Category: Mainstream Publisher: Hit the Wall Press
ISBN-10: 1493519077
Type: Fiction
Pages: 292
Copyright: November 5, 2013
ISBN-13: 9781493519071
Price: $0.99 (eBook)
A Los Angeles-based writer returns to her Midwestern home due to financial difficulties. Moving back in with Mom, she is confronted with long forgotten memories, finding it difficult to adjust to life in Nadir.
It’s 2009. Lisa Hansen is impacted by the great recession and can’t focus on her writing career. She has to make the tough decision to stay in Los Angeles or return to her former Midwestern home. Not having seen her mother in over a decade, she moves back in with her in a suburban semi-retirement community. Confronted with long forgotten memories, Lisa finds it difficult to adjust to life in Nadir. She works a couple of dead end jobs, and meets Gordon, a sexy British bakery owner. An opportunity to freelance for him and work as a writer/photographer at The Factory ensures a better income. But how long will she be confined in a lifestyle that she has long outgrown? “Notes from Nadir” is an alternatively poignant and amusing story of life’s unforeseen journeys, sorrows, and rewards.
Where is Nadir?
Merriam-Webster defines nadir as “the lowest point.” And that is where Nadir is located. It’s not a place that is found on any map. No GPS will guide anyone there. Nadir is a state of mind.
Excerpt
In the morning I awoke before sunup, knowing that it was my last day on the road. I didn’t want to hang around a motel room when I still had a few hundred miles to go. Soon I’d cross the Mississippi River and be in another state. I’d see things that hadn’t been seen in years: Hardee’s, Sunoco, Steak ‘n Shake, and White Castle.
Driving into the rising sun. Crossing into a state that had a top speed of 65. I saw more snow. When I was partially through the state I stopped and got gas. It was definitely colder and I stepped over some snow to get to the pump. Being almost “home” was starting to suck.
The end stretch of the 2,000 mile journey led through flatlands and farmlands with a few groves of trees to eradicate some of the geographical monotony. How dull and colorless compared to the dramatic scenery of Arizona and New Mexico. Those miles rolled by as I reluctantly headed east to a "home" I had never seen since Mom moved to a new one-story dwelling back in 2001.
The miles vanished. I was seeing the numbers growing smaller until they were in the double digits. My arrival was imminent. I glanced at traffic heading west and recalled how it was when I was driving in that direction—full of hope. Now, I was full of despair, full of failure. Each mile led me closer to the “cornfield with lights” as my father, who had escaped before me, referred to it.
I changed to a smaller two lane road that would lead me to within a mile or so of Mom’s new house. I had long ago memorized her address and she’d told me which streets to take and how easy it was to find. The new subdivision was called Hampton Lake and it was for older people. She’d sent me a picture of her house and it was as generic as any modern one-story frame house with neutral colors and a few windows offset by some shrubbery and trees. Passed a place where I used to work and saw it had been replaced with a mart type store. Couldn’t help noticing the traffic signals were the old fashioned kind that were strung on wires rather than posts that extended across the intersection like they did in L.A.
I took a wrong turn and had to go another mile in some suburban/country area before I found the right street. I drove slower than normal until I saw the large wooden Hampton Lake sign. Next to it was an American flag. As I drove down to the end of the cul de sac I had reached the End Point of my journey.
Professional Reviews
A Most Enjoyable Read
What started off as a blog series, ended up as a book. One I have thoroughly enjoyed reading.
Notes from Nadir are quite literally just that--notes. A journey home from Hollywood to Nadir has its adventures.
Jobless, financially bereft the author drives across country to live rent free with her mother, until she is financially stable again. Arriving home brings about the mundane pressures of living with an elderly mother, while searching for work. Each day thoughts and happenings of the author Lisa Maliga are recorded in a light-hearted banter. Amusing anecdotes of jobs she applied for and those she was successful in obtaining.
The author created an interesting story with her notes, the flow is not broken with the short snippets. We see the changes in the relationship between a romantic crush on a boss, and new affection between mother and daughter.
If you enjoy memoir style books you will enjoy this one. If you enjoy something different, you will enjoy Notes From Nadir.
Reviewed by Glynis Smy, Amazon US
A Wonderful Read
This book reads like a memoir and I think it's because it is. Honestly, I wasn't sure I could get through it because it started at an odd point in the character's life. However, after I started, I couldn't put it down. Seriously.
Why? It boils down to one thing: The writer is an amazing story teller. The way she describes even the most mundane events drew me in. I had to know what was going to happen next. I can't compare this book to any other books I've read because it isn't. If this isn't a true story, you'll believe it is.
The ending really surprised me and it left such a impact, I'm sure I'm not going to forget this novel in a long time. This is part one in the series. The second book is a must read for me.
Reviewed by Clarissa Draper, Amazon US
A Very Enjoyable Read
I first started reading this memoir through the author's blog, and I was quickly hooked by her conversational, down-to-earth style. The book - with lots of new content not featured on the blog - follows the author as she leaves behind her LA life and returns to her roots, with lots of vignettes and familial snapshots along the way. A very enjoyable read about trying to fit back into a mould you no longer fit.
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