Announcing….Project Motherhood Book Club – Selection Two

THE SUNSHINE WHEN SHE’S GONE, by Thea Goodman, 2013.

Editor’s Post by Deborah Hetrick Catanese

Our next Project Motherhood Book Club read will be the debut novel of Thea Goodman, who spins an easy to read story that is sure to be thought-provoking and controversy-stirring for anyone in a relationship who has ventured into the sometimes rocky, always interesting road of parenting a totally and demandingly dependent infant.

Here’s the blurb that caught my eye in making this selection, from the author’s blog:

“THE SUNSHINE WHEN SHE’S GONE begins early one frigid, January morning in 2005 when a sleep-deprived new father gives his wife a rare opportunity to sleep-in; he then spontaneously flees lower Manhattan with his infant daughter for a long weekend in the Caribbean. Alternating point of view, from the husband to the wife, the book describes each of their disquieting misadventures, and explores the travails of intimacy, the transfiguring impact of parenthood and the slippery quest for happiness.”

ModCloth Neyla Dress worn on Zooey Deschanel in New Girl

First, some background about our book club…Allison and I have talked extensively about both our love of reading and our excitement about Project Motherhood.  We have jointly decided to continue the book club after our first terrific start with the non-fiction memoir “Shocked”, which focused on author Patricia Volk’s  life as a child growing up in Manhattan and her reactions to her fashionable mother’s high standards contrasted with those of her eccentric fashion heroine  Elsa Schiaparelli who embodied an ‘anything goes’ spirit in everything she did.

Ali and I decided that our book club would present fiction as well as non-fiction.  The main requirement is that each book selection relates to the mission of our blog, which is Motherhood and Fashion, with a subset focus on relationship issues and our love of New York City thrown into the mix. We decided to alternate non-fiction and fiction and to present 6 books per year to read with our Project Motherhood followers.  So, since we know you are all BUSY, we will always give you a month to read the book, and then the following month, we will present discussion questions along with the personal views of your two favorite Project Motherhood movers and shakers (meaning Allison and me, LOL!), along with comments and thoughts from our readers. So get out your charge card for Amazon, or your library card, or head for your favorite book store, while I give you a little preview about this book…

 

Going into reading this book, I was familiar with the differences of opinion reviewers had about it, which actually stirred my curiosity.  As I see it, both parents in this story are struggling mightily with the issues Allison has always referred to as BTB and ATB (Before the Baby, and After the Baby). And these two characters are acting up, and acting out, and being rather immature about it all, as it would be easy to say in judgment.

But in spite of their flaws as parents and as partners, their feelings and emotions are so raw and well-expressed, that I see this book as a manifestation of what it COULD be like if any of us acted out on our fantasies about escape, which I’m sure most of us mothers have every now and then on  those inevitable difficult days!  For me, I’m always relieved when I am able to keep these kinds of destructive thoughts as just that…flights of fantasy.

I see this book as a great way to indulge in your WHAT-IFS…What if I impulsively ran away, or even just escaped for just a day or two? What if I could have ONE night of uninterrupted sleep?  What if I could have fun like when I was single again? Um, yes, we all have learned that things change once we are ATB.  But isn’t reading about someone else’s mistakes a less painful way to learn some great lessons?! (Such as knowing that the “insanity” you feel is more often than not simply caused by your sleep deprivation and fatigue, and is not only experienced by other mothers, but is just a temporary state!)

Join us, my lovely Mamas, and take a flight of fantasy with us.  Let’s get busy reading Project Motherhood Book Two: The Sunshine When She’s Gone.  Feel free to send thoughts and comments along the way!

Fashionably Yours,

Deborah

PS Go BUCS!!!!

 

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