Autobiography
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A woman in search of herself keeps on turning the kaleidoscope that is memory and life, searching for belonging and purpose, echoing into both past and future in a lyrical, deeply personal confession.
Our Voices is a melancholic personal narration of what happened in a given time and place to a young girl and her father in an oppressive system and how their story was carried to the next generation. It is also a warning of what could happen to anyone, anywhere, as well as a scream of indignation against social and political injustice, gender constraints, and historical erasure. Last but not least, it is a book of hope – the hope of integrating familial, historical, and social trauma into a bigger self, through language and nature.
Through personal storytelling, including a child perspective, terse poetry, myths, fairy-tales, imagery, social and political criticism, as well as some utopias/manifestos, Our Voices is an overcoming of the persistent horrors of communism and immigration; a book about living in the in-betweens and dreaming ourselves into more than mere survival; an invitation to its readers to bring out their own buried “shameful” family stories, to let them breathe and find resonance in the bigger world.
“Radovan’s debut family memoir explores intergenerational trauma against the backdrop of postwar Romania... Using diary entries, poems, photographs, and essays, the author cobbles together a family history out of fragments, effectively reflecting the shattered nature of lives under and after authoritarianism... Radovan’s writing has a lyrical quality throughout, whether it takes the form of poetry or prose, offering readers an incantatory blend of the remembered, the overheard, and the imagined... A chimeric remembrance that delves into the legacy of Romania’s troubled past.” — Kirkus Reviews
"The book follows the author's experiences as an immigrant, surviving the crushing pressures of expectations from society, and living with intergenerational trauma. By moving through the different stories, trains of thought, and even writing styles, the book paints a mosaic of the author's life as fragmented and often confusing as a lived life usually is. With a focus on the hope that the difficulties of the previous generation can avoid being inherited, the book tells a powerful story about a life filled with challenges (...) Author Diana Radovan’s experiences are laid bare for readers with a candid openness that made me feel as if I was sitting with a dear friend discussing their life over a warm drink, the wider world put to one side as she shared her hard-fought wisdom and insight." - Readers' Favorite (5-star review)
Red Ribbon Winner in the Wishing Shelf Book Awards
'Lyrically written, this is a thought-provoking memoir describing life in communist Romania. A RED RIBBON WINNER and highly recommended!’ - The Wishing Shelf Book Awards
Here's what readers have to say about this book....
Lyrically written, this is a thought-provoking memoir describing life in communist Romania. A RED RIBBON WINNER and highly recommended!' - The Wishing Shelf Book Awards Readers' Comments: "Such a thought-provoking book! I particularly enjoyed the change in writing style from prose to poetry. Very enjoyable. - Male reader, aged 54 "A compelling insight into life under communism. It's fragmented in many ways in terms of writing style but that is also the book's strength. The author is talented, successfully exploring family and the many, many problems they faced. - Female reader, aged 39 "This book is a superb way of reminding people living in a democracy how lucky they are. Although I thought the author's story was difficult to follow in parts, she still puts over the stark reality of life under an all-controlling political regime. I suspect this book would be fab for a book club; there's so much to discuss and think over. - Female reader, aged 55 "Powerful and compelling, the author should be congratulated on putting over her story in such a vibrant and interesting way. - Male reader, aged 28 Star Rating: 4 Stars Number of Readers: 15 Stats: Editing: 8/10 Writing Style: 7/10 Content: 7/10 Cover: 3/5 Of the 15 readers: -11 would read another book by this author. -9 thought the cover was good or excellent. -10 felt it was easy to follow. 11 would recommend this book to another reader to try. Of all the readers: -5 felt the author's strongest skill was subject knowledge'. -7 felt the author's strongest skill was writing style'. -3 felt the author's strongest skill was clarity of message'. -10 felt the pacing was good or excellent. -11 thought the author understood the readership and what they wanted.
Our Voices is a work of non-fiction in the memoir subgenre. It is aimed at mature readers and was penned by author Diana Radovan. The book follows the author's experiences as an immigrant, surviving the crushing pressures of expectations from society, and living with intergenerational trauma. By moving through the different stories, trains of thought, and even writing styles, the book paints a mosaic of the author's life as fragmented and often confusing as a lived life usually is. With a focus on the hope that the difficulties of the previous generation can avoid being inherited, the book tells a powerful story about a life filled with challenges. This was a simply beautiful reflection on the ups and downs of an eventful life, told through a medley of techniques and styles that each feel disparate at first but soon start coming together to form the picture of a long and emotional journey. Author Diana Radovan's experiences are laid bare for readers with a candid openness that made me feel as if I was sitting with a dear friend discussing their life over a warm drink, the wider world put to one side as she shared her hard-fought wisdom and insight. There is a messiness to even the most orderly of lives, and I've never read a memoir that embraces this messiness whilst producing such exquisite meaning from it as Our Voices. I am sincerely grateful to the author not just for sharing her life with me as a reader but for the wonderful literary gift she uses to bring her story into focus for a stranger.
Diana Radovan's book "Our Voices is absolutely engaging! Her lyrical writing style, along with the poetry that she sprinkles throughout the book, is a veritable feast for anyone who loves language. She skilfully writes about the struggles of three generations impacted by political winds beyond their control which, sadly, are still relevant today. The protagonist's remarkable resilience kept me turning pages to the very end!
"Our Voices" by Diana Radovan is a heart-wrenching memoir about the stories of our ancestors and how they can help us to discover our life story. Exploring identity, memory, and nature, Radovan's message is about freedom and the limitless opportunities that arise when one allows space for the heart to speak. The voice of the heart is healing, it holds memories and dreams that have been sculpted by painful experiences, but in order to keep writing our story, those memories and dreams need to be released through personal will, choice, and freedom. The uniqueness of this book made it more personal than other memoirs I have read. It's a collection of thoughts, diaries, and poems that are out of chronological order yet still tell a coherent story, layered with bits of mythology and lyricism. The themes are poignant and highly relevant, with liminal messages that will reach those beyond time and place. I think above all else it is a personal healing manifesto that gives voices to the familial, political, and social traumas and releases them into nature where they can be healed and released. I connected to Diana Radovan's voice and her hybrid writing style and I think she has potential to write a magical realism novel about her experiences...something in the vein of Isabel Allende. Regenerative and inspiring.
This book had such an incredible impact on me. With stunning and immersive prose and poetry, I was steeped in emotion. I learned things about myself through the eyes and words of the author. I connected on a deep level with a story that is not my own but that resonates. I am so overcome by feeling, having just now closed the book, and will be thinking of this story for weeks to come.
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