2011: Book 30

Slow Motion: A Memoir of a Life Rescued by Tragedy by Dani Shapiro


256 pages

Completed 3/24/11

Living the high life with her married boyfriend, Dani Shapiro is a college dropout in the eighties whose drinking problem is spiraling out of control when she gets a call that will change the course of her life. When she reports to the hospital where both of her parents lie after a horrific car accident, Shapiro has to make a lot of decisions, with almost no support.

With sufficient background information on her family and college-years, Shapiro manages to tell a moment-in-time memoir without leaving the reader guessing about much. The turn of events that leave her referring to time as before-the-accident and after-the-accident changes Shapiro in the nick of time.

2011: Book 10

Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, and Occasional Moments of Grace by Ayelet Waldman


224 pages

Completed 2/12/11

I've been a fan of Waldman's since reading Daughter's Keeper, and this memoir/short-story format reveals the author's true self - good and bad. I had actually wanted to read this book since the controversy surrounding Waldman regarding her blog comment that she loves her husband more than her children made it all the way to Oprah. As someone who does not care for children, I was intrigued that someone who actually had their own children could express such things - especially in a public sector.

Offering a glimpse into each of her four children's psyches and personalities without being a book about children, Waldman maintains a humorous perspective, all the while keeping a non-annoying stance that she is just not good enough to be mother to these children. With a family history of bipolar, a gut-wrenching decision to terminate a pregnancy, and her tougher-than-nails approach to the literary world - and its critics - I finished this easy read quickly, and with a newfound respect for Waldman.