An Accidental Autobiography

by Barbara Grizzuti Harrison

"so richly detailed, and palpable with color, fabric and texture, that they are closer to the visual arts than to conventional prose narrative"-The New York Times. With chapters arranged alphabetically, with one memory leading to another,An Accidental Autobiography is a window onto a life lived with warmth, passion, and generosity of spirit-and

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction

396 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Barbara Grizzuti Harrison (14 September 1934 – 24 April 2002) was an American journalist, essayist and memoirist. She is best known for her autobiographical work, particularly her account of growing up as one of Jehovah's Witnesses, and for her travel writing.

Her first book, Unlearning the Lie: Sexism in School, was published in 1969. Harrison was one of the first contributors to Ms. magazine.

Harrison became nationally known in 1978 when she published Visions of Glory: A History and a Memory of Jehovah's Witnesses, which combined childhood memoirs with a history of the Jehovah's Witness movement. Although Harrison expressed admiration for individual Witnesses and wrote sympathetically of their persecution, she portrayed the faith itself as harsh and tyrannical, racist and sexist.

Harrison wrote for many of the leading periodicals of her time, including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The New Republic, Harper's, The Atlantic Monthly, The Village Voice, The Nation, Ladies' Home Journal and Mother Jones magazine. Among the people she interviewed were Red Barber, Mario Cuomo, Jane Fonda, Gore Vidal, Joan Didion, Francis Ford Coppola, Nadia Comăneci, Alessandra Mussolini and Barbara Bush.

Harrison published two collections of her essays and interviews: Off Center (1980) and The Astonishing World (1992). Her 1992 Harper's essay "P.C. on the Grill", which lampooned the "philosophy" of popular TV chef The Frugal Gourmet, was included in the 1993 edition of Best American Essays.

Harrison also wrote numerous travel articles covering destinations all over the world. She published two books about her travels in Italy, Italian Days (1989) and The Islands of Italy: Sicily, Sardinia, and the Aeolian Islands (1991).

In 1984 Harrison published a novel, Foreign Bodies. She won an O. Henry Award for short fiction in 1989.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Vee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think Barbara is an amazing writer. I only wish I could have met her, she seems an equally amazing person. Coming from a similar background, I felt as though I could relate to her and yet her life was in so many ways not similar to mine at all.

[Lobstergirl · Rating 1 out of 5]

Uncle.....file this under "life is too short." This is a logorrheal memoirist deeply entranced by her own voice, her quirks, her lifestyle, and her neuroses, which are tenderly cultivated. I can't be bothered.

[Isabella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful discovery.

[Greta · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading Italian Days by this author so I read this book, her autobiography. She has a strange personal story, coming of age under repressive rules and rigorous scrutiny. She lives a liberated life in her 20s, then back to a conservative existence while married and having a family. I enjoyed her descriptions of Wheelus in Libya as wife of a diplomat and in India, again living in diplomatic circles.

[Nancy Noble · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book. But although there were moments of brilliant writing, I found myself skimming much of it. Too much going on and on - especially about other people. Really not much of an autobiography, which is too bad, as it seems like she was a fascinating woman with a fascinating life. Guess I'll have to go to a secondary source to find out more.

[Darla Ebert · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bottom line, the author writes well and interestingly but her subject matter and her random phrasing are off-putting for me. Some people are eccentric legitimately and honestly. Others affect to be eccentric. This author appears to be the latter.

[Beth Stephenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is hard to keep up with all the beauty in this book. A challenge well worth the effort, however, if you are in love with words. The prose gets a little purple for me at points, but this author took me on a ride, both historical and emotional, that I hated getting off. I almost put this book down, the beginning was a bit of a slog, but then, as often occurs, I was glad I stuck with it. Piercing prose, emotional and heartfelt.

[Sonia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found Barbara Grizzuti Harrison's life interesting, sometimes shocking, sometimes boring starting from her childhood described as deeply troubled. Her mother, who suffered from mental illness, was emotionally distant and insisted on describing herself as 'Barbara's relative,' not her mother. Near the end of her life Harrison also revealed that her father had sexually abused her. The turmoil of her childhood would have a strong influence on her writing. When Harrison was 9, she and her mother were converted by a Jehovah's Witness missionary who visited the family. Harrison's father and brother did not convert, and this caused a rift in the household. Harrison's mother immersed herself totally in her new faith. Harrison skipped several grades in school. As a teenager Harrison fell in love with an English teacher who was among the first to encourage her writing talent. He apparently returned her feelings, and although their relationship remained platonic, they continued to see each other and to correspond until his death in the late 1960s. After graduating from high school, Harrison, who had been forbidden to attend university, went to live and work at the Watchtower headquarters of Bethel. The relationship with her English teacher was but one symptom of a growing conflict between Harrison's faith and her artistic sensibilities, which eventually led to a nervous breakdown. At age 22, Harrison left Bethel, and very shortly afterward she renounced her faith altogether. Harrison found work as a publisher's secretary and became involved in the bohemian life of Greenwich Village. She had a turbulent three-year affair with an African-American jazz trumpeter whom she never publicly named. Through him, Harrison associated with many of the leading jazz musicians of the day, including Ben Webster, Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra. 'Jazzman,' as Harrison called her lover in her autobiography, would come back into her life nearly 40 years later; the two would resume their affair with undiminished passion and conflict until a second, and final, break-up.

[June G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Barbara had a rather sad childhood. And she wanted to talk about it. To us. On paper. Which is what writers do. I had a sadder childhood than Barbara's; and as much as I love talking on paper, I don't know what it would take to coax my unsavory past into hardcover. Don't want to write about MY sad childhood--LOVE that Barbara wrote about hers. Because her point, and boy does she have one, is that every less-than-savory experience taught her to live with exurberance,and write exuberantly.

[Irene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved stumbling around in this woman,s life. (my computer is inserting eÈ (see)) so excuse my punctuation. Very, nice writing and steady observations. Wish we all could be this less stingy and embrace food, life, sex, and the whole damn thing. Loved her list of belongings in her bedroom near the end of this book.

[John Thomas-Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw this on a shelf and the title and image intrigued me enough to pluck it from the shelf, turn to a random page and read a random selection. The language and style was so compelling, I practically ran to the counter to make my purchase! An amazing life; an amazing woman.

[Roberta Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Barbara was a friend I met at Yaddo years ago. I wish she was alive so I could tell her how brilliant her prose is here--stream of consciousness personal recollections and an encyclopedic knowledge on a variety of subjects. Honest. Funny. Erotic. You see a brilliant mind at work.

[Jason · Rating 2 out of 5]

What I had hoped to be an interesting way to "write" and autobiography, turned in to a bizarre romp through stream of consciousness-land. I found nothing compelling compelling about these stories, and thus nothing compelling about the author; which is shame.

[Kelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

fabulous, poetic, striking, curious, insightful, heartbreaking memoir!