If Only You People Could Follow Directions by Jessica Hendry Nelson

If Only You People Could Follow Directions by Jessica Hendry Nelson

If Only You People Could Follow Directions is a spellbinding debut by Jessica Hendry Nelson. In linked autobiographical essays, Nelson has reimagined the memoir with her thoroughly original voice, fearless writing, and hypnotic storytelling. At its center, the book is the story of three people: Nelson's mother Susan, her brother Eric, and Jessica herself. These three characters are deeply bound to one another, not just by the usual ties of blood and family, but also by a mother's drive to keep her children safe in the midst of chaos. The book begins with Nelson's childhood in the suburbs of Philadelphia and chronicles her father's addiction and death, her brother's battle with drugs and mental illness, her own efforts to find and maintain stability, and her mother's exquisite power, grief, and self-destruction in the face of such a complicated family dynamic. Each chapter in the book contends with a different relationship--friends, lovers, and strangers are all play--but at its heart the book is about family, the ties that bind and enrich and betray us, and how one young woman sought to survive and rise above her surroundings.

Jessica Hendry Nelson is the author of the memoir If Only You People Could Follow Directions (2014), which was designated a Best Book of the Year by Kirkus Review and was chosen as a best debut book by the Indies Introduce New Voices program, the American Booksellers' Association's Indies Next List, and the Indies Next List by the American Booksellers' Association. She teaches in the MFA Program at the University of Nebraska in Omaha and is an Assistant Professor of English at Virginia Commonwealth University in the United States.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781619024670
ISBN 10	1619024675
Title	If Only You People Could Follow Directions
Author	Jessica Hendry Nelson
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Counterpoint
Year published	2015-01-13
Number of pages	256
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.