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A review by jdgcreates
Our Short History by Lauren Grodstein
3.0
(3.5) This book pulled on my heartstrings given the premise and I found it touching and sad; there is also a bit of humor as well, but it really covers the grief involved in a terminal cancer diagnosis and in sharing your child with their estranged parent:
"we fell asleep pondering the condition of being mothers, which was, of course, the condition of helping the people you love most in the world leave you." (207)
Since it is written as a goodbye book from mother to son, it struck me as odd that she included so much of her work as a campaign manager in it (and that she chose to work at all at that point in her illness), but I guess it helped to flesh out the book more? And of course the character justifies it in the end:
"I suppose I could edit it now--I suppose there are things that I could say more carefully, that I could say better than I did." (340)
Overall I would recommend this one.
"we fell asleep pondering the condition of being mothers, which was, of course, the condition of helping the people you love most in the world leave you." (207)
Since it is written as a goodbye book from mother to son, it struck me as odd that she included so much of her work as a campaign manager in it (and that she chose to work at all at that point in her illness), but I guess it helped to flesh out the book more? And of course the character justifies it in the end:
"I suppose I could edit it now--I suppose there are things that I could say more carefully, that I could say better than I did." (340)
Overall I would recommend this one.