256. The Catharsis of Memoir: From Resentment to Understanding featuring Jason Allen

Jason Allen joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about growing up working poor on Eastern Long Island with an alcoholic father, the threat of different types of violence, his father’s quickness to anger, trying to get sober, the difficulty of committing to recovery, his brother’s hard drug addiction, rethinking a memoir a million times, finding a narrative focus, the querying process, how writing memoir can feel cathartic, knowing what to cut and what to keep in our manuscripts, balancing our vision of what we know to be true with what other people say about our work, finding hope, and his new memoir Boys Without Fathers.   Ronit's upcoming workshop: Writing Dynamic Memoir: From Lived Experience to Gripping Story https://www.lmcmurtrylitcenter.org/workshops/writing-dynamic-memoir-from-lived-experience-to-gripping-story   Also in this episode: -writing and publishing in different genres -choosing a small indie press for our work -incorporating stand-alone pieces into memoir   Books mentioned in this episode: The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls The Liar’s Club by Mary Karr The Art of Memoir by Mary Karr Wild by Cheryl Strayed   Jason Allen writes fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. For his novel, The East End, Bonnie Jo Campbell provided the cover blurb: “Every page is filled with wise insights about social class and the human heart.” Jason has since been nominated for an Edgar Award and the Georgia Author of the Year Award, and recently completed his memoir, Boys Without Fathers, which will be released September 1st, 2026. His poetry collection, A Meditation on Fire, is now with Black Lawrence Press, and he has published essays with Salon, Literary Hub, and The Strand Magazine. Jason teaches creative writing in the MFA program at Wichita State University and lives in Kansas with his sweet rescue dog, Luna.   Website: https://www.jasonallenauthor.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jason.allen.908132/ Instagram: Jason_Allen_Books   Preorder link for Boys Without Fathers:  https://square.link/u/URHWk0x0