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Made for You and Me: Going West, Going Broke, Finding Home
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Travel & Outdoors (2011)A poignant, exuberant memoir about a young couple who pursue their Big American Dream of going west and fail utterly - but discover the goodness of heading for home.
Here's a story that's already captured the affections of NPR listeners: Caitler Shetterly and Dan Davis, two hardworking freelancers, began married life by packing up every possession and driving cross-country to seek their fortune out West. At first, California really was the land of plenty. But a surprise pregancy soon made Caitlin too sick to work. And then the recession landed. Within a few months, every job Dan had lined up was canceled.
A year after they had set out with high hopes, Caitlin, Dan, and their newborn found themselves stranded in Los Angeles with no means of support. They packed up their car again, this time trying to make it back East to move in with Caitlin's mother. As they drove, Caitlin blogged and provided radio diaries for NPR's Weekend Edition. She received an astounding response. All across the country, listeners offered help and opened their homes to Caitlin and her family.
Made for You and Me follows these journeys West and home - and what happened after, when Caitlin and Dan discovered, not without struggles and surprises, that the bonds of family run deeper and can offer more than any tug to roam.
CAITLIN SHETTERLY is a freelance writer, an actor, the founder and artistic director of the Winter Harbor Theatre Company, and a contributor to National Public Radio, where she first told some of this tory on air.
Here's a story that's already captured the affections of NPR listeners: Caitler Shetterly and Dan Davis, two hardworking freelancers, began married life by packing up every possession and driving cross-country to seek their fortune out West. At first, California really was the land of plenty. But a surprise pregancy soon made Caitlin too sick to work. And then the recession landed. Within a few months, every job Dan had lined up was canceled.
A year after they had set out with high hopes, Caitlin, Dan, and their newborn found themselves stranded in Los Angeles with no means of support. They packed up their car again, this time trying to make it back East to move in with Caitlin's mother. As they drove, Caitlin blogged and provided radio diaries for NPR's Weekend Edition. She received an astounding response. All across the country, listeners offered help and opened their homes to Caitlin and her family.
Made for You and Me follows these journeys West and home - and what happened after, when Caitlin and Dan discovered, not without struggles and surprises, that the bonds of family run deeper and can offer more than any tug to roam.
CAITLIN SHETTERLY is a freelance writer, an actor, the founder and artistic director of the Winter Harbor Theatre Company, and a contributor to National Public Radio, where she first told some of this tory on air.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2011
6 people are currently reading
771 people want to read
About the author
Caitlin Shetterly
5 books126 followersCaitlin Shetterly is a frequent contributor to National Public Radio where she reports on arts and culture, food, and lifestyle. She can be heard on both All Things Considered and Weekend Edition. For Weekend Edition, she created a series of autobiographical audio diaries about the Recession under the title Diary of a Recession. These diaries, along with her blog, Passage West, inspired her memoir Made For You and Me: Going West, Going Broke, Finding Home (Voice, March 8, 2011).
Caitlin's first book, Fault Lines: Stories of Divorce, was published by the Putnam Berkley Group in 2001. For several years, she wrote a bimonthly column, "Bramhall Square," about relationships and love for the Portland Phoenix.
Caitlin is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Winter Harbor Theatre Company, where she produces and directs works that attempt to tackle the important issues of our time. Caitlin graduated with Honors in English and American Literature from Brown University. She lives with her husband, photographer Daniel E. Davis, their young son, and their salty dog, Hopper. When she isn't writing, directing plays, producing radio pieces, cooking, cleaning or childrearing, Caitlin spends as much time as possible reading, watching "Friday Night Lights" and, especially, walking outside in nature.
Caitlin's first book, Fault Lines: Stories of Divorce, was published by the Putnam Berkley Group in 2001. For several years, she wrote a bimonthly column, "Bramhall Square," about relationships and love for the Portland Phoenix.
