Make it Scream, Make it Burn: Essays

 Shirley J.             Adult Non-Fiction                         Essays on the life experiences of Leslie Jamison

Make it Scream, Make it Burn by Leslie Jamison    272 pages

Fourteen essays told in the best possible way - believably - and so believably that the author brings you in as a character into the setting of the piece then so perceptibly describes the emotion of the moment so perfectly that not only will you feel you are there,  you will be made to feel every emotion the author is through her deftly and precisely worded essays on each of her subjects.   Whether describing the loneliness of a whale whose song is at such a low decibel other whales cannot hear him nor realize he is there at all to the keenly felt emotions of children who describe past lives so adeptly and so finitely detailed there is no question they were linked to other places and times.   Research leads her all over the world for the pieces she writes and has perhaps seasoned her take on life and its many different people and unique experiences giving her the benefit of sharing special circumstances in tangible ways as her writing declares the emotions of the moment she shares in her writing so strongly they reach out and touch the reader.  She writes of war in Sri Lanka, lost love expressed in the museum of broken hearts, the challenges of committing solely to another person, the fear of becoming a parent to a little girl who lost her mother when she was 3 years old, to the fear of pregnancy, nearly losing her baby then reclaiming her through c-section.   So many stories are shared here and such a mixture of feelings from very high highs to extreme lows.   Jamison manipulates the reader like play-doh in her hands and brings you to the end a more rounded person for sharing the ride with her.   Excellent book.   I recommend it to mature middle-schoolers on up.