Beware the “Tell-All” Fallout
If you’re planning on writing a memoir that dishes dirty family secrets, you might want to think it through. Be prepared for your family to be angry at you, because seeing their actions through your critical eyes does not tend to create harmony.
Moms haven’t had a good year in memoirland. There was Ashley Judd’s exposé of her famous country mama Naomi, which had both Naomi and Ashley’s half-sister Wynonna hopping mad. Next we heard about Katy Perry’s mother, who was not the subject of a memoir but, rather, the one who wrote her own memoir. In it, she lamented that Katy’s fashion taste and music were too risqué for her taste, an opinion that created what Katy’s father referred to as “tension” in the family.
The latest tell-all, set to hit stores on October 18, is Whateverland: Learning to Live Here, by Martha Stewart’s daughter Alexis Stewart. Reportedly, the book gives ample evidence supporting Alexis’s conclusion that her mom “was not interested in being kid-friendly.” But Alexis has hedged her bets by dedicating her memoir to none other than Martha dearest and proactively using the dedication to more or less ask forgiveness. The dedication reportedly says: “Thanks in advance to my mother for not getting angry about anything written in this book.” If your memoir trashes a family member, you might want to try that approach. Let us know if it works.
If you’re planning on writing a memoir that dishes dirty family secrets, you might want to think it through. Be prepared for your family to be angry at you, because seeing their actions through your critical eyes does not tend to foster harmony.
Moms haven’t had a good year in memoirland. There was Ashley Judd’s exposé of her famous country mama Naomi, which had both Naomi and Ashley’s half-sister Wynonna hopping mad. Next we heard about Katy Perry’s mother, who was not the subject of a memoir but, rather, the one who wrote her own memoir. In it, she lamented that Katy’s fashion taste and music were exceedingly risqué, an opinion that created what Katy’s father referred to as “tension” in the family.
The latest tell-all, set to hit stores on October 18, is Whateverland: Learning to Live Here, by Martha Stewart’s daughter Alexis Stewart. Reportedly, the book gives ample evidence supporting Alexis’s conclusion that her mom “was not interested in being kid-friendly.” But Alexis has hedged her bets by dedicating her memoir to none other than Martha dearest and proactively using the dedication to more or less ask forgiveness. The dedication reportedly says: “Thanks in advance to my mother for not getting angry about anything written in this book.” If your memoir trashes a family member, you might want to try that approach. Let us know if it works.
