Category Archives: Memoirs

Why Tiger Drive is Fiction Rather than a Memoir

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Why Tiger Drive is Fiction and Not a Memoir: An Interview

A few months ago, I spoke with Marnie Summerfield Smith, a journalist, and ghostwriter extraordinaire. She is working with a dear friend of mine on his memoirs. Marnie often interviews people in her clients’ lives to learn more about them. This friend and I both survived difficult childhoods (him more so than me).

I can see why Marnie is the ideal person for aspiring memoirists to work with. She is easy to talk to and to trust. By the end of our discussion, I wished I could hug Marnie in person, but I’ll have to wait for my next trip to London to do so (there’s actually a few people I’d love to hug in London). We continued to chat about books and memoirs, and naturally, Marnie asked me why I wrote Tiger Drive as fiction rather than a memoir. We decided to do a separate interview. You can read all of my answers here.

Also, are you interested in writing a memoir? Sign up for Marnie’s newsletter, Your Memoir, and received her free how-to-get-started memoir guide. And let me know if you are interested in writing a memoir. I simply want to know because I appreciate you!

Thanks for being you,

Teri

My Mom Said So


Vitality Stories


Jennifer Lawrence Oops


My Mom Said So


My mom read Tiger Drive last week. Now, for those of you who have been following me for a while, you know that my eighty-two year-old mom has had it in her bonnet that Tiger Drive’s a memoir rather than fiction. A lot of the confusion is my fault. After all, I did grow up on Tiger Drive in Carson City, Nevada (the book takes place in Corbett City, Nevada). And my family and novel share archetypal characters:

  • an abusive husband and father
  • an abused wife
  • an addict
  • a drug dealer with ties to a gang

Archetypes behave in anticipated ways. This is why a woman in Kansas who is abused by her husband “totally gets” the emotions and choices of an abused woman in California. An alcoholic in Nevada will understand an alcoholic in Texas. We humans act more alike than not.

My novel was causing enough angst for my mom that I didn’t tell her when Tiger Drive was published and available on the World Wide Web.

But like most moms, she found out anyway.

She called me and said her Amazon orders weren’t shipping, and she couldn’t figure out why (this happens quite often). I’m a bit of a custodian for her accounts, so I logged in to see what was happening, assuming her gift card balance was insufficient. I was right. But when I looked at her pending orders, expecting to see the usual suspects of powder coffee creamer, assorted candy, and potato chips, I knew I was in trouble. The pending order was the hardcover copy of Tiger Drive.

Continue reading

My Overhauls: Then and Now

 


Vitality Stories


Teri Case Overhauls


My Overhauls: Then and Now


My Overhauls: Then

Author Cathey Graham Nickell and I recently shared the ways our mothers extended the life of our clothes when we were little. Cathey’s mom would add different colored strips of cloth to the bottom of her favorite jeans to lengthen them–Cathey liked them because she felt very “hippie.”

With my eight brothers and sisters, my mom repurposed our clothes both as hand-me-downs and hand-me-ups. My mom and I had many arguments about fashion once I started kindergarten. The first would be when she tried to get me to wear some used black overalls that were given to us for my younger brother. They were too big for him so my mom said I’d have to wear them until my brother grew into them. “Besides,” she had said, “you need clothes to start school.” But I was having none of her idea. I loved bright colors, skirts, and dresses already. I cried. My mom got creative. She cut out the inseams and sewed bright green polyester triangles to the front and back and voila–the overalls became an overalls dress and I loved my “overhauls”–as I liked to call ’em. I wore the dress all the time until I outgrew it, and my mom turned the dress back into overalls for my little brother. Continue reading

Mom’s Jailbreak


Vitality Stories



Teri Case Vitality Stories


Mom’s Jailbreak


No one puts Bonnie in the corner

Recently, my eighty-two-year-old mom had pneumonia which caused her to lose strength in her legs. She could no longer stand long enough for the staff to transfer her from the bed to her wheelchair, from her wheelchair to a recliner, etc. Ultimately, her pneumonia worsened, and she had to be checked into the hospital. She gets pneumonia quite often, but because she had lost so much strength and mobility, the hospital recommended she be transferred to a local rehabilitation nursing center (non-hospital affiliated) to rebuild her strength rather than discharge her to return to her assisted living center–her home.

