The failures of other genres to provide an emotional connection with some of their characters and narratives gives memoir a toehold.

Your heart, Mary Karr, he'd say. His pen touched my sternum, and it felt for all the world like the point of a dull spear as he said, Your heart knows what your head don't. Or won't.

I don't think I look like the pope's favorite Catholic - at least not under close scrutiny.

I'm not nearly smart enough or imaginative enough to tackle the novel form. Never happen.

The failures of other genres to provide an emotional connection with some of their characters and narratives gives memoir a toehold.

There are women succeeding beyond their wildest dreams because of their sobriety.

When I got sober, I thought giving up was saying goodbye to all the fun and all the sparkle, and it turned out to be just the opposite. That's when the sparkle started for me.