Very proud of this book and thanks for featuring it, Sari and Oldster! It's a fascinating account of what it was like to live through one of the most sensationalized murder trials of the era, pre-social media, with Joan Didion covering it and with such an interesting and flawed character in the mother, Lucille Miller, a "housewife" who was accused of killing her husband in 1964 and convicted in 1965. (NPR review) I hope Oldster readers will love this memoir. It's a story Deb has been waiting to tell her whole life.
I loved reading this. I actually taught your LA Times piece in conversation with the Didion essay in a workshop on finding your voice. People absolutely loved your story.
Thank you for sharing this. I get where Didion was coming from about the weird relationship between an author and their subjects which is something I struggle with constantly as a journalist, so I appreciated seeing it through your lens (as well as an update on what happened to Debbie).
What a story! I'm a big fan of Joan Didion and I am glad that she responded to you the way she did. But that story! I look forward to reading it--such a brave voice. I should have guessed it was a SWP book, especially with that gorgeous cover.
What a truly amazing story, thank you for sharing this with us. That essay by Didion has always been a literary force for me. I remember first reading it in English Lit class in the 1980s when I was a young student at Pasadena City College. It’s part of what turned me towards becoming a writer myself. And it captured so much of the shadow side of the Golden State. Your essay here brings it full circle… I look forward to reading your book.
Wow. Isn't it interesting how some events in life go full circle? I read Didion's essay just now online. She wrote a descriptive piece that truly depicts that area of CA. She was a great writer, for sure. I've admired her for years and read several of her books, most importantly her last few memoirs. Yet, I can't imagine the impact of being a subject of her work.
It is important that you were able to take an absolutely horrifying part of your own childhood and then write your story. Kudos to you. Al-Anon members say: we're only as sick as our secrets. I hope you now feel free of the past and know that things and events can't ruin a life.....unless we allow it to do so.
I know this essay, and have read it several times in my study of Didion's writing. How wonderful that this experience became a liberation for Miller. It could have gone the other way so easily.
It does make one think about the subject of one's writing, and how they live in the world.
It’s always so gratifying when people you hold in the highest esteem turn out to be good and decent human beings. And I know this is such a fascinating topic for those of us who write. This blew me away. So excited to re-read “Some Dreamers” and order Debra’s book. You’re the best, Sari.
Very proud of this book and thanks for featuring it, Sari and Oldster! It's a fascinating account of what it was like to live through one of the most sensationalized murder trials of the era, pre-social media, with Joan Didion covering it and with such an interesting and flawed character in the mother, Lucille Miller, a "housewife" who was accused of killing her husband in 1964 and convicted in 1965. (NPR review) I hope Oldster readers will love this memoir. It's a story Deb has been waiting to tell her whole life.
<3
Another side of Joan Didion. I must reread the essay. And I look forward to Debra's memoir.
Same here!
I loved reading this. I actually taught your LA Times piece in conversation with the Didion essay in a workshop on finding your voice. People absolutely loved your story.
So glad to read this. Congratulations on publication--I very much enjoyed working on the cover design.
Nice!
And it's beautiful!
Thank you for sharing this. I get where Didion was coming from about the weird relationship between an author and their subjects which is something I struggle with constantly as a journalist, so I appreciated seeing it through your lens (as well as an update on what happened to Debbie).
What a story! I'm a big fan of Joan Didion and I am glad that she responded to you the way she did. But that story! I look forward to reading it--such a brave voice. I should have guessed it was a SWP book, especially with that gorgeous cover.
What a truly amazing story, thank you for sharing this with us. That essay by Didion has always been a literary force for me. I remember first reading it in English Lit class in the 1980s when I was a young student at Pasadena City College. It’s part of what turned me towards becoming a writer myself. And it captured so much of the shadow side of the Golden State. Your essay here brings it full circle… I look forward to reading your book.
Powerful redemption arc
Wow! Further proof that daylight is always better than hiding in the dark.
What courage you have and kindness to excuse Didion’s use of your family. I think writers need ethics, a duty to protect identity.
Wow. Isn't it interesting how some events in life go full circle? I read Didion's essay just now online. She wrote a descriptive piece that truly depicts that area of CA. She was a great writer, for sure. I've admired her for years and read several of her books, most importantly her last few memoirs. Yet, I can't imagine the impact of being a subject of her work.
It is important that you were able to take an absolutely horrifying part of your own childhood and then write your story. Kudos to you. Al-Anon members say: we're only as sick as our secrets. I hope you now feel free of the past and know that things and events can't ruin a life.....unless we allow it to do so.
Amazing essay, Debra. I’m so glad you are writing. Writing truly saves us.
What a read. Thank you!
A shining example of the adage 'the truth will set you free'. Brava!
I know this essay, and have read it several times in my study of Didion's writing. How wonderful that this experience became a liberation for Miller. It could have gone the other way so easily.
It does make one think about the subject of one's writing, and how they live in the world.
It’s always so gratifying when people you hold in the highest esteem turn out to be good and decent human beings. And I know this is such a fascinating topic for those of us who write. This blew me away. So excited to re-read “Some Dreamers” and order Debra’s book. You’re the best, Sari.