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    If Only You People Could Follow Directions: A Memoir
    Unavailable
    If Only You People Could Follow Directions: A Memoir
    Unavailable
    If Only You People Could Follow Directions: A Memoir
    Ebook210 pages3 hours

    If Only You People Could Follow Directions: A Memoir

    By Jessica Hendry Nelson

    3/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    “A quirkily mesmerizing debut memoir about a dysfunctional family wracked by alcoholism and drug addiction. Bittersweet and wryly funny.” —O, The Oprah Magazine
     
    If Only You People Could Follow Directions is a spellbinding debut by Jessica Hendry Nelson. In linked autobiographical essays, Nelson has reimagined the memoir with her thoroughly original voice, fearless writing, and hypnotic storytelling. At its center, the book is the story of three people: Nelson’s mother Susan, her brother Eric, and Jessica herself. These three characters are deeply bound to one another, not just by the usual ties of blood and family, but also by a mother’s drive to keep her children safe in the midst of chaos.
     
    The book begins with Nelson’s childhood in the suburbs of Philadelphia and chronicles her father’s addiction and death, her brother’s battle with drugs and mental illness, her own efforts to find and maintain stability, and her mother’s exquisite power, grief, and self-destruction in the face of such a complicated family dynamic. Each chapter in the book contends with a different relationship—friends, lovers, and strangers are all in play—but at its heart the book is about family, the ties that bind and enrich and betray us, and how one young woman sought to survive and rise above her surroundings.
     
    “A kaleidoscopic look at the way abuse resonates down through generations like a bell . . . unflinchingly honest.” —Elle
     
    “Nelson’s voice is assertive and meaningful, with moments of wry wit and despair . . . her refreshing style makes the essays meld together with grace and fluidity.” —Philadelphia City Paper
     
    “Gradual revelation and occasional surprise make these essays fresh and startling.” —The Boston Globe
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOpen Road Integrated Media
    Release dateDec 31, 2013
    ISBN9781619023512
    Unavailable
    If Only You People Could Follow Directions: A Memoir
    Author

    Jessica Hendry Nelson

    JESSICA HENDRY NELSON is the author of the memoir If Only You People Could Follow Directions as well as Advanced Creative Nonfiction: A Writers’ Guide and Anthology with coauthor Sean Prentiss. Her work has appeared in Prairie Schooner, Tin House, the Threeepenny Review, North American Review, the Los Angeles Review of Books and elsewhere. She teaches at Virginia Commonwealth University and in the MFA Program at the University of Nebraska in Omaha. She lives in Richmond, Virginia.

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    Reviews for If Only You People Could Follow Directions

    3/5

    2 ratings4 reviews

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    • 2/5
      There's a blurb on the back of this book that talks about how Nelson has taken "another familial memoir of addiction" and made it "vital" and "compelling." I have to respectfully disagree. To me, it was just "another familial memoir about addiction." While I appreciated her writing (there are some great poetic lines in here), I wasn't that into the story. Yes, the characters have their quirks and they are portrayed wonderfully well, but I've read this type of story so, so many times. Nothing about it hit me square between the eyes, which is what I want from a memoir. Also, I found it kind of scattered. It jumps around A LOT, sometimes without a section break to clue you in to what's happening. One paragraph is in the present, the next is a flashback to another time. I really wanted to like this, but it just didn't do it for me.
    • 2/5
      Uneven. There were times when the writing grew tiring and other times when it painted incredible scenes and feelings. The jumping around from past to present was sometimes difficult to follow.
    • 3/5
      Jessica is an excellent writer. I enjoyed her style and descriptions. Her story was genuine, and I greatly appreciated her open and painfully exposed story of herself and her family. This is not the family next door, and yet it actually could be and that is what is scary. Jessica and her brother had a special relationship that was very close as children, but eventually is torn apart through her brother's life choices which follow in their father's footsteps. I could feel her hope and belief that things were all going to be OK, slip away as she tells the story of her dysfunctional family and their addictive behaviors. I only people could follow directions! Ultimately though, I found the story to be very sad and not entirely important enough to overcome the feelings of dread and despair produced by her inability to save her brother.I thank the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this title. I would recommend it to readers who enjoy memoirs of the struggles of ordinary people, particularly in dealing with real life problems. Just don't expect a fairy tale ending.
    • 4/5
      A brutal and beautiful memoir about addiction, loss, and growth by Jessica Hendry Nelson. Nelson's prose is poetic, so even while I was upset and grieving over her subject matter I was entranced by her words. I highly recommend this if you enjoy autobiographical essays.

      TRIGGER WARNING: Addiction and all it does to a person and their family.