Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Earth As It Is
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 2/10/1946
WEBSITE:
CITY: Greenfield
STATE: MA
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
http://members.authorsguild.net/jcmaher/bio.htm * http://www.heinemann.com/authors/2289.aspx * http://www.iupress.indiana.edu/product_info.php?products_id=808201 * https://www.linkedin.com/in/jan-maher-27255223/
RESEARCHER NOTES:
LC control no.: n 2003103231
LCCN Permalink: https://lccn.loc.gov/n2003103231
HEADING: Maher, Jan
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053 _0 |a PS3613.A34929
100 1_ |a Maher, Jan
373 __ |a State University of New York at Plattsburgh
375 __ |a female
670 __ |a Selwyn, Douglas. History in the present tense, 2003: |b Ecip t.p. (Jan Maher)
670 __ |a Earth as it is, 2017: |b ECIP t.p. (Jan Maher) data view (Jan Maher is a senior fellow at the Institute for Ethics in Public Life, SUNY Plattsburgh)
670 __ |a Author’s Guild website, viewed July 8, 2016: |b (Jan Maher’s writing credits include a novel, Heaven, Indiana; one-act plays Ismene and Intruders; Most Dangerous Women; and books for educators Most Dangerous Women: Bringing History to Life through Readers’ Theater; and History in the Present Tense: Engaging Students through Inquiry and Action (co-authored with Douglas Selwyn). Earth As It Is, a companion novel to Heaven, Indiana, is due out in 2016 from Indiana University Break Away Books. She holds a doctorate in Interdisciplinary Studies: Theater, Education, and Neuroscience. She teaches interdisciplinary seminars, education-related courses, and documentary studies at Burlington College at the undergraduate and graduate levels and is a senior fellow at the Institute for Ethics in Public Life, State University of New York at Plattburgh)
953 __ |a sb17
PERSONAL
Born February 10, 1946; married Douglas Selwyn.
EDUCATION:Seattle University, teaching certificate; Union Institute and University, Ph.D., 1997.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA, adjunct instructor, 1994-99; Heritage University, Toppenish, WA, site coordinator and adjunct instructor, 1999-2004; Antioch University, Seattle, adjunct instructor, 2003-06; SUNY Plattsburgh, adjunct lecturer, 2007-12; Burlington College, adjunct faculty, 2012-15.
AWARDS:State University of New York at Plattsburgh, senior fellow at the Institute for Ethics in Public Life.
WRITINGS
Writer of one-act plays, Ismene and Intruders and Most Dangerous Women; and books for educators, Most Dangerous Women: Bringing History to Life through Readers’ Theater, and History in the Present Tense: Engaging Students through Inquiry and Action (coauthored with Douglas Selwyn).
SIDELIGHTS
Jan Maher is a publisher of novels, plays, and books for educators she co-authored with Douglas Selwyn. She is a senior fellow at the Institute for Ethics in Public Life, State University of New York at Plattsburgh. Maher holds a doctorate in Interdisciplinary Studies: Theater, Education, and Neuroscience. She has taught at various universities, and is teacher of interdisciplinary seminars, education, and documentary studies at Burlington College.
In 1990, Maher and playwright Nikki Nojima Louis wrote Most Dangerous Women, a theater documentary of the international women’s peace movement. The play is still being produced, and the show uses headlines, speeches, poems, and memoirs discussing peacemaking up to the date of each performance. The voices of eighty women, including Nobel Peace Laureates, “bring history to life and inspire audiences with the spirit of resistance to war and insistence on peace and social justice,” said Robin Lloyd in Peace and Freedom.
In 2017, Maher published the novel, Earth As It Is, set in 1930s Texas. Since childhood, Charlie Bader likes to wear soft clothes, and as an adult, although he knows he’s a heterosexual man, he discovers that he is a cross-dresser. Newly married, his wife catches him wearing her lingerie and leaves him. He moves to Chicago where he learns that there are others like him and joins a group calling itself Full Self Sisterhood. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Charlie joins the military as a dentist and is sent to Europe. After the war, still traumatized by the horrors, he reemerges in Heaven, Indiana as Charlene and opens a beauty parlor. When he falls in love with one of his female clients, Minnie, his life changes even more dramatically when he learns that his love might actually be returned.
