Heather Harpham

(Audible version) "Sometimes we find happiness on accident. We trip over it on our way somewhere else." This book was a pick from the Reese Witherspoon book club. At first I wasn't sure I was going to like it but given the fact that I finished it in three days, is a good sign that I changed my mind. This is definitely not my genre, if I do read memoir, which is rare, its usually the memoir of a celebrity or some other significant person that I want already know and want some more juicy details about. Its at times heartbreaking, but also up-lifting. Written about the time period when her infant daughter was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder, the author details how SHE "survived" her daughter's illness. Several times along the way I wanted to smack her when she would be angry with her partner, or other people around them, for doing something helpful, or having the right words to say. She would respond to them correctly out loud, but then she'd describe to the reader her inner monologue. Her outrage and vitriol at the people around who seemed unfounded. When I say at first I wanted to smack her, that feeling changed after I realized that a lot of what she was dealing with was just the stress of the situation, the fear that her child was so sick and that no one could help her or tell them what was wrong with their baby. Its a beautifully written, brutally honest story. Cancer sucks and there's no way around it but through it. And everybody deals with it differently. I honestly don't think I would have finished it if I had been reading the print copy as the author tends down literary rabbit holes occasionally, but I found myself caught up in her musings and wanted to hear more. And truth be told I did google before I finished the book, to find out if the daughter survives or not. But I won't tell you the answer to that.… (mais)

I'm not certain how, in short succession, I've managed to pick and read a number of books about children who are either sick, dying, or missing, but the topic fast becomes emotionally draining. This memoir, through, is titled Happiness, so certainly it can't be too sad, right? Well, yes and no. The author shares much about her relationships, children, and life that made me laugh or was just simply relatable. Yet, I read the last third of this book in a rush, worried that the sick child might not make it. I appreciate the overall message about happiness and how you can't plan for certain things in life. Overall, this memoir made for good reading, if not exactly enjoyable reading.… (mais)

I always say that it's hard to write a very good short story or a memoir that draws you in. Unfortunately I was not engaged at all while reading this. Instead I found myself getting bored and just rushing through chapters. Harpham's memoir doesn't cause me to feel a thing which is weird considering the subject matter (her newborn daughter is born with a fatal disease) but maybe that is due to her obsessing over the relationship with her ex, then boyfriend, and eventual husband.

I think the writing was trying too hard. In the right hands I think this memoir could have been really good. Instead I shook my head over Harpham talking about how she wrote Fiona Apple lyrics down when professing her love to the man she's dating. Maybe that's why I didn't like this book, I felt like I was reading a diary of someone who is in their teens throughout this.

The flow is off as well. We go back and forth between destinations and treatments for her daughter. Eventually we find out what happened to everyone (all is well) and I just ended feeling dissatisfied when I got to the end.… (mais)