SOCIAL SCIENCES

Joy Enough: A Memoir

by Sarah McColl
Liveright: Norton. Jan. 2019. 160p. ISBN 9781631494703. $21.95; ebk. ISBN 9781631494710. MEMOIR
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OrangeReviewStarIn this compact memoir, newcomer McColl details her memories of the most amazing person she's ever known—her mother. The author spent a year and a half caring for her dying mother even as her own young marriage fell apart. Through sparse yet shimmering prose, readers will come to know McColl's mother as well: a woman who enjoyed a good sunset, a bike ride, a blooming peony bush. She appreciated life's simple pleasures and encouraged those she loved to do so as well, inspiring McColl to become the kind of woman she wanted to be and face the end of her withering marriage. It is only by wading knee-deep in grief that she learns how to start living again.
VERDICT Even though McColl's story fits neatly into the genre of "grief memoir," it is utterly hopeful. An unforgettable debut.
Reviewed by Erin Shea, Ferguson Lib., CT , Oct 01, 2018
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