Michael Cart noted in Booklist that although Maher’s narration has an old-fashioned voice and “the plot soap-operatic, the story is an unusual one, featuring a condition usually ignored in fiction.” In Publishers Weekly, a contributor commented: “Maher’s debut is a satisfyingly complex character study exploring gender identity in the postwar Midwest.” While the contributor found the townsfolk of Heaven caricatures, Maher carefully crafted the dual identities of Charlie and Charlene into a complex inner struggle. According to Amanda Adams in Foreword Reviews, “Imagery and dialogue are strong and decisive, seamlessly reflecting everything from the minutiae of daily life to extraordinary feelings of love and loss. Each scenario is treated with gravitas and sincerity.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, December 1, 2016, Michael Cart, review of Earth As It Is, p. 33.
Peace and Freedom, Spring-Summer 2015, Robin Lloyd, review of Most Dangerous Women, p. 24.
Publishers Weekly, November 14, 2016, review of Earth As It Is, p. 29.
ONLINE
Foreword Reviews, https://www.forewordreviews.com/ (February 13, 2017), Amanda Adams, review of Earth As It Is.*
Biography
Just the facts: Jan Maher's writing credits include two novels, Heaven, Indiana and Earth As It Is; one-act plays Ismene and Intruders; Most Dangerous Women; and books for educators Most Dangerous Women: Bringing History to Life through Readers' Theater; and History in the Present Tense: Engaging Students through Inquiry and Action (co-authored with Douglas Selwyn).
She holds a doctorate in Interdisciplinary Studies: Theater, Education, and Neuroscience. She most recently taught interdisciplinary seminars, education-related courses, and documentary studies at Burlington College at the undergraduate and graduate levels and is currently a senior scholar at the Institute for Ethics in Public Life, State University of New York at Plattburgh.
She lives with her husband Doug Selwyn in Greenfield, MA.
About the Author
Jan Maher is a writer and educator whose works include several plays, two novels (Heaven, Indiana; and Earth As It Is), and History in the Present Tense a guide for social studies educators co-authored with Douglas Selwyn. She is a senior fellow at the Institute for Ethics in Public Life, State University of New York at Plattsburgh.
Jan Maher's novel Earth As It Is is published by Indiana University Break Away Books. Other writing credits include a novel, Heaven, Indiana (a 2011 finalist in the Eric Hoffer book awards legacy category); plays Intruders ("Best of Fest" in New City Theater's Playfest, Seattle, WA), Ismene, and Widow's Walk (finalist in Actors' Theater of Louisville Ten Minute Play Contest); and Most Dangerous Women: Bringing History to Life through Readers’ Theater. She holds a PhD from The Union Institute and University in Interdisciplinary Studies and is a senior scholar at the Institute for Ethics in Public Life, State University of New York at Plattsburgh.
She lives in Greenfield, MA with her husband Doug Selwyn.
Her website address is http://www.janmaher.com.
Jan Maher reads ‘Earth As It Is’ at Lopez Bookshop
Wed Aug 2nd, 2017 1:30amLIFE
Submitted by Kim Norton
Special to The Islands’ Weekly
So quickly was I drawn into the characters of Jan Maher’s “Earth As It Is,” that I literally read the novel in a day, ignoring completely tasks that I had intended to accomplish. Maher’s understated style of character development revealed a rich understanding of her characters and their decisions.
Join Maher while she reads of “Earth As It Is,” at the Lopez Bookshop on Sunday, Aug. 5 at 5 p.m.
Maher’s blog heading reads, “Fiction and Plays about the Extraordinary Lives of Ordinary People” and her latest novel is just that. Charles/Charlene Bader did live an extraordinary life. The details of Heaven, Indiana, the setting of the novel, show that Maher uses experiences and observations from her own Indiana childhood to create the town. Respect for tornadoes, dunking booth at the annual fair, fortune teller, ice and snow to limit transportation, the speed with which news travels and an open casket funeral, all make Heaven a viable place to the reader.
