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

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.

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

‘Unlocking’ is a memoir not just about finding your family, but finding yourself as well. When Nancy Pressly was diagnosed with cancer in her late-60’s, she decided to spend some time organizing her home and going through the old, untouched boxes in her attic. What she found there was not only the story of her family but a rich tapestry of love and life that took place over generations. Pressly decided to write her family’s story in this memoir and I am so glad she did because reading this was an absolute treat! I haven’t had my emotions stirred by a memoir like this in quite a long time.

Pressly’s family were originally from Eastern Europe, but came to America in the early 1900’s to get away from increasing anti-Semitism and the discriminatory laws of the time. After they got to America, they faced more turbulent waters as Jewish immigrants living in the sometimes unfriendly turn of the century New York City.

This memoir made me think about my grandparents on both sides who came to America also in the early 1900’s but from Russia, to escape anti-Semitism. I only wish there were a treasure to discover, and Pressly uncovered. My grandparents wouldn’t talk about it so I know very little. I can only imagine from stories I have heard from others.

Pressly’s family, like any family, had both good and bad times and this memoir reflects both in beautifully written detail. But, as I said, this is not just a story about the author’s family, but a transformative tale about the author herself and how learning about her family’s past impacted her view of the future.

Having so recently gone through a battle with cancer, Pressly seemed to view the entire research process with a lot of fervor and what resulted is an incredibly in depth portrait of Jewish refugees in early 20th century America.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves memoirs and history. As a lover of both I was enraptured from start to finish. Nancy Pressly had a wonderful and interesting story to tell and she did it with the delicacy of a loving descendant. I give it 5 out 5.

About Nancy L. Pressly

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

(c)Atlanta Portrait Photography

Nancy L. Pressly, a graduate of Goucher College, received her master’s degree in Art History from Columbia University. She began her career at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and subsequently held curatorial positions at the Yale Center for British Art and the San Antonio Museum of Art, where she organized several important exhibitions, most notably the acclaimed Fuseli Circle in Rome: Early Romantic Art of the 1770s.

In 1984 she became Assistant Director of the Museum Program at the National Endowment for the Arts; was a visiting Senior Fellow at the Center for Advanced Studies in the Visual Arts during the fall of 1992; and in 1993 founded Nancy L. Pressly & Associates, a nationally recognized consulting firm specializing in strategic planning for art museums. She has authored numerous publications, most recently a book titled Settling the South Carolina Backcountry (2016.) She and her husband live in Atlanta, Georgia, close to their son and two grandchildren.

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

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

This giveaway is for 3 print copies open to the U.S. only. There will be 3 winners. This giveaway ends August 1, 2020,midnight pacific time. Entries are accepted via Rafflecopter only.

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