Charlotte Grimshaw’s explosive and thought-provoking memoir The Mirror Book - nominated for a 2022 Ockham Book Award - is a vivid account of growing up in one of New Zealand’s most well-known literary families: that of poet, novelist and memoirist C. K. Stead.
In one of the most discussed books of 2021, Grimshaw wrestles with the contradictions of memories and questions the stories passed down.
“It’s material, make a story out of it,” was the mantra Grimshaw grew up with. But when her life suddenly turned upside-down, she found herself re-examining the reality of that material. The more she delved into her memories, the more the real characters in her life seemed to object. So, what was the truth of “a whole life lived in fiction”?
In conversation with Michelle Langstone, Charlotte Grimshaw deep-dives into the truth as she saw it, the fallout, and the messy reality of family life.
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Charlotte Grimshaw is the award-winning author of seven novels, two collections of short stories and a memoir, The Mirror Book, finalist in the 2022 Ockham Book Awards. She is a columnist and reviewer for the New Zealand Listener. Her bestselling novels The Night Book and Soon were made into the TV miniseries, The Bad Seed.