{"product_id":"if-only-you-people-could-follow-directions-a-memoir-paperback-1","title":"If Only You People Could Follow Directions: A Memoir - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJessica Hendry Nelson\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eIf Only You People Could Follow Directions\u003c\/i\u003e is a spellbinding debut by Jessica Hendry Nelson. In linked autobiographical essays, Nelson has reimagined the memoir with her thoroughly original voice, fearless writing, and hypnotic storytelling. At its center, the book is the story of three people: Nelson's mother Susan, her brother Eric, and Jessica herself. These three characters are deeply bound to one another, not just by the usual ties of blood and family, but also by a mother's drive to keep her children safe in the midst of chaos. The book begins with Nelson's childhood in the suburbs of Philadelphia and chronicles her father's addiction and death, her brother's battle with drugs and mental illness, her own efforts to find and maintain stability, and her mother's exquisite power, grief, and self-destruction in the face of such a complicated family dynamic. Each chapter in the book contends with a different relationship--friends, lovers, and strangers are all play--but at its heart the book is about family, the ties that bind and enrich and betray us, and how one young woman sought to survive and rise above her surroundings.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJessica Hendry Nelson\u003c\/b\u003e earned a BA in English from the University of New Hampshire and an MFA in Writing from Sarah Lawrence College. Her work has been published or is forthcoming in \u003ci\u003eThe Threepenny Review, The Carolina Quarterly, Crab Orchard Review, Painted Bride Quarterly, Drunken Boat, Alligator Juniper, Fringe\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003ePANK\u003c\/i\u003e. A chapter from this book, \"The Whitest Winter Light,\" is a Notable essay in \u003ci\u003eBest American Essays 2012\u003c\/i\u003e. Currently, she is the senior nonfiction editor of \u003ci\u003eThe Fiddleback\u003c\/i\u003e, a literary journal, and lives in Colchester, VT.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 256\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.67 x 7.71 x 5.95 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e January 13, 2015\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48817309090040,"sku":"9781619024670","price":16.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0698\/5629\/7208\/files\/rDNPnnOTOR9781619024670_1ab19371-e11c-408d-b440-18aeec866138.webp?v=1780592732","url":"https:\/\/barneysbooksellers.com\/products\/if-only-you-people-could-follow-directions-a-memoir-paperback-1","provider":"Barney's Book Sellers","version":"1.0","type":"link"}