Catherine Ann Jones' favorite memoirs by those who made a difference

I first read this book decades ago and never forgot it.

When the Russian poets under Stalin, not allowed to write or publish their own poems, once met secretly in Mandelstam’s kitchen to recite their poems.  The only food was one boiled egg, which sat on the table between the few poets. And no one ate the egg! Integrity above poverty and famine. Stalin was responsible for sending creatives to Siberia, where so many died- including Osip Mandelstam.

The widow of the great Russian poet and martyr, Osip Mandelstam, gives us the most luminous record of the purges in Russia in the 1930s under Stalin. A wife who kept her husband’s legacy alive by memorizing his entire body of work yet tells the story of these hellish times with humor and heart.

As an undergraduate, I loved this memoir of C. G. Jung, which led me years later to obtain a graduate degree in Jungian Psychology.

The most accessible of Jung’s writings are recorded and edited by Aniela Jaffe, who was trained by Jung. This unique memoir reveals not only the origin of Jung’s psychological discoveries but the man behind the genius. With humor and heart, Jung, in his 80's, looks back on a remarkable life and work.

Ahead of his time, Jung leaves a valuable  and timeless legacy for today.

I first met Anne Truitt when we were both guest artists at the Yaddo Colony in upstate NY. Later, we became good friends.

I admired not only her sculptures and paintings but also the three elegant and poignant published journals of an artist’s life. My favorite is the third published Journal, Turn.

Known as a superb artist and sculptor, Turn is Truitt’s third journal revealing the woman and journey of a true artist and unique individual. A husband’s suicide leaving the author and artist to raise three children and pursue her art, creates a unique memoir timeless in the chronicles of the resilience of single women artists.

Maxwell, an American actress who later studied with C. G. Jung and became a Jungian psychologist, reflects on her life from America to marriage and a life in Scotland, and her perspective on life and the world.

I return to this unsentimental wisdom of an intelligent and remarkable woman facing the later years of a life well lived.

Some years ago in Hollywood, Bradbury introduced my first film premiere as a Hollywood screenwriter, The Christmas Wife. Ten years later, I met again with Ray Bradbury at a Film Festival and was amazed that this elder author remembered both me and my first film.

One of America’s best authors of science fiction leaves this memoir of his life and work. It is not only an entertaining read, but a tool for writers in any genre desiring to fulfill their potential.