A cleareyed consideration of difficult ethical and familial choices.
In Michelberg’s unflinching debut memoir, she recounts becoming a caregiver when her husband was severely injured in a crash.
The author had been engaged three times before meeting and marrying David, who grew up in Germany and had a well-paying tech job in Silicon Valley. The couple went on to have two children, but problems in their marriage led to Michelberg’s having an affair with a musician named Mark. In 2005, the author received a phone call; David had been in a plane crash and was in a critical condition. As a result of severe head trauma and other injuries, Michelberg’s husband would never be the same. The author faced becoming a lifelong caregiver to a partner with whom she was falling out of love. After falling ill herself, the author attempted to cope with raising a young family alone and wrestled with the question of what was best for David. The story proves an engaging exploration of duty, guilt, and self-preservation. Michelberg is a frank writer. She was immediately aware of the impact her husband’s injuries would have on her life and records her feelings without reservation: “A dark terrifying tunnel I am being forced into. A tunnel with no exit route….Will I have to deal with a catheter?…Will I have to have sex with him?” The author often uses dark humor to deflect the gravity of the situation, as when David is being taken off his respirator: “ ‘He looks a little less like an alien now,’ I quip. Everyone laughs. Laughter, scarce in my current world, is still alive.” Some readers may find Michelberg’s approach glib or callous, particularly when she notes that her husband looked like “a concentration camp survivor. Like his father Samuel who survived Auschwitz,” but she’s always forthright, continually willing to unpack her guilt while also exploring options for her own emotional survival.
A cleareyed consideration of difficult ethical and familial choices.Pub Date: April 27, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-64742-032-1
Page Count: 224
Publisher: She Writes Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 11, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A heartwarming and inspiring story for animal lovers.
The third volume in the Elephant Whisperer series.
In this follow-up to An Elephant in My Kitchen, Malby-Anthony continues her loving portrait of the Thula Thula wildlife reserve, which she co-founded in 1998 with her late husband, South African conservationist Lawrence Anthony, who published the first book in the series, The Elephant Whisperer, in 2009. Following his death in 2012, Malby-Anthony sought to honor his legacy by continuing his vision “to create a massive conservancy in Zululand, incorporating our land and other small farms and community land into one great big game park.” At the same time, the elephants gave her “a sense of purpose and direction.” In the Zulu language, thula means quiet, and though the author consistently seeks to provide that calm to her charges, peace and tranquility are not always easy to come by at Thula Thula. In this installment, Malby-Anthony discusses many of the challenges faced by her and her staff, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. These included an aggressive, 2-ton rhino named Thabo; the profound loss felt by all upon the death of their elephant matriarch, Frankie; difficulty obtaining permits and the related risk of having to relocate or cull some of their animals; the fear of looting and fire due to civil unrest in the region; and the ongoing and potentially deadly struggles with poachers. Throughout, the author also shares many warm, lighthearted moments, demonstrating the deep bond felt among the humans and animals at the reserve and the powerful effects of the kindness of strangers. “We are all working in unity for the greater good, for the betterment of Thula Thula and all our wildlife….We are humbled by the generosity and love, both from our guests and friends, and from strangers all around the world,” writes the author. “People’s open-hearted support kept us alive in the darkest times.”
A heartwarming and inspiring story for animal lovers.Pub Date: April 25, 2023
ISBN: 9781250284259
Page Count: 320
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
An intriguing but uneven family memoir and travelogue.
An author’s trip to Venice takes a distinctly Borgesian turn.
In November 2020, soccer club Venizia F.C. offered Nigerian American author Madu a writing residency as part of its plan “to turn the team into a global entity of fashion, culture, and sports.” Flying to Venice for the fellowship, he felt guilty about leaving his immigrant parents, who were shocked to learn upon moving to the U.S. years earlier that their Nigerian teaching certifications were invalid, forcing his father to work as a stocking clerk at Rite Aid to support the family. Madu’s experiences in Venice are incidental to what is primarily a story about his family, especially his strained relationship with his father, who was disappointed with many of his son’s choices. Unfortunately, the author’s seeming disinterest in Venice renders much of the narrative colorless. He says the trip across the Ponte della Libertà bridge was “magical,” but nothing he describes—the “endless water on both sides,” the nearby seagulls—is particularly remarkable. Little in the text conveys a sense of place or the unique character of his surroundings. Madu is at his best when he focuses on family dynamics and his observations that, in the largely deserted city, “I was one of the few Black people around.” He cites Borges, giving special note to the author’s “The House of Asterion,” in which the minotaur “explains his situation as a creature and as a creature within the labyrinth” of multiple mirrors. This notion leads to the Borgesian turn in the book’s second half, when, in an extended sequence, Madu imagines himself transformed into a minotaur, with “the head of a bull” and his body “larger, thicker, powerful but also cumbersome.” It’s an engaging passage, although stylistically out of keeping with much of what has come before.
An intriguing but uneven family memoir and travelogue.Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781953368669
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Belt Publishing
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2023
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