Unlocking: Memoir of Family and Art by Nancy L. Pressly


Publisher:  She Writes Press (May 5, 2020)
Category: Memoir
Tour Dates June and July, 2020
ISBN: 978-1631528620
Available in Print and ebook, 224 pages

Description Unlocking: Memoir of Family and Art by Nancy L. Pressly

While recovering from a near fatal illness, Nancy Pressly discovers a treasure trove of family material stored in her attic. Haunted by images of her grandparents and her parents in their youth, she sets out to create a family narrative before it is lost forever. It takes several more years before she summons the courage to reconstitute a path back to her own past, slowly pulling back the veil of amnesia that has, until now, all but obliterated her memory of her childhood.

In this sensitive and forgiving meditation on the meaning of family, Pressly unravels family dynamics and life in a small rural town in the 1950s that so profoundly affected her―then moves forward in time, through to her adulthood. With an eye attuned to visual detail, she relates how she came into her own as a graduate student in the tumultuous sixties in New York; examines how she assumed the role of caretaker for her family as she negotiated with courage and resilience the many health setbacks, including her own battle with pancreatic-related cancer, that she and her husband encountered; and evokes her interior struggle as a mother as she slowly traverses the barriers of expectations, self-doubt, and evolving norms in the 1980s to embrace a remarkable life as a scholar, champion of contemporary art, and nationally recognized art museum strategic planning consultant. Full of candor and art-inspired insight, Unlocking leaves the reader with a deep appreciation of the power of art and empathy and the value of trying to understand one’s life journey.

Praise Unlocking: Memoir of Family and Art by Nancy L. Pressly

“A wrenchingly honest account that deftly combines a marriage story and an art tour.”-Kirkus Reviews

“In her searching and compassionate memoir, this keenly sensitive writer . . . tells how her own near-fatal illness allowed her to unlock her painfully lost girlhood with clear vision and empathy . . . . With Unlocking, she proves herself a woman of the deepest human insight.”-Kate Moses, author of Cakewalk, A Memoir and Wintering

“Inspired by resilience and renewal, commitment and perseverance, love and trust—themes that are instantly relatable, Unlocking is an exquisite articulation of personal and professional stories, shared through the lens of someone who is deeply passionate about the connections between art and life.”-Allison Perkins, Executive Director, Reynolda House Museum of American Art

“This is an unflinchingly honest memoir, written with the clarity and powerful visual sense of an art historian. Particularly vivid are the retrieval of [Pressly’s] childhood memories through letters, diaries, and photographs . . . . Her career as art historian, curator, and arts administrator offer fascinating insights. But above all, this is a memoir about her love of family and her own evolution as a person. Finishing it, you realize you have been privileged to get to know a remarkably gifted and indomitable spirit.”-Tom Dunne, author of Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize winner Rebellions: Memoir, Memory, and 1798

Interview Nancy L. Pressly

TR: Please tell us something about ‘Unlocking’ that is not in the summary.  (About the book, person in the book, topic, etc that you particularly enjoyed writing about)

NLP: Unlocking is not your typical memoir in that it looks at a life’s journey so far rather than focus on a particular period or pivotal event. The memoir is notable for its candor and what one reviewer described as its “unflinching honesty.”  Throughout I discuss the importance of travel and how I respond to art; this is no way a travelogue but rather an approach, a state of heightened receptivity that seems to happen. I particularly enjoyed writing about travel experiences and recalling them in visceral detail including my excitement, intellectual engagement, and emotion. Writing about my parents’ youth and the early years of their marriage and retrieving memories from my own childhood was also a moving, even revelatory experience. I let the associative process take over and allow memories to unfold. It was a fascinating and deeply moving exercise.

TR: How much time and effort went into your research for ‘Unlocking?’

NLP:  There were two periods of research. The first took place after I discovered a treasure trove of family material in my attic. I did intensive research in Ukrainian and Romanian archives, New York State vital records, Ellis Island material, and census data. I also used on-line genealogy sources like Ancestry.com which one must approach with great caution since the contents are not vetted and can be inaccurate.

TR: What do you hope the main take away for readers will be with ‘Unlocking’?

NLP:  I hope parts of the book will resonate with readers and some might actually find it inspiring. Part of the value of the book is that it looks at a whole life and different sections will be particularly meaningful depending upon the reader. Themes like resilience, commitment, perseverance, and love and trust are instantly relatable, as is the importance of family and what links us across generations.

TR: How long did it take you to complete ‘Unlocking’?

NLP: Probably around two years but that does not include the historical and genealogical research I did several years earlier.

TR: Where did you get the inspiration for your cover?

NLP:  The cover was actually designed by She Writes Press. The initial  title of the book had been Enduring Hearts so the motif of the heart may have been a carry over. Unlocking is an important word in the first chapter, so the key and lock reflect a theme, of opening up and penetrating deeper to greater understanding.

TR: What do you do when you are not writing?

NLP:  I have many interests. I took up throwing pottery on the wheel as well as hand building eighteen months ago. I like to walk and garden which has been a passion of mine for decades. Right now, I have a yard filled with perennials and shrubs and trees which flower at different times as well as an organic vegetable garden. Living in Atlanta I can start the garden in late winter. I also live up the street from my two grandchildren, which is why we moved to Atlanta, and spend a great deal time helping my son who is a single parent.

TR: Can you tell us about your challenges in getting your first book published?

NLP: Actually, this is not my first book. In 2016, I published Settling the South Carolina Backcountry. I have also written several exhibition catalogues which were published by the institutions where I worked. In terms of my memoir, I was extremely fortunate. I sent in sample chapters, along with a summary, to She Writes Press, and it was accepted several weeks later. I was thrilled and did not venture further.

TR: What are you currently working on?

NLP:  In terms of writing, I am working on several “Reflections” blogs which appear on my website www.nancylpressly.com. They relate to themes including looking at art, travel experiences, and finding your voice writing a memoir. I am also working on essays: “The Gift of Seeing and the Power of Empathy;” and “Paving the Way: Being a Working Mother in the 1980s.” 

TR: What book/s are you reading at present?

NLP:  I am rereading Katherine Graham’s wonderful memoir and The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz by Erik Larson.

TR: Is there a question that you would have liked me or another blogger to ask but didn’t? Please ask and answer the question.

NLP:  “What is the most important underlying theme or thread underlying of Unlocking? This is an almost impossible question to answer, and I have thought about it a great deal. In addition to the love of family I recently decided it is what I call the gift of “seeing” and understanding what that has meant in my life and perhaps also to others. “Seeing” is a profound concept, much more than looking; I think of it in two fundamental ways. First seeing for me relates to being psychologically aware and intuitive and having the capacity for empathy, the ability to feel and relate emotionally to other people’s experiences and to be highly attuned to who they are. The other aspect of seeing is my heightened receptivity to the visual experience and my desire to plummet its meaning on many levels. I was surprised at the level of visual detail I could conjure up from my childhood memories which means this is something I already had as a child. These two are connected,  I always knew I had a great eye as an art historian but writing Unlocking I realized my ability to make connection among artists and similar artistic impulses across millennia was linked to my capacity for empathy and intuitive “seeing.”

About Nancy L. Pressly

(c)Atlanta Portrait Photography

Website:  https://nancylpressly.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NancyLPresslyauthor/

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