The Memory Palace Blog
Great things happening: Terry Gross re-broadcast today and more!
June 1, 2012Hi everyone—sorry I don’t post much. I’m trying to write a new book! Anyway, here is a list of some lovely things happening now and in the future:
My January 2011 interview on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross will be re-broadcast today, June 1st. Check your local affiliate station for the time of the show.
A lovely interview just came out on Canada’s Book Club Buddy site: http://www.bookclubbuddy.com/2012/mira-bartok-on-the-memory-palace/
And a feature article just came out in my area in the Northeast. You can read it here: http://www.gazettenet.com/2012/06/01/commiting-to-memory-author-reclaims-her-troubled-past-in-acclaimed-book
I will also be doing many events, workshops, teaching master classes and giving readings this coming year, starting with June 29th at 9:30 pm when I will be at Cinema Cabaret at the Rubin Museum in New York, introducing the much-loved film by Cocteau, Beauty and the Beast. Go here for details: http://www.rmanyc.org/events/load/1731
I will also be doing master classes all over the country so stay tuned! Also stay tuned for a new website in the fall where I will post all my comings and goings for not only The Memory Palace but for my other projects as well.
Thanks for helping to support this book. Please spread the word!
Cheers,
Mira
p.s. Until my new website is up, the best way to find out about events is to join me on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mirabartok and also, you can find me on twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/miraslist
Posted in Fresh Air with Terry Gross, Media Events, Teaching/Master Classes | 2 CommentsThe Memory Palace Wins the 2012 National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography!
March 23, 2012Sorry it has taken me so long to announce this but better late than never! So guess what? The Memory Palace won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Best Autobiography! I was in the company of some amazing writers and am so honored to have won this award.
You can read all about the NBCC award and the other finalists and winners in fiction, nonfiction, biography, criticism, and poetry here on the NBCC site: http://bookcritics.org/blog/archive/for-immediate-release-nbcc-award-winners-for-publishing-year-2011
Thanks for all your support this past year, dear readers. And a huge thank you to my agent, Jennifer Gates and to my editors and publishing and marketing teams at Free Press (Simon & Schuster).
Posted in Awards & Bestselling Lists, Uncategorized | Leave a commentNational Book Critics Circle Award Ceremony in NYC
January 23, 2012Title: National Book Critics Circle Award Ceremony in NYC
Location: The New School, NYC
Link out: Click here
Description: This event is open to the public at The New School, 66 West 12th Street New York, NY
Start Time: 18:00
Date: 2012-03-08
Reading @ Chester County Books and Music Co
October 11, 2011Title: Reading @ Chester County Books and Music Co
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Link out: Click here
Description: Chester County Books and Music Co
975 Paoli Pike, West Chester, PA 19380
Start Time: 19:00
Date: 2011-11-03
Word for Word Series in Bryant Park
July 23, 2011Title: Word for Word Series in Bryant Park
Location: New York City
Link out: Click here
Description: Reading & Signing w/ author Darin Strauss at the Bryant Park Outdoor Reading Room (between 40th and 42nd St. & Fifth and Sixth Ave.)
Start Time: 12:30
Date: 2011-08-24
End Time: 14:00
Reading & Signing
July 23, 2011Title: Reading & Signing
Location: Northshire Bookstore
Link out: Click here
Start Time: 19:00
Date: 2011-08-20
The Memory Palace Paperback Launch!
July 23, 2011Title: The Memory Palace Paperback Launch!
Location: Everywhere U.S.A. & Canada!
Link out: Click here
Description: The Memory Palace paperback goes on sale wherever books are sold.
Date: 2011-08-09
Run for a Life: A Father’s Journey
January 24, 2011
I recently discovered this man, Guy Fessenden, whose daughter suffers from schizophrenia. He is running 100 marathons in 140 days to raise money for research and for creating awareness about this disease. I would love it if you would pass this info on to friends and family and to consider donating even a small amount to his cause. You can read more about his journey and his daughter Suzanne on the website: http://afathersjourney.org/
I know that his cross-country marathon journey will end very soon, in the middle of February I think. It’s people like Guy Fessenden who give me hope in the world. Please support this amazing man and help raise money for research. Thanks!
Mira
Posted in Extraordinary Acts, Uncategorized, schizophrenia | 875 CommentsSchizophrenia and Violence
January 24, 2011Well, as many of you know, my interview with Terry Gross followed right after the terrible and tragic shootings in Arizona. And as much as I absolutely love and respect Terry Gross (and was so thrilled and honored to be on her show!), I was a bit disappointed to see how the promo announcements for my Fresh Air interview changed, right after the AZ shootings. Before the shootings, the promos for my interview were all about a daughter whose traumatic brain injury helped her to understand her mother’s battle with mental illness. But after the shootings, the promo changed, saying that I had a “violent” mother. And everywhere you looked in the press, there was something about “the violent mentally ill.”
Yes, my mother at rare times exhibited extreme behavior, even attacking my sister and me. But those were the exceptions to the rule and she only acted out in that way during her most desperate and delusional periods. My mother was not violent person but rather, acted out violently on a couple occasions because of her illness. Most of the time she was a sweet loving person who was plagued with a terrible disease that caused her to call me over a hundred times a day, show up at my doorstep and workplace unnannounced, and many other intrusive things. She was much more apt to harm herself than others.
So are schizophrenics more prone to violence than those who do not suffer from this disease? The statistics I have read over the years have shown that they are not. But what happens when our social system lets people like the young man who killed and injured so many people in Arizona slip through the cracks? My mother spent a lifetime slipping through the cracks. According to several probate judges in Ohio, my mother was fit to take care of herself because she could buy her own cigarettes and cash her own checks. It didn’t matter that she had multiple suicide attempts, was horribly ill, both mentally and physically, had numerous institutionalizations and was delusional about 95% of the time.
Here is a recent article from the LA Times about violence and mentally ill people: http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-mentally-ill-violent-20110116,0,4620946.story If any of you come across any other great articles, please post them with your comments below. I am interested in your views and stories. Please feel free to use this blog as a way to explore some of the issues in my book. I hope that my book, even in a small way, helps people understand schizophrenia a little better and helps some readers cultivate compassion for those who suffer from this debilitating disease, as well as bio-polar disorder and other illnesses. For more information on schizophrenia and how you can help, please visit the NAMI website. It’s a great organization for advocacy for the mentally ill: www.nami.org.
Thank you and I will post again as soon as I can!
Mira
Interview with Terry Gross on Fresh Air rescheduled to Tues. Jan. 11th
January 10, 2011Hi everyone, It’s official: the interview with Terry Gross will be rescheduled for tomorrow, Jan. 11th, in order to (rightly so) discuss our country’s lax gun laws today in light of the tragic shooting in Arizona. So listen to Terry anyway but then tune in tomorrow to hear me tomorrow. Thanks.
Posted in Uncategorized | 854 Comments