“Transportive, deceptively powerful, and strikingly original” are affirmations that appear in reviews of “Earth As It Is.”
“‘Earth As It Is’ is a complex and deeply emotional novel which explores a rarely discussed aspect of gender identity in the post-war Midwest … A captivating novel that attempts to bring a softer perspective to gender identity. It is definitely worth reading,” says a Historical Novel Society review of “Earth As It Is.”
Maher began writing before she knew how to read! Ask her about that. Since then, she has published educational material and “Heaven, Indiana,” a novel with the same setting as much of “Earth As It Is.” “Vitae” and “Turn, Turn, Turn” are among her short stories. Her drama works include “Ismene and Intruders,” and “Most Dangerous Women,” a readers’ theater documentary.
Howard Zinn, author of “A People’s History of the United States,” responds to “Most Dangerous Women” with, “An extraordinary assemblage of women speak about war and peace. They speak in clear and compelling language, often with song and poetry, and what they tell their audience both educates and inspires. If ‘Most Dangerous Women’ were performed in schools across the country, we might well see a new generation of young people dedicated to ending the scourge of war.”
Maher also brings her unique academic background into her writing. She holds a doctorate in interdisciplinary studies: Theater, Education and Neuroscience. She most recently taught interdisciplinary seminars, education-related courses, and documentary studies at Burlington College at the undergraduate and graduate levels and is currently a senior scholar at the Institute for Ethics in Public Life, State University of New York at Plattburgh. She lives with her husband Doug Selwyn in Greenfield, Massachusetts.
Maher’s connection to Lopez goes back several decades. She is a regular visitor to the island to keep contact with former housemates who are life friends. She is a thoughtful woman as understated in life as the characters in her novels; however, she has extraordinary insights into what makes us human and hopeful.
Jan Maher
Jan Maher
Novelist, EARTH AS IT IS
Writer, Curriculum Consultant The Union Institute and University
Greenfield, Massachusetts 297 297 connections
Send InMail
Very little doesn't interest me. What teaching and writing have in common is the necessity to be a life-long learner
and researcher. I am particularly interested in the human brain and how it changes through learning and experience.
See moreSee more of Jan’s summary
Highlights
Western Washington University
Experience
Writer, Curriculum Consultant
Novelist, EARTH AS IT IS
Company NameWriter, Curriculum Consultant
Dates EmployedJan 2017 – Present Employment Duration8 mos
Author of two novels, several plays, and many short stories. Consult with teachers and schools to develop writing and drama-based residencies.
Media (1)This position has 1 media
Most Dangerous Women 2016 Trailer
Most Dangerous
Women 2016 Trailer
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Dog Hollow Press
Writer, Curriculum Consultant
Company NameDog Hollow Press
Dates Employed2000 – Present Employment Duration17 yrs
Develop standards-based, arts-infused curriculum units in social studies and language arts.
Write and publish novels, plays, and short stories.
Local Access
Project Director
Company NameLocal Access
Dates Employed1995 – Present Employment Duration22 yrs
LocationWA, NY, MA, VT
Develop and direct programs and projects that create access to learning in and through the arts.
self-employed
Writer
Company Nameself-employed
Dates Employed1978 – Present Employment Duration39 yrs
Fiction
Playwriting
Curriculum Development
Media (1)This position has 1 media
Most Dangerous Women 2016 Trailer
Most Dangerous
Women 2016 Trailer
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Burlington College
Adjunct Faculty
Company NameBurlington College
Dates EmployedAug 2012 – Dec 2015 Employment Duration3 yrs 5 mos
LocationBurlington, VT
Taught First- and Second-Year Seminars: Humans & Nature, Your Brain: An Owner's Manual, What Is an Artist?, and Self & Society. Taught Creative Writing; Documentary Theater; Foundations of Documentary Studies. Worked with Individualized Masters students in Research Methods; Magical Realism and Hegemony; Intercultural Philosophy: Nation and Identity; Philosophy of Education; History of Education; Human Development. Advised IMA students.
