Lives of Mothers & Daughters: Growing Up with Alice Munro

By Sheila Munro

Book Overview

Sheila Munro is the daughter of one of the world's most admired fiction writers: Alice Munro, three-time winner of Canada's prestigious Governor General's Award. In Lives of Mothers and Daughters , she reveals what it was like to grow up with a mother of such tremendous renown. At the core of the book lies a loving and intimate biography of Alice, presented as only a daughter can. Sheila traces the story back to her ancestors, who left Scotland in the early 19th century, before telling of Alice's birth in 1931, her youth growing up on an Ontario farm, and her two marriages, and two grandchildren--Sheila's own children. Sheila has a tale to tell that's her own as well, involving her writerly aspirations and her efforts to forge a unique path while following in her mother's footsteps. And so, from her perspective as both an author and a mother, Sheila writes frankly about her mother and her mother's writing. The legions of devoted Alice Munro fans will glimpse real-life settings, situations and characters that have worked their way into her fiction as? Sheila offers a behind-the-scenes tour (replete with Munro family snapshots) of the inspirations for the tales Munro fans know and love.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1402757638
• ISBN13: 9781402757631
• Release Date: April 2008
• Publisher: Union Square Press
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.83 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 1.0" x 5.3"

Customer Reviews

A Must for Alice Munro Fans and Aspiring Writers

"Tell all the Truth but tell it slant." It's significant that Sheila Munro chose to open her memoir with this poem by Emily Dickinson, because this is exactly what she offers us--a distinctively honest and unique perspective on the great short story writer, Alice Munro. An exhaustive official biography this is not, nor does it supersede Alice Munro's own largely autobiographical stories as a way to connect with her magical literary sensibility. However, it does give us fascinating insights into what it is like to be intimate with the famous writer as a daughter and friend. Sheila Munro is a fine writer in her own right and she takes risks in style and organization--I happened to enjoy this and found it made for an enjoyable, thought-provoking read. The family photographs alone are worth the price, but it was equally inspiring to learn about Alice Munro's human side: her bouts with writer's block, her struggle with the "double life" of motherhood and writing, her charming reticence about her many awards. As an aspiring writer myself, I realized all women writers are daughters of Alice Munro in a way. We work in her shadow, but like Sheila Munro, we can also use her example to create valuable works of our own. A must for Alice Munro fans and aspiring writers.