Hi friends,
We are less than three weeks away from the release of The Perils of Girlhood and the nerves are on overdrive! This book details difficult material that I’ve never shared. A LOT of memoir writers write about trauma. Heck, if you are alive, you’ve experienced trauma—you don’t need to be a memoir writer. There are just so many ways to be afraid. The only way to move forward is to face those fears.
This month I wanted to share with you a bit of the essay “The Telling,” which appeared in Hippocampus Magazine earlier this spring. The essay is about a Turnabout dance I attended in high school with a boy I didn’t really know very well. As the night evolved, it was obvious not only how little I knew him, but how little he knew or cared for me.
In this brief excerpt, you’ll see how I rooted myself in place, used sensory imagery to create mood, and I’ll also share some steps I took to take care of myself during the challenging drafting process.
The Perils of Girlhood is now available for preorders from the usual places: your local indie bookstore, Bookshop, Barnes and Noble, Amazon and of course the good folks at University of Nebraska Press. I also love my local bookseller, Laura at Second Flight Books!
Still on the fence? I get it. Books are expensive. Here are a few considerations:
BOOKLIST - STARRED REVIEW “Womanhood and motherhood, it seems, were even more fraught than girlhood. Intimate, raw, and relatable, Fraterrigo’s narrative of navigating life’s challenges vibrates with individual choices and reassures with universal truths. Yes, there are dangers in being a girl and becoming a woman, but Fraterrigo assures there are delights, too.”
If you belong to a book club or have a friend or family member who does, would you please consider telling them about the book? I’d be honored to join in the book club conversation via Zoom or in-person! You can also share this Reader’s Guide to generate conversation. All writers who purchase a copy of the book can join me for a FREE Memoir-Writing Workshop on 9/3.
Ask your library to purchase The Perils of Girlhood. Many libraries have a “Suggest a Purchase” page on their website.
If you are on Goodreads, would you please mark The Perils of Girlhood as a book you’d like to read? You can do so here.
Even if you are unable to purchase the book at this time, please do check it out from your local library or contact me directly. I am committed to deepening the conversation about how we are raising our daughters, and hope you’ll join me! ❤️
If you’re free, would you come to an event? I would love to see you! I’ll paste the details below. I’ll also keep my events page updated. And if you’re in the Lafayette, IN area, I hope you can attend the 9/10 event at Second Flight Books. There will be cake and music and a few surprises. The brilliant Eileen Drennen will be my conversation partner. I’ll likely begin every statement with thank you. How could I not? ❤️
