Poet Natasha Trethewey's new 'Memorial Drive'

Also this week: Mother-daughter stories, critics' picks and more [Natasha Trethewey]( Nancy Crampton/Broadside Thirty-five years ago, poet Natasha Trethewey's stepfather shot and killed her mother outside of her home in a suburb of Atlanta. Trethewey's stepfather was sentenced to life in prison, and Trethewey, who was 19 at the time, spent years trying to forget what had happened. "It was just a life I wanted to leave behind,"[she tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross](. "I wanted to forge a new life for myself that didn't include that past, but, of course, that was impossible." But a chance encounter with a policeman who'd been on the scene of the murder led Trethewey to revisit those painful memories -- she writes about them in a new book, Memorial Drive. And in that book, [says reviewer Hope Wabuke]( "we see the deep saturation of luminous images and resonant meaning that Trethewey's work is known for." --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- [Crooked Hallelujah, by Kelli Jo Ford]( We continue our theme of mothers and daughters with Kelli Jo Ford's new novel Crooked Hallelujah, which follows three generations of Cherokee women trying to forge a future in very harsh environments. [Ford tells Weekend Edition's Sarah McCammon]( that the title "just sort of settled in my bones as the right title for this book as I was working through the lives of these women. And I think that 'crooked hallelujah' is to me maybe an exclamation of the beauty of the relationships between mothers and daughters, despite hardships and despite disagreements." [Juanita Giles and her mother, Mary Morton Giles]( Make sure you have a stash of Kleenex ready when you [click on this next piece]( -- our kids' books columnist Juanita Giles was able to be at her mother's bedside for her last days, and she says it was a kids' book that proved to be exactly the right way to pass the time: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. "I broke out Alexander," she writes, "and I read it aloud over, and over, and over again. I must have read that book 20 times if I read it once, and never did I feel Momma was sick of it, and I never got sick of it either." Finally this week, it's another bumper crop of book reviews -- first, critic Ericka Taylor says Intimations is the "third and slimmest" of Zadie Smith's essay collections, "[but its psychic heft is substantial]( Cherie Dimaline's new Empire of Wild tells a small story, about a woman and her missing husband, [says critic Jason Sheehan]( but "it is not a slight book. It is close, tight, stark, beautiful." Gabino Iglesias calls the new true-crime anthology Unspeakable Acts a "[wonderfully uncomfortable read]( that "brings real horror to your doorstep." And Ilana Masad says cartoonist Adrian Tomine's new memoir The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist is "[mesmerizing, funny, and deeply honest]( [Intimations, by Zadie Smith]( [Empire of Wild, by Cherie Dimaline]( [Unspeakable Acts, edited by Sarah Weinman]( [The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist, by Adrian Tomine]( I hope books bring you whatever you need this week! -- Petra --------------------------------------------------------------- What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: [books@npr.org](mailto:books@npr.org?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback) Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can [sign up here](. Looking for more great content? [Check out all of our newsletter offerings]( — including Music, Pop Culture, Code Switch and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Books emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy](