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Reading by Moonlight

How Books Saved a Life
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( 167 ratings, 34 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Reading by Moonlight by Brenda Walker is a poignant memoir about the healing power of literature. The author explores her journey through illness, using books as a source of comfort, solace, and insight. Walker reflects on specific works that accompanied her during treatment, weaving her story with reflections on the narratives that influenced and sustained her.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you're drawn to personal stories of resilience, as it explores the healing power of literature amidst battling illness. This memoir may appeal to those who find solace and inspiration through reading, as the author shares how words became her companions and strength during challenging times.

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The first time Brenda Walker packed her bag to go into hospital, she wondered which book to take with her. Her life had been built around reading and writing. Now she was also a patient, being treated for breast cancer. Books had always been her solace and sustenance. Choosing the right one was the most important thing she could do for herself.

Winner of the 2010 Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Nonfiction and the 2011 Nita B Kibble Award.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

The first time Brenda Walker packed her bag to go into hospital, she wondered which book to take with her. As a novelist and professor of literature, her life had been built around reading and writing. Now she was also a patient, being treated for breast cancer, fighting for her life and afraid for herself and her family.

But turning to medicine didn't mean she turned away from fiction. Books had always been her solace and sustenance, and now choosing the right one was the most important thing she could do for herself.

In Reading by Moonlight, Brenda describes the five stages of her treatment and how different books and authors helped her through the tumultuous process of recovery. As well as offering wonderful introductions and insights into the work of writers like Dante, Tolstoy, Nabokov, Beckett and Dickens, Brenda shows how the very process of readingβ€”surrendering and then regathering yourselfβ€”echoes the process of healing.

Reading by Moonlight guides, reassures, throws light on dark places, and finds beauty in the stories that come to us in times of jeopardy. It affirms that reading can be essential to life itself.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Reading by Moonlight by Brenda Walker is celebrated for its eloquent prose and emotional depth, exploring the healing power of literature during illness. Reviewers praise its beautifully woven narrative that combines personal experience with reflections on beloved books. The memoir is noted for its insight into the resilience found within the pages of literature amidst life's challenges.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780143205227

Publisher: Penguin Random House Australia

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 28 March 2011

Country: Australia

Imprint: Penguin Random House Australia

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 18.0mm

Width: 130.0mm

Height: 196.0mm

Weight: 228g

Pages: 240

About the Author

Brenda Walker is the author of the novels Crush, One More River, Poe's Cat and The Wing of Night. The latter won the 2006 Nita B. Kibble Award and the 2007 Asher Literary Award.

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