What inspired you to write your memoir?
I was born with a purple birthmark covering almost half my face. Over time, I came to realize that although I thought I was a freak and suffered from it, most people harbor the fear that they are somehow less than normal and that they are hiding a secret. I used the birthmark as a metaphor to show that we can overcome these things that stop us from fully realizing our life potential.
About your Book:
Attractive and successful, Joie Davidow presents a confident face to the world. But her carefully applied makeup conceals a secret she has kept for decades. Marked for Life chronicles Joie’s struggle to overcome feeling that she was grotesquely flawed, while hiding behind a cosmetic mask that granted her entry into a profession that puts a premium on appearance, culminating in the life-changing realization that in deceiving others, she was also betraying herself. Written with humor and refreshingly devoid of self-pity, it will touch anyone who has ever felt “different” from the rest of the world.
has ever felt “different” from the rest of the world.
How did you decide how to publish your book and where is it published through:
I was lucky enough to be picked up by one of the top New York agents. She placed the book with Crown Publishing. It is currently out of print but available as a paperback or ebook.
How do you see writing a Memoir as different from writing other genres of books?
Memoir writing requires a painful honesty, stripping off all the hard-won armor you’ve used to protect yourself and revealing your inner self as nakedly as you can. It requires a belief that you have something to share with others that is worthwhile, hopefully inspiring.
Author Bio:
Joie Davidow’s latest book is a short novel, I Wouldn’t Leave Rome to Go to Heaven, published in Spring 2008. She is the author of Marked for Life, a memoir published by Harmony in June 2003, and Infusions of Healing, A Treasury of Mexican-American Herbal Remedies, published by Fireside/Simon & Schuster in October 1999. With Esmeralda Santiago, she is the editor of two anthologies, Las Christmas: Favorite Latino Authors Remember the Holidays, published by Alfred A. Knopf in November 1998, and Las Mamis: Favorite Latino Authors Remember Their Mothers, published by Knopf in April 2000.
She is currently the editor of InRomeNow.com, an online magazine she founded in 2005 with Vikki Ericks. The site, which is updated weekly, gives readers more than 100 pages of information on her adopted city, Rome, Italy.
She was the founder of L.A. Style, the ground-breaking publication that chronicled the Los Angeles lifestyle, becoming the fastest growing regional magazine in the United States and winning numerous awards. She served as the magazine’s Executive Publisher and Editor-in-Chief . She was a co-founder of the L.A. Weekly, a newspaper which has been an integral part of life in Los Angeles.
Website(s)
Author Home Page Link
Link To Book On Amazon
Link to Book on Barnes and Noble
