The women in Mem's family have been grieving for money since ancient Roman times, passing down to their daughters the art of crying on command. 'Open Me' is her first novel.Ī trudging fascination with ancient rites hampers this disappointing debut novel about Mem, a professional girl mourner in contemporary Philadelphia paid top dollar to wail at local funerals. O’Donnell lives in the German-town section of Philadelphia with her husband. Through 'The Coffeehouse Project', a mobile-classroom program O’Donnell founded in 1994, she has published hundreds of literary magazines for undeserved adolescents and abused and abandoned children.
Interweaving poetic prose and artifacts spanning six thousand years and seven continents, 'Open Me' is an utterly original novel about mothers and daughters, dark underworlds, and the play between fact and fiction.Ībout the Author: An award-winning poet, essayist and educator, Sunshine O’Donnell teaches experiential workshops in creative writing, visual art, and quantum physics to undeserved children in poverty -stricken schools and youth residential facilities throughout Pennsylvania. When Mem emerges as the greatest wailer that the profession has ever seen, her infamy brings with it unwanted attention, especially from the authorities. She is a girl who cannot make herself cry, and though her mother loves her fiercely, she must use ancient, emotionally abusive, cult-like rituals to train Mem to weep. Though Mem is to eventually become a renowned wailer herself, she at first struggles with her calling. One of the few remaining American girls in this secret, illegal profession, Mem hails from a long line of mourners, including her mother, a legendary master wailer hired for the most important funerals in her hometown of Philadelphia. Mem is a wailer, a professional mourner hired to cry at funerals. A debut novel about a young girl at the center of the secret world of professional mourners, where women are trained extensively and paid handsomely to attend the funerals of strangers.
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