A Train through Time
A Life, Real and Imagined
Published on 13. February 2018
Book
Paperback/Softback
176 pages
978-1-61902-601-8 (ISBN)
Description
"It has been a long time since I read a book so moving, plainspoken, and beautiful." —Michael Chabon, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of Moonglow
How much of our memory is constructed by imagination? And how does memory shape our lives? As a nine–year–old, Elizabeth Farnsworth struggled to understand the loss of her mother. On a cross–country trip with her father, the heartsick child searches for her mother at train stations along the way. Even more, she confronts mysteries: death, time, and a locked compartment on the train.
Weaving a child’s experiences with memories from reporting in danger zones like Cambodia and Iraq, Farnsworth explores how she came to cover mass death and disaster. While she never breaks the tone of a curious investigator, she easily moves between her nine–year–old self and the experienced journalist. She openly confronts the impact of her childhood on the route her life has taken. And, as she provides one beautifully crafted depiction after another, we share her journey, coming to know the acclaimed reporter as she discovers herself.
How much of our memory is constructed by imagination? And how does memory shape our lives? As a nine–year–old, Elizabeth Farnsworth struggled to understand the loss of her mother. On a cross–country trip with her father, the heartsick child searches for her mother at train stations along the way. Even more, she confronts mysteries: death, time, and a locked compartment on the train.
Weaving a child’s experiences with memories from reporting in danger zones like Cambodia and Iraq, Farnsworth explores how she came to cover mass death and disaster. While she never breaks the tone of a curious investigator, she easily moves between her nine–year–old self and the experienced journalist. She openly confronts the impact of her childhood on the route her life has taken. And, as she provides one beautifully crafted depiction after another, we share her journey, coming to know the acclaimed reporter as she discovers herself.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Berkeley
United States
Dimensions
Height: 178 mm
Width: 127 mm
Thickness: 10 mm
Weight
174 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-61902-601-8 (9781619026018)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
01/2017
Counterpoint
€15.49
Available for download
Previous edition
Book
02/2017
Counterpoint
€49.70
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Persons
Elizabeth Farnsworth, documentary filmmaker and former chief correspondent of the PBS NewsHour, has written for publications ranging from "The Nation Magazine" to "Foreign Policy." Farnsworth's documentary, "The Judge and the General," co-produced with Patricio Lanfranco, premiered at the 2008 San Francisco Film Festival and aired on POV (PBS) and other networks around the world. As a print reporter and for television, she has covered crises in Iraq, Cambodia, Vietnam, Botswana, Chile, Peru, Haiti, Iraq, Iran, and Israel, among other countries. Farnsworth grew up in Topeka, Kansas, where her ancestors were pioneers. She graduated magna cum laude from Middlebury College and earned an M.A. in Latin American History from Stanford University. She received an honorary doctorate degree from Washburn University (2021) and Colby College (2002). She has received three national Emmy nominations and the Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia Award, often considered the broadcast equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize, which is also administered by Columbia University. Farnsworth She lives in Berkeley, California, with her husband, retired attorney Charles E. Farnsworth. They have two children and six grandchildren.