What I've been reading

"Are You My Mother?: A Comic Drama," a graphic memoir written and illustrated by Alison Bechdel. There are lots of things to like about "Are You My Mother?" but it doesn't hang together as cohesively as her previous memoir about her closeted gay father, "Fun Home." "Are You My Mother?" is about Bechdel's tumutuous relationship with her mother. She brings in passages from Virginia Woolf and her feelings about her own mother, as well as material from psychoanalists, particularly child therapist Donald Winicott. The book feels very "meta" as it includes scenes where she talks to her mother about the previous book, "Fun Home," as well as the difficulty of starting "Are You My Mother?" I found this book a little frustrating, but worth the read overall.

and

"My Year with Eleanor: A Memoir" by Noelle Hancock. Hancock is 29 and a high-powered celebrity journalist and blogger when she's unexpectedly laid off from her job. She has recently read a quote by Eleanor Roosevelt that you should challenge yourself to do something that scares you every day, so Hancock lists a bunch of her fears and starts a "Year of Fear," confronting fears that range from speaking or singing in public to sky-diving to hiking to the top of a mountain. Along the way, you also find out more about Eleanor Roosevelt's life and the ways she overcame fear to live a big, bold life. I think most of us could benefit from confronting our fears. I highly recommend this memoir as highly entertaining, informative and inspirational. (Bonus interview with the author here.)

My full comments on both books here.