LOVE, MOM

A debut family biography based on Vikre’s mother’s letters.

Much of this book is about the author’s experiences in a financially successful working-class family, and the religious Catholic milieu in which she lived (and which she sometimes rebelled against). The arc of Vikre’s story starts with her early first marriage after an unplanned pregnancy in the 1960s, and proceeds through parenthood, divorce, remarriage, and widowhood; it also tells of her unexpected science career,resulting from her need to find a job to support her children. The book highlights the steady support of the author’s mother, with whom she had a complicated relationship. The portrait of Vikre’s mom is admiring, but never idealized or sentimental; in addition, she writes about her parents’ uneasy marriage that lasted for decades.She includes plenty of material about other family members, as well, and some of the most compelling parts of the book focus on the author’s Norwegian immigrant father and the hard life he lived as a fisherman. The book effectively highlights parallels between her mother’s life and her own, including how they both derived satisfaction from their job (in her mother’s case, as a department store clerk). Although this work offers a fine account of the lives of Vikre and her family members, it tends to meander in places, which may make the reader unsure of the author’s ultimate goals. The common thread throughout is her mother’s letters, from which Vikre provides numerous excerpts, and the last part of the book centers on life lessons that the author has accumulated over decades, including “Seven Steps to a Better Life.”

An engaging but somewhat unfocused remembrance.