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More copies of this ISBNThis title in other editionsThe End of the World as We Know It: Scenes from a Lifeby Robert Goolrick
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:In the tradition of Mary Karr's The Liars' Club and Rick Bragg's All Over but the Shoutin', Robert Goolrick has crafted a classic memoir of childhood and the secrets hidden in a heart that can't forget.
In the Goolrick home there was a law: Never talk about the family in the outside world, never reveal the slightest crack in the facade. In The End of the World as We Know It, the author takes us back to the seemingly idyllic world his father and mother created in their home in a small Southern college town, a world of gentle men and lovely ladies and cocktails and party dresses — a world being eroded by a family history of alcoholism. As Goolrick grew to be a man, his childhood held memories that would not let go, memories that held a secret that followed him wherever he went, defining and directing his days. Over time, the secret grew so big it threatened to rip the world apart. And then it did. With devastating honesty and razor-sharp wit, he looks back with love, and with anger, at the parents who both created his world and destroyed it. As Lee Smith (author of On Agate Hill) observed, "Alcohol may be the real villain in this pain-permeated, exquisitely written memoir of a Virginia childhood — but it is also filled with absolutely dead-on social commentary of this very particular time and place. A brave, haunting, riveting book. Review:"Stunning... a dark, glimmering jewel of a book. There were moments when the language was so lush and clear and haunting that I was caught up short." Alison Smith
Review:"Goolrick adeptly uses a slow, teasing way of revealing himself to the reader... The End of the World As We Know It is barbed and canny, with a sharp eye for the infliction of pain." The New York Times
Review:"In this brutally painful remembrance of hard drinking, attempted suicide, and childhood trauma, first-time author Goolrick constructs a well-written, nonlinear narrative of his life... Goolrick's memory of the details of his childhood is impressive, as is the deep sense of sorrow...the story evokes. A courageous and successful work." People
Review:"A moving, unflinchingly rendered story of how the past can haunt a life." Publishers Weekly
Review:"[An] unnerving, elegantly crafted memoir....Morbidly funny." Entertainment Weekly
Review:"A gifted writer['s]...memorable account of his terribly flawed family....Searing....It stays with you." USA Today
Review:"A devastating debut memoir about a Southern childhood....The language is lush and poetic while never becoming purple. Goolrick is clearly a victim of his parents' brutal abuse, but he has broken out of the categories of 'victim' and 'survivor' to become a powerful truth-teller." Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Review:"In this profoundly crushing yet redemptive memoir, Goolrick peels back his skin for the reader. Through gorgeous prose, he gradually discloses layer upon layer of deplorable abuse, and as the coating underneath becomes exposed, so too does an exquisitely sensitive soul, whose self-awareness is so uniquely well articulated, it would shock me if the reader's heart went unchanged." Amanda Stern, author of The Long Haul
Synopsis:In the tradition of Rick Bragg's All Over but the Shoutin', Goolrick has crafted a classic memoir of childhood and the secrets a heart can't forget. With devastating honesty and razor-sharp wit, he looks back with love, and with anger, at the parents who both created his world and destroyed it.
Synopsis:In the Goolrick home there was a law: Never talk about the family in the outside world, never reveal the slightest crack in the facade. To all appearances, they lived an almost idyllic life. Two respected, charming parents everyone loved. Three bright, smiling children. A lovely home on a quiet street nestled in a small college town. But behind the facade this family had created lurked secrets so dark, so painful for one little boy, that his life would never be the same.
With devastating honesty and razor-sharp wit, Goolrick looks back at this seemingly serene time and at the parents who gave him life and then robbed him of it, who created his world and then destroyed it. About the AuthorRobert Goolrick worked for many years in advertising. He lives in New York City. This is his first book.
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