The BBC’s Fergal Keane: ‘The breakdowns get harder to recover from each time’

The former BBC war reporter, now special correspondent, on the terror of PTSD, his tips for living with it day to day, and the people and poets he admiresDuring a career spanning more than 30 years, BBC special correspondent Fergal Keane has covered brutal conflicts in South Africa, Rwanda and Bosnia. It’s taken a lasting toll on his mental health, and in 2020 he stepped back from frontline reporting, revealing that he’s suffering from acute PTSD. In his memoir The Madness, newly published in paperback, he goes into greater detail, powerfully describing multiple breakdowns, alcoholism, and the inherited trauma that shaped his Irish childhood, as well as the resilience he’s found in himself. He will be talking at the Edinburgh International book festival on 17 August.What part of The Madness was hardest to write?Most difficult was what it was like to be in a psychiatric hospital. People talk about going mad and it conjures up all kinds of stereotypical images, but it’s terrifying, it’s this implosion. I’ve never been so afraid in my life. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2023-08-06 08:30:06 UTC ]

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Lit Hub Daily: May 27, 2022

“It is a fact that if you are looking to raise llamas with another person, you are seriously considering a lifelong commitment to each other.” Aileen Weintraub on finding love in upstate New York. | Lit Hub Memoir When everyone in London was trying to learn Marilyn Monroe’s signature, sultry... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-05-27 10:30:44 UTC ]
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Dov Forman Wants You to Know His Great-Grandmother’s Holocaust Story

An 18-year-old student and a 98-year-old survivor teamed up to write “Lily’s Promise,” a best-selling memoir of Auschwitz and its aftermath. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-05-26 09:00:09 UTC ]
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‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’ Review: A Life Too Simplified

This New York City Children’s Theater adaptation of Maya Angelou’s celebrated memoir faces the challenge of faithfully telling a story that encompasses a great deal of pain. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-05-25 20:59:11 UTC ]
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Newly Published, From Rainbow Cocktails to Magical Beasts

A selection of books published this week; plus, a peek at what our colleagues around the newsroom are reading. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-05-25 09:00:02 UTC ]
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U.S. Book Show: Humor, History, and Hope at Adult Authors Chat

Sisters confront racism with humor, a fantasy novelist delves into short stories, a military history expert salutes the civil rights movement, and a movie star's memoir goes behind the scenes. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-05-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Jimmy Kimmel Spots Most Awkward Part Of Kellyanne Conway's Book Release

The late night host pointed out a hilarious irony in the new memoir by the former counselor to Trump. Continue reading at The Huffington Post

[ The Huffington Post | 2022-05-24 05:21:45 UTC ]
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Lit Hub Weekly: May 16-20, 2022

“To live with other people is to be responsible for protecting them from your moods. Or perhaps, to protect the delicate gift of your moods from them.” Seema Reza on the joy of being (completely) alone. | Lit Hub Memoir Hilary A. Hallett investigates the romance genre’s radical roots, from... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-05-21 10:30:28 UTC ]
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Novelist Julie Myerson on sharing her children’s secrets: ‘I’ve got in so much trouble’

She was accused of ‘betraying motherhood’ when she was revealed as the author of the Guardian’s Living With Teenagers column. Will her novel about a child with addiction issues reopen old wounds?Few writers have published and been damned with quite the ferocity Julie Myerson was back in 2009 for... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-05-21 08:00:14 UTC ]
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Robert Goolrick Dies at 73; Became a Successful Novelist Late in Life

Being fired as an advertising executive freed him to write a blistering memoir about his Southern family and an erotic novel that became a best seller. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-05-21 00:03:50 UTC ]
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Newly Published, From Palestinian Poetry to Stories on Reproductive Freedom

A selection of books published this week; plus, a peek at what our colleagues around the newsroom are reading. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-05-20 20:53:25 UTC ]
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Kellyanne Conway Accuses George Conway Of Cheating On Her — With Twitter

Donald Trump's former White House adviser admits in her new memoir that she had a hard time competing with her husband's "new fling." Continue reading at HuffPost

[ HuffPost | 2022-05-19 20:47:28 UTC ]
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A Riveting Memoir of Life as a Chef with an Eating Disorder

Shaina Loew-Banayan’s new book, “Elegy for an Appetite,” chronicles fifteen years of the author’s relationship to food, in an irreverent stream of consciousness. Continue reading at New Yorker

[ New Yorker | 2022-05-19 19:15:10 UTC ]
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How the new PlayStation Plus stacks up against Xbox Game Pass

More than a month after revealing the revamped version of PlayStation Plus, Sony has shared the initial lineup of games heading to its new service, covering everything from original PlayStation classics and PlayStation Portable titles to modern hits. The new PlayStation Plus has three tiers,... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2022-05-19 18:45:16 UTC ]
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The tale of a dropout who found purpose in books, travel and just living

James Campbell’s memoir "Just Go Down to the Road" captures an era and how it shaped the author’s eventual literary career. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-05-18 12:00:46 UTC ]
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The Late Decadent Phase of the Trump Memoir

First, Mark Esper’s career got hijacked by Donald Trump. Now, his perfectly dull memoir has to deal with the guy too. Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2022-05-17 09:40:00 UTC ]
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How Hollywood and the Media Fueled the Political Rise of J.D. Vance

“Hillbilly Elegy,” a best-selling memoir that became a star-studded film, raised the profile of the onetime “Never Trump guy” who won an Ohio primary with the help of the former president. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-05-15 09:00:16 UTC ]
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Selma Blair shares stories of abuse and MS, but she doesn’t want pity

In her memoir “Mean Baby,” the “Hellboy” actress opens up about her childhood and career and how she has coped with a variety of challenges Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-05-15 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Selma Blair Has a Soft Spot for Holocaust Books

“I am drawn to the idea of continuing to bear witness to that horrible time,” says the actor, whose new book is “Mean Baby: A Memoir of Growing Up.” Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-05-12 15:13:09 UTC ]
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It’s Time to Destigmatize Talking Openly About What’s Going On Down There

When I started reading Chloe Caldwell’s new book, The Red Zone, a memoir about identity, love, health, and pain, all told through the lens of her relationship to her period, I didn’t think I had period hang-ups of my own to work through. I do have pudendal neuralgia, a nerve pain condition that... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2022-05-12 11:05:00 UTC ]
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