The Face in the Mirror: Writers Reflect on Their Dreams of Youth and the Reality of Age

by Victoria Zackheim (Editor)

When you were young and idealistic, who was the person you saw in the mirror? What were your expectations and those of your family and community? And now that you’re older and have attained prominence, how do you feel about the person you have become and the direction your life has actually taken?

Malachy McCourt, Joyce Maynard, Alan Dershowitz, and Eileen Goudge are among twenty celebrated authors in this unique collection, who tackle meaningful questions about the choices made, their achievements, and their disappointments. In their reflective essays, they explore the person they expected to become or perhaps desperately wanted to be (or feared they might be), and the person they are today.

How does all of this knowledge and insight affect their writing? Their responses, which range from surprising to heart-wrenching to comical to inspiring, reflect back on the reader who is left with the same question that these eminent writers ask "When I look in that mirror, who do I see?"

Beverly Donofrio, Sandra Gulland, Michael Bader, Aimee Liu, and Leon Whiteson are among the other contributors whose eloquent pieces are certain to captivate and make you see the world and yourself afresh.

278 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2009

About the author

Victoria Zackheim is the author of the novel, The Bone Weaver, and editor of six anthologies, the most recent being FAITH: Essays From Believers, Agnostics, and Atheists. Her screenplay, Maidstone, a feature film, is in development, as are her theater plays The Other Woman and Entangled. Victoria also writes documentary films and teaches creative nonfiction (Personal Essay) in the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program. She is a 2010 San Francisco Library Laureate.

Reviews

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a wonderful find! The stories were personal and inspiring. I know I'll be going back again and again to read the stories inside this book.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

found their insights thought provoking since I share the same time span as these people if not the fame!

[Shelie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't exactly what I thought it would be. The authors shared stories that were more autobiographical than reflective.