Bomb shelter : love, time, and other explosives

Title:

Author:

Summary:

A lifelong worrier, Philpott always kept an eye out for danger, a habit that only intensified when she became a parent. But she looked on the bright side, too, believing that as long as she cared enough, she could keep her loved ones safe. Then, in the dark of one quiet, pre-dawn morning, she woke abruptly to a terrible sound—and found her teenage son unconscious on the floor. In the aftermath of a crisis that darkened her signature sunny spirit, she wondered: If this happened, what else could happen? And how do any of us keep going when we can’t know for sure what’s coming next? Leave it to the writer whose critically acclaimed debut had us “laughing and crying on the same page” (NPR) to illuminate what it means to move through life with a soul made of equal parts anxiety and optimism (and while she’s at it, to ponder the mysteries of backyard turtles and the challenges of spatchcocking a turkey). -- Amazon.

Edition:

First Atria Books hardcover edition.

Contents:

Shadows -- Hello from upside down -- Hurry, hurry -- Firestarter -- Pinwheel -- Turtles, turtles, turtles -- One might wonder -- Everybody has something -- Do you hear the people sing? -- Calm yourself -- Seriously -- To the woman screaming on the quad -- The six stages of finding out you have high cholesterol -- The swing -- Fragments -- Bomb shelter -- Tough girl -- Worst-case scenario -- Rescue practice -- Homesick and spinning -- The great fortune of ordinary sadness -- Close calls -- The opposite of a daydream -- Home again, home again -- Spatchcock this -- Investment pieces -- Face hunger -- In memory of turtles lost -- I would like to report an attack upon my soul -- Another box, another Christmas -- Stay.

Physical Description:

x, 274 pages ; 22 cm.

Genre:

Essays.

Personal Subject:

Philpott, Mary Laura.

Subject Term:

Middle-aged women -- Biography.

Women authors, American -- Biography.

Conduct of life.

Publisher:

Atria Books,

Publication Date:

2022

ISBN:

9781982160784

Publication Information:

New York : Atria Books, 2022.

Call Number:

814 PHILPOTT

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003563049	Adult Nonfiction	814 PHILPOTT	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

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Summary

A New York Times Editors' Choice
One of NPR's Best Books of the Year

"A beautifully wrought ode to life...a precious gift to the world." -- The Washington Post

From the bestselling author of I Miss You When I Blink comes a poignant and powerful new memoir that tackles the big questions of life, death, and existential fear with humor and hope.

As a daughter, mother, and friend, Mary Laura Philpott considered herself an "anxious optimist"--a natural worrier with a stubborn sense of good cheer. And while she didn't really think she had any sort of magical protective powers, she believed in her heart that as long as she loved her people enough, she could keep them safe.

Then, in the early hours of one dark morning at home, her belief was upended. In the months that followed, she turned to poignant memories, priceless stories, and a medley of coping mechanisms (with comically mixed success) to regain her equilibrium and find meaning in everyday wonders.

Hailed by The Washington Post as "Nora Ephron, Erma Bombeck, Jean Kerr, and Laurie Colwin all rolled into one," Philpott tackles the big questions of life, death, and existential fear--not to mention the lessons of an inscrutable backyard turtle--with hope, humor, and joy.

Author Notes

Mary Laura Philpott, nationally bestselling author of I Miss You When I Blink and Bomb Shelter , writes essays and memoirs that examine the overlap of the absurd and the profound in everyday life. Her writing has been featured by The New York Times , The Washington Post , and The Atlantic , among many other publications . A former bookseller, she also hosted an interview program on Nashville Public Television for several years. Mary Laura lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with her family.

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Philpott (I Miss You When I Blink) explores life's pleasures and uncertainties in this wry if meandering collection of essays. She searches for meaning in the noteworthy and the mundane, sleekly juxtaposing lamentations about her herniated discs (an injury caused by "too many years hunched over a laptop") with deeply affecting reflections on such life-altering experiences as her son's first seizure. She also humorously investigates her own contradictory nature, as a person who's both immensely anxious and overly cheerful: "Am I here to tell you we're all going to die? Yes. Am I here to give you a pep talk along the way? Also yes!" Occasionally, though, she wanders down a winding path of tangential thoughts and unrelated asides; for instance, the surprising news that her dad worked at Raven Rock, a secret underground military bunker, zigzags her to the moment when she learned, after two decades of living with her husband, that he could juggle. While the scattershot narration can distract, Philpott draws readers back in with her philosophical and witty musings--from wondering about her place in the universe to remembering a family dog that would only eat to the music of Kanye West. Rambling tendencies aside, this quirky work has a lot of heart. (Apr.)

Library Journal Review

In Where the Children Take Us, CNN anchor Asher celebrates the strength of her first-generation British Nigerian mother, who overcame grief when her husband was killed in a South London car accident to raise four accomplished children, including Oscar-nominated actor Chiwetel Ejiofor (125,000-copy first printing). Multi-award-winning novelist Morton writes about his fierce and irrepressible educator mother, Tasha, from whom he spent a lifetime carefully cushioning himself and who still proves a handful when he must intervene as caregiver as she grows older (75,000-copy first printing). Author of the laugh-out-loud best seller I Miss You When I Blink, self-professed worrywart Philpott practically built a Bomb Shelter to protect her children, then realized during the crisis that unfolded after she found her teenage son unconscious on the floor that she couldn't control everything (100,000-copy first printing). Forever Boy, Swenson's account of raising a son with severe autism, should attract a big audience--and not just because of the subject's importance; Swenson's blog/Facebook page Finding Cooper's Voice has 655,000 followers, and her TODAY-featured video, "The Last Time It's Going To Be Okay," has been viewed over 30 million times (75,000-copy first printing). Expanding on a 2018 USA TODAY story that has had more than 1.5 million page views, Trujillo examines the aftermath of her mother's suicide in Stepping Back from the Ledge, explaining that she had to face deep sorrows in her mother's life and her own.

Prelude
Shadows	p. 3
Part 1 Hello from Upside Down	p. 11
Hurry, Hurry	p. 18
Firestarter	p. 25
Pinwheel	p. 31
Turtles, Turtles, Turtles	p. 41
One Might Wonder	p. 48
Everybody Has Something	p. 51
Do You Hear the People Sing?	p. 60
Part 2 Calm Yourself	p. 73
Seriously	p. 81
To the Woman Screaming on the Quad	p. 89
The Six Stages of Finding Out You Have High Cholesterof	p. 99
Part 3 The Swing	p. 109
Fragments	p. 114
Bomb Shelter	p. 120
Part 4 Tough Girl	p. 131
Worst-Case Scenario	p. 140
Rescue Practice	p. 149
Homesick and Spinning	p. 155
The Great Fortune of Ordinary Sadness	p. 166
Close Calls	p. 176
The Opposite of a Daydream	p. 190
Part 5 Home Again, Home Again	p. 201
Spatchcock This	p. 214
Investment Pieces	p. 219
Face Hunger	p. 226
In Memory of Turtles Lost	p. 235
I Would Like to Report an Attack Upon My Soul	p. 244
Another Box, Another Christmas	p. 249
One Last Part
Stay	p. 259
Acknowledgments	p. 269
Previously Published and Copyright Permissions	p. 273

Available:*

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Library Journal Review

Table of Contents