Saturday, May 07, 2016

The House that Made Me


The house that made me: writers reflect on the places and people that defined them. Edited by Grant Jarrett. Tempe, Spark Press, 2016. 141 pages. *****



Have you typed the address of your childhood home or a place where you lived into Google Earth? 19 essayists have written about a childhood home, neighborhood or a place that helped shaped them. The locations are as diverse as the authors themselves.  Some of the homes are no longer standing, however, the memories remain. Some of the writers discovered that looking from Google Earth gave a different perspective to the place that they remembered and allowed a view and feeling different than seen on the ground. Recalling anecdotes about family members and friends from the neighborhood are bittersweet and inspirational.

Karin Radish sums it up best, " I often tell people that you can never go back home if you don't leave. What I need to tell them is that if you grew up in a town like I did---with loving parents, across the street from a corn field, thirty minutes from a place that is called a city...then home is right there in the center of your lovely heart and you can take it wherever you go."

A poignant read that will be one that is passed around and will be an evocative Book Club choice. For the right student, this book will be a great Graduation present.


I received a copy from BookSparks for a review.


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