Caitlin is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Winter Harbor Theatre Company, where she produces and directs works that attempt to tackle the important issues of our time. Caitlin graduated with Honors in English and American Literature from Brown University. She lives with her husband, photographer Daniel E. Davis, their young son, and their salty dog, Hopper. When she isn't writing, directing plays, producing radio pieces, cooking, cleaning or childrearing, Caitlin spends as much time as possible reading, watching "Friday Night Lights" and, especially, walking outside in nature.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 88 reviews
March 10, 2012
It's hard to figure out what to say about this book without seeming cranky. I really do have compassion on this woman who did have a difficult time, whose family did suffer problems during the recession, a difficult pregnancy--I sympathize. I really do. If only the poor author weren't so woefully self-absorbed and clueless. I'm sure she DID suffer during these problems--but some of her suffering was because she has this view that the world sort of owes her a nice upper-middle-class maintenance, so she can keep drinking gourmet coffees and seeing her acupuncturist and living in apartments that cost twice my mortgage and eating only fancy organic food and . . . feeding a 90 pound dog and . . .it just goes on. What on earth would this woman do if she had to have a real life? If she couldn't convince someone to pay her to "work with a theater company" and do "audio diaries" and write a book? Her entire "disaster" encompassed just a few months--does she not realize some people live this way for YEARS? And don't write books about it? I confess I could work up even more sympathy if she hadn't whined about having to feed her family---TWO people (nursing baby hardly counts) for only ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS A WEEK. But then, her huge dog needs homemade lamb and organic dogfood, and they eat only organic, and . . . sigh. She gives birth in what sounds like a luxury hotel, and then complains about the price of the delivery? Does she not understand things COST? Everything isn't FREE? She complains once about having to make menu plans, since it's so tedious, but then, they do save money. Well, honey, I've been doing menu plans for twenty some years and it never occurred to me to even think it was tedious. What other option is there? This lady really needs to be writing a book on what a tremendously blessed life she has, that she came nowhere near dying in a gutter (despite all her talk about "survival" and clinging to life) even when she had problems, that she and her family are healthy and warm and fed, that she has family and friends who helped her out. Sigh. Wonder if this "writing about hard times" shtick can turn a buck for more than just her? LOL Maybe I'll try my hand, I could surely write a much longer book. Just kidding. But man.
August 2, 2011
This memoir hit a low for me when the author, after she and her husband
...are unable to make it as a writer/producer/actress and photographer in Los Angeles
...are driving cross-country to live with Shetterly's mom
...are broke, cranky, with a 2-month old, having just lost their beloved cat...
manages to fit in that by the way, on their road trip she was "magically losing over a pound a week" of her pregnancy weight.
WELL THANK GOD, at least her ordeal didn't make her FAT, because THAT WOULD BE THE WORST THING TO HAPPEN TO A PERSON EVER. At least she still had her girlish figure!
I can't deny that Shetterly and her husband got some tough breaks. No one wants to move back in with her mom. No one wants to see her artistic dreams deferred by money problems, a crazy neighbor and an unexpected pregnancy. The recession sucks.
But when you cross the line into "We were cruelly denied the American dream," well, that is a big claim to make. They took an enormous risk and I would NEVER argue that their troubles were deserved, BUT there's a sense of entitlement there. (Which apparently extends to "still being thin and attractive.") (I mean, come on.)
...are unable to make it as a writer/producer/actress and photographer in Los Angeles
...are driving cross-country to live with Shetterly's mom
...are broke, cranky, with a 2-month old, having just lost their beloved cat...
manages to fit in that by the way, on their road trip she was "magically losing over a pound a week" of her pregnancy weight.
WELL THANK GOD, at least her ordeal didn't make her FAT, because THAT WOULD BE THE WORST THING TO HAPPEN TO A PERSON EVER. At least she still had her girlish figure!
I can't deny that Shetterly and her husband got some tough breaks. No one wants to move back in with her mom. No one wants to see her artistic dreams deferred by money problems, a crazy neighbor and an unexpected pregnancy. The recession sucks.
But when you cross the line into "We were cruelly denied the American dream," well, that is a big claim to make. They took an enormous risk and I would NEVER argue that their troubles were deserved, BUT there's a sense of entitlement there. (Which apparently extends to "still being thin and attractive.") (I mean, come on.)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 3, 2011
Elevated by misfortune.
“Made for you and Me” is a surprisingly heartfelt memoir about a young couple’s search for MORE. They are creative people, Dan’s a photographer and Caitlin’s an actrees/writer, so Los Angeles seems the perfect place to go to get ahead in their careers. They say goodbye to Maine and their families pack their car and take off on an odyssey across the country. Along the way they have adventures and, being a writer, Shetterly begins sharing them via email with the folks back home who in turn share her emails with others. She picks up so many followers she turns her nightly emails into a blog.
When they get to Venice Beach, California things don’t quite work out as they’d planned though for awhile Dan is able to get enough freelance photography work that they make ends meet. They find themselves in the eye of the storm of the recession that’s hit the entire country but seems to have singled out California in particular. When Caitlin realizes she’s unexpectedly expecting and Tom’s work dries up they come to the hard realization that they’re in deep trouble, the kind that means they have no choice but to go home again and rely on their family for help. It’s not so much what happens to this couple, their pets and new baby that tugs at your heartstrings but how they deal with it and how wonderfully Shetterly tells their story. She makes you feel right at home as if you’re sitting in the backseat of their car or living next door. Her warmth is infectious.
