#Non-Fiction Surrender
- Author: Joanna Pocock
- Title: Surrender (360 pg)
- Published: 2019
- Genre: non-fiction (memoir)
- List of Challenges 2020
- Monthly plan
- #WorldFromMyArmchair ( North American West)
- Joanna Pocock is writing realism in her essays
- about nature, environment and herself (memoir)
- ..but not in the traditional style.
- She details the the damage done to the environment (mining)
- ….that made me shudder.
- She details information about the people
- …in her life (family) and who she met in Missoula Montana
- …and on her road trips.
- Shock: Wolf trappers…Ms Pocock is on the side of the wolves!
- The Three Percenters…”3%-ers ” militia movements are growing.
- She shares her feelings during her adventure.
- “I was aware …that the land in the American West was not mine.”
- “…I felt at first lost and had no real concrete reason to be here.”
- But she did know that the West…had changed her.
- She would seek to give herself over to wilderness however she could.
- Best chapter:
- Joanna’s experience at the Ecosex Convergence in Washington state!
- Goal: make sex less shameful and environmetalism more sexy.
- Truly, this was a terrific section of the book.
- Ms Pocock stood among the other attendees, dressed in jeans and
- a warm fleece…surrounded by people
- in gauzy “I Dream of Genie” numbers…!
- Joanna was open to the tribal approach at this jamboree
- …but ” I slipped out before the cuddle circle got going”.
- #Hilarious
Conclusion:
- Montana has been the “last best place” for so many people.
- Ms Pocock’s book goes far beyond the pristine wilderness.
- She stands between youth and old age (52 yr.)
- There are moments Joanna does not want to be back in London
- …but does not know what to do about it.
- Marriage and children are ties that bind,
- …yet sometimes the ties can chafe – and strangle.
- Sometimes….all you can do is Surrender
- …to your circumstances.
- #BrilliantWriting
- Chapeau au bas for Joanna Pocock!
Feedback to Word By Word:
Claire, every memoir is different and it depends on the level of openness the writer dares to achieve especially concerning very personal thoughts. Joanna Pocock had the perfect balance: personal issues, feelings for nature and skepticism about some cultural practices in the American West. I learned so much from this book!
Feedback to WhatsNonFiction:
I’m sure you will love this book! Joanna Pocock has done her homework and she incudes many reference to the books she read about the American West, evironmentalism and essays by other authors she admires…for instance Rebecca Solnit “A Book of Migrations”. Trivia: Did you know the Appalachian Mountains is the second most biodiverse region in the world after the Amazon? I did not know that!
NancyElin.blog 
Intriguing.
Word By Word: Claire, every memoir is different and it depends on the level of openness the writer dares to achieve especially concerning very personal thoughts. Joanna Pocock had the perfect balance: personal issues, feelings for nature and skepticism about some cultural practices in the American West. I learned so much from this book!
I’m sort of tempted except that I feel that there’s an overexposure of literature and voices that all stem from the one continent that takes up too much space on both the world stage and via books in the home, I find myself thinking oh that sounds interesting, but then it’s yet another oeuvre from the same demographically. I love the openness and balance and am seduced by the learnings…and yet..I know I probably couldn’t read it, my reading has developed allergies. 🤔 Wonderful review.
This sounds fascinating.
WhatsNonFiction: I ‘m sure you will love this book! Joanna Pocock has done her homework and she incudes many reference to the books she read about the American West, evironmentalism and essays by other authors she admires…for instance Rebecca Solnit “A Book of Migrations”. Trivia: Did you know the Appalachian Mountains is the second most biodiverse region in the world after the Amazon? I did not know that!
No, I didn’t know that and I’m so intrigued!! Thanks for the excellent introduction to this one, it’s going on my list :)
Claire, as ex-pat USA….I learned MORE about the American West….than I learned in the 1950s cowboy and indian movies…or the 1960s John Wayne blockbusters. This book touches on controversy of pipelines, copper mining (literally draining the land of water)….leaving toxic lakes that will impact the area for generations. Wolf trappers…a ritual that appalls me. And then I got a up close and personal impression of the people one of the RED-est states (Trumpers) in the USA. Ms Pocock observes details that you don’t read about in the newspapers! I loved the book…give it a try! If it does not resonaate after 30-40 pg….toss it!
Surrender sounds like an intriguing book! I’ll be on the lookout for it at my library.
I’m sure it must be in library…or you can support the author and buy the book!
This is a fascinating collection of thoughts by Joanna Pocock…she’s done her homework and she can write! Thanks for your comment.
I’ve recently started reading more nature writing so that aspect of this book sounds interesting to me :)
I hope you like it…but it is much more than a nature walk!
Montana is a state we don’t hear much about….the people trying to keep their state’s pristine wilderness, but the profits of mining companies make this near impossible!