YOUR TURN

A woman writes about her life experiences in order to cope with grief, addictions, and crises in this heartfelt memoir and self-help book.

Manning (Where the Water Meets the Sand, 2016), a retired middle school teacher and school district superintendent, looks back on a lifetime of traumas, including the death of her father when she was 9 years old; a teenage pregnancy that ended in adoption; and the death of her first husband in the Vietnam War, which left her a single mother to an infant daughter. She also dealt with psychological problems, including alcoholism, bulimia, the urge to cut herself, and major depression. An eight-month hospitalization in a Topeka, Kansas, psychiatric clinic in 1970 got her started writing about her troubles as a form of therapy, which she recommends to readers. Each chapter covers autobiographical reminiscences loosely arranged by theme; some recount fraught episodes in her life and others revisit positive memories and influences, including mentors who’ve helped her, family meal traditions, favorite recipes, and memorable musical performances. At the end of each chapter, she suggests writing exercises that treat similar themes and offers a few literary tips to make them more detailed and immediate. Along the way, she mixes in recovery teachings about maintaining sobriety (reciting the serenity prayer is a daily ritual for her), cultivating a sense of gratitude, and taking life one day at a time. Although the book is a bit of a ramble and sometimes repeats itself, Manning is a fluent writer who stocks her narratives with vivid anecdotes and character sketches. In darker moments of morbid obsession, her prose is truly harrowing: “I remember the immediate relief as I watched the blood drip from my wrist into the toilet. I stared down into the bowl, hypnotized by the swirling pink clouds, and rested my head on the toilet seat, no longer feeling alone, panicked, or crazy.” The book isn’t very useful as a manual for writing, but Manning’s creative explorations make her psychological insights feel hard-won and credible.

A well-told saga of recovery from loss and emotional breakdown and a tribute to ordinary blessings that made it possible.