{"product_id":"i-wore-the-ocean-in-the-shape-of-a-girl-a-memoir-paperback","title":"I Wore the Ocean in the Shape of a Girl: A Memoir - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eKelle Groom\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNow in paperback--\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"The triumph of Kelle Groom's memoir lies in her plangent, poetic prose as she lays bare the onset of her alcoholism at age fifteen, the child she bore and gave up at nineteen, and her dead-end jobs, upset parents, blackouts, hookups, and, eventually, slow and steadfast embrace of a sober, creative life\" (\u003ci\u003eElle\u003c\/i\u003e).\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eAt the age of fifteen, Kelle Groom found that alcohol allowed her to connect with people and explore intimacy in ways she'd never been able to experience before.\u003c\/b\u003e She began drinking before class, often blacked out at bars, and fell into destructive relationships. At nineteen, already an out-of-control alcoholic, she was pregnant. Accepting the heartbreaking fact that she was incapable of taking care of her son herself, she gave him up for adoption to her aunt and uncle. They named him Tommy and took him home with them to Massachusetts. When he was nine months old, the boy was diagnosed with leukemia--but Kelle's parents, wanting the best for her, kept her mostly in the dark about his health. When Tommy died he was only fourteen months old. Having lost him irretrievably, Kelle went into an accelerating downward spiral of self-destruction. She emerged from this free fall only when her desire to stop drinking connected her with those who helped her to get sober. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn stirring, hypnotic prose, \u003ci\u003eI Wore the Ocean in the Shape of a Girl\u003c\/i\u003e explores the most painful aspects of Kelle's addiction and loss with unflinching honesty and bold determination. Urgent and vital, exquisite and raw, her story is as much about maternal love as it is about survival, as much about acceptance as it is about forgiveness. Kelle's longing for her son remains twenty-five years after his death. It is an ache intensified, as she lost him twice--first to adoption and then to cancer. In this inspiring portrait of redemption, Kelle charts the journey that led her to accept her addiction and grief and to learn how to live in the world. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThrough her family's history and the story of her son's cancer, Kelle traces with clarity and breathtaking grace the forces that shape a life, a death, and a literary voice.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eKelle Groom, \u003c\/b\u003e the author of three poetry collections, has been published in \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003ePloughshares, \u003c\/i\u003eamong other magazines. Her work was included in \u003ci\u003eBest American Poetry 2010\u003c\/i\u003e and has received special mention in the \u003ci\u003ePushcart Prize \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eBest American Non-Required Reading \u003c\/i\u003eanthologies. She lives in Florida\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 272\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.8 x 8.4 x 5.5 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e April 03, 2012\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47581378773245,"sku":"9781451616699","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/3414\/0157\/files\/NmlVMFdQRkJzdzZWazlmbGkrZGpNQT09.webp?v=1779864879","url":"https:\/\/booktolia.com\/products\/i-wore-the-ocean-in-the-shape-of-a-girl-a-memoir-paperback","provider":"booktolia","version":"1.0","type":"link"}