tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9684236.post110472479074701110..comments2023-10-16T06:10:24.969-04:00Comments on Julie Unplugged: The Spiral Staircase, By Karen ArmstrongAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00088119765077193302noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9684236.post-1104883310418433212005-01-04T19:01:00.000-05:002005-01-04T19:01:00.000-05:00I would love to write a memoir like this some day....I would love to write a memoir like this some day. She hits the exact note I find the most compelling to read: gentle self-exposure. She is deeply honest without a new clarion call. But I found her also able to level the charges she wanted to make without broadbrushing every institution that hurt her. Unique ability.<br /><br />Great read.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00088119765077193302noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9684236.post-1104841180260204902005-01-04T07:19:00.000-05:002005-01-04T07:19:00.000-05:00Those are moving quotes, Julie. That's some deep, ...Those are moving quotes, Julie. That's some deep, personal stuff that she is sharing.<br /><br />Karen Armstrong is a brave writer indeed!<br /><br />I think what makes it so resonant (and by extension, inspiring, though she's talking about doubt, feelings of ineptitude, self-delusion, etc.) is that it's just so honest and real. Like, that's the "real" Karen Armstrong speaking, not a pose or a selective disclosure. Sometimes when I've read other forms of inspirational literature, when the author discloses his (usually, for me, it has been a male writer) flaws or weaknesses, I still got the sense that I was only getting a partial glimpse at what was really going on. Like his confession of sin and inadequacy was framed in such a way as to set him (and me) up to readily accept the solution (e.g. pray more, tithe more, read the Bible more, believe harder, etc.) that he would deliver in the next paragraph or chapter.<br /><br />In other words, it doesn't look like Karen has a sales pitch in store so much as she's trying to simply lay out an honest account of what happened, for her own sake and benefit as much as for ours.David Blakesleehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12167200509158903679noreply@blogger.com