Book Club!!
Editor’s Post by Deborah Hetrick Catanese
It’s is very easy to forget about our own needs as we attend to a zillion other things that come at us every day. But one of the most important ways of being effective in whatever we do is to practice self-care, and this is especially true for mothers. Without attending to ourselves, we cannot possibly perform at our best or even find a peaceful place within to recover from our efforts.
Self-care varies from person to person, but there are different components that we each much address…our physical health (ie. healthy food and exercise), our emotional health (ie. a close friend to confide in), and our intellectual health (ie. reading a great book).
With that in mind, Project Motherhood is launching a project today that is near and dear to Ali and me…a Book Club.
Ever since I was a child, reading has served to restore me and help me to function better, whether I’m in the midst of calm or chaos. And I have always loved reading both fiction and non-fiction. When I saw a review of Patricia Volk’s new memoir Shocked: My Mother, Schiaparelli, and Me, I was thrilled! I wanted our first book club selection to relate to both of our blog’s themes: Motherhood and Fashion. An extra bonus is that much of this book takes place in New York City, where the author was raised in an upper middle class Manhattan home in the early 50’s and 60’s! Imagine getting a peek into THAT privileged world!
Yesterday, I ripped open the cardboard packaging from Barnes and Noble’s delivery at my door to find a ‘shocking pink’ cover, Schiaparelli’s favorite color, it turns out. Perfect! I immediately threw it in my purse as I rushed out for my doctor’s appointment, figuring the book would help me pass the time. An hour of waiting raced by at record speed, as I immersed myself in Ms. Volk’s story about growing up with a perfectionist mother, who was obsessed with looking “just so.” Another dimension is added when the author at age 11 discovers a book called Shocking Life, written by fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli. The avant garde nature of Schiaparelli’s couture creations and her personal style became a liberating counterpoint for young Patricia to the rigid fashion rules of her mother.
I read the first 75 pages and believe me, it was a LOT more fun than the doctor’s appointment! What drew me in was Volk’s tackling of particular topics in each chapter (like watching her mother apply make-up in one chapter and being fitted for a custom made fur coat in another) rather than being strictly chronological in the telling. And I loved her comparison of the two main fashions influences in her life, and what it was like to live under the shadow and expectations of a strong and beautiful mother while not entirely buying it. Patricia Volk’s vivid details take you right there, back into a time where women had strong expectations of themselves and of what they should and shouldn’t do, and how they should and shouldn’t look. Being raised by Audrey Volk meant living in a world with stringent expectations and some very high standards to live up to.
But here is the book’s opening quote:
“If you see a girl dressed to say – ‘No one tells me what to do’ – you know someone once told her what to do.” (Jennifer Michael Hecht)
This quote gives us a clue from the get-go regarding Ms. Volk’s attitude about fashion and about the rules as professed by her mother. So, my lovely Mamas, are you as intrigued as I am? Shall we try a reading project together, just for fun?
Shocked just came out, in early 2013, so we are nice and current on this! Amazon has it both in print and for Kindle. And Barnes and Noble has a Mother’s Day Sale going on right now, 20% off! If you have a local bookstore (wish I did, but ours are all closed!), I’m sure they can put their hands on this title for you. Our libraries are willing to order books or put you on a waiting list, if they don’t have it on hand.
So, let’s enjoy “feeding our heads” together while being amazed at how astonishingly different the situations that life throws at each of us can be from one to another. Maybe we’ll even be Shocked! (I’m hoping!) For me so far, the photos in the book are worth the price of admission!
If we all like this book, maybe we can read Elsa’s book next. Or we can move onto other books, since books share that same trait notoriously said about men…so many, and so little time !
But, do take your time reading. I will get back to all of you Mamas toward the end of June for a lively discussion of Patricia, Audrey, and Elsa, with “study questions” I will throw out for all of you to consider. Or YOU can throw some questions out to me, if you send them in before the end of June. Since this is Project Motherhood’s first attempt at this, I would love to hear any suggestions you might have to make this Book Club as much fun and as successful as our blog in general has been!
Looking for more book club goodness?
- A Summer Reading List For Moms Who Don’t Have Much Time to Read
- The Sunshine When She’s Gone Discussion & Review
- First Book and Discussion Questions
- Announcing Book Club Selection Two
- Moms Book Club to The Rescue
- Call the Midwife Discussion & Review
So, my lovely Mamas, hope you LOVE the first book I have picked out! And tell me, please, what do YOU look for in a book? What is your favorite genre? Do you have a suggestion for future reads?
Fashionably Yours,
Deborah
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