What we didn’t appreciate at the time, but do now, is how poorly the rehabilitation nursing home was staffed and managed. My mom was grossly ignored for several days and was not receiving any physical therapy to rebuild her strength. Instead they were performing mental tests and assessments all in an effort to make a case that she stay at their facility for the rest of her life. She was starting to decline under the care of the rehab facility. There was no rehabbing a-happenin’. She’d try to talk to the nurses, but they just spoke over her. She tried asking for her doctor, nothing would happen. Continue reading

An Influential Journey

Vitality Stories

carlen-madduxAuthor Carlen Maddux

An Influential Journey

 

A Path Revealed

During my drive across the country, I read an advance reader’s copy of Carlen Maddux’s A Path Revealed: How Hope, Love and Joy Found Us Deep in a Maze Called Alzheimer’s.

Carlen’s wife, Martha, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease when she was only fifty years old. Fifty years old! I’m 45, almost 46, and I always thought Alzheimer’s was for the elderly, not someone turning fifty. Continue reading

The Power of Community

Vitality Stories

Stephen Jon Thompson

Stephen Thompson, photo by Sarah Morey

The Power of Community

A vital network 

Stephen Jon Thompson and I have been friends for over thirty years. I met him at a church function in seventh grade when I still lived on Tiger Drive. Below is a picture of us getting ready for a night of Christmas caroling. Nothing screams early 1980s better than Steve’s layered, turned up collars, or my bi-level haircut: Continue reading

I’m glad Dad wasn’t fired for getting me an egg

Vitality Stories


Teri Case

Leona and Bonnie, April 1935

I’m Glad Dad Wasn’t Fired For Getting Me An Egg

I’m excited to begin sharing excerpts of Bonnie’s memoirs with each of you on a regular basis. As is my practice, I strove to capture her memories word-for-word out of respect for her voice, recollection, and perspective. I hope you enjoy her reflections and memories as much as I did. Continue reading

An interview with Director, David Wachs – Part Two

Vitality Stories

8 Rounds with Hitler A Film for Life Henry Wermuth

Henry Wermuth, “8 Rounds with Hilter” by A Film for Life

an interview with

Director, David Wachs

Part Two

Use your talent for good

Last week I presented Part One of my discussion with David Wachs, director of Holes In My Shoes. This week I’m thrilled to not only share his answers to the Vitality Stories interview questions, but tell you more about his current projects. Spoiler Alert: You will be inspired to do something for the better of humanity. Continue reading

An Interview with Director, David Wachs – Part One

Vitality Stories

David Wachs and Jack Beers

David Wachs and Jack Beers

an interview with

Director, David Wachs

Part One – Behind the Scenes

 

Who, What, Why

In October, I wrote about Jack Beers and the documentary of his life, Holes In My Shoes. And when I couldn’t get Mr. Beers out of my head, I also mentioned him here.

Vitality Stories captures the life stories of those who have lived and learned, so it’s not a surprise I was drawn to a feature documentary called Holes In My Shoes. 94-year-old Jack’s zeal for life heavily influenced me, and in large part, this is due to the man who met Jack Beers and recognized there was a vitality story to share, someone who had the vision and talent to deliver the documentary in a way that would, indeed, make it ‘An inspirational story for all ages, and that man is Director, David Wachs.

I wanted to better understand the connection between David Wachs and Jack Beers, and as a person on her own creative journey, I was curious how and why Mr. Wachs chooses his projects, which are many and varied, ranging from pilots to children’s series, including We’re Puppeteers! for Nick Jr. He granted me an interview, and after a long conversation with Mr. Wachs, I was rewarded with a life lesson and inspiration as I learned more about his recent endeavors. Continue reading