Wife | Daughter | Self

Beth Kephart is a writing teacher and the award-winning author of more than thirty books; her many fans and students will embrace this intimate and beautiful memoir in essays
The author’s books on how to write memoir as well as previous memoirs have built a strong platform for Wife | Daughter | Self
Eleven of the chapters have been published in major literary journals, increasing visibility and organic shares of the material
This memoir in essays will appeal to fans of Ross Gay’s The Book of Delights, Margaret Renkl’s Late Migrations, and Maggie O’Farrell’s I Am, I Am, I Am
Writers will find inspiration, craft notes, and information about the writer’s life, similar to Alexander Chee’s How to Write an Autobiographical Novel and Anne Lamott’s classic Bird by Bird.
At a time when reading tastes are skewing to joy and escapism, this tale of a writer in her marriage to her Salvadoran artist-husband, her role as a daughter to her widowed father, and her ultimate recognition of her responsibility to herself, is wise, kind, and beautiful, a later-in-life coming of age
Those in search of books about real-life successful marriages, such as Ann Patchett’s This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage, will enjoy Wife | Daughter | SelfThe section on Beth Kephart’s father will resonate with all who are caring for elderly parents, wanting to do their best, and worrying that it isn’t enough
Fans of the Wyeths will appreciate the essay on Henriette Wyeth for its insights, historical accuracy, and the author’s deep personal connection to her life
Memoirs in essays are often marketed as memoir; this one is being called out as a memoir in essays to increase its possibilities in the classroom and course work

Author Biography

Beth Kephart is a National Book Award finalist, a Pew fellowship winner, an NEA grant winner, and the multi-genre author of more than thirty books that often appear on “best of” lists. She is an award-winning teacher at the University of Pennsylvania, co-founder of Juncture Workshops, and a widely published essayist and critic who has written extensively about memoir and traveled the country giving workshops. Essays have appeared in Ninth Letter, the New York Times, The Normal School, North American Review online, Salon, Catapult, Literary Hub, Creative Nonfiction, The Millions, Brevity, The Rumpus, and the Chicago Tribune. Her essay “Set Pearls in the Dark” is a Notable Essay of 2019 (Best American Essays 2020). Beth and her husband, artist William Sulit, collaborate on picture books, middle grade novels, Juncture Workshops, and a series of memoir workbooks and illustrated journals. William Sulit is a Salvadoran-born, Yale-educated architect and visual artist. He has collaborated with his wife, Beth Kephart, on multiple book projects, including the middle-grade novels Wild Blues, Cloud Hopper, and Dr. Radway’s Sarsparilla Resolvent; the memoir Ghosts in the Garden; the corporate fable, Zenobia: The Curious Book of Business; a series of memoir workbooks; and the picture book Trini’s Big Leap. He is the co-founder, with Beth, of Juncture Workshops. Find him on Instagram at ws_studioarts.