Synopses & Reviews
From the award-winning author of andlt;Iandgt;Change Me into Zeus's Daughterandlt;/Iandgt; comes this compelling memoir about a single mother determined to break the patterns that she has been taught. andlt;BRandgt; Barbara Robinette Moss grew up in the red clay hills of Alabama, the fourth of eight children, in a childhood defined by close sibling alliances, staggering poverty, and uncommon abuse at the hands of her wild-eyed, charismatic, alcoholic father. andlt;BRandgt; In andlt;Iandgt;Fierce,andlt;/Iandgt; Moss looks at what happens when a child of such a family grows up. At once poetic and plainspoken, Moss, a "powerful writer" (andlt;Iandgt;Chicago Tribuneandlt;/Iandgt;), paints a vivid, moving portrait of her persistent quest to reinvent her life and rebel against the rural indigence, addiction, and broken dreams she inherited from her parents. andlt;BRandgt; With warmth, insight, and candor, Moss tells the poignant story of finally leaving everything she knew in Alabama to fulfill her ambition to become an artist. It is an odyssey filled with gritty improvisation (bringing her son, Jason, to her night job to sleep on the floor), bittersweet pragmatism (filling her purse on a dinner date with shrimp, rolls, and even a doily, to bring home to a waiting eight-year-old), and staunch conviction and pride (chasing a mail carrier down the street to defend her use of food stamps). andlt;BRandgt; As with many other children of alcoholics, the legacy of her father's alcoholism catches up with Moss, and an abusive relationship -- an inheritance and addiction of its own sort -- threatens to destroy all that she has accomplished. But as Moss learns to cope with her anger and pain, parenthood helps her discover true strength. andlt;BRandgt; Ultimately, andlt;Iandgt;Fierceandlt;/Iandgt; is a warm, honest, and triumphant story, from a writer celebrated for her Southern lyricism, about a woman determined to make it on her own -- to shrug off the handicaps of her childhood and raise her son responsibly and well.
Review
Silas House author of andlt;Iandgt;Clay's Quiltandlt;/Iandgt; and andlt;Iandgt;The Coal Tattooandlt;/Iandgt; A powerful and beautiful meditation on addiction and survival, on the healing power of art, friendship, and family. Moss lets her story unfold in economical, poetic chapters that hum with the power of real life. Never sentimental but always life-affirming, andlt;Iandgt;Fierceandlt;/Iandgt; is an amazing look at one single mother's fight to make the best life she can for her and her son.
Review
Rick Bragg author of andlt;Iandgt;All Over but the Shoutin'andlt;/Iandgt; and andlt;Iandgt;Ava's Manandlt;/Iandgt; With andlt;Iandgt;Fierce,andlt;/Iandgt; Barbara Robinette Moss proves that the lives of real people will carry a book, a good book, and her writing, as always, has grit and beauty and bottom.
Review
Connie May Fowler author of andlt;Iandgt;When Katie Wakesandlt;/Iandgt; and andlt;Iandgt;Before Women Had Wingsandlt;/Iandgt; andlt;Iandgt;Fierceandlt;/Iandgt; is an unforgettable memoir brimming with raw beauty. Barbara Robinette Moss has transcended a hellish past and writes about her journey with unwavering grace, strength, and wisdom.
Review
Cassandra King author of andlt;Iandgt;The Sunday Wifeandlt;/Iandgt; andlt;Iandgt;Fierceandlt;/Iandgt; is such a remarkable and beautiful book. I couldn't imagine loving it more than andlt;Iandgt;Change Me into Zeus's Daughter,andlt;/Iandgt; but I did.
Review
andlt;Iandgt;Publisher's Weeklyandlt;/Iandgt; Moss does what you'd expect form a visual artist: she paints pictures with her words. As with her first memoir, she uses the painful stuff of her life and turns it into vhilling, visceral imagery. She mercilessly braids the gruesome beauty of images like this with a hopeful message: survive.
Review
andlt;Iandgt;Elleandlt;/Iandgt; Heartbreaking, rough, raw. Fierce is a plainspoken memoir about Moss's struggle to make a life as a single mother and the daughter of an alcoholic. andlt;Iandgt;Fierceandlt;/Iandgt; captures the author's journey from being a victim of chance to becoming a fighter for happiness.
Synopsis
From the award-winning author of Change Me into Zeus's Daughter comes this compelling memoir about a single mother determined to break the patterns that she has been taught.
Barbara Robinette Moss grew up in the red clay hills of Alabama, the fourth of eight children, in a childhood defined by close sibling alliances, staggering poverty, and uncommon abuse at the hands of her wild-eyed, charismatic, alcoholic father.
In Fierce, Moss looks at what happens when a child of such a family grows up. At once poetic and plainspoken, Moss, a powerful writer (Chicago Tribune), paints a vivid, moving portrait of her persistent quest to reinvent her life and rebel against the rural indigence, addiction, and broken dreams she inherited from her parents.
With warmth, insight, and candor, Moss tells the poignant story of finally leaving everything she knew in Alabama to fulfill her ambition to become an artist. It is an odyssey filled with gritty improvisation (bringing her son, Jason, to her night job to sleep on the floor), bittersweet pragmatism (filling her purse on a dinner date with shrimp, rolls, and even a doily, to bring home to a waiting eight-year-old), and staunch conviction and pride (chasing a mail carrier down the street to defend her use of food stamps).
As with many other children of alcoholics, the legacy of her father's alcoholism catches up with Moss, and an abusive relationship -- an inheritance and addiction of its own sort -- threatens to destroy all that she has accomplished. But as Moss learns to cope with her anger and pain, parenthood helps her discover true strength.
Ultimately, Fierce is a warm, honest, and triumphant story, from a writer celebrated for her Southern lyricism, about a woman determined to make it on her own -- to shrug off the handicaps of her childhood and raise her son responsibly and well
About the Author
andlt;Bandgt;Barbara Robinette Moss,andlt;/Bandgt; author of the acclaimed memoir andlt;Iandgt;Change Me into Zeus's Daughter,andlt;/Iandgt; is a full-time artist and writer whose awards include the Gold Medal for Personal Essay in the William Faulkner Creative Writing Competition (1996), the Iowa Authors Award (2000), and the Alabama Authors Award (2002). She lives with her husband in Iowa City, Iowa.