A moving account that tackles misfortune and spirituality with a smart and engaging point of view.
A difficult marriage and a terrible tragedy lead a woman to create a new, more spiritual life in this debut memoir.
Even as a teenager, Cooper believed in science and not religion. “I was free to create the life of my choosing,” she writes. The life that she selected appeared perfect on the outside—even as she ignored the signs of problems brewing within. After marrying a kind but troubled man named Jonathan, the young couple moved to Georgia from New Jersey so he could pursue his career as an industrial designer. They lived in the constant shadow of Jonathan’s previous marriage, his young daughter who died, and his manipulative mother—all of which drove him to drink excessively—but the couple managed to establish a stable home for their three boys: Jason, Dane, and Todd. As the boys grew up, Cooper finally came to terms with her husband’s alcoholism after empty bottles of vodka, missing money, and DUIs made it impossible for her to overlook. She now calls this evidence “invitations to step into” her own power in her well-crafted narration that makes her attempt to ignore the problem both relatable and heartbreaking. She eventually put herself through school to obtain an MBA, but the most heart-wrenching event was still to come. Todd, her youngest son, exhibited increasingly erratic behavior throughout his high school years, ending in an unimaginable tragedy. Cooper then takes this catastrophe into unexpected territory in her account as she creates a “second life.” She describes visiting psychics, reading books about reincarnation, and connecting with Todd after his death in ways that make these ethereal ideas feel rational and necessary. In addition, the author skillfully portrays grief and familial strife—common themes in autobiographies—making them engrossing and fresh, particularly the terrifying character of her mother in-law and the devastating scenes that Cooper re-creates after her son’s death. This book also succeeds at standing out from other memoirs with the infusion of alternative spiritual ties that the author considers from a perspective that’s reasonable, emotional, and highly personal.
A moving account that tackles misfortune and spirituality with a smart and engaging point of view.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-9991237-0-6
Page Count: 382
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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