I write.
“This extraordinary book encompasses and embraces the complexities of 20th and 21st Century post-nuclear family realities. Lillibridge generally refers to the real-life characters of this psycho-drama as Girl, Mother, Stepmother, Father, and Brother, which makes the story read like a remarkable post-modern fairy tale. This book is absolutely of its time, adding to and illuminating a Zeitgeist that cannot, and will not, be turned back. The enduring need that ties together this new reality to old is this: How do we find ways to love each other? Real love is not without ambivalence, and that is true here. This is the great strength of Girlish, a compelling memoir for our time.
”
—Sue William Silverman, author of True Confessions, Lovesick, and The Pat Boone Fan Club: My Life as a White Anglo-Saxon Jew
TBR Tuesday: Exit Plans for Teenage Freaks by Nathan Burgoine
Tue Dec 11 2018
Exit Plans for Teenage Freaks by Nathan Burgoine is a fun queer rom-com sci-fi novel set in present time Canada. From Cole, our bullet journal loving protagonist, his ace BFF Alec, and Malik, the hottest guy in school, you will find someone to relate to or fall in love with in this brand-new YA novel. Read more »
TBR Tuesday: GEORGE by Alex Gino
Tue Dec 04 2018
A middle grade story of a trans girl trying to find her place. Read more »
Our Mousie Roommate
Mon Dec 03 2018
We have a mouse, a cat, and a rat terrier. One of those was an unintentional acquisition. Read more »
My Biggest Birthday Party Success Was Also My Biggest Failure
Fri Nov 30 2018
This was going to be the best birthday ever. Turns out, one should never even think those words. View at modernparentsmessykids »
TBR Tuesday: Waters Run Wild by Andrea Fekete + Inverview
Tue Nov 27 2018
Historical literary fiction that will break your heart with its beauty. Read more »
When I Knew I Was a Girl
Wed Nov 21 2018
It is only when someone doesn’t fit the norm that we assume they don’t have a clear idea of who they are. We assign blame to the parents. We assume the child doesn’t understand how gender or sexuality works. But if we put ourselves back in the space of childhood, there were certain truths we knew unquestionably. Read more »
Irreverent Instructions for Making Bird Seed Ornaments
Fri Nov 16 2018
As a parent, I both love and loathe doing crafts with my children. I want them to make stuff. I just don’t have anywhere left to put the stuff they make, and my kids don’t want to get rid of anything, ever. This conundrum was solved with the Birdseed Ornament we made with our moms year after year. View at only-mama »
Book Review of 16 Pills by Carley Moore
Wed Nov 14 2018
Carley Moore’s essay collection, 16 Pills, is an exploration on what it means to be a single parent, a disabled child, a daughter, a teacher, a sister, a woman. View at momeggreview »
Three LGBTQIA-Themed Picture Books in Time for Holiday Shopping
Tue Nov 13 2018
I pawn my work off on my 10-year-old and get him to review books for me. Read more »
To Be Read Tuesdays: A Dreadful Fairy Book by Jon Etter
Tue Nov 06 2018
This is a rollicking romp with themes of friendship, forgiveness, and the value of books. It calls itself “A Fairytale for Readers of All Ages” and I’d feel comfortable giving it to my 10-year-old or my 13-year-old, and I quite enjoyed it at age 45. Read more »
Review and Giveaway for BY THE FORCES OF GRAVITY by Rebecca Fish Ewan
Tue Oct 30 2018
Written in free verse accompanied by hand drawn illustrations, BY THE FORCES OF GRAVITY offers us a different concept of memoir itself. Read more »
The Cry Valve
Thu Oct 25 2018
There’s a mechanism in your throat I call the cry-valve. It’s that thing that swells and chokes your words even when you’ve successfully convinced your eyes not to release tears. I don’t know about you, but mine broke back in pregnancy and has never formed a tight seal ever since. Read more »