≡ Libro Gratis She Got Up Off the Couch And Other Heroic Acts from Mooreland Indiana Haven Kimmel 9780743285001 Books

She Got Up Off the Couch And Other Heroic Acts from Mooreland Indiana Haven Kimmel 9780743285001 Books

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She Got Up Off the Couch And Other Heroic Acts from Mooreland Indiana Haven Kimmel 9780743285001 Books

This is book two, a follow up to Haven Kimmel's first memoir, A Girl Named Zippy. You really wouldn't think life in a small town in Indiana would be noteworthy, but Kimmel has a great sense of humor which shines through and makes these books among some of my favorites. I've read them both twice, and recently purchased the audio versions. The author narrates her own books and does a great job of it.
This book tells more about her family as they grow up and things begin to shift in the family.
Very nicely written memoir and well worth the time to read ( or listen to ).


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She Got Up Off the Couch And Other Heroic Acts from Mooreland Indiana Haven Kimmel 9780743285001 Books Reviews

Haven Kimmel's She Got Up Off the Couch is the sequel to the New York Times Bestseller A Girl Named Zippy and, for anyone interested in a lighthearted romp through the heart of the Midwest--told in the voice and perspective of an exuberant young girl--this is the book to read.

Comprised of seemingly unrelated episodes of the young girl, Zippy's, life, this book makes us love and appreciate her, as we become familiar with the architecture of her family and town. The matter-of-fact narration makes for some hilarious and endearing moments, for instance, Zip describes a woman cooking with persimmons "she even made something with the word "pudding" in the title although of course it was not real pudding because it wasn't chocolate and hadn't come from a box. I was too polite to point the truth out."

The plot moves forward as Zippy observes the progress of her mother, Delonda Jarvis, through college--from the decision to "Get up Off of The Couch" to earning her Master's degree in English and finally, teaching. Concurrently, or perhaps I should say consequently, Zip's parents' marriage lands in the trash bin~I can't say this is a spoiler, as the fact seems apparent from the very beginning of the book. Her father's first dialogue in the book, well towards the end of the first chapter, is a response to watching his wife drive off with a friend to take the College entrance test "Time was, a woman wouldn't have gotten in a man's marriage that way."

Despite her father's chauvinism and self-centeredness (he always managed to have nice, new clothes, while his daughter trompsed about in second hand everything, even wearing his old shirts, which she was swimming in), we must be careful not to write this man off. His character develops subtely throughout the tales, and we see him through the tender eyes of his daughter, who adores him despite all of our reasons she shouldn't.

We don't often see Delonda communicating directly with her daughter; instead, Zippy narrates her mother's telephone conversations with friends, or discussions with professors. This indirect source of information continues throughout the book, although we see the two bond when Zip accompanies her mother on campus.

[I must depart from the book for a moment here, to express the nostalgia that this book stirred up in me (and my sister, too, I daresay, as she recommended it to me). How often did I sit at the bottom of the stairs, eavesdropping, or even overtly lying on the bed with her, while my mother called her friends from school and church to discuss the important matters of school and church. I loved it when I got to go to classes with my mother. I'd sit there with my multiplication tables, or some scrap paper and crayons, and ignore the old professor who wouldn't stop talking. She would often introduce me afterwards, because she always had follow-up questions to the lectures. Like Zippy said "I went right on hating school as much as any vegetable left in vinegar, but Lord I loved college." Less than ten years later, I sat in the exact same lecture halls, on my own, and finally understood why my mom took me with her It's scary. ]

Delonda Jarvis' example of stubborn dedication is undeniably a source of inspiration to her two daughters. While they worried about her in the rickety car during her commute, and their complete lack of money, very early in the book, Delonda's influence is felt in Zip's realization "I knew I should still be worried, but I suddenly felt that anything was possible, and that most things, though certainly not all, would turn out okay."

The dichotomy between youth and age runs throughout the scenarios and, as some of us may relate to, Zippy pinpoints the exact moment as a child when she realized that her life and body would change, too, in the course of time. She was no longer invincible after this realization, and not much later breaks her arm to a horrific extent in a roller-skating accident--I might add how thankful I am that someone finally exposed the true danger of the rollerskating "whip."

