This is not about Meghan and Harry – no, not that title kerfuffle.
This is about the journey of the title of my forthcoming memoir launching in April 2021.
My memoir has had more names than a litter of puppies. It started off with the working title of My Story and then migrated to The Shape of the Brain. There it became a thinly disguised novel because I didn’t have enough faith in telling my own story and called it Breathing Room. An editor at a conference said it sounded too medical.
Then I took a memoir writing course through The Narrative Project where the novel shed its skin and became The Opposite of Hate: A Memoir. The title came from a quote by Jamaican writer Gabrielle Bellot: “Of course, love is too simple an answer. The opposite of hating, after all, is not loving; it is understanding.” The book’s title has been on my website from the beginning and sporting two different temporary covers.
Then, I sent the manuscript to She Writes Press for consideration. Some months later Brooke Warner and I signed a contract for publication in April 2021.
And, then – last month – at about the same time, Brooke and I each found problems with the title:
- Another book with the same name had been published in 2018.
- I discovered a popular quote from Elie Wiesel saying that the “opposite of hate” was indifference. That was not at all what my memoir was about.
- And a subtitle using ghost memory (which is a significant part of the memoir) didn’t work either when I searched and found, via Google, zillions of images from Pokémon!
What to do? I emailed one of my critique partners who has been in on this project from the beginning for help. Anne, brilliant Anne, came up with a title. The kitchen is where many scenes from the memoir are set – including the first chapter – in our family’s kitchen with a red Formica table like this one. Except Mom would never have gone for those chairs! Where the pale green walls are, picture “Chinese red.” In the middle of a Missouri summer, the kitchen felt twice as hot!
This long journey ends well. Once She Writes staff saw how many scenes are set in kitchens, they too found it a good title. And, so it became The Red Kitchen. And now – for the most exciting part – the book has a cover!
Please save the date – April 2021 – to help me celebrate and maybe buy a copy.
Thank you for sharing the journey of your book title and cover. It has a wonderful feeling. I eagerly await publication in 2021.
Thanks, Larry. I look forward to a reading with you in attendance – hope it’s in person and not virtual by then.
What a wonderful project and the perfect contribution to the healing of or world, our culture and our humanity.
Blessings, Barbara
Thanks, Sherill. I think of you often and hope you are well and still writing.
Barbara, Thanks for the email link to your blog. Congratulations on the contract for your book. I will be ready next April to buy my copy! Of course I write this to you in time of plague, hoping that you are well and likewise for Cara and Bonnie. Keep up your good work and I’ll stay in touch here–
Pat
Thanks, Pat. I’ll send you a copy when it’s out. Looking at first pages now and very exciting to hold what looks like a book in my hands while looking for errors, etc. Cara has agreed to take a look as well.
Stay well and all best, Barbara
Thanks, Nancy. I had such a great experience with She Writes on this project. Looking forward to reading your lastest as well.
Yours in Aries determination or a magnificent obsession!
Thanks, Stephanie. You made my day!
Congratulations! I love the title and cover. Well done. Looking forward to reading your memoir!
Nancy
Congratulations Barbara! I didn’t get a notification for your blog posting, but I’m here now. A beautiful story about your story – The Red Kitchen. I can’t wait to read it.