If Nights Could Talk: A Family Memoir [Hardcover]

Marsha Recknagel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 4, 2001

If Nights Could Talk is a rich gothic story of a Southern family, a tale of wealth and emotional need that spans generations. Marsha Recknagel's memoir begins with the surprise appearance of her 16-year-old nephew, Jamie, who arrives on her doorstep and into her ordered, childless life. Fleeing a chaotic home run by Marsha's unstable younger brother and his wife, Jamie is an ominous creature-and the center of an ongoing family tug-of-war. For Marsha, to open the door is to risk opening herself up to the pain of the past. Reluctantly she takes him in. Thus begins the painful, terrifying, and extraordinary process of unraveling the damage inflicted by her family on one of its own.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In her brave and gripping yet convoluted memoir a simultaneous act of familial retribution, self-preservation and redemption Recknagel has the last word on her gothic family history. When her 16-year-old nephew James appears at her Houston home, seeking refuge from his lunatic chimera of a mother and neglectful father, Recknagel must confront the family history of sibling rivalries and betrayals, alcoholism, mental illness and sordid circumstances. Ten years earlier, the death of the workaholic patriarch of this Shreveport, La., family a successful wildcatter who left a $10-million fortune in a trust that favored his grandchildren precipitated a protracted custody battle over James, who was then living with the author's sister. It was a vicious feud pitting Recknagel's brother, his wife (they met in a mental hospital when still teenagers) and her parents against the rest of the Recknagel family. A writing teacher at Rice University, Recknagel rambles on about her need to "outrun their influence" in a personal narrative that overlaps with and coils into the wreckage of James's youth. After Recknagel hastens to find lawyers for James, to adopt him and emancipate him, the last third of the book charts their harrowing six-year journey toward healing. Recknagel's tale of how James perseveres in his battle with undiagnosed sleep apnea, post-traumatic stress disorder and extreme dissociation, and ultimately recovers in her care, is nothing short of miraculous. (Sept.)Forecast: With praise from Susan Cheever, Robert Stone and Bob Shacochis, an excerpt in Vogue in September, and reviews scheduled in Elle and O magazine, this promising memoir is off to a strong start. Appearances at SEBA, the Southern Festival of Books and on her five-city tour in the South and Northeast should help Recknagel build a following.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

A creative writing teacher at Rice University and a former editor of Gulf Coast literary journal, Recknagel begins her memoir with the arrival on her doorstep of her 16-year-old nephew. He is the catalyst of her engaging if sometimes tedious reexamination of what they have both endured in their lives and how they went about redirecting those lives. Coming from a wealthy but dysfunctional Southern family complete with a domineering father, alcoholic sister, and disturbed brother Recknagel elucidates her parents' blindness to their own failings and their ongoing conflicts on how best to raise their offspring. Having no children herself, Recknagel comes to understand her nephew and helps bring them both out of the fog they have dwelled in for much of their lives, although they do leave the reader there a bit longer than necessary. While it may be of interest to readers dealing with difficult teenagers, this book does not stand out from many other memoirs of troubled families. Suitable for public and, academic libraries. Gina Kaiser, Univ. of the Sciences in Philadelphia
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books; 1st edition (September 4, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312268092
• ISBN-13: 978-0312268091
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,046,329 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful and Well Written, August 27, 2001

By 

Renata (Pensacola, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: If Nights Could Talk: A Family Memoir (Hardcover)

After seeing an article about this book in 'O' magazine, I had to read it. As a high school Literature teacher, I found Marsha Recknagel's memoir to be captivating, moving, and extremely well written. Recknagel has captured a part of her life on these pages, sharing it with others. Perhaps because it is a story that needed to be told. How evil a supposed loved one can be is frightening, especially to a young boy. The author's nephew is a brave yet damaged boy, who withstands the trials of Hell, and brings his aunt out of the wreckage with him. I bought this book three days ago, and could not put it down until I was finished. I highly recommend this true tale be read by one and all.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If Nights Could Talk:A Family Memoir, November 12, 2001

By 

Maggie Searing (Haughton, Louisiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: If Nights Could Talk: A Family Memoir (Hardcover)

I found the book captivating. I know the courage Marsha must have to write these Memoirs. I am so proud to have known the little girl and now the adult woman. Her sister Gail should be praised for rescuing Jamie.I could not close the book until the last page.
I ran the full spectrum of emotions-- loved the book. The telling of the story carries you forward with the need to know more. I hated for the story to end. I am so proud of you Marsha......And Gail, she knows why.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Moving, intense, October 17, 2001

By 

M. Turner (Nacogdoches, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: If Nights Could Talk: A Family Memoir (Hardcover)

I had the wonderful pleasure of having Marsha for my creative writing instructor several semesters ago when she first sent this book off for publishing. I have been in great anticipation of it since then and it did not let me down! Having known Marsha personally and some of her story, her word was every bit as moving and powerful in her written accounts and packs even more of a punch at her readings of this book. A tearjerker for sure, it will inspire you to read to the last page when at last you sigh and have to put it down, ready to rest.