Blog this item

The Middle Place

By Kelly Corrigan

(4)

| Hardcover | 9781401303365

Like The Middle Place?
Join aNobii to see if your friends read it, and discover similar books!

Book Description

"The Middle Place is about calling home. Instinctively. Even when all the paperwork -- a marriage license, a notarized deed, two birth certificates, and seven years of tax returns -- clearly indicates you're an adult, but all the same, there you are, clutching the phone and thanking God that you're still somebody's daughter." For Kelly Corrigan, family is everything. At thirty-six, she had a marriage that worked, a couple of funny, active kids, and a weekly newspaper column. But even as a thriving adult, Kelly still saw herself as George Corrigan's daughter. A garrulous Irish-American charmer from Baltimore, George was the center of the ebullient, raucous Corrigan clan. He greeted every day by opening his bedroom window and shouting, "Hello, World!" Suffice it to say, Kelly's was a colorful childhood, just the sort a girl could get attached to. Kelly lives deep within what she calls the Middle Place -- "that sliver of time when parenthood and childhood overlap" -- comfortably wedged between her adult duties and her parents' care. But she's abruptly shoved into a coming-of-age when she finds a lump in her breast -- and gets the diagnosis no one wants to hear. And so Kelly's journey to full-blown adulthood begins. When George, too, learns he has late-stage cancer, it is Kelly's turn to take care of the man who had always taken care of her -- and show us a woman as she finally takes the leap and grows up. Kelly Corrigan is a natural-born storyteller, a gift you quickly recognize as her father's legacy, and her stories are rich with everyday details. She captures the beat of an ordinary life and the tender, sometimes fractious moments that bind families together.Rueful and honest, Kelly is the prized friend who will tell you her darkest, lowest, screwiest thoughts, and then later, dance on the coffee table at your party. Funny, yet heart-wrenching, The Middle Place is about being a parent and a child at the same time. It is about the special double-vision you get when you are standing with one foot in each place. It is about the family you make and the family you came from -- and locating, navigating, and finally celebrating the place where they meet. It is about reaching for life with both hands -- and finding it.

Critics

The Middle Place By Kelly Corrigan

These days, it seems that everyone wants to write a memoir, but let's face it not everyone should. Kelly Corrigan is the exception, and her memoir, The Middle Place, arrives on the scene with an emphatic Hello, world! In 2004, both Corrigan and her f ... (read full critics)

bookpage published on Thu, 16 Sep 2010

THE MIDDLE PLACE

Kelly Corrigan's THE MIDDLE PLACE is a book about family --- about calling home, being home, returning home and making a home. In the midst of giving her two little girls a bath one evening, Corrigan discovered a large lump on her breast. Thereon han ... (read full critics)

teenreads published on Thu, 16 Sep 2010

See all critics

2 Reviews

Letto tutto d'un fiato. Carino, commovente (spesso), un po' troppo yeah-yeah americano, if you know what I mean.
Bella la schiettezza sulla reazione al tumore (da parte della persona malata) e sulle reazioni alla reazione al tumore (da parte degli altri), nonchè sull'inevitabile preferenza per uno ... (continue)

Letto tutto d'un fiato. Carino, commovente (spesso), un po' troppo yeah-yeah americano, if you know what I mean.
Bella la schiettezza sulla reazione al tumore (da parte della persona malata) e sulle reazioni alla reazione al tumore (da parte degli altri), nonchè sull'inevitabile preferenza per uno dei genitori...e l'inutile crudeltà/criticità nei confronti dell'altro.

Is this helpful?

Marte said on Jan 14, 2012 about the Others edition | Add your feedback

This book wasn't what I expected at all.
After watching my Dad beat cancer three times, I think Corrigan grossly glossed over the reality of it and how it affected the whole family. If you want to read a book about a father and daughter relationship then this is the book for you, but it was f ... (continue)

This book wasn't what I expected at all.
After watching my Dad beat cancer three times, I think Corrigan grossly glossed over the reality of it and how it affected the whole family. If you want to read a book about a father and daughter relationship then this is the book for you, but it was far too peaches and cream for me.

Is this helpful?

Leahrussell76 said on Jan 26, 2009 | Add your feedback