Messy Thrilling Life: The Art of Figuring Out How to Live

by Sabrina Ward Harrison, Laurie Wagner (Foreword by)

“This is not a story about foiled plans and what’s the use of trying anyway. This is precisely a story about making things–making stories, making plans, making lists, and making love–in the face of the inevitable messiness we will encounter.”
–from the Foreword by Laurie Wagner

Sabrina Ward Harrison, creator of the stunning visual memoirs Spilling Open and Brave on the Rocks , now shares her vibrant new work, which continues her personal journey of growth and discovery. Through striking multimedia collages and prose that is raw and touching and refreshingly authentic, Sabrina explores aspirations, dreams, and commitment–and brings herself to the threshold of true independence.

In the summer of 2001, Sabrina moved from California to New York City, the place where, she felt, any serious artist must eventually wind up. The city struck her as exhilarating and daunting, a brilliant assault on the senses, a concrete landscape of hope and failure. Three months later the horror of September 11 unfolded a few blocks away. Like the rest of the world, Sabrina began to look outside herself with a new clarity and urgency. And on the horizon appeared a man who looked like The One–friend, lover, life partner. With this relationship came larger, more complicated and unanswerable Am I ready for marriage? Where does a career fit in? Does love mean losing my self? Does permanent mean forever? What will I never know about where I’m going if I don’t go?

Harrison reflects on her journey from starry-eyed innocent to responsible adult and expresses it with dazzling visuals and candid insights in Messy Thrilling Life . It is a singular book sure to resonate with readers who have laughed, wept, and grown along with her.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Memoir, Self Help, Journaling, Inspirational, Creative

160 pages, Paperback

First published August 31, 2004

Reviews

[AnandaTashie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like her previous, the book looks a lot like an art journal with mixed media collages, photography, and writing. It focuses on her choices, her body image, her desire to love and live fully. There's a lot of beauty and quite a bit of melodrama. Yet...

A couple of spreads / passages made the book for me:

"I carry with me stories of forgiveness and how much I've tried not to worry. I carry my worry. I carry my concern. I carry a green chipped painted canoe and paddle. I carry Dad's fishing lessons and learning the necessity of silence, and loons bobbing on the lake surface. I carry my mother's make-up bag and her wedding ring lost on the lake surface. I carry with me the front steps of every home I ever lived in..." And, later: "I carry a new collection. Less notes and drawings. This is filled with music notes and wide sky guitar playing before breakfast. Reading out loud, dancing on the roof. This man can flip me."

"When do we know we have found our true north?"

"We were all singing together around candles and colored pencils. I soaked in the warm songs of my tribe. I am filled with happiness, not perfect rightness, just a softening of understanding for the way life is going. This has all happened before us. We came from the past, from songs and fire and sideway glances. We create it all over again, untied and loose we travel together, making it to the next landing point, bags in fists, eyes wide open."

[christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a collection of narrative collage and photo essay of the authors time in NYC,

I am liking it quite a bit, mostly I admire her confidence in herself to make and publish these self reflections.
It does give me motivation that I find her journey interesting, but if it I were doing this book I would probably say to myself "who cares, no one will find this intersting" but it is!

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really did not understand the point of this book. The pictures were interesting, but to me, not interesting enough to justify the book in and of themselves. The text was very difficult to read on most pages. Someone should provide the author with a proper writing implement.

