02391cam a2200361 i 4500 600350223 TxAuBib 20220921120000.0 220220s2022||||||||||||||||||||||||eng|u 2021053054 9781496232359 PAP 21.95 1496232356 PAP 21.95 TxAuBib rda Christman, Jill, 1969-, author. If this were fiction [BOOK] : a love story in essays / Jill Christman. Lincoln : University of Nebraska Press, [2022] 212 pages ; 22 cm. txt rdacontent n rdamedia nc rdacarrier American lives Includes bibliographical references. The sloth -- Going back to Plum Island -- The surprise baby -- The river cave -- Bird girls -- Life's not a paragraph -- Family portrait : an essay in third person -- The eleven-minute crib nap -- The googly eye -- A stone pear -- Leading the children out of town -- Slaughterhouse Island -- The avocado -- The baby and the alligator -- Aiskhyne -- The lucky ones -- Naked underneath our clothes -- Spinning : against the rules of angels. If This Were Fiction is a love story—for Jill Christman’s long-ago fiancé, who died young in a car accident; for her children; for her husband, Mark; and ultimately, for herself. In this collection, Christman takes on the wide range of situations and landscapes she encountered on her journey from wild child through wounded teen to mother, teacher, writer, and wife. In these pages there are fatal accidents and miraculous births; a grief pilgrimage that takes Christman to jungles, volcanoes, and caves in Central America; and meditations on everything from sexual trauma and the more benign accidents of childhood to gun violence, indoor cycling, unlikely romance, and even a ghost or two. Provided by publisher. 20220921. Christman, Jill 1969- Christman, Jill 1969- Family. Women college teachers United States Biography. Women authors, American Biography. Artists Family relationships United States. United States Biography. American lives.