SUNY Plattsburgh
Adjunct Lecturer
Company NameSUNY Plattsburgh
Dates Employed2007 – May 2012 Employment Duration5 yrs
Taught Human Growth & Development; Introduction to Gender & Women's Studies; Feminist Theater; Exploring Educational Issues through Writing; Ethics, Relationships, & Multicultural Competencies
Antioch University Seattle
Adjunct Instructor
Company NameAntioch University Seattle
Dates Employed2003 – 2006 Employment Duration3 yrs
LocationSeattle, WA
Designed and delivered master’s level course content in social studies methods, curriculum & instruction, theories of learning & human development, field research.
Heritage University
Site Coordinator and Adjunct Instructor
Company NameHeritage University
Dates Employed1999 – 2004 Employment Duration5 yrs
LocationSeattle, WA
Designed and delivered course content at Master's level in writing, social studies, language arts, arts, and integrated curriculum methods, collegial team building, and theories of human development & learning; supervised student teaching interns and masters candidates. Coordinated Seattle site: recruited students, recruited and oriented faculty, coordinated facilities rentals, served on State-level committees, coordinated with main campus in Toppenish, WA.
Western Washington University
Adjunct
Company NameWestern Washington University
Dates Employed1994 – 1999 Employment Duration5 yrs
Developed and delivered course content in curriculum methods; supervised student teachers.
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Education
The Union Institute and University
The Union Institute and University
Degree Name PhD Field Of Study Interdisciplinary Studies: Theater, Education,and Neuroscience
Dates attended or expected graduation 1995 – 1997
Activities and Societies: Project Demonstrating Excellence: The Next County Over: a play with context essays
PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies: Theatre, Education, and Neuroscience. Project Demonstrating Excellence (PDE): The Next County Over: A Play with Context Essays.
Seattle University
Seattle University
Degree Name 4-12 Teaching Certification Field Of Study Language Arts, Social Studies, Drama
Obtained 4-12 initial teaching certificate with endorsements in English/LA, Social Studies, and Drama
Jan Maher Biography
An interview with Jan Maher
An interview with Jan Maher; first published in The Huntington Herald-Press
A chance meeting at a carnival in Huntington 45 years ago is inspiration for Jan Maher's first novel, "Heaven, Indiana." Maher, who lives in Seattle, spent her first seven years in Huntington, where she was born.
"A main theme of the book is the way in which social and political interaction affects us," Maher said during a telephone interview from Heritage College in Seattle. She teaches educational methods, curriculum and learning theory there and has written several plays, essays, and poetry. Maher, 54, lived at the Huntington home of her maternal grandmother, Louise Miller, from 1946 through 1952. The house was at 652 E. Market St. Jan Maher's father, James Maher Jr., grew up in Marion, but moved to Huntington after marrying Alberta Ruth Miller. Ruth Miller-Lang now lives in Chicago. James Maher Jr. died in 1971 in Cincinnati.
While Maher bases "Heaven, Indiana" on her meeting with the daughter of a worker at a carnival that had made a stop at Hier's Park she said that incident is the only thing autobiographical. "It's very hard to quantify a work of fiction," the author said. "Fiction is a synthesis of everything. It's a bit of what would happen if you put a certain element with another element but yes, pieces of the book are from experience. "For example, I probably patterned the house Ellie lives in in the book after my grandmother's house." Ellie and Nadja are main characters in the novel and the house where Ellie lives is near a railroad track. "I recall that the Erie Railroad was close to my grandmother's house," Maher said. "And I've always remembered Hier's Park."
Maher explained she was 8 years old and had already moved with her parents to Fort Wayne, but was visiting in Huntington when she met the daughter of a carnival worker. "That girl and I were at a swing set at Hier's Park," the writer said. "I recall thinking at the time that meeting someone from somewhere else was a strange phenomenon and as a child I fantasized how glorious carnival life might be."
