Saturday, May 3, 2008

Riding Shotgun with Kathryn Kysar

Common Good Books presents Kathryn Kysar, Shannon Olson, Susan Power, and Ka Vang at the Virginia Street Swedenborgian Church on Mother's Day (Sunday, May 11th, 2:00 pm; free, bring mom). We asked Kathryn to tell us a bit more about her book, Riding Shotgun.

What do you want the Common Good Books readers to know about your anthology?
Riding Shotgun: Women Write about Their Mothers is of the complexities of the mother/daughter relationship. The anthology features twenty-one unique essays that defy the June Cleaver/Hallmark cliche that mothers are perfect. These essays create a mosaic of portraits of women in the 20th century who do their best to raise their children and live fulfilling lives. Some essays are filled with love and joy, others pain and suffering, but they are all honest and soul-searching.

What do you love about this book?
The authors wrote amazingly well crafted essays that are intimate, thoughtful, and probing. I love the diversity of voice, experience, and form.

What do you want to the book to accomplish?
I hope readers will get a glimpse of their lives in these essays and continue the conversation about mothers as we challenge the "mother" stereotype and paint portraits of flawed, brave, fragile, strong, resourceful, smart real women.

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