As soon as I saw a transit ad for The Founder, I knew I had to see it and I was right. It was fantastic. The Founder, starring Michael Keaton, focuses on the early days of McDonald’s and explains how Ray Kroc transformed a burger shack in California into an international institution. This portrayal of Ray Kroc’s life deserves to be nominated for awards and win.
Ray met the brothers behind the original McDonald’s while selling mixers. He was impressed by their story and observed that their cooking process was like “choreographing a crazy burger ballet.” After learning about their speedy system for serving fast food, which they called a “symphony of efficiency,” he convinced them to open franchises under his leadership.
In her opening letter, Jennifer shares her wish that this book will help her become more relatable to readers. She immediately accomplishes that goal on the first page of the first story when she describes her outfit that includes UGG boots. Jennifer Weiner is anything but basic though. She’s a talented, opinionated and friendly author who has overcome personal issues and handled negative reviews.
Jennifer was a gifted student and skipped a grade. It was upsetting to read about how when her dad got mad, he sometimes tore up her books. Of course, she has always been an avid reader. Her mother and Nanna love telling a story about how Jennifer lost her shoes at camp, but never lost a book.
Photo Source: ComingSoon.net
Motivated by the success of his hit novel The Notebook, Nicholas Sparks aimed to recreate similar characters and obstacles in The Choice. I don’t think The Choice deserves to be a classic like The Notebook, but it’s definitely worth reading.
The Choice is about two neighbours, Travis and Gabby, who fall in love. In their first face-to-face encounter, Gabby storms over to Travis’ deck and falsely accuses his dog of impregnating her dog. I’m not an animal lover, but I didn’t mind reading about their pets. Sparks sprinkles in their dogs Moby and Molly just enough and doesn’t go into great detail when describing the animals at Travis’ veterinary clinic.
Name: Kelsey Miller
Best Known For: Big Girl: How I Gave Up Dieting And Got A Life (2016)
Education: Film & Television, Boston University
Employment: Senior Features Writer, Refinery29
Professional role models: David Sedaris & Tina Fey
How did spending years in therapy help you write a memoir?
The work I did (and still do) in therapy enabled me to grow up and live my life, without which there would be no memoir. I also never would have been able to write about my problems and difficulties without first sorting through them and working my ass off so that they weren’t the controlling force of my life. It’s a lot more complicated than this, but the short version is that I went into therapy feeling like one big problem — I was composed of trauma and disorder and dysfunctional experiences. Therapy doesn’t erase those things but it helped me realize that I’m not simply the sum total of my [problems]. Those things are in me and a part of me, but I don’t have to sit around and wait to be fixed and perfect in order to move forward with my life. I always thought you had to be All Better with a capital B in order to write a reflective memoir. Nope. You just get on with your life and your goals, issues or not.
Do you think your theatre training has helped you become a better storyteller?
Man, I sure hope so. I’d like to think my parents’ investment in a decade’s worth of theatre training paid off somehow. I’d always enjoyed storytelling and have huge admiration for good storytellers. (My mom and dad are both incredibly funny and I used to wish I could crack up a dinner table the way they could.) I haven’t done theatre in ages, but there are certain lessons that will always be with me: finding your intention in a scene, showing and not telling, etc. Those are all good instincts for writers as well.
