{"product_id":"the-significance-of-curly-hair-a-loving-memoir-of-life-and-loss-9798891322868","title":"The Significance of Curly Hair: A Loving Memoir of Life and Loss","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2025 IPPY Book Awards - Silver Medal\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGrowing up, Gram was my best friend. We shared a double bed in my family's cottage until I was nine. Fifteen years later, I got the call that she'd fallen and hit her head. All I could see was her mouthing, \"Don't you love me enough to come back home?\" I wept on the plane as I began to write her story, the one she'd asked me to write in ninth grade.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGram and I were polar opposites. She spent much of her life barefoot and pregnant. I was a gay, career-driven, independent decision-maker.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSearching through old relics, we found a time capsule in Gram's drawer, revealing clues to her dark era, her 1957 breakdown. Dark green pills, a bank book, scribbles on an envelope: answers to unasked questions. She survived stress and abuse without things I take for granted: income, a car, stocked pantry shelves. She did it all with unconditional love, never revealing her pain.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI'd spent my adult life avoiding becoming a \"traditional\" woman, but her death freed something in me. I realized the importance of child-rearing, understanding a woman like me can balance career and family. Love and support create happy, healthy kids. I could pass Gram's spirit onto a child, braiding generations together from lifetime to lifetime.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e ---\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI read, or rather zoomed, through the whole thing. The emotional action just sort of sweeps you along. I had tears in my eyes at the end of Chapter 1. - Mimi Schroeder, APR Max Communications\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Kara L. Zajac\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Atmosphere Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/16\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 364\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.02lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.81d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798891322868","brand":"Ripon Bookstore","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44148454752301,"sku":"9798891322868","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0681\/0501\/1245\/files\/img_d80c5843-0744-4dc8-ab99-1a22779a785b.jpg?v=1757224344","url":"https:\/\/riponbookstore.com\/products\/the-significance-of-curly-hair-a-loving-memoir-of-life-and-loss-9798891322868","provider":"Ripon Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}