Resilience

 

Though slightly put off by the hype of Elizabeth Edward’s television book tour a few months ago, I nevertheless ordered Resilience,  her book with the dreadful self-help subtitle of: Reflections on the Burdens and Gifts of Facing Life’s Adversities. I teach a course called “Writing the Healing Story” and also do workshops at the Wellness Community and I thought I might use some quotes at least from the book. So it was with great surprise and pleasure to discover what a well written memoir this is. Elizabeth Edwards is not only an amazingly brave and wonderful woman, she’s also a terrific writer. For those of you who have lived on a desert island without modern communication for the past few years and don’t know her story:  Elizabeth Edwards has faced more of life’s adversities than any human being should ever have to experience – the loss of a son, her own diagnosis of terminal cancer, and a husband who was unfaithful to her at the worst time, with the worst woman, in the worst and most public way.

 

In Resilience she takes the high road. Not in a sticky, sweet way, no talk of “closure” (that awful word)  - she’s mad as hell and let’s the reader know it.  But she keeps plowing onward – doesn’t deign to mention the woman’s name who said to her husband “You are so hot.”  She quotes poets and she thinks and feels deeply without jargon, without easy answers.  Though publicists pushed the infidelity in the book to sell it, it is more about her son Wade and the unspeakable pain of losing a child. The book keeps looping back to him and that loss, and to her childhood memories, and the discovery she made reading her mother’s diary about her father’s possible infidelity. All of this written with honesty and grace.

 

Check out the September issue of The Atlantic for the book review by Christopher Hitchens: http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200909/elizabeth-edwards/2

 

 

Comments

[elizabeth]

Thanks for this review, Barbara. I admit to not wanting to read it, especially because of all the publicity, but now I'm going to. I've always felt that the death of their son just set the train rolling to wreck. It's amazing that Elizabeth is still alive, frankly, in any shape or form. She must have so much strength.

[Speech Writer]

Wonderful article,thanks for putting this together! "This is obviously one great post. Thanks for the valuable information and insights you have so provided here. Keep it up!"
Speech Writing

[Harriet]

I read her first book and enjoyed it and was surprised as well.
Harriet Eilber

[Kathy Sena @ Parent Talk Today]

Thanks for sharing this. I was so put off by some of the t.v. interviews that I wasn't planning on reading it. But I think now that I will. I admire her so much, and it's wonderful to hear that Elizabeth Edwards is also a wonderful writer. Thanks for the review.

[John Evans]

You must plan to come to the third annual Wellnness & Writing Connections Conference, October 24 at the Georgia Tech Global Learning Center. Check out the program on our web site: www.wellnessandwritingconnections.com. Julie Davey, will keynote and 20 other presenters will give 15 workshops about writing and healing.

[Barbara]

Elizabeth - Yes - and she is so inspiring.

Kathy - You're welcome (and thanks for your chicken and spinach and tomato recipe!)

John - If I weren't working next weekend I might. Maybe I'll submit a proposal for conducting a workshop in 2010?

[Barbara]

Speechwriter - Thanks for the kind words.

Harriet - I've got to read her first one too -

[Samara]

Just entered this coiimtetpon, I hope my entry is good enough.Looking at the full version of the manuscript I can see where some parts of my revisions missed the mark. But the original draft sometimes contains the best ideas in terms of bones. I already own On Writing by Stephen King but I still want to enter!

[Zbyszek]

My writer's life ilvenvos long hours at my desk, funnily enough. Having been freelance, on and off, for some time, (and entrusted with ALL the running of this household) I have a separate office at home, and I find that I get more work done if I chain myself to the desk, metaphorically speaking. Coffee shops and libraries have turned out to be rather a distraction.Then, of course, there's my more nomadic summer writer's life which revolves around the summer activities of my two teenagers, who do not have cars. This will force me out of my deskbound existence into various other locations, and I won't get as much done. But that's just the way it is.

[Cris]

the usual inner circle which conutitstes Claire and Jane and Jonathan You are wrong. I have never had any kind of contact with Harry or Word Cloud until last week. The same goes for Jonathan and his magazine and the same goes for Jane, with the exception of a few tweets and blog views. My worries about the different schemes cooked up by BWA are all my own. Except they are not are they? Because there are hundreds of us writers, maybe thousands sharing the same concerns. And there are a very, very, tiny handful of people speaking up against them, which speaks volumes.Perhaps if Imran meets up with Martha Williams (who incidentally I do know personally), then perhaps you could go along too and send her my regards.