Sunday, June 22, 2008

June 4 Library Visit Review

I finished both of these.

Toddler: Real-life stories of those fickle, irrational, urgent, tiny people we love
I didn't like this one as much as I had hoped I would. I was really hoping for lots and lots of stories of people struggling with their toddlers as much as I am**. :-) 3/5

Still Alice by Lisa Genova - LOVED this book! Thanks Lynne! The book is about a 50 year old professional woman who is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimers Disease. Each chapter is another month in her life so you really see the progression of the disease. So sad. The book really fleshed out for me what this would be like, moreso than if I just read an article or something about the subject. I highly recommend this book - 5/5


**As I was writing this post, my 2 year old woke up from her nap. I opened the door to her bedroom to find her stark naked. She had taken off her clothes and diaper and peed on the floor (NOT for the first time, sigh). She had also taken all the clothes and pajamas out of 2 of the dresser drawers. Sometimes I wonder if this 43 year old mother will survive the toddler years. :-p

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Eileen - I'm glad you liked STILL ALICE. It was so sad to see the progression of this horrible disease, especially in someone so young. After reading it, I sent off a donation.

Laughing about your daughter! I'm in a similar boat - just up the years some. A 62 year-old grandmother raising an 18 year-old. I'll trade you Shelby and her teenage angst for your naked, peeing 2 year old! And I'll throw in my 36 year old daughter too, just for the heck of it!

Anonymous said...

Still Alice sounds great; I'm adding that to my list.

And wow! I can imagine how exhausting it would be to have a 2 year old in my 40s!! But I bet it's fun, too!

Anonymous said...

Eileen,

Thanks so much for reading my book! I'm so glad you loved it! (And Lynne, thank you for recommending it!).

It was just bought by Simon & Schuster (I had self-published it) and will be coming out in January!

I'm laughing at your naked toddler story. I have an 8-year-old daughter and a 6-month-old son, and I'm 37. I remember all those crazy, naked days of my daughter's toddlerhood---one time, in the grocery store, she insisted on walking and "helping." But it was crowded, and I didn't want her getting run over, so I insisted she ride in the carriage. In defiance, she dropped her pants and diaper right there in the cereal aisle and ran. I abandoned the cart and gave chase to my toddler who was naked from the waist down. We were quite a sight. When I caught her, I carried her screaming to the diaper aisle, ripped open a new package and diapered her right there on the floor! I look at my innocent 6-month-old boy sometimes and think, "Man, I'm in trouble!"
Thanks again and Happy Summer,
Lisa Genova