Guest Post & Giveaway: Alice Eve Cohen, author of What I Thought I Knew
Please welcome Alice Eve Cohen, author of a new memoir, What I Thought I Knew!
To learn more, check out Alice’s website or find her on Facebook.
by Alice Eve Cohen
At the age of fourty-four, after months of symptoms, doctor’s visits and inconclusive tests, I was raced to an emergency CAT scan for an abdominal tumor—which turned out not to be a tumor at all: I was six months pregnant. Somehow, my family, my marriage, my children and I all survived and thrived, despite (and maybe because of) the storm we weathered together. It took me a couple of years to regain my emotional footing after my unexpected and traumatic pregnancy. It took me much longer to write about it.
Zora Neale Hurston wrote, in her autobiography, “There is no agony like bearing an untold story inside you.” Bearing my own story inside me, keeping it a secret for years, was terribly painful. “This is the story you have to write, and you know it, Alice,” said my bullying subconscious. “Until you figure out how to write it, I won’t permit you to write anything.”
Because I am a performer—a solo theatre artist—I tried writing the story as a solo theatre piece, but I quickly discovered that I wasn’t ready to contemplate performing this story for an audience. It was too raw, too frightening. At that time, I could barely talk about the story, no less perform it. I shelved the project for years, and feared that I would never find my way back to it.
One day, quite unexpectedly, I started writing again—in absolute secrecy. I spent a year writing with a frenzied urgency, as if under a spell. I had to finish writing the story, or else—I didn’t know what else, but I was sure something bad would happen if I didn’t finish it. I became uncharacteristically superstitious: I was afraid that if I stopped writing for even a day, or if I told anybody I was writing this story, the spell would be broken, and I’d be cursed with that demonic and depressing stranglehold of writers block. For a year I didn’t even tell my husband that I was writing the book. That early writing process was something I needed to do [amazonify]0143117653[/amazonify]for myself, in order to make sense of what had happened, so much of which was still deeply troubling to me. Then I was able to edit, rewrite, and turn it into a book.
I wrote as honestly and candidly as I could about my personal odyssey. The comedy in my memoir helped me to write. My preferred survival mechanism in life is to find humor even in the most painful situations: I look for the story value in scary moments, for the absurdity in intolerable predicaments; I take great pleasure in self-mockery. Humor is an appealing unspoken contract with the reader. I want the humor to welcome readers into the story.
I imagine that the book will speak to anybody who has been through difficult times—which of course includes just about everyone. For years, I was unable to talk about my experience. Since writing the memoir, I have felt hugely relieved, and deeply gratified that readers have enjoyed the book and identified with it.
Giveaway:
I have 1 copy of What I Thought I Knew to give away!
Mandatory entry: Please comment on this post with and tell me something you enjoyed about this guest post.
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This giveaway is open to U.S. and Canada residents only. Deadline to enter is midnight on November 20th.
Giveaway copies were provided free of any obligation by BookSparks PR. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.
Category: Authors, Giveaways, Guest Posts
I also entered Falling Home
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I enjoyed reading about her personal life, family, and issues that have made her “survive and thrive.”
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I love hearing the story behind a story! Love it!
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I liked that she is a performer that is cool
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Her humor and honesty tugged at me and I certainly want to read her book. I too have always used humor to get through many of my own traumas in life. I also was happy to read her family as well as herself came through it all.
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The honesty with which Ms. Cohen approaches her situation and how she dealt with it is appreciated. She has done a very difficult thing – look at herself and her situation honestly, and analyze it. I am interested in reading her thought on her situation and how she dealt with it.
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As a NICU nurse I deal with babies from high risk pregnancies frequently. I am intrigued by this book and its author and look forward to someday reading about her experience. Hopefully, I will win the book here on Luxury Reading!
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This is a wonderful post! I ove Ms. Cohen’s honesty and her story about writing in secrecy for a full year, not even telling her husband. I am also excited over her mention that she wrote her memoir with humor because I really enjoy memoirs in which the author is light-hearted and funny at times, particularly when some pf the books is intense.
I’m really looking forward to reading this book and would love to win a copy!
~ Amy
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please count me in…thanks, vera
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I’m glad the author was able to come to terms with her experience.
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I love the author’s honesty. I’d love to read the book, because my daughter is going through some problems, so I know we can both relate.
I am a follower and email subscriber. I understand about having fertility issues and trying to have a baby. We also adopted. I would love to read this book because I understand what she went through. Please enter me in contest. Tore923@aol.com
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I love the quote from Zora Neale Hurston. Sometimes these stories can eat at us until we let them crawl their way out.
Thanks for sharing the guest post and the opportunity to win a copy of this memoir.
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I liked learning about the author and what she went through. Similar to what I went through with my pregnancy. Also it looks like a good book!
I liked learning about the author and what she went through. Similar to what I went through with my pregnancy.
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I enjoyed the author’s honesty.
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I would love to read this book.
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Heather Henderson and Crystal Patriarche, Vera @ LuxuryReading. Vera @ LuxuryReading said: Guest Post & Giveaway: Alice Eve Cohen, author of What I Thought I Knew: Please welcome A… http://bit.ly/9ybFTe #luxuryreading [...]
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I loved how personal the story she shared was, it gives a lot of insight into the book.
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I enjoyed hearing about the author’s secret obsession with writing her story– knowing how compelled she felt to write it makes me really want to read it.
Thanks!
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I like that humor is her survival mechanism. It is so much better to laugh than to cry.
Thanks for the giveaway.
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Since I saw this book included in one of the massive Facebook book giveaways authors were doing a few months ago I have wanted to read this memoir! It just sounds so poignant and heartwrenching that I cannot bear not to read it. It is currently on my Amazon wishlist (as so many books are these days…so many books so little money
) but I would love the opportunity to win a copy! Thanks Vera!
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I like that she uses humor to see her through hard times.
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Wow..what discover…pregnant at 44!
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I love how honest and candid she is. As someone who didn’t know she was pregnant until I was 4 1/2 months along, I think I could really relate to this book!