My Reading Room: Jul 7, 2011

Wishing for Snow: A Memoir by Minrose Gwin

Publisher: Harper Perennial

Publish Date: June 21, 2011

Paperback, 240 pages
Non-Fiction, Memoir
ISBN: 978-0062046345

*** My review will be coming later today. ***

About the Book:
A daughter’s brave and beautiful tribute to a remarkable damaged soul . . .

For novelist Minrose Gwin, growing up was a time of chaos and uncertainty, the result of being raised by a parent with a serious mental illness. Life with poet Erin Taylor was unpredictable at best and painful at the worst times, as she spiraled ever deeper into psychosis until her eventual death from cancer. But reading her mother’s childhood diary as an adult, Minrose encountered a very different Erin Taylor Clayton Pitner. Her late mother’s words, written in the 1930s, revealed a cheerful, perceptive young girl growing up in rural Mississippi who wished for snow that “usually didn’t come”—a girl with a bright view of the future as she progressed from college student to young mother to published poet, only to have an unbearable darkness close in around her, cruelly suffocating her hopes and dreams.

In her poignant and extraordinary memoir Wishing for Snow, Minrose Gwin sets out to rediscover her mother in the poems, letters, newspaper clippings, and quixotic lists that Erin left behind after her death. The result is an unforgettable true story of a Southern family and the tragic figure at its center—and a loving daughter’s determination to find the mother she never knew.

About Minrose Gwin

Minrose Gwin is the author of The Queen of Palmyra. She has written three scholarly books, coedited The Literature of the American South, and teaches contemporary fiction at the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill.

Minrose’s Tour Stops

Thursday, July 7th: My Reading Room
Wednesday, July 13th: Reviews By Lola
Thursday, July 14th: Ted Lehmann’s Bluegrass, Books, and Brainstorms
Monday, July 18th: Knowing the Difference
Tuesday, July 19th: Lit Endeavors
Wednesday, July 20th: Cozy Little House
Tuesday, July 26th: Good Girl Gone Redneck
Wednesday, July 27th: Lisa’s Yarns
Thursday, July 28th: Natty Michelle
Thursday, August 4th: she reads and reads

FTC Information: I received this book from the publisher through TLC Book Tours for an honest review. I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws. I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.

Today I welcome author Eileen Cook, Author of The Education of Hailey Kendrick. Today her character Hailey will be interviewed here at My Reading Room.

1. What do you think of the boarding school you attend? Did you want to go there when you were first sent there?

I TOTALLY did not want to go to boarding school. My mom had died recently and my dad thought it would be easier for me to adjust if I went away to school. Why do parents always come up with big plans on how to make your life better, and never think to ask you what you want?

On the upside, if you have to go to boarding school Evesham is where you would want to go. Most the kids who go here come from wealthy or famous families so it’s pretty posh. The cafeteria has great food, the dorms look a bit like castles (my room even has a fireplace in it), and there are maids who clean for you.

2. You are/were Vice-President at the school, what did that post entail for you?

I joined student government because I think it’s important to be involved in making the world a better place. If we don’t stand up for what is important, we can’t count on anyone else doing it. However, the Evesham student government isn’t exactly dealing with issues like creating peace in the middle east or tackling the homeless problem. Most of our student government time is taken up with “critical” issues like what will the theme be for our big spring dance, or how do we make sure there are enough organic vegetarian options at lunch. At least I can put the fact I was vice-president on my college applications. I’m hoping to get into Yale.

3. What's it like dating the son of two parents who have both won Academy Awards.

Going out with someone who has famous parents has both good and bad bits. On the good side his mom lent me a vintage gown that Betty Davis wore to the Oscars, I got to meet Johnny Depp at a pool party they were having at their house, and when you go out to eat the staff always falls all over themselves to be nice to you. On the downside the paparazzi tries to get pictures of you, and I’m usually the one who takes those really bad pictures where my mouth is open or the back of my skirt is tucked into my tights.

4. Why were you always a rule follower until that one fateful night?

People always say “rule follower” like it’s a bad thing. It’s just that after my mom died I realized that bad things could happen. I got a bit obsessed with safety. For example, did you know that more people are killed by falling vending machines than sharks? Imagine it- you’re shaking the machine because your Diet Coke didn’t come out and the next thing you know-WHAM- game over. Doesn’t seem like such a bad idea to follow the rules when you’re snuffed out by a cola machine. Then you can look at what happened to me the one time I didn’t follow the rules.

5. If you could go back and change one thing about yourself what would it be?
Even though I still think it’s a good idea to follow the rules, I’ve learned that keeping yourself safe doesn’t mean keeping yourself safe from feeling things. Sometimes you have to let go and trust things will work out. I’m still staying away from vending machines, but I’m learning to lean on people.