Also prevalent in the book is the narrator's stance on Christianity. Zip makes enough knocks at the Bible to make one wonder at her faith, but parries these with some profound observations of the influence of Christ in her life. She sees through the fraudulence of some religious practices, both by her peers and by adults--when she is forced to go to church camp she is the only one who does not accept Christ as her Savior. She also seems to be the only one aware that many of these young women were simply using their conversions as alibis--that after they dedicated themselves to Christ they found it easier to sneak off in the woods with their boyfriends, because no one would suspect them...

In the midst of her aversion to religion, the young girl obviously seeks something larger; "it seemed to me that there was something gigantic going on and it was near to me and also very far away." And so we see the ruminations of a young girl contemplating Christ, or God, or what-have-you--whichever you choose, and whether you are believer or not, I daresay this is something most of us have experienced at some point.

The book weaves about with hilarious and heat-rending tales of small-town life; Haven Kimmel retells the story of childhood with some rural Midwestern distinctions--the fear of tornadoes, the occasional run-in with an angry bull, a perfect wonderment at the number of cats and dogs on a farm (let alone the barn animals) and a general familiarity with farm life, horrendous blizzards, and of course, the rite of passage in which we play with tape recorders. This is a quick, light-hearted read, though it contains some darker overtones. I highly recommend it.
With the voice of a young girl, the story told in She Got Up Off the Couch And Other Heroic Acts from Mooreland, Indiana resonates with humor, truth and pathos. A memoir and sequel to A Girl Named Zippy Growing Up Small in Mooreland Indiana (Today Show Book Club #3), we follow more of Ms. Kimmel's tales of growing up in Mooreland, Indiana - a small town that resembles small towns everywhere, but with the additional layer of how it feels to be "different" from other families.

As a young child, the author experienced the difference without apparent awareness. Perhaps like most children, her own family's uniqueness doesn't stir her until she sees other families up close. At some point, she recognizes how different they are...In her tale of the numerous mice and rats that abound in the walls, and how one day she is surrounded by mice carcasses - of "gifts" brought to her bed by the cats - the point is drummed home to her. They live in a house of squalor, with no running water at times, and no laundry facilities. This explains the mounds of unlaundered clothing that pile up everywhere and become so much a part of the scene that she hardly notices. She then seems to experience "a-ha" moments of acknowledgement of these differences in her family life.

But when her mother, who had previously taken up camp on the couch everyday, suddenly begins to change her life - first by going off to college, having taught herself to drive - and then not only excels but graduates summa cum laude, everything begins to transform itself. And the father, who was the self-anointed "boss" of the abode, has taken to collecting disability checks and changing into someone almost unrecognizable.

By the time her mother has obtained her first teaching position, however, the father has suddenly moved outside the home, too, taking on a job in law enforcement - a return to "rule", as it were - and without even noticing, because it has happened so gradually, "Zippy" realizes that her life and her family will never be the same again.

Almost as if she stands back, detached, Ms. Kimmel leads us through various anecdotes of her coming-of-age tale, revealing no self-pity and reflecting instead on the experiences that shaped her. A brave memoir that will not be forgotten by the reader any time soon.

Laurel-Rain Snow
Author of Web of Tyranny, etc.
Whether or not you have already read Haven Kimmel's other memoir A Girl Named Zippy, don't wait to read this; they are not sequential. I don't usually read memoirs at all because I generally prefer fiction, but Haven's books grip me in the same way that good fiction does. I find myself caring so much about the people described, and I ache for them as they struggle. One of the most masterful aspects of this book (as well as Zippy) is Haven's ability to write now as a mature woman while preserving a believable child's voice. I hope there will be more of these.
This is book two, a follow up to Haven Kimmel's first memoir, A Girl Named Zippy. You really wouldn't think life in a small town in Indiana would be noteworthy, but Kimmel has a great sense of humor which shines through and makes these books among some of my favorites. I've read them both twice, and recently purchased the audio versions. The author narrates her own books and does a great job of it.
This book tells more about her family as they grow up and things begin to shift in the family.
Very nicely written memoir and well worth the time to read ( or listen to ).