In Maher's book, the reader learns Nadja is an illegitimate child and grows up to become a fortune-teller. "Illegitimate births were hushed when I was growing up in Indiana," Maher said. "Rumors would fly when a girl would leave school that she was pregnant and going to a home for unwed mothers." There is no town in Indiana named Heaven, but Maher said during a trip to Hartford City in 1994 to do research for her book she drove to a country roads intersection in Blackford County just south of Montpelier. "I liked what I saw," she said. "It seemed so peaceful. I decided to choose that spot as setting for the town where most of the action in my book takes place."
Much of the dialogue in the novel centers around gossip at the beauty shop in Heaven operated by Sue Ellen Sue (Seese), a contemporary of Ellie and Nadja. "Seese's shop is the women's hub of town news and history," Maher said. Another social hub is Clara's Kitchen where Stella is proprietor. The reader is privy to lots of gossip at Clara's Kitchen from the mostly men - farmers and owners and workers at Heaven's small businesses - who frequent the restaurant. Clara's Kitchen is not unlike Nick's Kitchen or George's Dog House, popular gathering places in downtown Huntington.
"I find there is something very secretive about people's lives that's hidden underneath all that flatness in Indiana," Maher said. "What I've tried to do in the book is pull away the flat rug and reveal some of the secrets of the characters. "As a child, I also had the feeling that Indiana was a state with a secret history," Maher said in reference to underground railroads described in the book. The underground "railroad" system of safe houses in Indiana was used by slaves in the South to escape to the North. "Heaven, Indiana" has a surprise ending concerning a person of mixed race. "I find irony in the fact that while an Indiana law prohibiting people of different races from marrying one another was not abolished until 1965 there have always been people of mixed race living in the state," Maher said.
Unless otherwise stated, this interview was conducted at the time the book was first published, and is reproduced with permission of the publisher. This interview may not be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the copyright holder.
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Print Marked Items
Earth as It Is
Michael Cart
Booklist.
113.7 (Dec. 1, 2016): p33.
COPYRIGHT 2016 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Full Text:
Earth as It Is. By Jan Maher. Feb. 2017. 276p. Indiana Univ., paper, $20 (9780253024046); e book, $19.99
(9780253024107).
Charlie has a need for softness, the kind he finds in women's clothing. Yes, Charlie is a cross-dresser, a man who
secretly wears his wife's clothing until she comes home unexpectedly one day and discovers him in her lingerie.
Devastated, she leaves him. Charlie vows to give up his secret habit. Not a chance. The urge is too imperative.
Deciding to make a fresh start, Charlie moves to Chicago where, emboldened by the anonymity of the big city, he
begins wearing women's clothing in public and discovers that there are others like him. The passing of years finds
Charlie living as a woman in the ironically named Heaven, Indiana, where he owns and operates a beauty salon. Life is
pleasantly predictable until Charlie finds himself falling in love with one of his clients and things begin to change.
Though the voice is a bit old-fashioned and the plot soap-operatic, the story is an unusual one, featuring a condition
usually ignored in .fiction. Deserves a place on library shelves.--Michael Cart
Source Citation (MLA 8
th Edition)
Cart, Michael. "Earth as It Is." Booklist, 1 Dec. 2016, p. 33. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA474718835&it=r&asid=d1bdece38c6631e133b2c003b264bcf7.
Accessed 6 Aug. 2017.
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Earth As It Is
Publishers Weekly.
263.46 (Nov. 14, 2016): p29.
COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Earth As It Is
Jan Maher. Indiana Univ., $20 trade paper (276p) ISBN 978-0-253-02404-6
Maher's debut is a satisfyingly complex character study exploring gender identity in the postwar Midwest. Charlie
Bader has always been drawn to the softer textures of women's clothing--a shameful secret that, when he was a young
man, cost him his marriage. In 1933, Charlie leaves small-town Texas for Chicago, where, for the first time, he dares to
venture out in public as a woman. He finds kinship in the Full Self Sisterhood, a secret organization of like-minded
individuals--some of whom live fully as women, others who dress up only recreationally. Traumatized by the horrors
of World War II, Charlie returns from Europe resolved to shed his masculine identity and live full-time as a woman. As
Charlene, she opens a beauty salon in the small town of Heaven, Ind., where she's welcomed with open arms. For 18
years she manages to keep her secrets hidden--not just the fact of her biological sex, but also the secret love she
harbors for her best friend. Maher deftly navigates Charlie/ Charlene's dual identities and vividly captures a complex
inner struggle, but while Heaven shows a lot of promise as a setting, the rest of its residents feel more like caricatures
of small-town Midwesterners. A stronger supporting cast might have made Charlene's journey feel more vivid; still,
the story is transportive. (Feb.)
Source Citation (MLA 8
th Edition)
"Earth As It Is." Publishers Weekly, 14 Nov. 2016, p. 29+. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA473458962&it=r&asid=e71b21b8f69a91df4bf27395ed2efa9b.
Accessed 6 Aug. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A473458962
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A century of dangerous women
Robin Lloyd
Peace and Freedom.
75.1 (Spring-Summer 2015): p24.
COPYRIGHT 2015 Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
http://www.wilpf.org/peaceandfreedomarchive
Full Text:
Twenty-five years ago, playwrights Jan Maher and Nikki Nojima Louis created Most Dangerous Women, a readers'
theater documentary of the international women's peace movement, at the request of the Seattle Branch of WILPF to
celebrate WILPF's 75th anniversary. A quarter century later, the show is still going strong, having been performed in
dozens of communities across the country. The script is continually updated, now bringing audiences the story of 100
years of peacemaking.
Our centennial year is a fitting time for Most Dangerous Women to make its Burlington, VT debut. Burlington WILPF
is excited to be working with Jan Maher to produce this dramatic documentary and to bring singers and artists into the
WILPF orbit. Other WILPF US branches are invited to stage a performance themselves during this centennial year.
Focusing initially on the creation of WILPF in the midst of World War I, Most Dangerous Women uses headlines,
speeches, poems, memoirs, and songs to take audiences through ten decades of peacemaking up through the week of
any given performance. The voices of more than eighty women (and some men), many members of WILPF and many
Nobel Peace Laureates, bring history to life and inspire audiences with the spirit of resistance to war and insistence on
peace and social justice. Among the scores of voices are numerous firsts, including Jane Addams, the first American
woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize; Jeannette M. Rankin, the first woman to serve in the United State Congress; Dr.
Anita Augspurg, Germany's first woman judge; Aletta Jacobs, Holland's first woman physician; Wangari Maathai, first
African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize; and Malala Yousafzai, the first teen to be chosen as a Peace Laureate.
The songs in Most Dangerous Women range from the traditional, such as "Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye" and "Die
Gedanken Sind Frei," to those of contemporary noted women songwriters and composers such as Joan Szymko, Paige
Wheeler, Holly Near, and Linda Allen.
Howard Zinn said, "If Most Dangerous Women were performed in schools across the country, we might well see a new
generation of young people dedicated to ending the scourge of war." Margaret Hope Bacon, author of One Woman's
Passion for Peace and Freedom: The Life of Mildred Scott Olmsted, has stated, "By using liberally quotes from many
of WILPF's past heroes and orators, and by the juxtaposition of narrative, music, and action, the authors of this script
have created an exciting vehicle for making not only the history of WILPF, but the history of the past...years come
alive. They have proved that given the right treatment, the historical record itself is dramatic, and need not be tampered
with."
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[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Communities wishing to stage Most Dangerous Women in honor of WILPF's 100th Anniversary are invited to contact
Jan Maher, jcmaher@aol.com, for complimentary copies of Most Dangerous Women: Bringing History to Life through
Readers' Theater and for information about obtaining performance rights, an updated script, and sheet music. To
receive a DVD of the 2009 Pittsburgh, Pa. performance of Most Dangerous Women, contact Edith Bell,
edith.bell4@verizon.net. For more information about the Burlington performances, contact Robin Lloyd,
robinlloyd8@gmail.com.
