I Miss You When I Blink
Dispatches From A Relatively Ordinary Life
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- ¥1,100
Publisher Description
In this memoir-in-essays full of spot-on observations about home, work, and creative life, Philpott takes on the conflicting pressures of modern womanhood with wit and heart. She offers up her own stories to show that identity crises don't happen just once or only at midlife; reassures us that small, recurring personal re-inventions are both normal and necessary; and advises that if you're going to faint, you should get low to the ground first. Most of all, Philpott shows that when you stop feeling satisfied with your life, you don't have to burn it all down and set off on a transcontinental hike (unless you want to, of course). You can call upon your many selves to figure out who you are, who you're not, and where you belong. Who among us isn't trying to do that?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this heartwarming if occasionally self-indulgent essay collection, Philpott (Penguins with People Problems) shares her struggle with depression despite an outwardly perfect life. Philpott weaves together a collection of anecdotes about her struggles with perfectionism, failure, and coming to terms with her need for change. She discusses her experiences with ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome caused by fertility medication, her disconnect from the mundane conversations with friends after they all had children, and her ongoing war with her neighbor over their respective troublemaking pets. Amid this, she became weighed down by an "existential angst" and at times missed work deadlines, stopped washing her hair, and forgot about scheduled commitments. Philpott's prose is conversational and easy to settle into ("Maybe we all walk around assuming everyone is interpreting the world the same way we are, and being surprised they aren't, and that's the loneliness"). However, her tone, while aiming to be witty, can come across as arrogant ("I'm not a monster. I just want everything to be perfect. Is that so much to ask?"). Readers who worry their type-A personalities have led them to be unsatisfied with their successes, or those who yearn for change but can't pinpoint exactly why, will find this book comforting and reassuring.
