Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
By Mary Laura Philpott, Murdoch Books, $27.99.
A memoir-in-essays is a novel way to make annotations about work, home and creative life. Philpott does it surperbly.
Reading these pleasant ‘dispatchers from a relatively ordinary life’, we are forced to think about ourselves – and our direction in life. She thought she’d cracked the code: always be right, and you’ll always be happy. Having checked off all the boxes on her successful life’s ‘to-do list’, there was a realisation she might need to reinvent the list — and herself.
Mary takes on the conflicting pressures of modern womanhood with wit and heart. She offers up her own stories to show that identity crisis doesn’t happen just once or only at midlife; reassures us that small, recurring personal re-inventions are both normal and necessary; and advises that if you’re going to faint, you should get low to the ground first.
Most of all, Philpott shows that when you stop feeling satisfied with your life, you don’t have to burn it all down and set off on a transcontinental hike (unless you want to, of course). You can call upon your many selves to figure out who you are, who you’re not and where you belong. Who among us isn’t trying to do that?
The observations by the acclaimed essayist about domestic, professional and creative life are spot-on, and she takes on the conflicting pressures of modern womanhood with humour and thoughtful contemplation.
Not only is the book charmingly relatable and intelligent, it is entertaining, poignant and emotionally moving. You will want to learn what Philpott has figured out along the way: that multiple things can be true of us at once – and that sometimes doing things wrong is the way to do life right.