Sheila Munro
In Lives of Mothers & Daughters (2001) Sheila Munro, daughter of Alice Munro, perhaps says it best in describing the core of this memoir: “So much of what I think I know, and I think I know more about my mother’s life than almost any daughter could know, is refracted through the prism of her writing.” [from the back cover]Sheila uses photographs and Alice’s books themselves to tell the story of her parents’ lives and their histories.
More by Sheila Munro
Aman, Cheryl-lynn and Sheila Munro. Open Doors: A Gender-Equity Instruction Kit. 1993.
Books by Alice Munro as their covers appear in Sheila’s book
Friend of My Youth. 1990
Dance of the Happy Shades. 1968
Lives of Girls & Women. 1971
Something I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You. 1974
Who Do You Think You Are? 1978
The Moons of Jupiter. 1981
The Progress of Love. 1986
Open Secrets. 1984
The Love of a Good Woman. 1998
About Sheila Munro
BC Book World Author Bank
Reviews of Lives of Mothers and Daughters
Garebian, Keith. Quill & Quire, April, 2001.
Garvie, Maureen. “A Mother-Daughter Duo,” Books in Canada, July, 2001.
Harrison, Kathryn, “Go Ask Alice,” New York Times, June 16, 2002.
Lurie, Alison, “The Lamp in the Mausoleum,” New York Review of Books, December 21, 2006.
Maynard, Mealah. RainTaxi Review of Books
Women: Mothers and Daughters
It is obvious from the title that the mother/daughter relationship would be a significant part of this memoir. Because of the differences in their generations, however, differing views of womanhood may come to bear. But one cannot deny the universal sadness most women would feel on the loss of a child, regardless of generation.
Beauvoir, Simone de. The Second Sex. 1949.
McCracken, Anne and Mary Semel. A Broken Heart Still Beats: After Your Child Dies. 1998.
Spalding, Esta and Linda. Mere. 2001. [This is a novel about the mother/daughter relationship written by a mother and daughter.]
Tannen, Deborah. You’re Wearing That?: Understanding Mothers and Daughters in Conversation. 2006.
Woolf, Virginia. A Room of One’s Own. 1929.
Children of Writers Writing
Children will often follow in their famed parents’ footsteps, regardless of the dangers of failure, of comparison, of not being “quite as good as…” And writers often do this, as Sheila did, in telling the story of the parent or family. (See Fiction_L for two lists of “Writing Dynasties” http://www.webrary.org/rs/flbklistauthor.html)
Amis, Martin. Experience: A Memoir. 2001.
Arlen, Michael J. Passage to Ararat. 1975.
Cheever, Susan. Home before Dark. 1984.
Richler, Emma. Feed My Dear Dogs. 2005 [an autobiographical novel]
Sexton, Linda Grey. Searching for Mercy Street: The Journey Back to My Mother, Anne Sexton. 1994.
Family History
Memoir often goes beyond the generation of the writer and her parents, delving into the background history of one or both parents’ families, thus becoming multi-generational. In the case of Munro, the family saga includes the story of Scottish immigration to Ontario.
Burnard, Bonnie. A Good House. 1999 [Fiction]
Laidlaw, Robert. The McGregors: A Novel of an Ontario Pioneer Family. 1979 [This historical novel about Scottish immigrants who came to rural Ontario in the mid-nineteenth century, was written by Sheila’s maternal grandfather.]
MacLeod, Alistair. No Great Mischief. 1999 [Fiction]
Ondaatje, Michael. Running in the Family. 1982.
Urquhart, Jane. Away. 1997 [Fiction]
Overcoming Adversity
Alice was able to proceed to university solely because of a scholarship, as her family was very poor. While there she met the man who was to become her husband, Jim Munro, whose career allowed Alice to stay home with the children and pursue her writing career. Education is often the vehicle that drives people out of poverty or a small-minded upbringing, enabling them to overcome the cycle they were born in.
Carson, Ben and Cecil Murphey. Gifted Hands. 1990.
Childers, Mary. Welfare Brat: A Memoir. 2005.
Franklin, Miles. My Brilliant Career. 1901.
Rodriguez, Richard. Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez. 1983.
Schmitt, Abraham and Mary Lou Hartzler Clemens. Brilliant Idiot: An Autobiography of a Dyslexic. 1992.
Book Art
Sheila Munro’s father was very interested in photography, which provided Sheila with resources not only for sparking her memory, and the memory of those around her, but also enabled her to lace her book with strategically placed photographs that do much to enhance the story. She includes photographs of her mother’s book covers as well. The books listed below all combine great style with their substance.
Bantock, Nick. Griffin and Sabine Trilogy. 1991-1993.
Crimmins, G. Garfield. The Republic of Dreams: A Reverie. 1998 [Fiction]
Eco, Umberto. The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana: An Illustrated Novel. 2005 [Fiction]
Hodgson, Barbara. The Lives of Shadows: An Illustrated Novel. 2004 [Fiction]
McKay, Jean. Exploded View: Observations on Reading, Writing and Life. 2001.
Niffenegger, Audrey. The Adventuress. 2006 [Fiction]
Tudor, Tasha. The Private World of Tasha Tudor. 1992.
(Created with the help of the Toronto Public Library Workshop participants. All Web sites accessed June, 2007.
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