The Madwoman in the Volvo

The word Madwoman got my attention when I first saw the cover, but this was the selection for September for my book club-- a teachers' group here at The International School of Kuala Lumpur.

Madwoman in the Volvo: My Year of Raging Hormones by Sandra Tsing Loh is a fun yet introspective read. I've not personally experienced the "hormones" related to menopause, but I'm sure my time will come soon enough! (no clues here...my age is not for public disclosure. ha.) The humor and hard lessons, I could relate to in this book, and several passages had me laughing out loud on the plane as I floated above the city of Bangkok, as the pilot patiently waited for an airstrip to open.

I went to a conference in Bangkok last weekend, so late evenings in the hotel after a Thai dinner and massage proved the perfect backdrop to finishing this, at times sordid, tale.

{spoiler alert!} 
My one criticism would be that the first quarter of the book was almost too humorous. She took a very light-hearted look at the break-up of her first (very long) marriage and revealed very little of how devastated and miserable she must have been. The ending of a two-decades long marriage would result in some emotion, but it was as if a blanket lay over the experience and she wouldn't fully let us into it. The focus of the memoir later becomes the near-breakup of her second marriage, and this was treated with much more honesty and vulnerability, which was nicely juxtaposed with humor and self-deprecation. I appreciated how she didn't shy away from her flaws and faults although at times her honesty was nearly too much. {ie: are there no good people left in the world?!} 

I do wish one honest memoir would be published where the person presents themselves as noble and good, not selfish and reluctant. But maybe that makes for a boring story.

At least it's good to know when I hit that stage I can blame all of my horrible actions and feelings on my body. So 21st century.

Here's an interview with Sandra. Cool to hear her voice. It sounds like her writer's voice.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/08/books/review/sandra-tsing-lohs-madwoman-in-the-volvo.html

Culture of Reading

Sometimes I wish my kids weren't pulled so much into video games, youtube, movies, but when I look in their rooms it reassures me that we may have gotten something right.

A household culture of reading. Not the easiest thing to create, but so worthwhile!