Review: “Not By Accident”
Author: Samantha Dunn.
Published By: Henry Holt and Company LLC
Copyright 2002 by Samantha Dunn
By Bobby D. the Crow as told to Kelly Mahan Jaramillo, Nov. 9th, 2009
Once again,my patient crow fans, the Bird wants to apologize for this page not fitting into the “bi-weekly” category. It has been a hectic week, where the Bird has had to do much multi-tasking, as the Humans are, as usual, busy. Hrumph.
The full title of this book is “Not By Accident – Reconstructing A Careless Life.”
The Bird picked this book up while recovering from my own accident, which resulted in my left wing being half severed. The Bird was intrigued, as the book takes place in Los Angeles, where I was hurt, and reading while recuperating, and I thought it might help me feel better, not being the only being in the city unable to be mobile. I guess misery does love company, but in this case, I was getting more than I bargained for.
Author Samantha Dunn cuts right to the chase in the first chapter, leading the reader along as she is taking her horse out for a ride up into the Malibu hills, along a trail she has wanted to explore for some time. She is anxious to escape her house, as there are piles of bills to deal with, and a letter from her landlord informing her that he is selling the house, she and her husband have thirty days to leave.
She needs to clear her head, and as we are dreamily lazing along with her on her beautiful ride, she comes to a small creek, which causes her horse, Harley, to balk. She teases him for being a sissy, noting that Thoroughbreds are, by definition, nervous horses.
Rather than stay in the saddle and negotiate him crossing the creek, she dismounts, taking the reins to lead him across. She is wearing new paddock boots, and does not want to get them wet, so she skips over the water.
Suddenly she is flung forward, dirt in her mouth. Harley has been startled, and reared forward, knocking her down. He is standing over her as she rolls over, and sees his belly quivering above her, dripping sweat onto her face. She tries to reassure him, but he jerks away, and, in her words:
“I see the flash of the steel-shod hoof as it strikes downward. I hear the crack of something, loud as gunfire, and look to see my left leg snapped apart like dry kindling.
His hind hoof has just sliced the middle of my left shin, cutting like a dull shovel straight through the bones, the muscles, ligaments and veins, leaving a hinge of calf muscle and sinew.”
I was only on the third page, and I had to put the book down for a moment, as that visual was so strong for the Bird, bringing back memories of (something) biting into my wing, hearing my flight feathers being yanked out – I felt dizzy, but I had to continue reading. This was horrifying, riveting, and oh-too-familiar.
I remember the Mother telling her Brother at a small dinner they were having with her Brother, his Wife, the Parents, and an Old Friend, they were all listening breathlessly, and her Brother was so caught up in the story that he blurted out, “Did she live?” The table was silent, then everybody burst out laughing, including the Brother, when he remembered that Dunn had lived to tell the tale. It was a fun night.
However, the Mother’s Brother had a valid question, as Samantha Dunn is such a skilled memoirist, that as one is reading, you find yourself holding your breath, wondering if she is going to die. You completely forget that she is writing about herself. The Bird considers her writing pure genius.
She manages to inject wonderful moments of humor into this grim scene, and this sense of humor is most likely one her qualities that enabled her to hold on and live.
The Bird does not want to give too much of the story away, however, the turn the book takes is much more the core of the story than the actual accident. Dunn is bedridden for months, and in that time, she is unable to do what she has always done when faced with a difficult issue – run, escape. She has two choices, numb out on painkillers until she can go back to her normal life, if that ever happens, or she can take a good hard look inside and tally up how many “accidents” she has had through her life, and start piecing together what is lying underneath these constant mishaps, with this last one nearly killing her. Everybody, herself included, has always insisted she is just “accident-prone”. At this point, Dunn is not so sure.
Samantha Dunn is that rare Bird ( I consider her one of Us) who takes the reader on her inner journey without us once rolling our eyes at what could, in the hands of a lesser writer, be two hundred and forty one pages of irritating self-absorption. Beyond the brutal accident, her humor, her heartbreaking self honesty, and her determination keep her well out of the realm of self-involved, she is inviting us into the dark recesses of her psyche, where we are in for a big surprise – a startling look at our own stubborn blind spots, our own character flaws, our all-to-human-and-Crow selves.
The Bird loved this book, and highly recommends it. This is the one area the Mother and the Bird are in complete agreement – fact, when the Bird told the Mother about this book, the Mother went out and bought over twenty copies to give as gifts to friends, and often the occasional stranger in the street with whom she would strike up a conversation. She carried an extra copy in her purse for years.
