About the author

Linda M

<p>My memoir recounts with snark, humor, and naked honesty how, as a little girl, I carried my parents' shame, encased in fear, believing if anyone learned the truth about us, they would use it against me.&#160;&#160;An iron will to succeed grew within me, and in adulthood, I began to find my voice and prospered in the hard-wired testosterone of the political world.&#160;&#160;My dysfunctional family, like so many others, will&#160;amuse you at times, but it isn't all fun and games. &#160;I spent many years wondering if my story would speak to people&#160;and upon reading Jenny Lawson&#8217;s side-splitting, Furiously Happy about her personal history with depression, and Jeanette Walls' brilliant memoir, The Glass Castle, I decided to finish what I started over ten years ago.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>I have been told my life is a moving testament to human resilience and astonishing outcomes, but I think there are many of us who live in a vast field of unnamed offenses, who have not merely survived but succeeded happily.&#160;&#160;Mine is not a pity story, but what I hope will constitute an opening for constructive dialogue about issues that are still off limits, in a time when people will remark on just about anything, often without regard to civility, yet remain silent on issues affecting so many.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Endless thanks to successful author Joshua Mohr, who gave me the ultimate compliment saying, &#8220;Linda, it made me laugh when I didn&#8217;t think I should, and it made me weep,&#8221; before starting on my journey to making my mess breathe.&#160;&#160;I would never have made it without his initial take and his demanding requests to improve it.</p>