Saturday, April 2, 2022

Bomb Shelter

Bomb Shelter: Love, Time, and Other Explosives by Mary Laura Philpott
4/12/22; 288 pages
Atria Books

Bomb Shelter: Love, Time, and Other Explosives by Mary Laura Philpott is a highly recommended collection of personal essays.

Philpott openly discusses her life, anxieties, joys, worries, and pleasures in this collection that covers a wide range of topics from mundane everyday actions as well as the uncertainty which accompanied her son's first seizure and diagnosis. All the topics are presented and discussed in an approachable manner. She is dealing with her mortality while also recognizing the joy and small pleasures found in life. There is the recognition that she will need to let her children go soon, off to college and on to their own lives, but she worries about their safety. Philpott explains that she believes if she cares enough, she could keep her loved ones safe.

As she searches for the meaning in what makes up a life, both the mundane and the significant events, she approaches the discussion with equal parts anxiety and optimism. The essays can take on a circuitous feeling as topics appear, reappear, a jump forward and backward in time. She does ramble on at times, but the essays will also clearly leave a feeling of camaraderie with most readers. She is expressing in her own unique way many of the things others think and ponder. This is a thoughtful collection that should appeal to many readers.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Simon & Schuster.

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