A Little More About Me (Paperback)

by Pam Houston (Author) "Early this summer, I paid $4,500 for a horse..." (more)
Key Phrases: yak herders, redefining success, Park City, Colonel Bob, Juan Carlos (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
In Pam Houston's can't-put-down collection of essays, A Little More About Me, she describes her globe-trotting adventures spanning five continents with candor and humor, but it's the emotional journey that hits home. We travel vicariously as Houston treks through the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan or dozes while a pride of lions passes her Botswana campsite, but we're right there with her when she talks about her anger-filled childhood, her lifelong obsession with weight, and of course, a penchant for strong, silent types. Her willingness to put herself at risk is her way of coping with these insecurities--each victory on skis or in hiking boots a triumph over those nasty demons. A self-professed nature nut (this is a woman who owns her own horses), Houston is addicted to the next challenge (she's broken seven bones and has twice had search parties sent out for her). Through self-reflection and therapy, however, she's come to realize that saying no to a dangerous endeavor can be just as empowering as conquering any class V rapid. When she opts not to continue a particularly tricky climb in her essay "On (Not) Climbing the Grand Teton," she explains that "true success [lies] within the failure, in listening to my fear and standing firm in my desire to go back down." Houston's writing is straightforward and doesn't get mired in innuendo--she tells it like it is. And because she's not afraid to admit her fears and mistakes, we truly root for her to achieve the balance she's seeking. Though some might find it hard to empathize with someone whose concessions include drawing the line at camping out in 20-degree-below temperatures rather than 60-below, on a fundamental level we can relate. Our coping mechanisms might not be as detrimental to our health, but they are just as real. The powerful messages in A Little More About Me are well worth pondering. --Jill Fergus --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal
Houston (Cowboys Are My Weakness) has captured the essence of truly living and loving life in her latest work. This collection includes essays (six published here for the first time) written over a period of five years. For Houston this was a time filled with adventure. She traveled extensively through 43 countries on five continents, experiencing the emotional highs and lows of living dramatically face to face with nature. In "Powerhouse by the Brook," written about whitewater rafting in the Rockies, the reader experiences the pull of the rapids, "the water thundering around" and the "roar of the falls." Houston's bold and brash essays cannot completely hide her vulnerability and reflect her search for a balanced truth. Whether she writes about Tibet, Bolivia, or Pennsylvania's Poconos, Houston's essays share a common quest for artistic, spiritual, and emotional satisfaction. Recommended for all public libraries.
-ACynde Bloom Lahey, New Canaan Lib., CT
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Washington Square Press (October 3, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743406338
• ISBN-13: 978-0743406338
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #298,393 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Houston's "accumulation of moments.", January 20, 2001

By	G. Merritt (Boulder, CO) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

When this book was published in 1999, Pam Houston visited Tempe, Arizona and read "Dante and Sally" and "Home is Where Your Dogs Are" from this twenty-four essay collection. It is easy for me now to hear her voice in all of these essays. Written over a period of five years (p. 23), they are full of "happy-to-be-alive adrenaline" (p. 19), and "artistic, spiritual, emotional, even physical edges" (p. 25). Each essay is a testament that life offers us opportunities "to be our truest selves, to lead an independent lifestyle, not tied (or chained) to the conventions of a confining city life" (p. 35). Houston has the ability to make "words dance" (p. 22).

The unfavorable reader reviews below are a mystery to me. While some of Houston's essays soar higher than others, they all contain their own unique moments of truth, whether her subject is flyfishing at 2 a.m. with "a bunch of male poets" (p. 103), or pitching a tent "on a patch of red in front of a big blond piece of sandstone under a blue Utah sky" (p. 129). In "A Man Who'll Freeze His Eyelashes for You," Houston observes "the essence of the desert is silence, meditation, empty spaces, and peace" (p. 126). In another favorite, "Redefining Success," we find Houston discussing success with poet Jane Hirshfield, while walking along Muir Beach. She writes: "But now I am coming to the understanding that success has less to do with the accumulation of things and more to do with the accumulation of moments, and that creating a successful life might be as simple as determining which moments are the most valuable, and seeing how many of those I can string together in a line" (p. 166). In this collection, Houston offers us an accumulation of such valuable moments which, upon reaching the book's final essay, will leave you hoping for a little more about her. I encourage you to read this book, then decide for yourself.

G. Merritt

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Something Missing, November 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Little More About Me (Hardcover)

I anxiously awaited the arrival of this book from the libray. I LOVED "Cowboys...." it had really touched me inside; I felt like the author really understood the types of experiences I have had in my life as an outdoors woman, and the men I have known. "A little bit about me" was a huge disapointment. It felt to me more like writing as therapy, or journal entries, than stories that I could connect to as I have in the past. She does mention doing some therapy, ( which is always a good thing) but I found something lacking in this book, perhaps a sense of something deeper than " I did this, I have done that..." Only in two places did I find the "Pam houston " I was looking for: There is a fabulaous paragrash in the introduction where she talks about NOT climbing the Grand Teton, and the dog stories. The dog stories are absolutely marvelous; it's worh checking this book out just for those bits.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A few good dogs..., January 11, 2001

By	Molly M. Wolf (Havertown PA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am ashamed to say I had forgotten about Pam Houston.

I read "Cowboys Are My Weakness" back in '92 when it came out and then let this author fall out of my library, until recently when I stumbled (actually tripped in the bookstore) and into the table with this book on it.

What more can I say than... This book is wonderful! The prose is simple and elegant, the sentiment is raw and truthful, the stories are humorous and strike a chord in the soul.

Ms. Houston writes of her travels, revelations, dogs, men, landscape, body image in such a way that I was not able to put the book down. In fact, I found myself stealing into my office for any scrap of time to finish a chapter, a sentence, the entire book in a day.

My recommendation for "A Little More About Me": read it, own it, buy it for a friend!