Hold Still

A renowned photographer tells her family's history in photos and words, after sorting through a box of old papers that r... (more)

A renowned photographer tells her family's history in photos and words, after sorting through a box of old papers that revealed scandals, alcohol and domestic abuse, affairs, family land ownership, large amounts of money earned and lost and racial complications. (less)

"For fans of Celeste Ng's Everything I Never Told You, a gripping and heartfelt family portrait from an achingly precise... (more)

"For fans of Celeste Ng's Everything I Never Told You, a gripping and heartfelt family portrait from an achingly precise new voice. Evoking finely wrought characters reminiscent of those by Claire Messud or Elizabeth Strout, debut author Lynn Steger Strong traces the anatomy of a mistake and the weight of culpability. When Maya Taylor, an English professor with a tendency to hide in her books, sends her daughter to Florida to look after a friend's child, she does so with the best of intentions; it's a chance for Ellie, twenty and spiraling, to rebuild her life. But Ellie fears she'll only disappoint again, and in the sprawling hours of one humid afternoon, she makes a mistake that she can't take back. In two separate timelines--before and after the catastrophe--Maya and Ellie must try to repair their fractured relationship and find a way to transcend not only their differences but also their more troubling similarities. Heralding the arrival of a profoundly moving new talent, Hold Still explores the depths and limits of a mother's love" -- (less)

A revealing and beautifully written memoir and family history from acclaimed photographer Sally Mann. In this groundbrea... (more)

A revealing and beautifully written memoir and family history from acclaimed photographer Sally Mann. In this groundbreaking book, a unique interplay of narrative and image, Mann's preoccupation with family, race, mortality, and the storied landscape of the American South are revealed as almost genetically predetermined, written into her DNA by the family history that precedes her. Sorting through boxes of family papers and yellowed photographs she finds more than she bargained for: "deceit and scandal, alcohol, domestic abuse, car crashes, bogeymen, clandestine affairs, dearly loved and disputed family land . . . racial complications, vast sums of money made and lost, the return of the prodigal son, and maybe even bloody murder." In lyrical prose and startlingly revealing photographs, she crafts a totally original form of personal history that has the page-turning drama of a great novel but is firmly rooted in the fertile soil of her own life. (less)

Ingrid didn't leave a note. Three months after her best friend's suicide, Caitlin finds what she left instead: a journal... (more)

Ingrid didn't leave a note. Three months after her best friend's suicide, Caitlin finds what she left instead: a journal, hidden under Caitlin's bed. (less)

When Maya Taylor, an English professor with a tendency to hide in her books, sends her daughter to Florida to look after... (more)

When Maya Taylor, an English professor with a tendency to hide in her books, sends her daughter to Florida to look after a friend's child, she does so with the best of intentions; it's a chance for Ellie, twenty and spiraling, to rebuild her life. But Ellie fears she'll only disappoint again, and in the sprawling hours of one humid afternoon, she makes a mistake that she can't take back. In two separate timelines-before and after the catastrophe-Maya and Ellie must try to repair their fractured relationship and find a way to transcend not only their differences but also their more troubling similarities. Heralding the arrival of a profoundly moving new talent, Hold Still explores the depths and limits of a mother's love. (less)