Book Review- Jennifer McGaha's Flat Broke with Two Goats

Thank you to Sourcebooks for providing me with an advance copy of Jennifer McGaha's memoir, Flat Broke with Two Goats, in exchange for an honest review.

PLOT- Jennifer McGaha was living a comfortable, upper middle-class life in the suburbs, when her world fell apart. A combination of the 2008 financial crash and living beyond their means, created a hole that Jennifer and her husband, David, couldn't seem to climb out of. David dropped a bombshell on Jennifer, when he revealed that they owed over a hundred thousand  in back taxes, and that their house was about to be repossessed. A small solution presented itself, by way of a bargain rental cabin deep in the Appalachian countryside. The cabin was in disrepair and lacked all of the comforts that they were used to having. It also boasted some roommates: venomous snakes, spiders, and other critters. Would Jennifer and David be able to embrace their new lifestyle as they slowly fixed their debt? Would their marriage survive?

LIKE- I liked McGaha's frank discussion regarding her financial issues. She experiences a range of emotions, including a lack of trust towards her husband and a profound sense of loss. Although she never loses sight of the fact that she has come from a privileged background and at the end of the day, she still has a roof over her head and love from her family, she still undergoes a transition, where she has to mourn her old life and reshape herself.

Certainly, Flat Broke with Two Goats, made me think about my own finances and I took this to be a cautionary tale. Your life can easily change by any number of factors. On a much more minor level than McGaha's experience, last year I moved to a different state and sold my childhood home, when my husband got a job transfer. I was depressed over it for about six months and I wish I had read McGaha's memoir during that time, as it's a great boost towards putting things in perspective. Life changes and you must roll with them.

Also, on the financial cautionary tale aspect, it was scary how long it took McGaha to be able to negotiate a repayment plan with the IRS. It's not as if they weren't trying to come up with a  solution, but as time passed, they had their wages garnished and had zero access to credit cards. They really had their hands tied, as they spent years in the process of trying to work out a repayment.

McGaha's transition from a suburbia dweller to living in the country, is fascinating. She embraces her family's pioneering, Appalachian roots. by growing crops and raising animals. She learns to raise chickens for eggs and goats for cheese. McGaha has a beautiful writing style and she really imparts the unique personalities of her farm animals to the reader. As an animal lover, it was heartbreaking to read about their animals getting ill and old, but she writes about learning to tend for farm animals with love and compassion.

DISLIKE- They is not much that I disliked about Flat Broke with Two Goats, but I did wonder about the title. There are far more than two goats in the story and it's not like a particular two goats are more meaningful than the others. The chickens seem to play a big role too. I think it sounds nice as a title, but I wondered when the meaning would present itself and it never did.

RECOMMEND- Yes! Flat Broke with Two Goats is an inspirational story and McGaha is a engaging writer. I think this is a great pick for anyone undergoing a transition in their lives and in need of a moral boost. it's also great as reminder to be aware of your finances and lifestyle.

Book Review- Kelly Grey Carlisle's We Are All Shipwrecks

Thank you to Sourcebooks for providing me with an advance copy of Kelly Grey Carlisle's memoir, We Are All Shipwrecks, in exchange for an honest review. 

PLOT- When Kelly Grey Carlisle was just three weeks old, she was left by her mother in a hotel room dresser drawer. Carlisle's mother was murdered, her body strangled and dumped in an abandoned lot in Los Angeles. Although it was suspected that her murder was the work of the Hillside Strangler, the case was never solved. 

Carlisle was told that her father was unknown and she was taken in by her eccentric grandfather and his much younger wife, Marilyn. Her grandfather could be loving and jovial, but he could also be angry and verbally abusive. When she was young, Carlisle was treated to fancy clothes and meals out, through money earned from her grandfather's pornography store business. Later in her childhood, money would get tight, as her grandfather decided to pour all available funds into his dream of owning a boat. They ended up living on a boat that was primarily docked in a marina with a group of off-beat and fellow down-on-their-luck neighbors. 

Although Carlisle lived with her grandfather and Marilyn. she honors several adults who took an active interest in her childhood and who helped raise her. We Are All Shipwrecks is a memoir of discovering ones roots, while acknowledging the impact of how you were raised.

LIKE- Carlisle's life is fascinating and heartbreaking. I was most struck by the contradictions and confusions in her life. She sees two very different men in her grandfather; the man who is fun-loving and the man who cuts with his words. She loves Marilyn as if Marilyn was her mother, but is heartbroken to discover Marilyn's alcoholism. She is curious about the porn business, but later realizes that some of the porn that her grandfather sells involves violence towards women. In particular, there are parallels between strangulation porn and her mother dying by strangulation. Carlisle mentions a guilty feeling of knowing that the porn business funded so much of her childhood, such as private schools and material possessions. 

