Memory Slips: A Memoir of Music and Healing (Paperback)

by Linda K. Cutting (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Concert pianists perform from memory, a brutal but inescapable convention of musical life. Of all the demons they face onstage, none is greater than the fear of a memory slip. Cutting's bitter, dignified memoir tells the story of a musical life nearly shipwrecked by childhood molestation at the hands of her minister father. Beginning with a terrifying slip that triggers the gradual breakdown of a successful concert career, the narrative moves through hospitalization, painfully recovered childhood memories, and finally, a struggle toward compassionate understanding and a truce with the past. Throughout, she weaves the powerful theme of music: as a bribe, an addiction, a joy, and an escape. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
A concert pianist who has performed with many top orchestras such as the Boston Symphony, Cutting writes a poignant, moving account of the mental illness she suffered as a result of abuse in childhood. After the suicides of both her brothers, Cutting's "memory slips" became more severe, and she herself was hospitalized as suicidal. Her tale of remembrance and healing is a remarkable survival story. The language's lyrical beauty lifts it above other memoirs of abuse. An excerpt in Cosmopolitan and an author appearance on the Today show will fuel interest in this book. For public libraries.
-?Marguerite Mroz, Baltimore Cty. P.L.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (January 6, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060928794
• ISBN-13: 978-0060928797
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #252,397 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The truth sets us free, May 31, 2002

By	Oceana - See all my reviews

This review is from: Memory Slips: A Memoir of Music and Healing (Hardcover)

I have read many personal accounts of incest (and other forms of sexual abuse). I am also a survivor of incest (and other sexual abuse as well), and I am a dancer. This book very accurately depicts the effects of child abuse on art, memory, and expression. Linda Cutting achieves this through an honest memoir of her own experience of memory recovery in adulthood, and it's effect on her life and art. Often her words spoke my own experience, particularly in her descriptions of having a flashback. Severe child abuse alters the structure of our minds, but through truth we can transcend. This book is superbly written. With very little description of the actual incest I was transported into her world. I could see her as a child, and the life she lived in. My heart reached out to her. If I ever want someone to understand what life is like for an adult survivor of incest this will be top on my list of recommendations. After reading this book I felt as if I had sat down with Linda, and she had told me her story. I thank her for having the courage to share her story with us. Her book is a great help to other survivors and for anyone who seeks to understand the life of an artist who is also a survivor of child abuse. This book helped me to get in touch with my own strength and empowerment to stand tall despite my past, and to continue my artistic work.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the most honest portrayal I have ever read, December 31, 1998

By A Customer

the 1st review asks, Is this true? I'd like to ask why the reviewer chooses to ask that question. A truly human account of what it's like to have this happen to you. Not a courtroom drama nor an attempt to prove anything to anyone -- that is totally beside the point. I routinely recommend this book to everyone I know. The author's truth is unquestionable.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stellar, December 16, 2001

By	"anoniemoose" (East Coast, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Memory Slips: A Memoir of Music and Healing (Audio Cassette)

An absolutely stunningly clear account of losing memory- and many of the complexities within this experience- and of reclaiming resilience, balance, and self. As Cutting loses her memory of the music she is performing (music she has memorized and played over and over) in the process of working through her child abuse history, her story is a highly interesting account of the complexities of "memory slips" in an adult. Cutting navigates her history of child abuse with incredible strength and determination, and ultimately with great compassion for her family. Beautifully read by Cutting- some of her piano playing is on this audio cassette which is one reason I would recommend the audio version. Her musical expression is an important part of her story. The audio may be helpful for both women and men who have experienced sexual abuse as children/ adolescents as well as for those who want to understand the impact of this kind of an abuse history. In addition, this audio may be highly valuable in exploring the specific psychological dynamics that can arise with those who are or have been musical performers. The depth of this audio is difficult to articulate- the exploration of family psychological dynamics is worth every penny.