North on 101

by Anne Starr

194 pages, Hardcover

Published September 1, 2025

Reviews

[Laura Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful book. This is honest and emotional without feeling hopeless. Starr's prose is engaging and evocative; I feel almost as though I got to meet Mansfield through her words. Every time I picked this up, I became completely absorbed in it. This is a story which will stay with me.

[Don Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I have reasons... Like the author, I've cared tenderly for a dying cancer patient. Ms. Starr's account is warmly sentimental & yet seems realistic about her conflicted feelings towards her brother. I found her account of her predicament & his entirely engaging. I read her book through in two long sittings, which is rare for me.

Like Ms. Starr & her brother, I'm a Boomer, so her book reminded me vividly of the messy cultural cross-currents of the Boomers' teenage and young adult years. Her telling is beautifully understated, which gave me the emotional space to blend her experiences & her brother's with my own.

Finally, this book was a wake-up call for me. Years ago I learned that I had a tumor, a leiomyosarcoma, the same cancer that killed Ms. Starr's brother. Back then, I didn't realize how very dangerous is this diagnosis. So, I waited six years to get mine taken out. Only after reading this book did I look up this cancer thoroughly. Apparently, I lucked out, normally a leiomyosarcoma on the chest wall is reliably fatal, but I survived.

[Lewis A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hello, I do not know what happened here, nor do I expect any response; I did write a response when Ms. Starr’s book first appeared on Amazon - in my opinion her book well deserves to be fetted. I responded on “goodreads” via what appeared to be a link with Amazon. It appeared to me that my response had been accepted, but it seems that was not so.

Ann Starr and “North on 101” very much deserve applause. Her book kept me up an entire day and into the night - something that has rarely happened to me. Ms. Starr is a worthwhile and talented human being and writer who has earned the kudos she has received. From my own perspective her book is not an easy read, but it is overwhelmingly worthwhile. It is not a “made-up tale,” it is the reaI thing - it is about life, love, and painful loss - and I wish her continued and well-deserved success.

Lewis Redding

[Micki T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in 4 days! I was compelled to return to it daily. I imagined the author reading it aloud and relished getting to know more about her brother and family. Mansfield sounds like an amazing human who lived a full and rich life, exploring his many artistic talents. I appreciate how the author built the story, keeping the inevitable until the end of the book and filling in details of past and present as it progressed. It felt intimate as she shared the whole range of emotions as she entered uncharted territory. She wrote eloquently of what I understood to be a fulfilling, daunting, and rewarding experience.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a compelling memoir about a sister and brother navigating his death in the last several months of his life. He is an unconventional character, incredibly creative and connected to the world of literature and art in the 70's and 80's in San Francisco, and is insisting he maintain the dignity and confidence he had his whole life. His sister tells the stories of their youth growing up together, how their lives diverged in adulthood, and how they tried to figure out what was really important for each of them. It's funny, sad, warm and highlights the messy details of lives well-lived.

[Roy Gottlieb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anne Starr's has written a remarkably honest, touching, and poignant memoir that lays bare the vulnerabilities so many of us face in the journeys through the loves and fears of our lives.