Made for You and Me

February 14, 2011
Shetterly, who chronicled her cross-country trip from L.A. to Maine for NPR's Weekend Edition, offers this deeper look into her emotional and geographic journey. The recession hit Maine hard in late 2007. Shetterly and her husband, caught off guard, struggled to make a living. Friends in California beckoned the pair, with tales of a sunnier, more prosperous, and stable life. The optimistic young couple, together with their dog and cat, set out for Los Angeles in 2008. A year later, depressed and broke, toting a new baby and minus one pet, they drove back home to Maine, settling in with Shetterly's mother. "My anger had fueled me to the point of outrage—how could America let me down this way? How could America do this to families? Wasn't it just yesterday we were watching Sex and the City and buying fabulous ‘lifestyles' on maxed out credit cards? What had changed overnight?" In this compelling narrative, Shetterly reveals all the messy, mundane details of lives coming undone. However, as she acknowledges sadly, it's her observations on the reduced American lifestyle that give her commentary an edge. Readers would be wise to heed her commentary on the loss of our small towns, homelessness, joblessness and the increasing economic divisions between Americans.

January 15, 2011

NPR contributor Shetterly tells the story of young married life as she and her husband set out from Maine to Los Angeles, but were ultimately forced to return home, stymied by the economic recession, illness and an unexpected pregnancy.

This cozy, homespun memoir blends a call to community ("until all Americans realize this—how much we need each other—[some] of us will always fall through the cracks") with a daily glimpse into one family's experience of economic hardship in a faltering economy. In the spring of 2008, the couple headed west, conscious of the symbolic promise of going westward in the American mythos. Following an indirect route from Maine to California via the deep South, with two pets in tow, Shetterly describes nights in cheap motels, the adventure of the road, her unexpected delight in the state of Texas—despite her antipathy to George W. Bush—and the underhanded tactics of a corrupt moving company. There is a dangerously run-down apartment on arrival, the unexpected news of a pregnancy, a crazy neighbor upstairs, indignation at the privileges of the L.A. super-rich, the death of a beloved cat and, of course, one problem after another seeking and not finding full employment. Through it all, the author found inspiration in the pioneer stories of Laura Ingalls Wilder and the lyrics of folk songwriter Greg Brown. Bruised and penniless, the couple finally decided to return home to live with Shetterly's mother in rural Maine and made the cross-country drive in reverse, finding continuing economic struggles and the rewarding challenges of family in hard times.

A sincere but edgeless Prairie Home Companion–style memoir of a down-on-their-luck young couple, likely to resonate with readers interested in community values and the appeal of the simple life.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

February 15, 2011
With this twenty-first-century recession memoir, Shetterly is going to get a lot of feedback from those who have found themselves in similar situations. As she carefully documents in a book that provided the framework for a series of NPR Weekend Edition diary installments, she and her husband, along with their pets, hit the highway in 2008, looking for success in California. Leaving Maine was a huge risk for the young couple, but one filled with promise, especially with potential career advancement in the entertainment industry. Instead, they faced rental traumas, an unplanned pregnancy, and the dawning realization that the economic downturn was personal. Shetterlys willingness to address her own shortcomings makes for a deeply personal and riveting, alternately funny and poignant read. As the couple, new baby in tow, heads back east to the safety of family, she struggles to find the teachable moment in all that has gone wrong. Forget the Cleavers. Shetterlys is the new American family, and the faster we realize that, the better we all will be at coping.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)

January 15, 2011

NPR contributor Shetterly tells the story of young married life as she and her husband set out from Maine to Los Angeles, but were ultimately forced to return home, stymied by the economic recession, illness and an unexpected pregnancy.

This cozy, homespun memoir blends a call to community ("until all Americans realize this--how much we need each other--[some] of us will always fall through the cracks") with a daily glimpse into one family's experience of economic hardship in a faltering economy. In the spring of 2008, the couple headed west, conscious of the symbolic promise of going westward in the American mythos. Following an indirect route from Maine to California via the deep South, with two pets in tow, Shetterly describes nights in cheap motels, the adventure of the road, her unexpected delight in the state of Texas--despite her antipathy to George W. Bush--and the underhanded tactics of a corrupt moving company. There is a dangerously run-down apartment on arrival, the unexpected news of a pregnancy, a crazy neighbor upstairs, indignation at the privileges of the L.A. super-rich, the death of a beloved cat and, of course, one problem after another seeking and not finding full employment. Through it all, the author found inspiration in the pioneer stories of Laura Ingalls Wilder and the lyrics of folk songwriter Greg Brown. Bruised and penniless, the couple finally decided to return home to live with Shetterly's mother in rural Maine and made the cross-country drive in reverse, finding continuing economic struggles and the rewarding challenges of family in hard times.

A sincere but edgeless Prairie Home Companion-style memoir of a down-on-their-luck young couple, likely to resonate with readers interested in community values and the appeal of the simple life.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)