{"product_id":"character-witness-a-memoir-9781496242631","title":"Character Witness: A Memoir","description":"When Jason Brown's mother is arrested for stealing $38,000, he agrees to serve as a character witness for her, hoping to keep her out of prison. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Thus begins \u003ci\u003eCharacter Witness\u003c\/i\u003e, a memoir, a chronicle of a mother's struggle with mental illness, addiction, and poverty, and an inquiry into whether we can escape the legacy of the past. Brown realizes that his troubles as a young man mirrored his mother's, and as he chronicles how sexual abuse can pass down through generations--from father to daughter, and later from mother to son--he begins to look for answers about whether people can change. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Brown and his mother share a difficult history, but they also share a common sense of humor and a sense of the absurd. More than simply a recovery narrative, \u003ci\u003eCharacter Witness\u003c\/i\u003e centers the necessity of staying with loved ones even in their worst moments. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJason Brown\u003c\/b\u003e is a professor and director of the Creative Writing Program at the University of Oregon. He has published four books of short stories: \u003ci\u003eA Faithful but Melancholy Account of Several Barbarities Lately Committed\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eDriving the Heart and Other Stories\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eWhy the Devil Chose New England for His Work\u003c\/i\u003e (an NPR summer reading pick), and \u003ci\u003eOutermark\u003c\/i\u003e. Brown has been a Stegner Fellow and his work has appeared in the \u003ci\u003eNew Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Atlantic\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eHarper's\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Best American Short Stories\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Best American Essays\u003c\/i\u003e and won a Pushcart Prize. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"University of Nebraska Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51572470907154,"sku":"9781496242631","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_0e7f1582-e795-4dcf-9e88-fb1574c36492.jpg?v=1755863259","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/character-witness-a-memoir-9781496242631","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}