I had a very personal connection to Carlisle's story. Towards the end of her memoir, she talks about being in her twenties and taking the initiative to research her family. She discovers a relative who mentions that Carlisle's mom died in a car accident. My father died in a scandalous way and when I was a teenager, I learned that all of my distant relatives on my father's side thought that he had died in a car accident. It's a misunderstanding that has caused a huge riff amongst my family. I had chills and a burst of anger when I read this part in Carlisle's memoir. Although I was raised by my mom, I can also relate to her desperate need to find out information about her family. I went through similar motions as she did, looking up newspaper articles and latching on to whatever information that I could find in our family records. Information is so precious. I was crushed to read that photographs of her mom and grandmother were destroyed when their boat got wrecked in a storm. 

Beyond having an incredible story, Carlisle's descriptive and emotional writing kept me glued to We Are All Shipwrecks. Her life is filled with many unusual characters and situations that are completely unfamiliar to me. I can't imagine living on a boat. I had no idea that there are places in Los Angeles (my hometown) where there are these floating trailer parks. Carlisle is also only a year older than me, so many aspects of her childhood were familiar.

DISLIKE- Not a single thing. Carlisle's story is unusual and compelling.

RECOMMEND- Yes. I enthusiastically recommend, We Are All Shipwrecks. Carlisle's story is one that I will not soon forget and I loved her overriding message about it taking a village to raise a child. This is a beautiful tribute to her messy childhood and to the people that she has loved.

Book Review- Kim Dinan's The Yellow Envelope

Thank You to Sourcebooks for providing me with an advanced copy of Kim Dinan's memoir, The Yellow Envelope, in exchange for an honest review.

PLOT - On paper, Kim Dinan's life looked great. She lived in Portland, Oregon. and had a loving husband, a stable career, and was a homeowner. Essentially, Kim and her husband, Brian, were building a very good life. However, Kim longed for a different type of life. Kim convinced Brian that they needed to travel the world. He agreed to sell their home, car, and possessions to fund their travels, as long as they took a year leave of absence from work, rather than flat out quitting their jobs. 

A few days before heading out on their adventure, Kim and Brian are given are surprise by their close friends, Michelle and Glenn. They are presented with a yellow envelope containing a thousand dollars, and instructions to give the money away as they see fit. They are not to stress over it, or over-think these acts of generosity, only to follow their hearts and spread a little kindness during their travels. How will the yellow envelope impact their trip? How will travel shape their lives and change their marriage?

LIKE- The concept of The Yellow Envelope is beautiful. I love the idea of how little random acts of kindness can make a big difference. Late in her memoir, Dinan tells a story about when she was in her early 20's and working for AmeriCorps, picking up used furniture for minimum wage. She was poor and just scraping by financially, when at one of the jobs, Dinan was tipped ten dollars. The act of kindness, specifically that she was appreciated, is what stuck with Dinan. It's in this spirit that she hopes, the yellow envelope money was received. The thousand dollars was spread out among many people, organizations, even to help feed starving animals, so none of it was an earth shattering amount given at one time, however, maybe these small acts were enough to affect change. Perhaps the intent and act of spreading kindness is enough? I'd like to think so. I'd like to think that I live in a world where people would feel inspired to commit small acts of kindness, and not feel that they couldn't give, because it wouldn't be "enough." 

I like that Dinan didn't edit out her discomfort. There were many times, especially early in her travels, that she did not give away money, because of her own discomfort. For example, they meet an elderly couple who do not speak English, but who are in desperate need for new shoes. They contemplate giving money or leaving shoes at the couple's house, even anonymously, but ultimately they cave to their own feelings of this being an awkward situation. Dinan and her husband often worry about how their gift will be perceived, although as they grow more accustomed to travel and foreign situations, this fear lessens. They focus more on their intent and less on how it could be misconstrued.

Dinan speaks about her own issues with accepting kindness. In India, she enters a rickshaw competition with two other women, and they find that their rickshaw, affectionally named "Sunny," has a lot of mechanical problems. At one point, they ended up needing shelter late at night, in a remote area, and a man takes them in. He gives them shelter and food, even though he is clearly very poor and his sharing is taking away from his family. At another point, a man goes out of his way to get a much needed part for their rickshaw. These are strangers, and although Dinan is unfamiliar with their culture's customs, she must accept the help. She must accept the idea that generosity between strangers can exist, and that kindness is a cross-cultural concept.

The Yellow Envelope is the right mix of travelogue and personal introspective. Beyond the cultural discomforts involved with travel and the addition of the yellow envelope, Dinan also speaks to her personal problems, including a crisis in her marriage. Through much of her memoir, I wasn't sure if her marriage would survive the year of travel. Was getting out of their element a good idea? Dinan's memoir is beautifully written and deeply affecting.

DISLIKE- Nothing. The Yellow Envelope is a fabulous read.

RECOMMEND- Yes! If you have wanderlust, or are feeling like you need to make a dramatic change to your life, The Yellow Envelope is a must read. My heart felt warmer from having this reading experience, which with the current political climate, is a feeling that I think a lot of people could use right now. The Yellow Envelope is a reminder that kindness is still in abundance in the world and that different cultures have different concepts of what should be valued. It's an eye opening read.