About the Author

Mary Karr is a Guggenheim Fellow in poetry. She has won Pushcart Prizes for both verse and essays, and is the Peck Professor of Literature at Syracuse University. Her previous two memoirs, The Liars' Club and Cherry, were New York Times bestsellers.

Reviews

‘Searing. . . A book that lassos you, hogties your emotions and won't let you go. . . Chronicles with searching intelligence, humor and grace the author's slow, sometimes exhilarating, sometimes painful discovery of her vocation and her voice as a poet and writer.’ Michiko Kakutani, New York Times ‘A brutally honest, sparkling story.’ Glamour ‘Dazzling. . . Lit reminds us not only how compelling personal stories can be, but how, in the hands of a master, they can transmute into the highest art.’ Boston Globe ‘Scrappy, gut-wrenching, irresistible. [Written] with trademark wit, precision, and unfailing courage.’ Pam Houston, O Magazine ‘Karr could tell you what's on her grocery list, and its humor would make you bust a gut. She holds the position of grande dame memoirista.’ Samantha Dunn, Los Angeles Times ‘An absolute gem that secures Karr's place as one of the best memoirists of her generation. . . [She] writes with a singular combination of poetic grace and Texan verve.’ Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

'Searing. . . A book that lassos you, hogties your emotions and won't let you go. . . Chronicles with searching intelligence, humor and grace the author's slow, sometimes exhilarating, sometimes painful discovery of her vocation and her voice as a poet and writer.' Michiko Kakutani, New York Times

'A brutally honest, sparkling story.' Glamour

'Dazzling. . . Lit reminds us not only how compelling personal stories can be, but how, in the hands of a master, they can transmute into the highest art.' Boston Globe

'Scrappy, gut-wrenching, irresistible. [Written] with trademark wit, precision, and unfailing courage.' Pam Houston, O Magazine

'Karr could tell you what's on her grocery list, and its humor would make you bust a gut. She holds the position of grande dame memoirista.' Samantha Dunn, Los Angeles Times

'An absolute gem that secures Karr's place as one of the best memoirists of her generation. . . [She] writes with a singular combination of poetic grace and Texan verve.' Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Karr performs her brave memoir about alcoholism, getting sober, and getting God in a confident Texas drawl. Readers familiar with The Liar's Club, Karr's account of her childhood will find parallels-her descent into alcoholism differs from her mother's addiction only in the details. Karr revisits her past with rare candor and humor, recounting her role in the disintegration of her marriage to "Warren Whitbread," the reserved scion of a fabulously wealthy family (whose other members are deliciously skewered here), and her most shameful moments (leaving her feverish toddler to take a long swig from the bottle of Jack Daniels stashed in the oven). When Karr undergoes a hard-won spiritual awakening through the combined efforts of AA; her spiritual director, Joan the Bone; and a stay in the "Mental Marriott," listeners will be cheering. A Harper hardcover. (Mar.) Copyright 2010 Reed Business Information.