Saturday Review: “Finding a Way Out; Finding Yourself,” a review by Olivia Cash of Marshall Moore’s I Wouldn’t Normally Do This Kind of Thing (2022) in NCLR Online Winter 2025
Another book review forthcoming in the special feature section of NCLR Online Winter 2025. Memoir is one of many creative nonfiction types that could be submitted for the upcoming Alex Albright Creative Nonfiction Prize Contest, running January 15 through March 1.
Olivia Cash reviews Marshall Moore’s deeply personal memoir regarding his identity as a gay man in North Carolina in the ’70s and ’80s. Moore’s narrative begins with moments of his early childhood (tw: physical punishment), and he later explores his recovery and self-exploration after leaving his parents’ house as a teenager. While his story is compelling enough on its own, according to Cash, “it is apparent that [Moore] is dedicated to situating his experiences in larger social and cultural conversations.”
In addition to recounting his narrative, Moore challenges Southern stereotypes. Cash notes that “one of the points Moore makes clear in his book is that the treatment from his parents was not the norm” and this “opens up further questions about community accountability, since the abuse in the Moore household was so apparent.” Cash claims, “Moore skillfully makes space to discuss the complex and damaging nature of familial abuse, while avoiding framing it as intrinsically tied to Southern culture.”
Read the entire review here while awaiting the release of the Winter 2025 issue. Order a copy of I Wouldn’t Normally Do This Kind of Thing from the publisher, Rebel Satori Press.
