Catherine Burns

-From storytelling [radio hour] The Moth, a collection about risk, courage, and facing the unknown, drawn from the ... stories .. told on their stages, [featuring] voices both familiar and new. Storytellers include Louis C.K., Tig Notaro, John Turturro, and Meg Wolitzer, as well as a hip hop 'one hit wonder, ' an astronomer gazing at the surface of Pluto for the first time, and a young female spy risking everything as part of Churchill's 'secret army' during World War II. They share their ventures into uncharted territory--and how their lives were changed forever by what they found there---

True Stories about Facing the Unknown

The Moth Presents All These Wonders

Moth

If you can't guess by the title I have some mixed feelings about this read. I was really pumped about this read, too. I hadn't heard of the podcast, but I really needed a collection of short stories and I felt like this was a great choice. I mean, Neil Gaiman wrote the forward. And some of the stories are worth his name. Some are wonderful and even left me crying. Which, honestly, doesn't happen often expect things that are done well. And those stories were done well. I have a bunch of dog ears in my copy of those stories whenever I need to draw inspiration (I was out of sticky notes). But there were stories that bombed really hard. I was so tempted to skip them too.

It's important to remember that these stories were performed on stage or in the podcast and my guess is, they did better in that. Without a face, without seeing those emotions, I honestly watched a lot fall dead to me that I wanted nothing to do with. There were even stories that I gritted my teeth at and wanted to skim simply because the person who told it didn't realize how ignorant they sounded in certain situations. I couldn't find sympathy when they couldn't bother to learn names or a language or how lucky they really were in comparison of others. It was so frustrating. Enough so that I had to put the book down for a while. 

But the stories that were good, that were able to capture emotion in the book, I can imagine doing the same on stage. They truly blew me away and I just sat there in tears having to give myself a few moments to recover before heading on. And maybe, that's why the other stories didn't do it for me, because they just simply couldn't compare with these stories. 

It's hard to say writing style or quality when it's simply a transcription, so I can't get into that exactly. Do I recommend it? Yes and no. I think that maybe checking out the podcast would be a good start. If you enjoy that and want to have a collection in words, then give it a go. I wish I could just give you guys the small collection of those good stories instead, but again, it depends on the person and how they feel about such things.

“Wonderful." —Michiko Kakutani, New York Times Celebrating the 20th anniversary of storytelling phenomenon The Moth, 45 unforgettable true stories about risk, courage, and facing the unknown, drawn from the best ever told on their stages Carefully selected by the creative minds at The Moth, and adapted to the page to preserve the raw energy of live storytelling, All These Wonders features voices both familiar and new. Alongside Meg Wolitzer, John Turturro, Tig Notaro, and Hasan Minhaj, readers will encounter: an astronomer gazing at the surface of Pluto for the first time, an Afghan refugee learning how much her father sacrificed to save their family, a hip-hop star coming to terms with being a “one-hit wonder,” a young female spy risking everything as part of Churchill’s “secret army” during World War II, and more. High-school student and neuroscientist alike, the storytellers share their ventures into uncharted territory—and how their lives were changed indelibly by what they discovered there. With passion, and humor, they encourage us all to be more open, vulnerable, and alive.

True Stories About Facing the Unknown

linda

I first came across The Moth on Youtube a few years ago. I am a big fan of beautiful storytelling. In my mind, The Moth is TED meets artistic creativity. Most of the people profiled in this book are creatives: writers, comedians, actors. And they indeed are incredible storytellers. The Moth bills itself as "'dinner party stories' moved to the stage and recognized as art."

The first few stories felt slow, but there were a few that I especially liked: Ishmael Beah's Unusual Normality, Arthur Bradford's The Quest for Chad, Kevin Mcgeehan's It Matters a Great Deal, Hasan Minhaj's Prom, and Dori Samadzai Bonner's "A New Home."

"Prom" hit so close to home. I love how Minhaj talked about "this gorgeous house with a beautiful white picket fence," a "family [that] looked like it had been cut out of a J.Crew catalog." For me, the white picket fence epitomizes the ideal that anyone who has ever been an immigrant in America aspires to. I, for one, have always wanted to grow up in a happy suburban home with two SUVs, PB&J sandwiches in my lunch box, and that perfect, manicured lawn, one that is always greener than the one I had at home. I know all too well the feeling of attempting to make up what I lack in "real-life" game with a humorous persona; of coping with immigrant parents who forsake leisure for the fulfillment of the American dream; of being told that I am not "good enough" for the family picture. I broke when I read the words that Minhaj's father left him with: "You have to be brave, and the courage to do what’s right has to be greater than your fear of getting hurt."

Another favorite was Dori Samadzai Bonner's "A New Home." Samadzai Bonner's family fled Kabul in the early 1990s on forged papers, sought political asylum in the United States, and after a long and painful process, finally won citizenship. Something that struck me in her story was when she said that even when her family struggled to afford their meals, they saved money for an immigration attorney. This is why I want to be a lawyer. In the ending, Samadzai talks about her love, allegiance, and gratitude for her newfound homeland. She ends with the following: "May God Bless Our America." America is ours. 

I loved this book overall because it showed me how powerful good storytelling can be. Indeed, honesty matters. Vulnerabilty matters. In the introduction, the editor writes about how good storytelling connects us, because as humans, we are an "assemblage of stories." Through stories, we learn that the things we see as divisions - race, skin color, gender, social class - are illusory. And every story is a gift.

Suzy Dean

I turned the page and the book was over and I was sad.
Better used as a bathroom book or something to read a bit of every night but I ran through it in a day. And I enjoyed it. The end

The Moth Presents All These Wonders True Stories about Facing the Unknown

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