Book Review: Delia Ephron's Sister Mother Husband Dog: Etc.

I've been meaning to do an actual post about Sister Mother Husband Dog: Etc. forever, and today's the day. I've talked about it a couple of times since beginning it, but I wanted to finally finish it before I even shared my opinion just in case there was a part or two I ended up not liking. But spoiler alert- there wasn't.  And to delay the process even more, once I was a couple of chapters in I decided to read and reread it as slowly as possible, so I could savor every bit...I loved it that much.

I thought long and hard about what I could say about this book because it's so many things; it's a books of essays, one, but it's also a book about love, family, friendship, sisterhood, food, dogs, I mean I could go on. So on one very simple level I connected with it. I have all of those things in my life and felt, even in the beginning of the book, that this would be a favorite because I was perpetually nodding my head as I read along. But if you go deeper, a million little "ding, ding, dings" went off in my brain as I felt connected to each little bit she shared. In some ways I feel I could have written parts of it myself, which is always the very coolest sensation when reading a book.

There's so much to say about the various essays- some of them I loved, some of them I liked a lot, and a couple I want to print out and hang up so I am continually inspired to be as open and vulnerable in my own writing. The stories themselves range from light-hearted to more serious, and that's kind of the way you feel throughout it. You'll be reading an essay on banks or bakeries or Jewish book festivals and out of the very ordinariness of it all, you'll feel that deep pull inside of you when you know the author's hit the nail of an emotion right on the head.

Sister Mother Husband Dog: Etc. is simple and serious, funny and bittersweet, all in one. I recommend it to anyone who is looking for a great memoir full of well-written stories about one woman's everyday, ordinary stuff- her sister, mother, husband, dog...etc.- that becomes truly extraordinary in the telling.

Happy reading!

 p.s. I'm currently reading this book and loving it- more on it later.

and p.p.s. I used Amazon Affiliate linking in this post. To visit Amazon without it, please click here.