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watson_my_shelf's review against another edition
Over a couple of decades, 4 out of 5 of Jessi’s family members came out as queer: a gay father, a bisexual sister, a transgender brother, and her as a lesbian. On top of that, her mother reveals she had a traumatic experience with an alleged serial killer as a teenager. Growing up, Jessi’s family was the seemingly perfect white picket fence family. But Jessi and her mother were constantly at odds, her dad was frequently traveling for work, and there was a lot of tension in their household.
This memoir was interesting in that it was mostly a history of Hempel’s family. We get to see how relationships evolved, how her various family members came out, and how the family healed emotionally throughout the years. While interesting, the storytelling sort of falls flat, where it seemed like the author was grasping for a theme or revelation, but did not quite get there. I wish there had been a little more depth to some of the writing. Hempel also randomly talks about her time in an MLM/cult situation, which her sister was a part of. It took away from the other parts of the story, in my opinion.
This book is a look at the cisheteronormativity of our society and we get to see how each of Hempel’s family members learned to navigate that. The author is very vulnerable in sharing her and her family’s stories. There is a lot of hope. While I am not sure I’d necessarily recommend reading it, Hempel has had an interesting life and shares a lot of queer joy (alongside the struggles) in this book.
rebleejen's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
I have high standards for memoirs these days, but this is a great one about repairing family relationships. Honest and insightful.
brice_mo's review
2.0
My two stars feel generous, despite the fact that there's nothing technically wrong with The Family Outing.
As other reviews have noted, this book just lands. . . weirdly. COVID led to a lot of great memoirs as people were forced to practice interiority, but it also produced too many books that feel unnecessary, as if their authors felt obligated to just put something on paper. I think good memoir always has a sense of urgency—the story must be told. Unfortunately, The Family Outing doesn't have any of that momentum, instead feeling like a project that Jessi Hempel conceived to kill time during lockdown. That's not a bad starting point, but the book never moves beyond that, and the problem is exacerbated by the book's length.
This isn’t a story—it’s a history. As such, it’s difficult to identify what Hempel is trying to do. Instead of using memoir as a means of approaching a hidden truth, the author simply lists facts and events, all of which are too preciously guarded to convey the kind of vulnerability needed to sustain a book this long.
The best way to describe the reading experience is to imagine a stranger showing you their family scrapbook. You can tell that it's meaningful to Hempel's family because they have all of the necessary context and memories, but the more you flip through the book, the more you become acutely aware of how little it actually reveals.
As other reviews have noted, this book just lands. . . weirdly. COVID led to a lot of great memoirs as people were forced to practice interiority, but it also produced too many books that feel unnecessary, as if their authors felt obligated to just put something on paper. I think good memoir always has a sense of urgency—the story must be told. Unfortunately, The Family Outing doesn't have any of that momentum, instead feeling like a project that Jessi Hempel conceived to kill time during lockdown. That's not a bad starting point, but the book never moves beyond that, and the problem is exacerbated by the book's length.
This isn’t a story—it’s a history. As such, it’s difficult to identify what Hempel is trying to do. Instead of using memoir as a means of approaching a hidden truth, the author simply lists facts and events, all of which are too preciously guarded to convey the kind of vulnerability needed to sustain a book this long.
The best way to describe the reading experience is to imagine a stranger showing you their family scrapbook. You can tell that it's meaningful to Hempel's family because they have all of the necessary context and memories, but the more you flip through the book, the more you become acutely aware of how little it actually reveals.
caseythecanadianlesbrarian's review
There's nothing wrong with this, per se, but it is not grabbing me. Too bad, as the story of 4 out of 5 of the author's family coming out as queer or trans later in life sounded so interesting!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder