Book Review - Lauren Acampora's The Paper Wasp

Thank you to Grove Atlantic for providing me with Lauren Acampora’s novel, The Paper Wasp, in exchange for an honest review.

Abby and Elise were childhood best friends raised in a small town in Michigan. They began to grow apart when as a teenager, Elise became involved in acting and her career took off.

Flash-Forward to their late 20’s: Elise is an actress living in Hollywood, while Abby is stuck in their small town, a college dropout. She is working retail and dreaming of a career in the film industry. Abby obsesses over Elise, saving every magazine article that features her former friend. The two women reconnect, when they both attend their high school reunion. Following the reunion, Abby decides to run off to Hollywood, showing up on Elise’s doorstep. Elise, takes Abby in for an extended stay, treating Abby to a taste of her lavish lifestyle. Soon, the boundaries of their relationship are blurred, when Abby accepts a job being Elise’s personal assistant. The situation is further strained by Abby’s growing ambition, a ticking time-bomb that is ready to explode.

I absolutely loved The Paper Wasp. Acampora is a masterful writer, combing gorgeous prose with complex characters. I could not put The Paper Wasp down and plowed through it in a single afternoon.

I’m a Los Angeles native and I found the way that Acampora captured the city to be perfect. There is a wonderful moment where Elise drives Abby through Hollywood for the first time, noting its lackluster, dingy atmosphere, which is a strong contrast both Abby’s perceived image of Hollywood and to Elise’s glamorous lifestyle. Elise takes meditation classes at an exclusive institute and although I’m not sure of a real-life counterpart, it is certainly something that exists in Los Angeles. It has strange, ethereal quality, but is also is a bit of a cult. I could easily imagine the type of fellow Angeleno’s, not only celebrities, who would have a membership to this type of club. One of the more memorable aspects of the institution, is their crazy costume parties, where members come dressed as images from their dreams. It’s strange and magical, with a hint of a nightmarish quality; akin to a scene from Alice in Wonderland.

There is another contrast, when Abby travels back to Michigan to see her sister. Her sister is a drug addict, who has recently had a baby daughter. Abby visits her sister and niece, seeing that they live in a filthy trailer barely able to make ends meet. Abby’s heart tells her to kidnap her niece and save her from the poverty and neglect, but she can’t act on it.

Abby’s obsession with Elise creates a tension throughout the story. In the start, she appears to be a bit of a stalker, but then as we see the dynamic between the two women, it is clearer that Abby is more concerned with the lack of direction that her life has taken. She is envious of Elise, who doesn’t seem to deserve her lucky breaks. Rather than wishing to be Elise, Abby thinks that she is more deserving or at least, if she were to have a good opportunity, she would know how to make the most of it. We learn that Abby has been carrying around a terrible secret that is making her more motivate to take risks in life. Abby becomes emboldened throughout the story, making her actions increasing erratic, creating a sense of danger.

When Abby is confronted with the real Elise, not the Elise from the magazine articles, she realizes that her friend lacks self-confidence. Elise lives a messy life. This sets up a social commentary on how we view celebrity, or even ordinary people, via carefully curated social media accounts. Abby couldn’t imagine the real Elise, because she was so caught-up in the fake, media version. Not only that, Abby spent a decade so hyper-focused on this fake Elise, that when she was confronted with the truth, her world cracked open.

The Paper Wasp is my current favorite read of 2019. I was hooked from the first page and cannot wait to read Acampora’s collection of short stories, The Wonder Garden. She is such a talented writer.

Columbia River Maritime Museum

A trip to Astoria would not be complete, without an educational trip to the Columbia River Maritime Museum. This first-class, highly interactive museum shares the story of the Columbia River, including Oregon’s rich history with the fish industry.

The entrance to the museum is filled with cool photo opportunities, such as giant anchors and propellors.

Basic admission was a bargain at only fourteen dollars for adults ( children 6-17 are only five dollars). We had the option, which we declined, to add a 3-D film for five dollars. Also notable, the Columbia River Maritime Museum is a designated “Blue Star Museum,” which offers free admission to active military members and their families.

Admission includes the opportunity to board the Lightship Columbia, a decommissioned vessel that was a former floating lighthouse. We arrived when the museum first opened and we were advised to tour the Lightship Columbia first, as it gets very busy. This was great advice, as we pretty much had the vessel to ourselves.

We were met by a cheerful volunteer, who introduced us to the Lightship Columbia, before allowing us to explore on our own. We were allowed to walk around a majority of the vessel, including the crew quarters. It’s hard to imagine spending weeks at a time in cramped spaces with terrible weather tossing the boat around. I felt seasick just thinking about it!

A U.S. Coast Guard Vessel was parked across from the Lightship Columbia. It was heavily guarded!

Dan took this great picture of ships out in the Columbia River.

The Columbia River Maritime Museum is massive. I absolutely love museums and could have spent all day here. I’m one of those people who likes to read everything. However, my husband is not as much of a museum person. We both compromised and did a speedy, yet thorough tour of the museum.

