Sleep in Me
Jon Pineda
(Author)
Description
Against the backdrop of his teenage sister's car accident--in which a dump truck filled with sand slammed into the small car carrying her and her friends--Jon Pineda chronicles his sister Rica's sudden transformation from a vibrant high school cheerleader to a girl wheelchair bound and unable to talk. For the next five years of her life, her only ability to communicate was through her rudimentary use of sign language. Lyrical in its approach and unflinching in its honesty, Sleep in Me is a heartrending memoir of the coming-of-age of a boy haunted by a family tragedy.A prize-winning poet's account of the irreparable damage and the new understanding that tragedy brings to his Filipino American family, Pineda's book is a remarkable story maneuvering between childhood memories of his sister cheerleading and moments of monitoring her in a coma and changing her adult diapers. Pineda adeptly navigates between these moments of idyllic youth and heartbreaking sadness. Vivid and lyrical, his story is an exploration of what it means to live deeply with tragedy and of the impact such a story can have on a boy's journey to manhood.
Product Details
Price
$14.95
$13.90
Publisher
University of Nebraska Press
Publish Date
March 01, 2012
Pages
168
Dimensions
5.31 X 8.27 X 0.18 inches | 0.48 pounds
Language
English
Type
Paperback
EAN/UPC
9780803243415
BISAC Categories:
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About the Author
Jon Pineda is an assistant professor of English at the University of Mary Washington and teaches in the MFA creative writing program at Queens University of Charlotte. He is the author of Apology: A Novel and three books of poetry, most recently Little Anodynes.
Reviews
"Pineda lays bare his struggles with family duty and identity in this literary standout."--Julie Kane, Library Journal -- (1/1/2011 12:00:00 AM)
Sleep in Me is essentially pure rendered memory, a book that can be taken down from the shelf and opened to any chapter, any moment however random and fleeting, and can make us feel the grand weight of tragedy, and the victory when we fight it.--Noah Renn, Virginian-Pilot -- (1/1/2011 12:00:00 AM)
"[Pineda's] muted, lyrical messages, to be savored at length, remind us of the value of listening deeply, to ourselves and others."--Gina Webb, Atlanta Journal-Constitution-- (1/1/2011 12:00:00 AM)
"Pineda has built his reputation as a poet, but he expands his literary territory with this powerful portrait of love and loyalty between siblings." --Rigoberto González, Critical Mass-- (1/1/2011 12:00:00 AM)
"A powerful survey of the impact of tragedy on a young boy's coming of age in this outstanding, vivid family memoir." --Diane C. Donovan, California Bookwatch-- (1/1/2011 12:00:00 AM)
"In this memoir Pineda explores the difference between self and sufferer--whether that sufferer is his sister or a wrestler he's pinned or a fish or himself--and sometimes, most beautifully and wrenchingly, they merge."--Disability Studies Quarterly -- (9/27/2011 12:00:00 AM)
Sleep in Me is essentially pure rendered memory, a book that can be taken down from the shelf and opened to any chapter, any moment however random and fleeting, and can make us feel the grand weight of tragedy, and the victory when we fight it.--Noah Renn, Virginian-Pilot -- (1/1/2011 12:00:00 AM)
"[Pineda's] muted, lyrical messages, to be savored at length, remind us of the value of listening deeply, to ourselves and others."--Gina Webb, Atlanta Journal-Constitution-- (1/1/2011 12:00:00 AM)
"Pineda has built his reputation as a poet, but he expands his literary territory with this powerful portrait of love and loyalty between siblings." --Rigoberto González, Critical Mass-- (1/1/2011 12:00:00 AM)
"A powerful survey of the impact of tragedy on a young boy's coming of age in this outstanding, vivid family memoir." --Diane C. Donovan, California Bookwatch-- (1/1/2011 12:00:00 AM)
"In this memoir Pineda explores the difference between self and sufferer--whether that sufferer is his sister or a wrestler he's pinned or a fish or himself--and sometimes, most beautifully and wrenchingly, they merge."--Disability Studies Quarterly -- (9/27/2011 12:00:00 AM)
