5th Annual San Diego Memoir Showcase Memoir Showcase Winners: Q & A with Krisa Bruemmer & Susan J. Farese
SJF: In a nutshell – tell us about your winning memoir piece for the 5th Annual San Diego Memoir Showcase.
KB: My winning piece is about the culmination of a lifelong clash between my mother and me. It’s the story of how I managed to escape my dysfunctional family and my rural hometown as a rebellious, troubled teenager, despite having almost lost hope in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.
SJF: What has your experience been taking classes/workshops and writing memoir in San Diego?
KB: I took a UCSD Continuing Education writing class with Marni Freedman in 2014 after an extended break from writing. I had this idea to write a book with my brother and had mostly given up on the idea of ever finishing because he wasn’t participating at the level I’d hoped. Marni encouraged me to revise my plan, follow her plotting tools, take a variety of classes, and get back to writing, which I did. I’m now working with her as my writing coach and I have over 300 pages of my first draft completed. Marni has been such a motivating force for me and I’m thrilled to see my story performed as part of the Memoir Showcase this year. It will be my third time – my stories were selected to be part of the 1st and 4th Memoir Showcases as well.
SJF: If you had a magic wand, what kind of opportunities would be available to memoir writers in San Diego?
KB: Readings and Q & A sessions with bestselling memoir writers, such as Tara Westover or Jeanette Walls.
SJF: What are you excited about when it comes to participating in the 5th Annual Memoir Showcase?
KB: I’m excited to see my piece performed by an actress because it gives me an opportunity to experience my story as an audience member, or outsider, which is very different from the feeling I get when I’m writing or editing my own pages.
SJF: What advice would you give to a new writer in San Diego?
KB: Take the time to learn about the various local organizations, classes, and opportunities available to you. San Diego Writers’ Ink, Dime Stories, So Say We All, The Memoir Showcase, UCSD Continuing Education, and Pen to Paper at La Jolla Library were all valuable resources for me.
SJF: Favorite Memoirs?
KB: The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls, The Liars’ Club by Mary Karr, Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs, Educated by Tara Westover, Coming Clean by Kimberly Rae Miller, This Boy’s Life by Tobias Wolff, Nobody Cares by Anne T. Donohue, The Boy Kings of Texas by Domingo Martinez, With or Without You by Domenica Ruta, Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman, Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham, and Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls by T Kira Madden
SJF: Many thanks, Krisa!