I Dreamt of Sausage by Corinna Borden

As if being newly married to a resident husband who rarely leaves the hospital, separated from family by miles, and finding herself in a small town isn't enough stress for anyone, being diagnosed with lymphoma further complicates things for Corinna Borden.  Through journal entries and snippets of episodes of her life we are able to journey with her as she navigates her way,  and she does make it her way, her unique journey documented in I Dreamt of Sausage.



Through out the memoir she does battle--with her family, the medical community,  her body and the voices/tapes we all play in our minds.  She does her best to escape the toxicity of traditional medicine, often opting for treatments that do not benefit her, delaying treatments that are proven, although unpleasant.  She falls victim to unscrupulous New Age gimmicks, taking thousands of dollars of supplements, submitting to daily coffee enemas and subscribing to nonsense-speak at times.

Corinna's parents and sister and especially her husband are patient and accepting, even when they believe her life is in grave danger.  Even the slightest question about her alternative treatments elicit temper tantrums and yelling "You don't support me!"  Finally her family just accepts that she is doing what she is going to do.  I can't even imagine how hard this was for them, especially for her husband, whose life work is based in science, not New Age magic.


All in all, Borden writes a courageous recollection of her cancer road trip, and while it isn't the map I would have followed, it was an interesting read and I give this one a solid 3 blooms.


Disclosure:   This book was given to me by the author in exchange for a review.  No other compensation was offered and no promise of a positive review was promised to the author.

What Would Susie Say? by Susie Essman

What Would Susie Say?: Bullsh*t Wisdom About Love, Life and Comedy

I've been a fan of Larry David's show Curb Your Enthusiasm for a long time, and one of the reasons that I love the show is because of the character Susie Essman plays.  I saw Susie on Joy Behar's show and she claims she isn't at all like her character, but she did enjoy yelling at her TV husband.  After hearing her talk I had to read her book, so I did.

I really like Susie Essman's frank and explicit way she expresses herself. I love the fact that she's not afraid to be herself and express herself in her own way, even if that way sometimes resembles some rough language. She also exposes a softer side, especially when she's talking about her new husband and his children. It isn't hard to believe that she got her start in comedy--she's a funny lady.

If you are a fan of Curb Your Enthusiasm, you'll love this book. Essman writes in a conversational style that is a very quick read.  4 Blossoms!

Disclosure: No compensation was given for this post.  I bought the book.

Sky Below by Stacey E'Rasmo

Sky Below by Stacey E'Rasmo
Book Description:  At thirty-seven, Gabriel Collins works halfheartedly as an obituary writer at a fading newspaper in lower Manhattan, which, since 9/11, feels like a city of the dead. This once dreamy and appealing boy has turned from a rebellious adolescent to an adult who trades in petty crimes.His wealthy, older boyfriend is indulgent of him to a point. But after a brush with his own mortality, Gabriel must flee to Mexico in order to put himself back together. By novel's end, we know all of Gabriel's ratty little secrets, but by dint of D'Erasmo's spectacular writing, we exult in the story of an imperfect man who was tested by a world that is often too much for him and rises to meet the challenge.

Lily's Thoughts- (As published in Elle Magazine, January 2009)
Rich in details, sentences spun as expertly as an artist's brush renders a masterpiece, this novel is a tale for the connoisseur of words. We live Gabriel life along side him; the painful departure of his father and subsequent loss of the mother he remembers as being so creative and attendant, who now must fend for him and his older sister. We endure his long wait for life to begin, for his coming of age that never materializes the way he expects it will. We hold witness to the thin line between reality and fantasy, sometimes unable to distinguish the differences. Gabriel, long into adulthood, holds onto an idea of the past, a world he's created in his mind, a world he can never seem to grasp, even as his moves mindless through real life situations and relationships. To me, more than anything, this novel explores the question "If you think something is true, does that make it real?"  I give this one 4 blooms.

Disclosure:  This book was given to me by Elle Magazine in exchange for a review.

Petal Pusher: A Rock and Roll Cinderella Story by Laurie Lindeen

Petal Pusher: A Rock and Roll Cinderella Story by Laurie Lindeen

Book description-

In the years between the meteoric launch of Madonna and Courtney Love, Petal Pusher takes readers on a thrilling journey across rock-and-roll—from the big haired 1980s to the grunge-filled 1990s—when Laurie Lindeen brought her all-girl band Zuzu’s Petals to compete in the indie rock arena.
Minneapolis in the eighties was a musical hotbed, the land of 10,000 lakes and 10,000 bands that gave birth to Prince, the Replacements, and Soul Asylum. For Laurie Lindeen it was the perfect place to launch her rock-and-roll dream. She moved to the city with best friends Phyll (“Annie Oakley meets Patsy Cline”) and Coleen (“former cheerleader gone off the arty deep end”) to crash in decrepit apartments and coax punk rock from crappy used guitars.

