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A review by okiecozyreader
Family Family by Laurie Frankel
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
This was every bit as wonderful and everyone says it is. It’s a delight to read - it’s one of those books that keeps you turning pages, but it also is such a meaningful story about, well, family, of course. Family that you are born into and family family that you choose.
This book is about a woman named India, her love of theater and performing, and at the same time, how she ends up pregnant and decides to give her child up for adoption. She chooses it as a way to bless another family because she feels blessed. Throughout her life, she makes similar choices based on her feelings of family and love.
Frankel mentions her own story of choosing adoption and how she wants all kinds of stories about adoption to be told, including those where the family all turns out ok, and no one felt pressured or second best to be adopted.
I loved reading this and discussing it with Zibby Owens for her bookclub. It was a fantastic discussion; grateful Laurie Frankel could join us.
“Regardless of how they get made, family is a force to be reckoned with.”
“On that one tiny word. To. Drunk, Davis had said some things he didn’t mean to. But he hadn’t said anything he didn’t mean.
And he turned out to be wrong because this conversation, like having a baby, proved to be a second thing you could never undo or come back from.”
“India objected to this advice and this characterization and, especially, to being told how to feel.”
One thing that was mentioned in our discussion is Frankel’s use of questions and a response. I love how this was also mentioned in the book.
“The goal of writing is not to give the audience answers. It’s to ask them questions, throw out some possibilities.”
“They tell you motherhood is natural and you’ll know what to do, but it’s all lies. You have to learn how the hard way, and even then, you screw it up.”
“India did not elide the fire and the trauma and the sad parts. She wouldn’t lie to them. But those parts were only just that: parts.”
…
“This is your wide, strange, remarkable family in the world,…”
“Representation matters not just because it matters that you see yourself in the world but because it matters that you see yourself positively in the world.”
Author’s note
This book is about a woman named India, her love of theater and performing, and at the same time, how she ends up pregnant and decides to give her child up for adoption. She chooses it as a way to bless another family because she feels blessed. Throughout her life, she makes similar choices based on her feelings of family and love.
Frankel mentions her own story of choosing adoption and how she wants all kinds of stories about adoption to be told, including those where the family all turns out ok, and no one felt pressured or second best to be adopted.
I loved reading this and discussing it with Zibby Owens for her bookclub. It was a fantastic discussion; grateful Laurie Frankel could join us.
“Regardless of how they get made, family is a force to be reckoned with.”
“On that one tiny word. To. Drunk, Davis had said some things he didn’t mean to. But he hadn’t said anything he didn’t mean.
And he turned out to be wrong because this conversation, like having a baby, proved to be a second thing you could never undo or come back from.”
“India objected to this advice and this characterization and, especially, to being told how to feel.”
One thing that was mentioned in our discussion is Frankel’s use of questions and a response. I love how this was also mentioned in the book.
“The goal of writing is not to give the audience answers. It’s to ask them questions, throw out some possibilities.”
“They tell you motherhood is natural and you’ll know what to do, but it’s all lies. You have to learn how the hard way, and even then, you screw it up.”
“India did not elide the fire and the trauma and the sad parts. She wouldn’t lie to them. But those parts were only just that: parts.”
…
“This is your wide, strange, remarkable family in the world,…”
“Representation matters not just because it matters that you see yourself in the world but because it matters that you see yourself positively in the world.”
Author’s note
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion