From the beloved author of We All Want Impossible Things, a moving, hilarious story of a family summer vacation full of secrets, lunch, and learning to let go.
For the past two decades, Rocky has looked forward to her family’s yearly escape to Cape Cod. Their humble beach-town rental has been the site of sweet memories, sunny days, great meals, and messes of all kinds: emotional, marital, and—thanks to the cottage’s ancient plumbing—septic too.
This year’s vacation, with Rocky sandwiched between her half-grown kids and fully aging parents, promises to be just as delightful as summers past—except, perhaps, for Rocky’s hormonal bouts of rage and melancholy. (Hello, menopause!) Her body is changing—her life is, too. And then a chain of events sends Rocky into the past, reliving both the tenderness and sorrow of a handful of long-ago summers.
It's one precious week: everything is in balance; everything is in flux. And when Rocky comes face to face with her family’s history and future, she is forced to accept that she can no longer hide her secrets from the people she loves.
"And this may be the only reason we were put on this earth. To say to each other, I know how you feel. To say, I understand how hard it is to be a parent, a kid. To say, Your shell stank and you're sad. I've been there."
Rocky loves her kids beyond measure; adores her parents; still yearns for her husband; treasures the week at the beach the family spends every year in no small part because of the wonderful memories. But she still vividly remembers how hard it was to mother two small children, especially during those weeks at the beach. She gets frustrated with little things her parents do. And she finds herself constantly angry with her husband; even knowing that menopause is causing a lot of that, she can't help but wonder if their marriage has not run its course.
The book is broken into the days of the week of one year's trip to the beach, but we see an entire lifetime and into the future. Newman packs a lot into this book (parenthood, marriage, sexual identity, aging, secrets, communication) and in other author's hands, I would say it was too much, that they had tried to cover too much territory. Here it absolutely worked for me, I think because I could see that week as a lifetime condensed into a short novel. Newman made me laugh, she made me cry. Mostly she made me think and appreciate how much she understands.
"They say that having a child is like agreeing to let your heart walk around outside your body. But really your heart escapes from your body directly into the jaws of a lion. It's nothing you would ever agree to. I loved Jamie and Willa so excessively. I was so tired. I lay awake at night, and fear was the drumbeat soundtrack of my insomnia. When I heard stories about women driving themselves and their children off cliffs or into oncoming traffic, I thought, Yeah, I get that."
On loss:
"What does loss look like, in your body? It feels like an air bubble stuck in your psyche. It feels like peering down into a deep hole. The vertigo of that. The potential for obliteration. It's in your stomach. Your spleen. Or it's just your heart losing its mind."
Oh, yes! That's exactly what it felt like when I lost my mom - but I didn't have the words until I read this book.
On menopause:
"Menopause feels like a slow leak; thoughts leaking out of your head; flesh leaking out of your skin; fluid leaking out of your joints. You need a lube job, is how you feel. Bodywork. Whatever you need, it sounds like a mechanic might be required, since something's seriously amiss with your head gasket."
Funny, but also so true.
On aging:
"Activities that might injure you include ping-pong, napping and opening a Greek yogurt. Your hairline is receding in such a way that, in certain cropped photographs, you look like somebody's cute, balding uncle...You have under-eye bags. Jowls. I Feel Bad About My Neck makes total sense as a book title."
I went to bed feeling just fine four months ago. When I woke up in the morning, I had terrible back pain. And because I'm getting to be of a certain age, I just assumed I'd slept wrong. Also because I'm of a certain age, I'm still having that battling that pain...with no idea how I even hurt myself.
Having a family is not for the faint of heart. Being married is not for the faint of heart. Getting older is not for the faint of heart. And Catherine Newman knows that and knows exactly how to put all of it into words. I know these characters, I can relate to Rocky. I'm so grateful to Ann Patchett for recommending this book.
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