{"product_id":"ive-had-to-think-up-a-way-to-survive-9781477322673","title":"Ive Had to Think Up a Way to Survive","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA moving and essential exploration of what it takes to find your voice as a woman, a survivor, an artist, and an icon.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The first time Lynn Melnick listened to a Dolly Parton song in full, she was 14 years old, in the triage room of a Los Angeles hospital, waiting to be admitted to a drug rehab program. Already in her young life as a Jewish teen in the 1980s, she had been the victim of rape, abuse, and trauma, and her path to healing would be long. But in Parton’s words and music, she recognized a fellow survivor. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e In this powerful, incisive work of social and self-exploration, Melnick blends personal essay with cultural criticism to explore Parton’s dual identities as feminist icon and objectified sex symbol, identities that reflect the author’s own fraught history with rape culture and the arduous work of reclaiming her voice. Each chapter engages with the artistry and impact of one of Parton’s songs, as Melnick reckons with \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e[Melnick] writes with remarkable vulnerability and candor yet ensures that the often-painful memories she relates don’t cloud her critical gaze. She moves gracefully between confessional and analytical registers, her prose both sharp and full of heart.\u003c\/p\u003e * The Atlantic *\u003cbr\u003eA fierce resistance to that which could destroy us or destroy our spirits (patriarchy, capitalism, drugs) drives this potent work of music criticism forward, with deft prose that breathtakingly weaves biography and personal narrative. * The Common *\u003cbr\u003eA riveting blend of cultural criticism and memoir...In her quest to 'be more Dollylike, rising again and again from the embers of expectation,' Melnick offers a gorgeous story of survival and self-discovery. Die-hard Dolly fans won’t want to miss this. * Publishers Weekly, starred review *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eI’ve Had to Think Up a Way to Survive\u003c\/i\u003e is more than an artful memoir; it is thought-provoking cultural analysis of a beloved icon whose relevance endures.\u003c\/p\u003e * BookPage *\u003cbr\u003eDiscarding the societal demand to keep quiet about her own trauma, Melnick structures the book as an inquiry into the music of Dolly Parton that 'unmired' her when she first found herself in a drug rehab program as a teenager in the 1980s. It’s Dolly Parton’s music that offers transcendence in Melnick’s life from then on, and she scrutinizes Dolly’s songs and their personal and cultural impact in a mixture of biography, critical investigation, music journalism, social history, and invocation. 'It’s a refusal of secrets,' Melnick writes in the final chapter about a song that Dolly is singing, but this is also a perfect summation of her book. * BOMB Magazine *\u003cbr\u003eThis book revels unabashedly in the turmoil of both women’s lives. Like Dolly’s voice, Melnick’s tone is casual and joyous, yet still defiant, cogently seeking commonality between its two subjects and showing how she and Parton have each performed their womanliness—and all its concomitant mess...Carefully researched and at times uncomfortably honest, \u003ci\u003eI’ve Had to Think Up a Way to Survive\u003c\/i\u003e also avoids hagiography and handles the problematic aspects of Dolly better than most...\u003ci\u003eI’ve Had to Think Up a Way to Survive\u003c\/i\u003e is, at core, about the Appalachian skill of 'always being aware of the terrible' while steadfastly and laughingly avoiding its grip. * The Georgia Review *\u003cbr\u003eMelnick lovingly chronicles how Parton’s expansive songwriting catalog and her six decades as a household icon have been inextricable from Melnick’s own journey from a Jewish teenage addict to an accomplished artist. * Lilith *\u003cbr\u003eThere is rich texture in the details Melnick shares of her life, which she weaves into Parton’s history and the backstory of each song, with Parton’s hardships and struggles as much an inspiration to Melnick as the star’s thrilling success...This is absolutely the book for any Dolly Parton fan, full of anecdotes and intricate history of The Leading Lady of Country. It was empowering and inspiring to read the stories of these women (Parton and Melnick) and to know they have made something of the ashes left when others lit a match. * Southern Review of Books *\u003cbr\u003eEach chapter in [\u003ci\u003eI've Had to Think Up a Way to Survive\u003c\/i\u003e] glances at the author's life through a different song penned by Parton. [Melnick] deals with past trauma by analogizing her own life to the country legend's. Although Melnick and Parton didn't seem to have much more in common on the surface, discovering their similarities is at the center of this moving journey. * The Boot, \"10 Best Country Music Books of 2022\" *\u003cbr\u003eMelnick’s book is about the author’s vicarious, identity-forming relationship with a cultural figure. Each of its 21 chapters is organized around a particular song, so we learn everything she was able to find out about how Dolly...wrote or recorded that song, what the press said about it, and what the artist herself said about it in interviews and talk show appearances. Moreover, each chapter delves into what the title song means in Melnick’s life and what it says about related cultural issues. In that way, it’s a blend of memoir and cultural criticism, as well as a wealth of information. * Chapter 16 *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIntroduction: Seven Bridges Road\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter One: Why’d You Come in Here Lookin’ Like That\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter Two: Steady as the Rain\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter Three: The Seeker\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter Four: Here You Come Again\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter Five: Jolene\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter Six: The Grass Is Blue\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter Seven: Coat of Many Colors\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter Eight: Islands in the Stream\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter Nine: Do I Ever Cross Your Mind\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter Ten: Will He Be Waiting for Me\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter Eleven: Down from Dover\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter Twelve: Silver Dagger\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter Thirteen: Don’t Think Twice\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter Fourteen: I Don’t Believe You’ve Met My Baby\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter Fifteen: Little Sparrow\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter Sixteen: 9 to 5\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter Seventeen: Two Doors Down\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter Eighteen: Put a Little Love in Your Heart\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter Nineteen: Blue Smoke\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter Twenty: Bargain Store\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter Twenty-One: The Story\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAcknowledgments: I Will Always Love You\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReferences and Resources\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"University of Texas Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49408958792023,"sku":"9781477322673","price":16.79,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781477322673.jpg?v=1730504864","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/ive-had-to-think-up-a-way-to-survive-9781477322673","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}