Means of Transit: A Slightly Embellished Memoir

by Teresa Miller

Overview

For the longest time, Teresa Miller wanted to get as far from Oklahoma as possible—to escape from her distant father and abusive stepmother, from the ache of her mother’s death, and from the small-town insularity of Tahlequah. She longed for New York and Hollywood, for all the glamorous settings that transcended grief—at least on television.

Miller never made it out of Oklahoma permanently, though she came to treasure the region that kept her heart anchored even as her spirit cast far and wide. In Means of Transit—A Slightly Embellished Memoir, Miller writes of journeys that turned into life-altering experiences as she learned to “story” her way beyond the impasses. Still other trips, begun with great promise, found her wandering through confusing back roads, relying on more seasoned storytellers for direction. Eventually she established a literary center simply by reaching out to such authors as Jim Lehrer, Maya Angelou, and Isabel Allende, fellow travelers who taught her as much about life as about writing.

The author takes readers from her early childhood, to a short stint in a New York acting school, to the writing of her first novel, and the painful decades of writer’s block that followed its publication. We also learn of the author’s terrifying encounter with a stalker, a dark sort of Everyman who personified her late-night suspicions about even the people closest to her.

Told with humor, candor, and the same haunting lyricism that distinguished her early work, Miller’s story is about learning the ultimate life lesson—that when we do lose our way, our hearts can guide us.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780806139715
Publisher:	University of Oklahoma Press
Publication date:	10/15/2008
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	200
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 8.60(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Teresa Miller is the author of the novels Remnants of Glory and Family Correspondence, as well as numerous essays and commentaries. She was Executive Producer and host of Writing Out Loud, a television interview program that aired on OETA, Oklahoma’s PBS affiliate from 1999 to 2015. She is Director Emerita and Founder of the Center for Poets and Writers at Oklahoma State University–Tulsa, where she taught advanced fiction and literature until her retirement. In 2019 Miller was inducted into the Oklahoma Writers Hall of Fame.
 

What People are Saying About This

Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey

"Teresa Miller is a unique voice in the world of American letters, one to be treasured and embraced."--(Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey, author of A Women of Independent Means)

N. Scott Momaday

"A deeply moving, uncompromisingly honest memoir. Every reader will come away enriched by the story Teresa Miller tells. This is first-rate autobiographical narrative."--(N. Scott Momaday, Pulitzer-winning author of House Made of Dawn)

Earl Hamner

"With humor, honesty, and elegance, Teresa Miller's 'slightly embellished memoir,' tells of a life, sometimes tinged with tragedy, that triumphs in the world of books."--(Earl Hamner, creator of The Waltons and author of Spencer's Mountain)

Pat Conroy

"Like all great memoirs, Teresa Miller's Means of Transit takes us on a deep journey during the writer's emotional roller coaster ride to a rich emotional life. The dilemma of family both tortures and exalts her, the way it does all of us."--(Pat Conroy, author of The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini)

Editorial Reviews

Novelist and professor Miller (Advanced Fiction/Oklahoma State Univ., Tulsa; Family Correspondence, 2000, etc.) traverses Oklahoma, hoping to garner celebrity in unexpected places. The author's desire to be a popular dramatic actress was stoked by years of watching TV shows like The Edge of Night and Peyton Place, she recalls. But this kind of limelight was hard to find in tiny Tahlequah, a small Oklahoma town nestled in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. After her mother died giving birth to her brother Mark, the author watched her father march through a series of subsequent marriages. Miller was raised by a charismatic grandmother, who provided more than a few thrills with her bad driving on their numerous day trips and her unique, progressive brand of childrearing. By the time Miller was of college age, she'd already enjoyed a short-lived stint at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. Her Southern drawl proved problematic in contemporary theater, so she returned to Tahlequah, determined to make the best of small-town life. After the death of her beloved grandfather, books and writing became both a "consolation and inspiration." In her mid-20s, with the publication of her 1981 debut novel Remnants of Glory, she finally found her niche, even as Mark faced criminal charges for drug possession. Teaching gigs at the local university became a nightmare after a frightening, persistent stalker made her life a living hell. Success with a local public-TV program, Writing Out Loud, featuring Miller's interviews with popular authors and media personalities, brought her much-desired recognition, as well as a relocation to Tulsa. Emulating many other contemporary memoiristsanxious to avoid James Frey's problems, the author prefaces her text with a disclaimer asserting that it's composed of "truth, filtered through memory."Serviceable, but chatty and oddly unremarkable. Agent: Mary Evans

Kirkus Reviews