Lily's Thoughts- (as posted in Elle Magazine, August 2007)

Choppy and sometimes incoherent, Laurie Lindeen recounts her story of the turbulent beginnings of her Minneapolis all girl rock and roll band, Zuzu's Petals. Sex, drugs, and rock and roll is the anthem screamed by Lindeen's book, regardless of Lindeen's own lack of confidence and obligatory 1980's angst.. There is no doubt, You, the reader, are along on this journey--the good, the bad, the frequently ugly and incomprehensible. Sometimes juvenile, always brutally honest, the story evolves and grows up, finally, leaving the reader with a sense of relief that Lindeen, finally, is at peace with her past and ready to face the future with her head held up high.  3 blooms for this one.

Disclosure:  This book was given to me by Elle Magazine in return for a review.

My Biplar Road Trip in 4-D by Lizzie Simon

Book Description-

Detour is the extraordinary first book by Lizzie Simon, a twenty-three-year-old woman with bipolar disorder. We meet her as she is set to abandon her successful career as a theatrical producer in New York City, with plans to hit the road and find other bipolars like herself -- young, ambitious, opinionated, and truth-seeking. Her goal: to speak with them candidly without judgment, fear, or the slightest trace of anything clinical or jargon-laden. She wants their stories in their words. Detour : My Bipolar Road Trip in 4-D

Lily's Thoughts--

Lizzie Simon, a diagnosed bipolar, decides to take leave from her job and drive around the country looking for her "herd," people like her, who, because of a defining moment, were diagnosed manic depressive, but, despite the difficulties, were successful and living life to the fullest. What she discovered was that people with bipolar are complex and at times, very hard to define and that success sometimes is just being able to wake up and say "Hey, I'm alive." A quick, powerful read. Highly recommended 4 blooms.

Disclosure:  No compensation was provided for this post.  I bought the book.

Heart in the Right Place: A Memoir by Carolyn Jourdan

Heart in the Right Place

Heart in the Right Place: A Memoir

By Carolyn Jourdan

Carolyn Jourdan, an attorney on Capitol Hill, thought she had it made. But when her mother has a heart attack, she returns home-to the Tennessee mountains, where her father is a country doctor and her mother works as his receptionist. Jourdan offers to fill in for her mother until she gets better. But days turn into weeks as she trades her suits for scrubs and finds herself following hazmat regulations for cleaning up bodily fluids; maintaining composure when confronted with a splinter the size of a steak knife; and tending to the loquacious Miss Hiawatha, whose daily doctor visits are never billed. Most important, though, she comes to understand what her caring and patient father means to her close-knit community. With great humor and great tenderness, Heart in the Right Place shows that some of our biggest heroes are the ones living right beside us.


Lily's Thoughts-
Carolyn Jourdan's amusing but poignant spiritual journey into what is really most important in life does not disappoint. Jourdan comes back home to rural Tennessee from her prestigious job in Washington, DC to help her father, a doctor, while her mother, his receptionist, recuperates from an illness. Her descriptions of the parade of eccentric but lovable characters through her father's small country medical practice leave the reader completely absorbed into the story and wanting more. By the end of the story a realization sets in--success is not measured by fame, money, or location of residence--but by the small, although significant, differences for the better we make in others lives.

5 Blooms

Disclosure:  This book was given by Elle Magazine in exchange for a review.

Here's the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice by Maureen McCormick

Let's see---
Snorting coke in the 70's-----$250,000
Two abortions-----------------$ 1,000
Kissing rear to every well known studio producer in Hollywood---Priceless. But this memoir wasn't priceless.

  Here's the Story was downright boring--until you get to the end, then it is just bizarre. McCormick tried as hard as she could to make it read as if she has a hard, tough, rough life---but I don't buy it. This was a way to get some media attention and make a few dollars. The publisher could have at least proofread the manuscript--for example, chapter 10, second page--what exactly is "essentically?" Read it if you have to, but don't think you are missing out if you skip this one.

2 Blooms

Disclosure:  No compensation was given for this review.