Description
Arms Filled With Bittersweet is just that … an intimate glimpse, via poetry and prose, into a bittersweet mid-century childhood in rural Connecticut. With gentle humor and simple elegance, the author offers a collection of layered memories and braided reflections, choosing to gaze more deeply into the subtle complexities of the time, mostly of love, its disguises, and the creativity it took to thrive then and later. As she says in her opening Note to Readers: For me, my family has become a long and lyrical poem … its margins smudged with cryptic notes, its rough drafts fraught with strong punctuation. Everywhere there are bad line breaks and the never-ending cut and paste of endless revisions … forever meant to be a work in progress.
Nancy R.
Great perspective on the history of my new home town. Picked it up at the Arts Center and truly enjoyed it.
J. Asparro
I enjoyed this lovely book and savored it all in one afternoon. The author will take you back in time and share a glimpse of her cultural heritage. You may relate to her memories of family and an era in our collective history. She will make you laugh and she includes a good recipe near the end.
Annie
This is one of the sweetest, honest, and holy portrayals of life that I’ve ever read. The way Sulima uses words to awaken all my senses was a pleasure. Yes, we are growing old. Yes, out time is running out. But, damn it, let’s give our attention to the little brown wren walking across the window ledge! Nosdrovyea!
Laurie Todd
Sulima began by telling us that some stories shouldn’t be told, and some weren’t the author’s to tell. The stories she did tell were full of grace and compassion, and left me feeling as if I’d gotten a warm hug from a wise grandmother.
Maveret McClellan
This memoir is unique because it is a hybrid of prose, poetry, photos, and possibility. It is immensely readable and leaves you wanting more. It is short, alas, but its brevity makes it easy to read all at once or more than once, which I do recommend! Thanks to Sulima for a wonderful little book.