Diary of a Smart Chick

Various writings from a curious mind

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  • a love for movies
    Book Review

    A Movie Lover’s Search for Romance: A Dating Memoir (Author Interview)

    September 22, 2020

    I was immediately curious when I found out that author Joanna J. Charnas had come out with a new book: A Movie Lover’s Search for Romance. I had reviewed her book about chronic illness a few years ago and thoroughly appreciated her transparent authenticity as she addressed a difficult topic. I was intrigued by her new choice of topic, seemingly lighthearted – and yet proving, as I read each page, that it was also quite heartfelt and meaningful. In this new title, she uses a diary-like format to share two intertwined stories: her love for movies and her journeys in dating life as a woman in her forties and fifties. She…

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    Related Posts

    Junk Mountain

    Book Report: The Battle of Junk Mountain

    January 4, 2019
    art of asking

    Book Review: Art of Asking

    January 5, 2019
    book review memoir

    Book Review: Always Too Much and Never Enough

    September 4, 2018
  • memoir quotes
    Quotes

    Memoir Quotes: Borderlines by Caroline Kraus

    January 11, 2019

    Memoir quotes are often my favorite quotes. I really love reading memoirs. There is something so special about individual stories. In a memoir, the deeply personal becomes universal. We find what resonates for us. We read the words as though they are in our own voices. Somehow, one person’s story becomes the story of each of us. I’ve been digging through the archives of this blog to find items that were lost in a blog transition. I came across the following memoir quotes. They’re from a post I did in 2014 when reading the book Borderlines. Borderlines: A Memoir I recently read Borderlines: A Memoir by Caroline Kraus. This moving book tells the…

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  • therapist memoir unsayable
    Book Review

    Therapist Memoir: Annie Rogers’ Shining Affliction and Unsayable

    January 10, 2019

    This post is about two therapist memoir books. I originally published this as two separate posts, which I’ve combined and updated here. The therapist memoir The Unsayable: The Hidden Language of Trauma by Annie Rogers, PhD is one of my favorite books that I was assigned in grad school. I first read the book in one day. Then I read a big chunk of it for a second time shortly after. Then after that, I went back and checked out Rogers’ first book. It’s called A Shining Affliction: A Story of Harm and Healing in Psychotherapy. It’s another therapist memoir from earlier in her career. About Annie Rogers, Therapist Memoir Author Annie Rogers…

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    Related Posts

    just girls

    Just Girls: YA LGBTQ Book Review

    January 8, 2019
    dementia memoir

    Dementia Memoir: Remembering the Music, Forgetting the Words

    January 9, 2019
    Nancy drew illustration

    Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her

    September 6, 2020
  • dementia memoir
    Book Review

    Dementia Memoir: Remembering the Music, Forgetting the Words

    January 9, 2019

    This is a book review of a dementia memoir. I originally published this review here on the blog in 2014. As I update what was lost in my blog transition, I found that I wanted to share this again. The full title of this book is Remembering the Music, Forgetting the Words: Travels with Mom in the Land of Dementia. That does a good job of summing up what this dementia memoir is about. The book, by Kate Whouley, is her experience with her aging mother as her mom declines into Alzheimer’s. Although that sounds sad, she manages to put a positive spin on the experience. Therefore, I found it…

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    Related Posts

    artist as culture producer

    Recommended Essay Reading: The Artist as Culture Producer … and Thoughts on Creative Collaboration

    August 18, 2019
    Junk Mountain

    Book Report: The Battle of Junk Mountain

    January 4, 2019
    art of asking

    Book Review: Art of Asking

    January 5, 2019
  • book review memoir
    Book Review,  Reviews

    Book Review: Always Too Much and Never Enough

    September 4, 2018

    Jasmin Singer is a vegan, lesbian, animal rights activist and author whose 2016 memoir Always Too Much and Never Enough shares her story of weight gain and loss on the path to understanding the core of her own true identity. She shares raw, intimate details of her life including the journey from actor to activist the complexity of being the much-loved but always-overweight daughter of a thin, beautiful mother a college date rape the death of a beloved grandmother and the many other nuances that make up a woman’s life. This is all set against the backdrop of navigating her relationship with food. Moreover, it’s about dealing with her own body…

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    Related Posts

    a love for movies

    A Movie Lover’s Search for Romance: A Dating Memoir (Author Interview)

    September 22, 2020
    books about walking

    5 Books About Walking to Inspire as You Move through the World

    January 7, 2019
    Nancy drew illustration

    Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her

    September 6, 2020

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I commit to using my skills / experience in writing, crafting and therapeutic creativity to assist others in understanding, exploring and achieving their creative dreams, honoring their artistic selves and healing their inner and outer worlds. This is done primarily through the channel of crochet but incorporates information from other areas of craft, art, creativity, and psychology. Subscribers receive my newsletter and additional rewards at various funding levels. As we reach collective milestones, I donate copies of my books to those in need.

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