Robin Lloyd is a member of the Burlington, Vt. Branch of WILPF.
Lloyd, Robin
Source Citation (MLA 8
th Edition)
Lloyd, Robin. "A century of dangerous women." Peace and Freedom, Spring-Summer 2015, p. 24. General OneFile,
go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA429498815&it=r&asid=2dcc9e2b8a8eb9acd516c133dae70ec6.
Accessed 6 Aug. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A429498815
Earth As It Is
Reviewed by Amanda Adams
February 13, 2017
Both loving and heartbreaking, Earth As It Is lends a new perspective to an ongoing dialogue.
Jan Maher’s Earth As It Is is a heartfelt story about an extraordinary life.
Charlie is a heterosexual man who grows up wanting to wear women’s clothing.The novel traces his journey from a childhood in Texas to living as an elderly woman in Indiana. His is quite the storied life: he is briefly married to a woman, but she leaves him once she discovers his secret. He takes up with a group of fellow cross-dressers in Chicago, and later enlists as a dentist during WWII.
Charlie finally settles in Heaven, Indiana, where he is known only as Charlene, the town’s new hairdresser. Charlene falls in love with a client, Minnie, and spends two decades in quiet reverie. Charlene’s life changes rapidly, though, upon realizing that her love for Minnie may not be unrequited.
Imagery and dialogue are strong and decisive, seamlessly reflecting everything from the minutiae of daily life to extraordinary feelings of love and loss. Each scenario is treated with gravitas and sincerity, and each character in an ensemble cast stands out. The text is smartly arranged, with each chapter representing a different year or location in Charlene’s life, a technique that keeps the plot moving.
The novel broaches a subject of fervent discussion—gender identity. Though Charlie has no desire to become a woman, his compulsion to wear what society deems to be women’s clothing forces him to live a life of secrecy. His wardrobe choices are not the book’s primary focus, but they do add a layer of complexity to Charlie’s life. These complexities are not scrutinized—too much attention might make them unbearable for Charlie.
Both loving and heartbreaking, Earth As It Is lends a new perspective to an ongoing dialogue.
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The author of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the author for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
Earth As It Is
BY JAN MAHER
Find & buy on
Earth As It Is is a complex and deeply emotional novel which explores a rarely discussed aspect of gender identity in the post-war Midwest.
Charlie Bader is a straight male cross-dresser. He often acts out his need by trying on women’s clothing. Failing to keep his secret costs him his marriage to a conservative wife in 1933. In an effort to move on, Charlie leaves his small, constricting town in Texas for Chicago, where he risks going out in public as a woman. He joins in the Full Self Sisterhood, a secret organization with which he forms a connection and begins to explore his identity. He remains living secretly from those to whom he is closest, but eventually makes the decision to live openly as a woman.
He leaves his past behind to become the resident of a small town in Indiana, where he opens a beauty salon. Here Charlie is accepted as Charlene and begins her new life. Charlene manages to keep her true identity hidden until she falls in love with Minnie, her best friend. Charlene then faces the choice to continue as Charlene and keep her life secret, or return as Charlie, in either his new home or elsewhere, as he seeks to make a life with Minnie.
Charlene’s journey is illuminating, but the story has a bit of a gender fantasy quality to it. Her ability to pass, and her option to live secretly, rings more as the acceptance she would hope for than what a person in her circumstances might actually face. Nonetheless, the emotions and dialog have a compelling and authentic quality.
A captivating novel that attempts to bring a softer perspective to gender identity. It is definitely worth reading.
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Details
PUBLISHER
Indiana Univ.
PUBLISHED
2017
GENRE
Literary
CENTURY
20th Century
PRICE
(US) $20.00
ISBN
(US) 9780253024046
FORMAT
Paperback
PAGES
276
Review
APPEARED IN
HNR Issue 80 (May 2017)
REVIEWED BY
Jackie Drohan