A once-promising children’s book writer navigates the humbling realities of middle age and dysfunctional family life while pursuing well-intentioned but increasingly disastrous changes.
As someone who is not above treating my dogs like actual tiny furry humans, I did not find the premise of Laura Zigman's new novel Separation Anxiety to be entirely preposterous. In the midst of her world falling down around her, Judy begins wearing her Sheltie dog in a baby sling (mind you, one that she never used when her son Teddy was actually a baby) to help alleviate some of her anxiety about her failed marriage, money woes, distant teenage son, and her dead-in-its-tracks career path. Once she starts wearing the dog, she can't seem to stop, no matter how many people look at her "like she has a bird on her head." (You'll get the bird-on-the-head reference once you read this book!)
Separation Anxiety is full of self-deprecating humor and hilarious asides as quirky and authentic protagonist Judy, with dog in tow, tries to prevent her life from completely falling apart. Relatable to middle aged wives and mothers, Separation Anxiety puts an amusing spin on all of the things that can go wrong as you move through this thing called life, while also addressing serious topics such as addiction, divorce, motherhood, and death. While I personally could not relate to Judy beyond her affinity for her dog, I nonetheless found her story to be engaging and entertaining, and enjoyed the chuckles that Separation Anxiety gave me as Judy got herself into one uncomfortable, yet funny, situation after another.
Separation Anxiety is recommended to readers who enjoy lightly humorous stories that poke fun at the darker aspects of life.
Availability: eBook in cloudLibrary Rating: **** Stars (I really liked it) Reviewer: Brooke, Public Relations Librarian
ARE YOU AND THIS BOOK A GOOD MATCH?
DISCOVER MORE WITH NOVELIST APPEALS!
GENRE: Humorous Stories; Relationship Fiction
TONE: Funny; Moving
WRITING STYLE: Descriptive
SUBJECT: Aging; Families; Marriage; Middle-Age; Middle-Aged Women; Midlife Crisis; Mothers; Separated Women; Women and Dogs
IF YOU LIKE THIS BOOK, YOU MAY ALSO ENJOY THESE TITLES: