Learning to See, Elise Hooper
Learning to See, Elise Hooper
2 Rating(s)
List: $26.99 | Sale: $18.89
Club: $13.49

Learning to See
A Novel of Dorothea Lange, the Woman Who Revealed the Real America

Author: Elise Hooper

Narrator: Cassandra Campbell

Unabridged: 10 hr 28 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: HarperAudio

Published: 01/22/2019


Synopsis

“Written with grace, empathy, and bright imagination, Learning to See gives us the vivid interior life of a remarkably resilient woman. Dorothea Lange’s story is about passion and art, love and family, but also about the sacrifices women make—and have always made—to illuminate the truth of the world.” —Danya Kukafka, national bestselling author of Girl in SnowLearning to See is a gripping account of the Dorothea Lange, the woman behind the camera who risked everything for art, activism, and love. …In 1918, a fearless twenty-two-year old arrives in bohemian San Francisco from the Northeast, determined to make her own way as an independent woman. Renaming herself Dorothea Lange she is soon the celebrated owner of the city’s most prestigious and stylish portrait studio and wife of the talented but volatile painter, Maynard Dixon.By the early 1930s, as America’s economy collapses, her marriage founders and Dorothea must find ways to support her two young sons single-handedly. Determined to expose the horrific conditions of the nation’s poor, she takes to the road with her camera, creating images that inspire, reform, and define the era. And when the United States enters World War II, Dorothea chooses to confront another injustice—the incarceration of thousands of innocent Japanese Americans.At a time when women were supposed to keep the home fires burning, Dorothea Lange, creator of the most iconic photographs of the 20th century, dares to be different. But her choices came at a steep price…

About Elise Hooper

A native New Englander, Elise Hooper spent several years writing for television and online news outlets before getting an MA and teaching high-school literature and history. Her debut novel, The Other Alcott, was a nominee for the 2017 Washington Book Award. More novels—Learning to See, Fast Girls, and Angels of the Pacific—followed, all centered on the lives of extraordinary but overlooked historical women. Hooper now lives in Seattle with her husband and two teenage daughters. 


Reviews

Goodreads review by Cindy

Learning to See tells the story of Dorothea Lange’s extraordinary life and her efforts to expose severe social injustices during the 1930s and 1940s. Lange spent the early years of her career in San Francisco as a portrait photographer. After her marriage begins to crumble and the U.S. economy colla......more

Goodreads review by Cherisa

Hooper writes this novelization of Dorothea Lange’s life as a memoir, and it really works. She gives us the person, the maverick, the mother, the photographer, the artist, from inside the woman. Making it personal makes it feel very authentic, and from brief web research, it seems to have hit all th......more