Anyway, as I said, I just didn't really get it.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

In going back over my list of books, I honored Sabrina Ward Harrison's first book, and then realized I hadn't done a review for this lovely book. As a teacher, I have lent her books out to so many teen girls and they are like the best bandaid for the heart ever. They never talk down, they invite up! I like the idea of messy thrilling applied to life and every once in a while, even I, a so-called adult, need to be reminded to see life with feisty resilience. I need to remember a game I played while in college. I only possessed a bicycle - so many of my friends had cars, but there was no money for that, so the bike was my "wheels." I used to have this game that basically had the rules of no brakes - if I could get all the way from the highway, through roads and to my class across campus without using my brakes - well, that was a win. sounds so simple! It wasn't, but I was bold or perhaps taught myself some boldness. There were medians to ride when traffic flowed, there were curbs to hop, shortcuts to take, yelling warnings (my brakes don't work) so that people moved. Was I bold? yes. Was it incredibly insane at times? Yes. Did I win much? Yes. Was it rude? Sometimes! I just like the memory of jumping curbs and the ridiculous riding down medians. I was insane! I was young and impatient and alive and open. That isn't such a bad memory to carry forth from decade to decade. I hope that I remember to have a messy thrilling life and that I continue to have to figure out how to live. My grandfather called the verb of living the search for the growing edge. You are always on your way to becoming something hopefully spangly and actively able to jump curbs.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Non-fiction: Visual Memoir) I came across Sabrina Ward Harrison's work in a teen magazine when I was in high school and sought out her books. I have such respect and admiration for this woman. She has created 3 visual memoirs where she unabashedly and creatively captures the moments and times in her life that stretch her, challenge her, revive her, rejuvenate her. She has the work drive of a horse and the sensitivity like a peach, which reminds me of myself. I read her books every now in then to remember what's important in life and how I want my character to reflect love, grace, and compassion in this world. Her work, works everytime.

[Kat · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's visually stunning, and I certainly related to a lot of the emotions raised during her move to NYC and her initial time here. In the end, though, I didn't feel like I particularly gained much from reading it. I think I would have liked it more when I was in middle school or high school and trying to find my place in the world in a different way than I am right now.

[Lost · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not exactly what I expected, although I did enjoy some of the art.
The book is labeled as "Self Help" but it definitely isn't since it is actually a memoir done through art journaling of the author's life in New York. Unfortunately, a lot of the text is unreadable as well.

[Bonita Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sabrina's follow up book.. I want this one too!

[Krissy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just not that exciting. I'd rather read a SARK book - it has some nice bits, but I didn't find it that beautiful or encaptivating.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

soooo good. everyone should own this.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

...I WANT TO GO CRAZY....

"I feel a mixture of shy and powerful in this city. no one really knows me, and that feels free and a little scary."

"I don't know what I'm becoming."

[Kelsey]

This is by far my absolutely favorite of all her books. There's one part with a portrait of a woman talking about having a segment on the news and it's so heart-touching.

[Brianna Gallett · Rating 5 out of 5]

BEAUTIFUL ART.

[Nat · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book caught me and i havn't given up sabrina since!

[Patricia Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book reads as an art journal with the words combined with art. I enjoyed both the writing and the art work very much.

[Callista · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as inspiring as "Spilling Open".

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

very disappointing

[Mycala · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this. I really did. I get the idea of personal style, but her penmanship is atrocious. An inkblot here and a weird-shaped letter there is one thing, but entire pages of sloppy uneven blotchy text were just painful to read. It's funny I should say this after the way I slammed Jan Tschichold for referring to "tortured" letters a few weeks ago.

I get that the sloppy handwriting is part of her self-expression and the book is clearly not marketed to me, because I when I opened it to the first page and I saw that scrawl everywhere, I literally cringed. I might have loved this when I was 14 and would have thought this was really original stuff, but everybody goes through this self-doubt period and once you outgrow it, it's hard to read your own diaries and thoughts on it, let alone someone else's.

There are some interesting layouts in here and there is one photo of the city that I found stunning, with the morning sun shining between the buildings. Other than that, I really couldn't muster much enthusiasm. The title is correct -- it is messy and she is clearly inviting us along as she tries to figure it out (although this might be the sort of thing better figured out without an audience). I wish her well. I got another of her books from the library because the titles sounded promising. I'll probably skim it but I don't think I'll be seeking out any further material from her. Maybe I'll give her a decade or so.