AND THE WINNER IS: What I Thought I Knew by Alice Eve Cohen

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GIVEAWAY & REVIEW: What I Thought I Knew by Alice Eve Cohen

Description

"Darkly hilarious...an unexpected bundle of joy."
-O, The Oprah Magazine

Alice Cohen was happy for the first time in years. After a difficult divorce, she had a new love in her life, she was rais­ing a beloved adopted daughter, and her career was blossoming. Then she started experiencing mysterious symptoms. After months of tests, x-rays, and inconclusive diagnoses, Alice underwent a CAT scan that revealed the truth: she was six months pregnant.

At age forty-four, with no prenatal care and no insurance coverage for a high-risk pregnancy, Alice was besieged by opinions from doctors and friends about what was ethical, what was loving, what was right. With the intimacy of a diary and the suspense of a thriller, What I Thought I Knew is a ruefully funny, wickedly candid tale; a story of hope and renewal that turns all of the "knowns" upside down.

About the Author

Alice Eve Cohen is an award-winning playwright, solo theater artist, and memoirist. The recipient of numerous fellowships and grants, she teaches at The New School and lives in New York City.

Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics); 1 edition (May 25, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0143117653
• ISBN-13: 978-0143117650

SOURCE:  AUTHOR / PUBLISHER

 MY THOUGHTS:
ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT

I adored this book!  Once I started reading What I Thought I Knew, I couldn't put it down.  This is one memoir that will stick with you and you will want to read about the next chapter of Alice Eve Cohen's life.  I have just found out that she is working on another memoir so I can find out what happened next.  Normally, memoirs are just one story, but this one left me wanting a bit more.  I become so wrapped up in the author's life that I can't wait to find out how everything turned out. 

The book takes you through all of the heart breaking decisions that Cohen had to make with her health and that of her unborn child.  It put a face on the major problem that the lack of healthcare can have on a person.  Even when that person has access to doctors and minimal health insurance, it is difficult to obtain quality care.  Cohen finds herself with serious of bewildering symptoms.  She is told that she is in early menopause and told she can't possibly get pregnant.  A series of blunders by multiple doctors leads to serious complications when that turns out to be untrue. 

This is also a cautionary tale of how people shouldn't believe whatever their doctors' tell them at face value and that they need to take an active part in their health.  Even when Cohen tried to do this, she was shot down for trying to be proactive in asking for a pregnancy test. I mean, did you know that those tests are only accurate during the first three months after conception?  She is really lucky that everything turned out somewhat in her favor and that her daughter was born with issues that could be helped. I really think that Cohen did every woman a favor by writing this book.



WANT TO WIN A COPY OF THIS BOOK?

Contest is open to anyone with a US mailing address.

Contest ends on 12.26.10 Winner will be chosen by Random.org on 12.27.10
Winner will have 48 hours to respond to email or a new winner will be chosen.
This giveaway is sponsored by the Alice Eve Cohen and Me! and one book will be available.
Only one winner per household address!

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20 QUESTIONS WITH: Alice Eve Cohen, author of What I Thought I Knew

Search Amazon.com for what i thought i knew a memoir by alice eve cohen paperback

I would like to thank Alice Eve Cohen for stopping by BookHounds to play my silly 20 Questions.  You won't be disappointed with the answers!  Be sure to check out my review and chance to win a copy of this wonderful memoir!

20 Questions With Alice Eve Cohen, author of What I Thought I Knew


1. Bookmarks or dog ears?
Bookmarks

2. Dust jacket on or off when reading a hard back?
Dust jacket on!

3. Favorite author?
Barbara Kingsolver is one of many favorites. David Sedaris is another. No single favorite.

4. Favorite genre’?
I’m equally enamored of novels, memoirs, plays, children’s books, short stories, personal essays.

5. What is the best book you have read in the last year?
“Let the Great World Spin”, by Column McCann, and “A Three Dog Life”, by Abigail Thomas

6. What book would you most like to see made into a movie?
Let the Great World Spin, by Column McCann, Going Bovine, by Libba Bray, and… uh… I’d really, really, really like to see my book, What I Thought I Knew, made into a movie.

7. E books: Friend or foe?
Friend AND foe.

8. Was there a book that inspired you to write?
Most books I read inspire me to write.

9. What are you reading right now?
For the first time in my life, I’m reading a romance novel: “Vanquished” by Hope Tarr. I met Hope at a book conference, and she gave me a copy of her book, which I’m really enjoying.

10. What is the last book you bought just for the cover?
I’ve never bought a book just for the cover. However, the cover often inspires me to open a book. If I open it, and start reading, and love the first chapter, I’m sold.

11. What is the last book you received in the mail?
“How I Learned to Drive,” a play by Paula Vogel, which I’m teaching in my playwriting course at The New School.

12. What is the number of books you own?
Never counted them. About 1000, I guess. I’m out of shelf space.


13. What is the first book you remember reading by yourself as a child?
Charlotte’s Web

14. Do you have a favorite place to read?
In bed. And on the very comfortable rocking chair next to the window.

15. What is next for you, publishing-wise?
I’m in the middle of writing a new memoir: working title, MY LEFT EYE.

16. Do you have a favorite place to write?
Two favorite places. The desk in my living room. And The Writers Room – an “urban writing retreat.” The Writers Room is a beautiful loft in Greenwich Village, where member writers have 24-7 access to write in a quiet space on the 12th floor, away from the noise and tumult of Manhattan.

17. Do you have any pets ?
No. Our well-loved pet, Harry Potter the Hamster, just died, after a long (3 years) and happy life.

18. How does your garden grow?
Hmmm… As a NYC apartment-dweller, I don’t have a garden of my own, though I have some lovely fig trees and house plants growing contentedly by my large, eastern-facing window, and I grow basil, mint and parsley on my a windowsill. But like all New Yorkers, I have access to many splendid public gardens. My favorites are The Shakespeare Garden in Central Park and The Brooklyn Botanical Garden.

19. The last thing you Googled?
The derivation of the word “Sloth.” I wanted to find out which came first – Was sloth, the deadly sin, named after the slow-moving mammal? Or was sloth, the slow-moving mammal, named after the deadly sin? I was surprised to find that the latter is true.

20. What makes you cringe?
Artificial grape flavor.