Overview

Annie McDonnell is one of those rare people, who always looks for the rainbow in the storm's wake and uses her brokenness to help others by giving her heart to innumerable causes and being candid about what she's going through in the hope that her honesty will give solace to kindred spirits. Thirsty for love, Annie breaks herself open at points only to learn the hard lesson that sometimes the love she seeks won't ever come. Your heart will warm when you see her take on life. You will laugh, cry, and be moved. In this shimmering debut-a cross-genre blend of memoir, auto-fiction, magical realism, and poetry-Annie pours out her dreams, her loves, and her hopes along with her complicated grief compounded by betrayals, medical misdiagnoses, and innumerable losses that would break most people. Her determination to live a life of love, joy, and meaning despite her great suffering shines throughout the dark themes of many of her essays and poems. Annie, who is in the end stages of Stiff Person Syndrome and has several other rare diseases, writes with raw emotion about traumas from her childhood best friend's rape and murder to her own life-altering car accident at age 19 to her decades-long odyssey through a medical system where women's symptoms are frequently dismissed, misdiagnosed, and minimized. Annie's experiential memoir, for which she's provided QR codes linking to her favorite songs throughout, allows the reader to get a hint of what it's like living suspended between this earthly existence and the afterlife. This is her love song to trauma survivors, dog lovers, and love seekers. She lives each day and night knowing that her next breath could be her last and keeps her heart focused on heaven.

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9781950495351

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Reviews

If you want to see what a heart looks like, broken into words, read this book. If you want to see what courage looks like, brick by brick all the way to heaven...read this book. -Jeff Arch, author of award-winning novel Attachments and Oscar nominee for Sleepless in Seattle 'Annie's Song' is an open-hearted memoir about a life spent loving the most vulnerable among us. These are stories full of joy and life that keep loved ones close, even after they've passed from this world. This poetic writing of untiring advocacy, compassionate witness, and deep love is a gift to the enormous community of writers-yes, those who have felt seen and uplifted by Annie McDonnell over the years, but also those who might be hearing her voice saying 'you matter' for the first time. This book is our chance to see how a life of empathy is born. -Diane Zinna, author of The All-Night Sun A true, honest, powerful voice, and she puts it to beautiful use in 'Annie's Song.' And she's right: The prose sings. -Darin Strauss, author of The Queen of Tuesday A fresh and welcome voice in literature. -Camille Pagan, the bestselling author of Good for You While some confronted with challenging life circumstances would be ground down, McDonnell has used her experiences with miscarriage, grief, and illness to hone herself into a fine diamond. This book is a tale of loss, but it also shimmers with the joy of discovering one's true self amidst the chaos. -Tonya Mitchell, author of A Feigned Madness Whether it's lost children, lost friends, or a body slowly breaking down, Annie McDonnell reveals both the joy and heartbreak in a life spent carrying 'luggage I could never unpack.' -Marco Rafala, author of How Fires End, winner of the Italian American Association Book Award Annie's heart-wrenching journey through the struggles we all face in one form of the other becomes our journey, too. You don't want to miss this one! -Cassandra King, author of Tell Me a Story: My Life with Pat Conroy Few people have done more for readers and writers than Annie McDonnell. Annie's latest contribution is her long anticipated literary work. The essays and poems take the reader on Annie's unparalleled journey of fierce love and tragic losses. The words beautifully tear at your heart and lift you up daring you, too, to face hard challenges and still find joy. -Grace Sammon, author of The Eves and host of The Storytellers This memoir of a woman facing her own passing speaks of love in its many iterations and of the strength that love brings into her life. With a strong voice and forgiving heart, McDonnell writes tenderly of unconditional 'puppy love' and powerfully of missing the love of a lost child. Though crippled with a debilitating illness, McDonnell rises above and grabs the reader by the heart with a moving testament to the human spirit. -Dawn Reno Langley, author of more than 30 books Annie McDonnell may have a frail body, but she has the heart of a lion and the mind of a poet. With prose and poems both heartbreaking and uplifting, she has painted poignant and beautiful word pictures that invite readers into a world filled with both physical pain and boundless love for the humans and fur babies in her life. -Mickey Goodman, author/ghostwriter of memoirs and journalist A powerful mixed genre memoir, 'Annie's Song' is a tribute to Annie's perseverance in the face of incredible suffering. Her beautiful poetry and lyrical prose are full of heartfelt pain, but also hope. -Susan Cushman, author of eight books, including memoir Pilgrim Interrupted

Author Information

"A lifelong reader and advocate for writers and books, Annie McDonnell is an alumnus of High Point University, North Carolina, class of 1991 and a member of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority. In 2006, she entered a contest with ""Elle"" and became a professional book reviewer for the magazine. When ""Elle"" stopped running book reviews in print, Annie moved to blogging and eventually began ""The Write Review."" After she was declared permanently disabled in 2014, she devoted herself to the literary community and became known as one of its best book reviewers. In addition to book reviews, Annie writes articles and endorsements for authors; conducts author interviews; and consults with authors on promotions and events. In addition, she administers the ""World of the Write Review"" on FaceBook. What makes her debut memoir ""Annie's Song"" even more remarkable is that much of it was written since Annie was told in January 2020 that she must go into hospice and was given last rites. An advocate for literacy, animal rescue, and those with disabilities, Annie is in the end stages of Stiff Person Syndrome and has several other rare diseases. Her previously published work includes a poem and an essay in an anthology called ""Once Upon Another Time."" In December 2020, she was the recipient of the Doug Marlette Award for lifetime achievement in Book Promotion. In February 2021, the Annie McDonnell Book Award was announced, honoring her dedication to the literary community and her courage and strength in battling Stiff Person Syndrome. That same year Annie, who is of Irish and Eastern European Celtic descent, hosted and put together a virtual St. Patrick's Day Parade Book Club Hop featuring authors with Irish heritage. Proceeds from ""Annie's Song"" will go to One Love Dog Rescue, The Muse Writing Center, the Pat Conroy Literary Center, and the Stiff Person Syndrome Research Foundation. Annie lives in Mastic, New York, with her husband Tom, three beautiful dogs, and five lovely cats."

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