One of the first things we encountered was this amazing map of the known shipwrecks in the Columbia River. The Columbia is a very treacherous stretch of water.

Among the most memorable exhibits included a section on Oregon during World War Two. There was a very moving exhibit regarding the Obon Society. The Obon Society is non-profit humanitarian organization that is headquartered in Astoria. During WW2, many American soldiers took Japanese flags home as souvenirs. These flags were carried by Japanese soldiers as a token of good-luck, signed with well-wishes from family and friends before the soldiers headed off to war. The Obon Society is collecting flags from American soldiers and trying to return the flags to the families in Japan. The museum had several flags on display that the Obon Society has not been able to trace to a Japanese soldier. These are active cases and if the Obon Society can discover the owner of the flag, it will be mailed to Japan. I was very moved by the mission of the Obon Society and the act of helping families heal that spans both cultural barriers and many generations.

In no particular order, here are some pictures from the Columbia River Maritime Museum.

When I was a kid, my mom loved nautical themed prints. We had one nearly identical to the picture below hanging in my living room.

They were not my aesthetic at all. When my mom died, I dumped what I called our “Shit Pictures.”

We spent about two hours at the Columbia River Maritime Museum, but we could have easily spent double the amount of time. It is really first class with exhibits that will educate both children and adults.

No museum visit would be complete without a stop to the gift shop.

Dan was convinced that I needed this spiffy hat!

But I really wanted the octopus!

We managed to escape the gift shop with zero purchases: a museum miracle!

Book Review- Jennifer Pastiloff's On Being Human: A Memoir of Waking Up, Living Real, and Listening Hard

Thank you to Penguin Group Dutton for providing me with a copy of Jennifer Pastiloff’s memoir, On Being Human: A Memoir of Waking Up, Living Real, and Listening Hard, in exchange for an honest review.

Jennifer Pastiloff has built an incredible life. She is in a loving marriage, has a beautiful child, and has created a successful career as an inspirational leader of life changing yoga retreats. However, the road to Pastiloff’s currently life was bumpy.

Pastiloff had a tumultuous childhood, which included the death of her father. She suffered from crippling self-doubt and anorexia. Her self-image issues played a role in her refusal to seek medical attention for her progressive hearing loss, an issue that caused her many years of social pain, excluding her from fully participating in conversations and feeling like people viewed her as less intelligent. She meandered through her twenties/early thirties, engaging in self-destructive activities and unable to figure out her true career path or to find a good romantic partner.

On Being Human is part memoir and part self-help book, as Pastiloff gives tips and exercises gleaned from her popular workshops for reader to try at home. Pastiloff is relatable and raw. I related to her sense of feeling lost in her twenties/early thirties. She dropped out of college and spent over a decade working as a server at a cafe. I was in a similar situation and I could relate to knowing that you have skills and dreams, but also not quite knowing how to focus on a career path. The sense of knowing that there is so much more out there for you, but also not knowing how to grab it. In a culture where we value the traditional education/career path, it can be very difficult for people who do not stick to that mold. Pastiloff filled me with encouragement and hope. I would definitely recommend On Being Human, to anyone who is feeling a little lost.

Another aspect of Pastiloff’s memoir is the idea of following your gut or inner voice. Pastiloff did not have dreams of being a yoga instructor or a motivational coach, but she listened to her intuition when the opportunities presented themselves, she took them. The first time she met her would-be husband, she wasn’t interested in him, but a decade later, her gut told her to pursue the relationship. It’s part trusting yourself and part timing, as life is ever evolving and sometimes you might need the time to grow, in order to be ready to accept an opportunity. Pastiloff in her early twenties was not ready to accept certain things and she needed the time to grow. Rather than beating herself up over these missed years, she looks at them as a time needed to develop into the person she is today.

Pastiloff experienced massive hearing loss, a condition that slowly worsened over many years. Finally, she realized that she needed to use a hearing aid, something that she had been embarrassed about to the point of choosing to miss out on hearing. It was a vanity issue. When she finally conceded to needing the hearing aids, she realized that she could not afford them. However, Pastiloff had built a community of friends and clients who wanted to help her purchase them. This community came through with several other financial emergencies. My take-away is if you show enough love to other people, especially giving it freely with no expectations, often this love will come back to you in abundance. I’ve seen this happen in my own life and in the lives of those around me. Pastiloff’s younger adult years were spent in such fear of judgement, that when she was able to push that aside, she saw the blessing of allowing other people to be part of her life. We often hear that it “takes a village” to raise a child, but I think that it applies to everyone. We all need help sometimes. We need a sense of belonging to a community.

On Being Human is a wonderful reminder of the power of humanity and of embracing life. I highly recommend it for anyone who needs a bit of a boost. I’d love to attend one of Pastiloff’s workshops and to see how her energy in person, compares to the page. It is radiant in her memoir!