Now that I have pulled it back out, what do you want to bet you will be getting a copy for Christmas?
This is what it looked like as I was perusing the bookshelf for my next review and spotted “Not By Accident”.
In the Bird's excitement, for a moment, he could almost fly......
I hope you have enjoyed the Bird’s review, and please feel free to leave any comments you may have about the review or the book, below.
CAW!
BOBBY OUT!!
Review: “Stuff White People Like”
Author: Christian Lander
Published By: Random House.
Copyright 2008 by Christian Lander.
By Bobby D. the Crow as told to Kelly Mahan Jaramillo, Oct. 28th, 2009
Hello, my patient crow fans, the Bird wants to apologize for how long it has taken to get this page up and running. As I am sure you probably guessed, it is the human’s fault, as is always the case. They had one simple little task to do – get a microphone, record and type out my review. That it is. I have been nagging and nagging, but there is always “something more important”.
Like my latest post – running off to New York in the middle of the night for Lord-knows-what.
I have requested my own computer, so I am not a prisoner to their schedule, and that is turning into a distinct possibility - I have nagged non-stop, and I think I am starting to wear them down. Crow – almost ONE! Humans – ZERO!
The subject of humans is what pushed me to pick my first book to review. As you can see below, it was not an easy decision. Let me start by saying – I review whatever I feel like reviewing – a book, and not necessarily a new book, magazines, articles, and blogs. Just to let you know, this is not a “Book of the Month” club. I am not Oprah, I am a Crow, with little time and limited resources. Just to be clear.
I've had a bite, a nice beverage, and now it is time to relax and read.
However, I feel my choice was timely, both personally and professionally. I chose Christian Lander’s “Stuff White People Like.”
Oh, and ignore the “click to look inside” business at the top over there – another favor the humans put on the back burner was to take a nice photograph of the book cover, so I had to to pull this off of the Internet. With these two, the Bird is forced to get creative.
This book, written in 2008, started out as a blog, where, if you enjoyed the book as much as I did, you can continue your adventures reading the “Stuff White People Like” blog. The comments get really, really out there.
This is a funny book, although you may hear cries – NOT caws, of racism, I did not find anything racist about it. Social elbowing, status climbing, sure, but no racism. I thought it was funny as ganging up on a Falcon, but I have to admit, there is one area that had the Bird utterly flummoxed.
There is a test at the end of the book, to determine how “white” you are. Now, I am a black bird, and the humans who call themselves my parents are white. We all took the test, and somehow, it turns out, according to Mr Lander, that I am more white than them!
I am quite sure you are thinking this is not possible, as if you are a fan of my blog, you have seen pictures of both of them, and me. Well, here are a few of the major checklist questions:
The Bird Likes:
Coffee, Organic Food, Farmers Markets, Diversity, Barack Obama, Asian Girls, Nonprofit Organizations, Tea, Having Black Friends (well, YEAH) Yoga (do it 28 times a day, sometimes more) Gifted Children (if I had children, they would be totally gifted, I consider the cats my children, and they are incredibly gifted – much smarter than the humans. Just look at how they appreciate my decorating, below)
We were making collages. Really gorgeous stuff.
Hating My Parents (as you can tell), Awareness, International Travel (from L.A. to Pittsburgh – that’s as far as I am allowed), Netflix, Jon Stewart, Brunch, Indie music, Apple Products ( i have my own Ipod), Sushi, Public Radio, The Sunday New York Times (part of the collage, above), Vintage, Irony, Sarah Silverman (very cute, the Bird thinks), Kitchen Gadgets (great fun to use as emergency loo’s, if my Humans only had a few), Apologies, (HELL yes!), Lawyers, Marijuana, Natural Medicine, Expensive Sandwiches, Recycling, ’80’s Night, Threatening to move to Canada, Bottled Water, Scarves, Reusable Shopping Bags, Conspiracies, Avoiding Confrontation (why do you think I have this blog?), Not Having cash, Bakeries, Modern art Museums, Cheese, Rock Climbing, Dive Bars, Therapy……….really, this is an incomplete list, and I am already 80% white.
The Humans, on the other hand, are about 20% white. I won’t bore you with their list, except, yes, the mother has two last names, they go to film festivals (but only when they have a film in one, otherwise they avoid them like the plague) and the whole Barack Obama issue? I am going to let you all in on a little secret – they voted for Dennis Kucinich.
Yeah. This guy. They just wear their Obama stickers and pins and stuff so they “fit in” and can argue politics without being dismissed as nuts.
