I read this for book club and overall, I enjoyed this well-written and witty memoir-in-essays. Mary Laura Philpott begins the book with the incident that changes her life (and that of her family) forever: the medical emergency that wakens her in the middle of the night, where she finds her teenage son unconscious on the bathroom floor. In the aftermath, Philpott wonders whether she she should've seen warning signs of her son's condition, but more broadly, she ponders the limitations of the human ability to protect and keep those we love safe. A self-admitted lifelong worrier, yet also possessing a sunny disposition that helps her balance her anxious thoughts by focusing on the bright side of things, Philpott looks back at various aspects of her life and explores essential questions related to love, family, relationships, anxiety, death, fear, etc. — basically all the realities of human existence.
While reading this, I definitely appreciated the many insights that Philpott conveyed as well as the way she approached so many tough issues with a sense of humor. In exploring various situations that occurred in her life, Philpott is candid and doesn't shy away from showing her vulnerability and insecurities in her roles as wife, mother, daughter, friend, or just as an ordinary person trying to live her life as best she can, in a challenging world. There were a few essays that I related to more than others, and some I ended up skimming because I found it difficult to maintain my focus (most likely because that particular essay's subject matter didn't appeal to me). I especially loved the essays about the turtles and also the peculiar behavior of the family dog, which I found hilarious. The meditation chapter made me chuckle and, not surprisingly, it quickly became one of my favorite essays in the book.
Even though not all of the essays spoke to me, I still recommend reading this one, as I really enjoy Philpott's style of writing and the way she is able to infuse humor when relaying difficult topics, but in a way that is respectful and doesn't make light of the seriousness of some situations. I would definitely be interested in reading more of Philpott's works at some point.
Received ARC from Atria via NetGalley.
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