A Memoir about Death, Grief, and Surviving the Mother of All Losses
November 1, 2017
Spencer opens her memoir by announcing herself the president of the Dead Moms Club and welcomes readers to the organization. She knows it's a membership that no one wants, and she wishes more than anything that she could renounce hers. Her mother passed away quickly after a pancreatic cancer diagnosis when the author was 27, a self-professed woman-child who desperately still needed her mother for guidance. Spencer recounts her memories of her mother, her mother's passing, her all-encompassing grief, and finding her way forward. Although her memoir is a raw and moving account of a daughter's loss, Spencer's comedic wit prevails, and readers will more often than not appreciate her irreverent, laugh-out-loud funny handling of a bleak subject. Included are cutout cards to give to strangers explaining that your mother just died, thanks for asking, and a chapter on Mother****ing Mother's Day. This book is not likely one for the newly bereaved but could prove a comforting and surprising companion in the months and years following a loss.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)