They drink tap water, hate musical comedy, Oscar parties, ’80’s night, the idea of human children of their own, much less ‘gifted”ones, Organic Food, Yoga – I mean it’s insane! They are not white! They actually came downstairs and saw the beautiful collage the cats and I were making, and had the nerve to call it “junk” and “a terrible mess” – try not to run screaming here, but they actually threw it in the trash. What more proof do you need to know that they totally do NOT appreciate art?
Bottom Line? I am the white one in the house. I don’t really know what they are, but they actually have the nerve to blame it on me that no one comes over for dinner. I Don’t Think So, you weirdos.
Sorry, didn’t mean to go off on a tangent there. I, Bobby D. the crow, highly recommend Christian Lander’s Book, “Stuff White People Like”. It is funny, informative, and if you feel a little like you don’t belong, it could really help you, and it is cheaper than therapy (although I love my therapist, I would never leave). Until I read it, I always felt like the odd man out. After this, I honestly feel I have found my “peeps”.
Yo!
Bobby Out.
Well, the Bird has the review of the book correct, and his assessment of who is “white” and “not white” in the house is pretty spot on, however, we DID TOO vote for Obama.
For the record, let’s get one thing straight – we like Dennis Kucinich, we are utterly unapologetic for that fact, and I hate to break it to you, Bobby my dear – people do not come over for dinner because they are afraid of YOU!
I am going to let folks in on your big secret – you are a giant scared-y bird. Anyone new you meet, and you leap towards the window like a hawk is on your ass.
Just to set a few facts straight. We may be weird, but you are a big old baby.
Love,
Your Mother
You are SO NOT ALLOWED to comment on this page, mother!
This is the Bird’s private area, and there are no parents allowed.
YEAH, Dennis Kucinich! Bobby, I always knew your parents were cool. Now, you have given me proof. Keep up the good reviews, White Bird. The world awaits.
I believe this is the section where the mother gets to pop on and do her little dance and sing, “I told you so, I told you so, what-can-I-say – I told you so!!
Ahem. The I told you so being that you wrote a good review, Bobby, you know that is what I meant, right?
Right?
WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT NO PARENTAL COMMENTS???!!!
Besides, don’t you think I have figured out that “Aminta’ is one of your friends you went off to meet when you snuck out in the middle of the night to go to New York? I see the pictures on the home page, you know I am considered the smartest bird on earth, how could you possibly think that I would not figure out she was a friend.
By the way, Aminta, besides the Kucinich comment (just one big can of crazy, but hey – My guy won, and the crazy guy can go back to worrying about aliens) and thinking my parents are cool – they are such dorks – really. Live with them for a week, you’ll see.
BESIDES all of that, thank you so very much for your kind comment on my review. The Bird appreciates all feedback, and is happy to respond in a civil fashion to everyone who comments. Except those-who-shall-not-be-mentioned, above.
Bobby D. the Crow - White and Proud Of It.
This is one of the most fun sites I have had the pleasure of stumbling across in a long time. I am a huge crow fan, so hey Bobby – keep up the writing, and please add more pictures. You look like you are quite possibly moulting in some of these, and by now you should be sleek and glossy, am I correct?
Yes, your parents are lazy sods if they don’t even have a recent photo of you.
Can’t wait for your next review! Do we get a teaser?
Hello Terry, the Bird welcomes you to his blog.
You are one hundred percent correct, I am molting in the picture, and when I nicely asked the mother to replace it with a nicer picture, she went on and on and on about how the camera was old and it was so hard to get a picture of me, yap, yap, yap.
Although, the two of them finally bought a new camera, and I am looking fabulous, so I am expecting a new picture up for the next review.
My friend Aminta wants to know what I am reviewing next, and I am having a hard time deciding.
A teaser…..hmm. It is going to be a scary book, I think. It is only a few days late for the whole Halloween scene, and we crows scare people all year round, so I am thinking scary.
Perhaps a forgotten treasure of Stephen King’s?
We shall see……..
Bobby Out!
And just one last rant on my mother. She insists on having the same little picture as I do when she writes on her other blogs. I told her this was MY blog, and the picture should be of ME.
She says that since she does all of the typing, she should be in the picture, and she feels it sets a good example of family members who collaborate together.
THE NERVE!
I want my own picture! Is that asking too much? When do parents let go and let their adult children have some autonomy?
This is a serious sore point for the Bird. Believe me, I will be getting my own, um,
“Maw! What do you call those little blog pictures again?”
from the office “Avatars, Bob,”
Right, avatar. I’ll get my own. That’ll show her I don’t need her.
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