I enjoyed this book and read it in measured chunks. Her humor and complete honesty kept me engaged through some difficult reading about her sad divorce, her serious medical problems, and probably worst of all for me, the financial and job problems that compounded misery for her and for her children. The parts of the book detailing the problems with health insurance were especially well written and instructive as she tried to deal with COBRA, jobs that included insurance only if she worked a certain period of time and made a certain threshold of salary. And then when she listed her mountains of debt..... At these points I felt my blood pressure going up big time and had to stop reading a while.
Through it all I loved the amusing stories, insights on loving and close friends. I loved her ability to create a vivid image of all her thoughts and actions. I enjoyed hearing about her jobs and the people she worked with. Her adventures in locating a companion with empathy was a bit rocky too at times. The last part of the book detailing some of the abuse she suffered from male work associates brought home to me more of what the Me Too Movement is all about....more than sexual abuse it is treating a woman as a "game piece", dangling and removing job offers and opportunities....spreading misinformation about her and blocking any forward advancement. It was a great pleasure to see evidence of her strength, staying power and sense of self emerge victorious.
2 comments:
DEBORAH COPAKEN is the New York Times bestselling author of several books, including Shutterbabe, The Red Book, and Between Here and April. A contributing writer at The Atlantic, she was also a TV writer on Emily in Paris, a performer (The Moth, etc.), and an Emmy Award–winning news producer and photojournalist. Her photographs have appeared in Time, Newsweek, and The New York Times. Her writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Guardian, The Financial Times, Observer, The Wall Street Journal, The Nation, Slate, O, the Oprah Magazine, and Paris Match, among others. Her column “When Cupid Is a Prying Journalist” was adapted for the Modern Love streaming series. She lives in Brooklyn with her family.
Post a Comment