All She Ever Wanted - Rosalind Noonan

I wanted to read this after reviewing the teaser write up on the back because it is a story of a new mother suffering from postpartum depression, something I have first-hand experience with.  The author did a good job of describing the feelings and thoughts of a new mother suffering with this horrible condition, which took up the first two-thirds of the book.  As a consequence of her state, an incident occurs (I won't spoil it) that give dramatic drive to the story.  Worth the read for an understanding of the state of mind of the mother and the way she appears to those around her.

Published:  2013   Read: June 2018  Genre: Fiction

Unspeakable - Meghan Daum

I enjoy browsing the "best pics" that the library puts out right inside the entrance.  This one popped out at me and I'm glad I picked it up.  The author is a Generation Xer, known for her first book "My Misspent Youth".  This is a group of short stories or essays reflecting on her life many years later.

She's unconventional and speaks out on things that aren't normally said out loud (her chapter entitled "Matricide" about her mother's dying is a good example).  She chooses not to have children and reflects at one point on her and her husband feeling sad after she has a miscarriage:

"Were we sad because we lacked some essential element of lifetime partnership, such as a child or agreement about wanting or not wanting one?  Or were we sad because life is just sad sometimes -- maybe even a lot of the time?  Or perhaps it wasn't even sadness we were feeling but, simply, the dull ache of aging?  Maybe children don't save their parents from this ache as much as distract from it.  And maybe creating a diversion from aging turns out to be the whole point of parenting."

It was an interesting read and I'll think I'll look for more of her writing.


Published: 2014   Read: September 2015  Genre: Memoir/Essay