Did you know that the practice of using blurbs (quotes by other authors to help promote one’s book) dates to 1907, when one first appeared on a book distributed to attendees of a publishing conference? The convention quickly caught on, and now it is routine to use such quotes on book covers and in advertising materials. According to an article (which actually isn’t very favorable towards the whole blurb thing) in Salon.com:
One British publisher claims to have seen research showing that as many as 62 percent of book buyers choose titles on the basis of blurbs.
So whether or not you like the process, it seems to be here to stay, and so most of us continue to embrace it.
I’m thrilled to have six wonderful authors who took the time to read an early manuscript of my book, Tangles and Plaques: A Mother and Daughter Face Alzheimer’s (coming in February from eLectio Publishing) and write these wonderful blurbs for me. I share them here to ignite some pre-publication excitement for the book, of course, and to say thank you to each of them for their generosity! I hope that my readers will check each of these wonderful authors out and buy and read their books! THANK YOU, Neil White, Jessica Handler, Lee Martin, Sally Palmer Thomason, Kathy Rhodes, and Niles Reddick!
So, here they are (she said, blushing)…
Susan Cushman is not only an accomplished writer, but she tackles a brutal topic with candor and honesty. Madness awaits us all. I pray I can confront it with equal faith and vulnerability.—Neil White, author of In the Sanctuary of Outcasts.
Cushman has written a new kind of love story, one that speaks to the very real concerns of a generation. In this true story of a daughter’s love for her aging mother within the daily trials of caregiving, we read ourselves, our families, and the ways that our losses shape who we become and how we choose to remember.—Jessica Handler, author of Invisible Sisters: A Memoir, and Braving the Fire: A Guide to Writing About Grief and Loss.
Susan Cushman writes with clarity and grace about the gnarled pathways between her and her mother, and about the terrible disease that holds a surprising grace within its irrevocable sadness. Tangles and Plaques has the courage to see it all. This is a memoir about caretaking and taking care. It’s a book that will touch your heart.—Lee Martin, Pulitzer-Prize nominee and author of From Our House and Such a Life
An honest, open account of the personal challenges, wrenching heart aches, spiritual questions, and practical concerns one faces in caring at a distance for a loved one with Alzheimer’s. Cushman provides intimate, detailed descriptions of her constant doubts, emotional upheavals, hard decisions, and frustrating encounters with professional caregivers during the decade of the unrelenting progression of her mother’s mental and physical deterioration. — Sally Palmer Thomason, author of The Living Spirit of the Crone: Turning Aging Inside Out, The Topaz Brooch, and Delta Rainbow-the Irrepressible Betty Bobo Pearson.
Susan Cushman writes a profoundly personal and honest portrait of her eight-year journey with her mother suffering from Alzheimer’s. She brings her talent for story, scene, and character to bear in the unfolding of real-time moments that show disease progression and the ensuing softening in a challenged relationship. Cushman sees and feels things deeply and finds in each encounter a nugget of wisdom that fortifies her with focus, peace, and faith. Her stories give inspiration and insight to others who face this journey. — Kathy Rhodes, author of Remember the Dragonflies: A Memoir of Grief and Healing
Tangles and Plaques is a beautiful and moving memoir and one that chronicles the journey of Alzheimer’s. Through the tangles and plaques associated with the disease, however, Cushman finds a way to heal and set her sight on the good. Readers, too, get a lesson in how to live better.—Niles Reddick, Vice Provost, The University of Memphis-Lambuth, and author of Drifting Too Far from the Shore.