Postcards from the Canyon — Lisa Gitlin

A novelist clings to sanity by writing about her childhood, but the exercise adds more chaos than clarity to her life.

Faced with the sudden and unexpected death of her mother, disillusioned novelist Joanna Jacobs begins chronicling her willful childhood in 1960s Cleveland, Ohio. But the writing exercise that starts out as a means to reflect and refocus becomes a journal of Joanna's rebellious existence. Jewish and gay, yet unwilling to expose herself to the accompanying scrutiny and rejection, Joanna spends much of her youth fostering chaos and embracing self-denial, even while celebrating an affirming commitment to the psychiatric ward.

After an inadvertent bomb threat to a conservative talk-show host brings the FBI knocking on her door, Joanna finds herself navigating an unexpected immigrant invasion, a crew of juvenile delinquents in her living room, and a never-ending low-pressure system. When the going finally gets too tough to wrangle alone, Joanna turns to her lifelong friends for emotional support -- but this comfort is tempered by a confusing cocktail of lingering hurts, unresolved anger, and resurgent disappointment, making it even more difficult for Joanna to put her life to paper.