thing #7
dolly alderton's memoir
“Memory and Memoir” with Professor Cynthia Blakeley
was one of the greatest college classes I ever took, perhaps even one of the greatest college classes in the history of the universe.1 I had never read a memoir until Professor Blakeley put J.R. Moeringher’s The Tender Bar on the table in front of our tiny seminar, and sent us forth to read. Professor taught me that a memoir is arguably the most raw, beautiful expression of a person’s soul - they can be heart-bearing and rich, jaw-drop shocking or incredibly relatable. Dolly Alderton opens Everything I Know About Love with the following: “The coolest boys are always tall and Jewish and have a car.” She just gets it. Though Alderton’s adventures as a young woman in England are an ocean away geographically, her voice on toils, turmoils, loves, and losses makes me feel as though we’re best friends recapping a tumultuous week over a Sunday morning bagel.
This was also a course that made my father (who paid my tuition) say “what the f*** am I paying all this money for?”