I love reading, which is why I started my own book club, I am more of a summer reader than anything during the fall/winter because truth be 
told all of my TV programs are new. So in the summer when everything is in repeat you will finding me sitting at night with the baseball game on in the background reading. So, I was recently sent a book to review (in between our book picks for our book club which is a shame because I think the girls would like this one) and have been very excited about reading The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan. I had seen this book in book stores and now I see that even Oprah herself has read and reviewed this book, but now it’s my turn.
I am a judge the book by the cover kind of reader (and the cover is very welcoming), unfortunately, but I also will read the back of a book or dust jacket and after reading the book’s information I was very intrigued.
For Kelly Corrigan, family is everything. At thirty-six, she had a marriage that worked, two funny, active kids, and a weekly newspaper column. But even as a thriving adult, Kelly still saw herself as the daughter of garrulous Irish-American charmer George Corrigan. She was living deep within what she calls the Middle Place – “that sliver of time when parenthood and childhood overlap” – comfortably wedged between her adult duties and her parents’ care. But Kelly is abruptly shoved into coming-of-age when she finds a lump in her breast – and gets the diagnosis no one wants to hear. When George, too, learns that he has late-stage cancer, it is Kelly’s turn to take care of the man who had always taken care of her – and to show us a woman who finally takes the leap and grows up.
From the moment I picked this book up and started reading the Prologue I was hooked, alone just for the fact that I fell in love with her father (Greenie, The Green Man or old Billy Goat). I also love that he calls his daughter (Kelly) Lovey. It made me smile each time he called her by the nickname, especially bringing me to tears as she discovers her breast cancer diagnosis and he rushes to her side.
There is also the tale of her marriage, which Edward (her husband) sounds like an amazing man. I won’t say better than my own husband because mine is pretty great but I can only imagine what cancer can do to a marriage. I would think you would have to really have a strong marriage and a lovely husband such as Edward to have your relationship survive cancer.
The book is beautifully written and it keeps you coming back for more, more of her youth that she describes in every other chapter and more of her struggle with not only her own cancer diagnosis but also her father’s, which she finds out about on November 23rd 2004 the day before Thanksgiving.
You can easily relate with her because she tells you the real stuff and not just the real stuff about motherhood, marriage, being a daughter but also being a cancer patient. This book is comforting, funny, touching and a tad bit voyeuristic, but I really liked reading it, I won’t spoil anything for you by revealing anything more but I think it’s a light and easy read and PERFECT for a summer vacation or a lazy day on your front porch.
My 4Bits 