Nola: A Memoir of Faith, Art, and Madness

Robin Hemley's loving tribute to his sister, Nola, who was lost to the madness of schizophrenia in her twenties, is alternately pensive and soaring. A middle-aged Hemely recalls and tries to understand his sister, through her memoir, as she struggled mightily with spirituality and disease. But ultimately, the book also reads like the memoir of a family of writers still looking for beauty within Nola's battle. Throughout this unique work, Hemely enhances the story by including the writings of his mother and sister, unlocking additional layers to the family's story. This is a book for anyone who has dealt with or tried to understand the world beyond this one. Most impressively, Hemley's redemptive novel transcends the ugliness of disease and presents a beautiful picture of Nola, a creative and thoughtful woman whose life was taken unjustly.

I'm the author of "Fevers of the Mind", a memoir about bipolar disorder. "Nola" is truly an excellent account of the author's sister's struggle with schizophrenia. Nola, the woman, is a complex, almost mystical person who is both extremely talented and unique. The reader is also offered an intimate description of Nola's family and their complex interactions. The writing is first rate- highly detailed, fluid, and pleasing to read. Overall, an excellent book. Probably would be enjoyed by anyone who likes quality nonfiction.

I interviewed Robin Hemley five years ago for a start-up literary magazine. Unfortunately, financial woes prevented the magazine from ever actually starting up. It's too bad the interview was never published b/c his thoughtful responses offer tremendous advice and insights for aspiring writers. Be sure to check out Nola -- it's an excellent read.Here's Part I of the interview:Q: What have you found to be some common weaknesses in the work of young, aspiring writers?Hemley: All of the weaknesses I?m about to mention are syndromes I suffered from (and sometimes still do), so I have plenty of first-hand knowledge. When I first started writing, I wanted to dress like a writer and hang-out at coffee shops, and make profound statements, but I didn?t care for writing that much. I also tended to wait for inspiration to strike. Now I think that inspiration is much over-rated. I?d prefer to work through the natural frustrations of writing and work towards inspiration rather than waiting for it to knock me over ? a rare occurrence. Young writers also tend to be wary of revision, in my experience, but the more I write, the more I value revision. I like to quote Auden?s adage about poetry ? ?A poem is never finished, merely abandoned.? And of course, sometimes writers want to write but not read. And I think that?s a mistake. No one writes in a vacuum. The techniques of other writers can sometimes be our best teachers. Along those same lines, sometimes writers (young and old) want to publish their work in literary magazines, but don?t want to read them. And it think that?s a mistake, both professionally and culturally. We have a lot of wonderful literary magazines in this country with very low subscription bases.Q: Conversely, what are some of the strengths shared in the work of today?s young writers?Hemley: I?ve been noticing a kind of open-mindedness in young writers in terms of form and content that I didn?t notice when I was in grad school fifteen years ago. What was valued when I was in grad school was a kind of hyper-realism, brand name fiction people called it, or K-mart fiction. This seemed to be the province of North American writers, and while Magical Realism was valued, that was something that South American writers wrote. I think those false boundaries have been eroded, and that many young writers are exploring the magical and mysterious. I think we?ve always had North American writers who?ve written as magically as any South American writer, but I think that in our writing classes at least, a certain kind of bland and bloodless psychologically real story was held up as a kind of model ? we were taught to be almost ironically detached from our characters. Bobbie Ann Mason comes to mind as the model for this kind of writing, as opposed to someone like Toni Morrison. This might all be in my imagination, but I think there?s a tendency in the better young writers now to acknowledge mystery in fiction.There?s also been this boom in short short stories

This is a continuation of my interview with Robin Hemley.Q: Among the famous authors of the past few centuries, whom do you consider to be the most boring to read?Hemley: For me, the hands-down winner is the French author Robbe-Grillet who could write a three-page description of a slice of tomato.And many literary theorists are quite adept at boring readers in the name of edification. But the list of those would be far too long.And even the most celebrated authors have written wonderful works as well as boring works. What we find boring changes over time. Shakespeare's epic poem, "Lucretia" comes to mind. In his own day, this was a famous work of his - I had to read it in college, and though I adore many of his plays, this poem was incredibly dry to me.Q: If you were asked to compile a three-book required reading list for the college students of America, which three books would you select?Hemley: Ack! I'd probably start with that biography you're forcing me to write.For me, that's one of those impossible questions. How could one possibly choose? Three books would be much too narrow for me. For that reason, I'd probably choose The Tao of Lao-Tze, The Illiad, and maybe the Old Testament. I'd want them taught in the original language, so the students would have to learn Chinese, Greek, and Aramaic. I might remove one of the latter two in favor of The Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology, which I used to read as a kid. It has an introduction by Robert Graves and is pretty comprehensive, thought the version I have does not include Judaeo-Christian mythology, and should before I'd want to use it. I know the term "mythology" is out of vogue, but I'd use it as long as all belief systems fell under that category. That might be a substantial education: culturally, historically, spiritually, and in terms of language.Q: What is the function of your work? Entertainment? Social message? Something else altogether?Hemley: I'd like my work to be both entertaining as well as working towards discoveries. I'm not a writer who has a message in mind when he writes. Personally, I'm after discoveries, not messages. The highest kind of discoveries, and the most elusive, are spiritual discoveries. And to me, this is what many literatures have their roots in, the Eleusinian mysteries of ancient Greece, or the ontological tales that most cultures share.Q: What is your greatest work?Hemley: We end with a trick question. I'd love to have a greatest work, but right now I only have a "goodest work." And right now, my goodest work is, of course, the last book I wrote, which is something I think most writers want to believe. The last work they completed is the best, and the next one will be even better.

This is simply the best non-fiction piece I have read in many years! In all seriousness, Nola compares with the "classic" non-fiction such as Capote's "Du Sang Froid" and Thompson's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." Hemley presents his reader with a cacphony of stories and evidence about the life and death of an American icon - the family.