Not Quite the Same by Sheila Morris

Title: Not Quite the Same
Author: Sheila Morris
Publisher: Red Letter Press
Length:: Novel / 179 pages
Buy the book: Amazon

Blurb:

GCLS Literary Awards winner Sheila Morris continues her engaging stories as she leaves her Texas home breaking free from the ties of her childhood. Her travels take her from Seattle to South Carolina, and from youthful longings to grownup passions. Along the way, she unearths and understands herself, but rarely the women she loves.

From no-holds-barred workplace discrimination against women in the 60s to the deliberate deception of corporate America against lesbians in the 21st century, she survives and tells the stories that need to be told. She speaks honestly, but with humor that spices the narrative.

Finally, she hears the voices of her past calling her home again in her memories. They remind us all that we never really leave home or the people we love.

Review:

“Don’t wait for the ride — don’t hope for the ride. Don’t postpone the ride. Saddle up now, and embrace the journey. Celebrate yourself for who you are this day.

Along the way, remember to try an outrageous act or two. You may find your world is not quite the same.”

The above quote from the epilogue encompasses quite well the underlying message of the memoir collection Not Quite the Same by author Sheila Morris. By recounting points of her own life and the lessons she learned, Morris shows the reader how she was able to accept herself and act outrageously, providing a guide for others to model their own lives against.

The memoir is made up of a collection of short pieces separated into three parts. The first, “Leaving Home,” focuses on college, loves, relationships and a variety of jobs and careers. The second, “Not Quite the Same,” is a look at political figures and organizations that played a crucial role in the rights of both women and LGBT persons. The third and final section, “I Hear Voices Calling Me Home,” looks to family members who made an impact on the author, and provides a glimpse into their lives through their own words. The contents of each section blend together to provide insight into a woman as she searches for a purpose in life and the love of another.

The contents of the sections are short vignettes, each focusing on a different person or time in the author’s life. From a reader’s perspective, it reminded me of a collection of newspaper articles that have been laid out and grouped together. There is no adherence to a strict timeline within the sections or the book overall, and the short pieces jump around in years from young woman to mature adult and in between. At times it can be a bit difficult to keep track of the overall timeline of the events of the author’s life, to piece all of the events back together. Each piece stands quite well on it’s own, as well as part of the collection, so it’s easy to read through as there’s no reliance on previous knowledge that should be gained from earlier sections.

There are serious moments as well as quite a bit of humor, and the author’s voice is consistent within each part. In the second part, the author does an excellent job of explaining the people and organizations that made a difference in many lives and then relating them directly to her own life. The third part introduces numerous letters written by family members. Though it’s interesting to see how each person corresponded with the author, and there is a genuine beauty to communications through written word, the letters slow down the book overall. There are a large number of letters, and they outweigh the words of the author. Here the memoir would have benefited from a bit more of the connection to Morris’s own life that is so prevalent in the previous sections. Thankfully the section ends on a high note with tales of present reunions with people that made an impact on the author’s life that are quite engaging.

Throughout the book, the author tells how she grew up and embraced her true self, including both stumbles and successes along the way. It’s an inspiring story, and one that young lesbians, and young women in general, can most definitely learn from.