13 Years in America is a very real memoir about chasing happiness and stability in life. I also got out of it how love can conquer hardships.

After moving from Canada to America and getting married, Melanie and her husband chase after the American Dream.

But it isn’t always as great as it sounds.

Never happy settling in one place, they move from town-to-town and state-to-state trying to find a place that suits their lives and opportunities for financial stability.

Along the way, Melanie decides to go back to school to finish her degree. It takes up most of her time because she is dedicated to being the best. She loves doing the research and writing out her thoughts into fantastic academic papers, and even gets one published.

This doesn’t help to solve the financial situation, though.

When she decides to go to grad school, she and her husband decide it is a great time for them to start their new life as a young family. That way, he can stay home with their child while she is in school since she will be making a little bit of money. He will not have to worry about finding a job and being unhappy, and their child will never have to be taken care of by anyone except a parent. It seems like a fool-proof plan.

As time passes, the finances never become ideal, but they get along. They are happy as a family, and sometimes that is what needs to be focused on in order to get by. There are tough times along the way, but they endure it with love and positive thinking.

This book is very well written. It all flows nicely together, which makes it very easy and entertaining to read. The dialogue fit well with the rest of the story. It didn’t seem forced or out of place.

The story is very enjoyable as well. Not everything in life can be easy, but you can get through it if you have hope and are surrounded by people that love you.

I really liked reading Melanie’s story. Anyone who enjoys memoirs will enjoy it too I believe.

4/5 stars.

Memorable quotes: “I look out at the two different countries that make up this beautiful, serene landscape, and I’m struck for some reason that the two sides look exactly the same. Two different countries, but water just flows into water, and one island looks exactly the same as the other.”

“I try to push the memories from my mind. I need to look forward instead of back, I remind myself. I take two deep breaths, and that helps. I feel better with each passing moment.”

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Memoir March

Memoir March was kicked off with Tomato Stakes by Melanie Jo Moore!

Upcoming titles to look out for:

13 Years in America by Melanie Steele

Follow the Joy by Jason Kurtz

Daddy Was a Punk Rocker by Adam Sharp

The Girl Who Had No Enemies by Dennis Fleming

and

The Face of a Miracle by Jodi Sampson!

I am excited to get through all of them, and from the looks of it, you all will enjoy them too!

-Courtney