This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
I saved those diaries and letters for a reason, I suppose. I was prolific at documenting growing up. Not many people do, let alone save them. I don't consider it brave to share, but necessary because looking inside a teenager mind in those moments is rare.
Reviewed by Maria Victoria Beltran for Readers' Favorite
As the title suggests, On Becoming Me: Memoir of an 80's Teenager by Kirsten Hegberg Pursell is a memoir of a Gen Ex teenager. It is a diary-style memoir that chronicles her life from 1977 to 1986. As the story unravels, we get to know a young girl starting to become interested in the opposite sex. What follows is her journey to her adolescent years and diary entries that speak of her obsessions with boys, weight, acne, and the desire to fit in. A prolific diary writer and journal keeper, she also writes poems and letters to friends and lovers. She attends Denver University for college and deals with a long-distance relationship with her first serious boyfriend. As she continues to deal with the changes in her life and journeys from childhood to maturity, we get to know the most intimate details.
Kirsten Hegberg Pursell's On Becoming Me: Memoir of an 80's Teenager is a unique and engaging memoir. The author recorded vivid impressions of her experiences during this period in her diary, letters, poems, and journal. Some readers may find the unique format of the book a challenge. By turns sympathetic, tender, and amusing, her accounts offer an enthralling look at growing up as a member of Generation X. This book should be an eye-opener for young readers during a period when there were no mobile phones, laptops, computers, and long-distance communication was done through snail mail. With no holds barred, Kirsten shares her journey, and it couldn't get as credible as this. This memoir is a compelling self-portrait of a spirited and sensitive woman when she's the most vulnerable. Highly recommended!
