Estrangement, Dementia, and the Fractured Memoir with Lara Lillibridge

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If you have a complicated relationship with someone, how do you write about them? Should you craft a linear memoir that reads more like a journey or write something that mirrors your experience? Join me and Lara Lillibridge, author of Girlish, Mama, Mama, Only Mama, and The Truth of Unringing Phones, as we explore the impact of estrangement on the memoir writing process, how to protect your heart as you write about painful experiences, the power of publishing your story, as well as the a-ha Lara had about which part of the writing process actually heals you.

Lara’s Bio: Lara Lillibridge (she/they) is the author of The Truth About Unringing Phones: Essays on Yearning; Mama, Mama, Only Mama: An Irreverent Guide for the Newly Single Parent, and Girlish: Growing Up in a Lesbian Home,. Lara is a Creative Nonfiction Editor for HeartWood Literary Magazine. She holds an MFA from West Virginia Wesleyan College and is a mentor for AWP’s Writer to Writer.

In this episode: 

• When can non-linear storytelling play a role in writing about fragmented relationships?
• Advice for balancing dark and light moments in memoir writing to present a full picture of the relationship.
• The importance of audience connection and feedback as a source of resilience during the book launch period.
• The healing power of revision.
• Tips for organizing and structuring non-linear memoirs.

Resources Mentioned During This Episode:

The True Meaning of Success with Courtney Maum

Where Rivers Part: A Story of My Mother’s Life by Kao Kalia Yang

New York Times article on Consent by Jill Ciment

Episode Highlights

• 1:00 COVID’s Impact on Our Creativity
• 3:15 Structuring an Estrangement Story
• 8:45 Crafting a Nonlinear Memoir
• 15:00 Protecting Your Heart as You Write
• How Estrangement Impacts Us
• 24:00 The Healing Power of Publishing Your Story
• 30:23 Lara’s Best Writing Advice

Connect with Lara

Website: http://laralillibridge.com/

Twitter: https://x.com/Only_Mama

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lara.lillibridge

Instagram/Threads: https://www.instagram.com/LaraLillibridge

Connect with your host, Lisa:
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Produced by Espresso Podcast Production