When I was growing up, I thought my little brother was my uncle. I also thought my Papa left because of me. Say Uncle not only gives child's eye details of adults who've gone off the deep end, but also turns an unflinching eye on the adult author, showing how patterns of deception pass through generations. My dysfunctional, uniquely vibrant family manages to endure, and Say Uncle shows what it is like to slowly heal and that the detour is the path. This memoir weaves through the silliness of poltergeists, Joey the Fairy, psychedelic wedding cakes, down through ill-treatment and disturbing incest, all without bitterness and with the same kind of irreverent eye Mary Karr uses in Liar's Club. It's more uplifting than Running with Scissors, probably instead like Skipping With Pinking Shears, heartbreaking like Dave Eggar's childhood. I didn't exactly live in Jeannette Walls's Glass Castle; it was rather like a hippie shack on Ellis Island brought up by Grandmommy Dearest. If you came from a less than traditional family, Say Uncle will remind you that you are not alone, and ultimately, love and forgiveness are not only possible, but necessary if we are to heal and grow.
About the Author: Chris Voisard is a writing teacher at the middle school level where she has also taught art and journalism, and has been the publisher of the school newspaper and yearbook. She has a bachelor's degree with honors in her major of Aesthetics and Learning from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a Masters of Arts degree in Education with a bilingual emphasis from San Francisco State University. Chris has taken numerous fine art courses at the San Francisco Art Institute and UC extension courses. Her first love was painting before she discovered writing. Chris has traveled extensively. Besides teaching creative writing, she has been writing herself for the past fifteen years. She has participated in the Bay Area Writing Project, has written in various groups under the guidance of Adair Lara and Janis Cook Newman as well as other teachers from The Writing Salons, where her piece on Growing Up First Generation was selected for presentation at the San Francisco Public Library. She has a quote in Adair Lara's latest book Naked, Drunk and Writing. Her piece, "Eye of a Fly" was aired on NPR's segment Perspectives, and more recently, "I Quit" about leaving the public school system. She has recently finished her first book, a memoir about her experiences with her unconventional family, and is working on a second about her relationships with men. What people have said about Chris Voisard "Chris is a natural writer." -Adair Lara "The voice that's coming through in your writing is so real and honest. It is a very compelling quality. You write like an angel. -Professor, UC Santa Cruz Writing for Reentry Women