{"product_id":"an-alphabet-for-joanna-hardcover-by-damian-rogers","title":"An Alphabet for Joanna Hardcover by Damian Rogers","description":"\u003cbody\u003e\n                        \n                            \n                                \u003ch2\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eProduct Details\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n                                \u003cul\u003e\n                                    \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003cb\u003eKnopf Canada\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003e(2020-09-22)\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n                                    \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLanguage\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003cstrong\u003eEnglish\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n                                    \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePaperback\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003cstrong\u003e344\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cb\u003epages\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n                                    \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eISBN-13\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003cstrong\u003e9780735273030\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n                                    \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eItem Weight\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003cstrong\u003e459.27\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cb\u003egrams\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n                                    \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003cstrong\u003e8.52 x 5.78 x 1.13\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cb\u003ecm\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n                                \u003c\/ul\u003e\n                                \u003cbr\u003e\n                                \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA gripping memoir from acclaimed poet Damian Rogers about being raised by a loving but erratic single mother who is today diagnosed with a rare form of frontal-lobe dementia. In the vein of Plum Johnson's \u003ci\u003eThey Left Us Everything\u003c\/i\u003e, Leanne Shapton's \u003ci\u003eSwimming Studies\u003c\/i\u003e, Jeannette Walls' \u003ci\u003eThe Glass Castle\u003c\/i\u003e and Susannah Cahalan's \u003ci\u003eBrain on Fire\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Evocative, beautifully written, heartbreaking . . . of special interest to all whose loved ones suffer from dementia.\" --Margaret Atwood (on Twitter)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"An Alphabet for Joanna is a braid of tiny stories that weaves us into a nest of belonging despite circumstance and injury . . . A memoir of stunning thoughtfulness, Rogers presents us with a loving treatise on what it means to be human.\" - Leanne Betasamosake Simpson\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThroughout her childhood in Detroit, Damian Rogers was never given a satisfactory account of the circumstances that led to her own birth. The \"truth\" behind the stories she was told by her mother--the free-spirited, beautiful and troubled Joanna--constantly shifted, and Damian was left only with fragments: her mom's trip to California in 1969 after finishing high school, a mysterious trauma and psychotic break, then a return to Detroit, pregnant. Now, as 40-something Damian struggles to cope with Joanna's early-onset dementia, she realizes she may never know the full story.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA riveting portrait of a time and place (the leafy suburbs of Detroit, Michigan and working class neighborhoods of Long Beach, California in the 1970s and 80s), \u003ci\u003eAn Alphabet for Joanna\u003c\/i\u003e is also an unconventional mother-daughter saga, and a creative exploration of how memory shifts and shapes our most intimate relationships. Acclaimed poet Damian Rogers crafts a unique work that is both a moving memoir and a powerful philosophical reflection on how we build lives out of fragments of stories. And by tracing her mother's story into the present day she poignantly shows that even when memory fails, we can remain connected through a web of art, empathy, imagination and love.\u003c\/p\u003e\n                                \u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n                                \u003cp\u003eDAMIAN ROGERS is the author of two acclaimed books of poetry: \u003ci\u003eDear Leader\u003c\/i\u003e (2015), which was named one of the best books of 2015 by the CBC and the \u003ci\u003eGlobe and Mail\u003c\/i\u003e, and was a finalist for the Ontario Trillium Poetry Prize; and \u003ci\u003ePaper Radio\u003c\/i\u003e (2009), which was shortlisted for the Pat Lowther Memorial Prize. She holds a graduate degree from the Bennington Writing Seminars in Bennington, Vermont, and has published work in many magazines and online journals, including \u003ci\u003eBoston Review\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBrick\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Walrus\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eHazlitt\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eWhite Wall Review\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eEvent\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eFour Way Review\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eTaddle Creek\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eRiddle Fence\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eToronto Star\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eMaisonneuve\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSalt Hill\u003c\/i\u003e and more. Damian teaches creative writing at Ryerson University. She lives in Toronto.\u003c\/p\u003e\n                            \n                        \n                        \u003c\/body\u003e","brand":"Best Bookstore","offers":[{"title":"New","offer_id":43230565564577,"sku":"BBSNIJ9780735273030","price":30.4,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0525\/2084\/5473\/products\/9780735273030.jpg?v=1695735138","url":"https:\/\/www.bestbookstore.ca\/products\/an-alphabet-for-joanna-hardcover-by-damian-rogers","provider":"Best Book Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}