This review is based on an egalley supplied by the publisher.
4.5/5
“Made for you and Me” is a surprisingly heartfelt memoir about a young couple’s search for MORE. They are creative people, Dan’s a photographer and Caitlin’s an actrees/writer, so Los Angeles seems the perfect place to go to get ahead in their careers. They say goodbye to Maine and their families pack their car and take off on an odyssey across the country. Along the way they have adventures and, being a writer, Shetterly begins sharing them via email with the folks back home who in turn share her emails with others. She picks up so many followers she turns her nightly emails into a blog.
When they get to Venice Beach, California things don’t quite work out as they’d planned though for awhile Dan is able to get enough freelance photography work that they make ends meet. They find themselves in the eye of the storm of the recession that’s hit the entire country but seems to have singled out California in particular. When Caitlin realizes she’s unexpectedly expecting and Tom’s work dries up they come to the hard realization that they’re in deep trouble, the kind that means they have no choice but to go home again and rely on their family for help. It’s not so much what happens to this couple, their pets and new baby that tugs at your heartstrings but how they deal with it and how wonderfully Shetterly tells their story. She makes you feel right at home as if you’re sitting in the backseat of their car or living next door. Her warmth is infectious.
This review is based on an egalley supplied by the publisher.
4.5/5
April 22, 2011
Possibly the most annoying memoir I've ever read: somehow whiny, smug, and self-congratulatory all at the same time. I was irritated with everyone in this book except the cat, who (spoiler alert!) drops dead of stress after they've dragged the poor thing all over the country as the result of their bad planning and selfishness.
April 8, 2014
This depressing book is proof that our country is filled with clueless young adult entitlement liberals who whine their way through life, expecting others to provide for them while misspending money and complaining about WalMart or those of us that choose to save our money through intelligent spending. The book is so shockingly bad that it's surprising that it got published--but the fact that the author was an NPR freelancer means there is a ready public radio audience that will praise this book because they think it's a validation of their own beliefs.
Based on a series of blog posts that only family members and friends could appreciate, the author is a woman who grew up with hippie-like parents who rejected their upper class upbringings (no surprise there) to live on the land in rural Maine. The author longs for those days of no running water as she and her husband travel the country thinking California is the promised land. Almost every decision they make is the wrong one, yet they expect help from their relatives and complain about George Bush or big business along the way. As she talks about how they have no money she then details their extravagant spending and travel habits, proving how really stupid this couple is. Instead of cutting back they spend a fortune on take-out, go on "vacations" (even though neither works full time), and live in three different rental homes in less than a year.
The book is almost insulting to Americans who work hard and know how to live within their means. This elitist couple thinks the government and relatives should take better care of them instead of admitting to their own failures or a need to take responsibility for their actions. They keep waiting for something to happen to them instead of learning that they have to make good things happen by rejecting their entitled attitudes and working their tails off.
The author's reaction to getting pregnant is a sad reflection of those who don't understand life. Her constant whining and complaining gets so old that one wonders why an editor didn't say to her, "Don't you have anything positive to write about?" This land just isn't that bad--and the problem is that people like this author are jealous of what others have while expecting others to make up for all of the author's bad decisions. Stop whining, get a real job, stay in one place, stop lavish spending on food and trips you can't afford, start giving instead of receiving, and learn what truly made this land for you and me.
Based on a series of blog posts that only family members and friends could appreciate, the author is a woman who grew up with hippie-like parents who rejected their upper class upbringings (no surprise there) to live on the land in rural Maine. The author longs for those days of no running water as she and her husband travel the country thinking California is the promised land. Almost every decision they make is the wrong one, yet they expect help from their relatives and complain about George Bush or big business along the way. As she talks about how they have no money she then details their extravagant spending and travel habits, proving how really stupid this couple is. Instead of cutting back they spend a fortune on take-out, go on "vacations" (even though neither works full time), and live in three different rental homes in less than a year.
The book is almost insulting to Americans who work hard and know how to live within their means. This elitist couple thinks the government and relatives should take better care of them instead of admitting to their own failures or a need to take responsibility for their actions. They keep waiting for something to happen to them instead of learning that they have to make good things happen by rejecting their entitled attitudes and working their tails off.
The author's reaction to getting pregnant is a sad reflection of those who don't understand life. Her constant whining and complaining gets so old that one wonders why an editor didn't say to her, "Don't you have anything positive to write about?" This land just isn't that bad--and the problem is that people like this author are jealous of what others have while expecting others to make up for all of the author's bad decisions. Stop whining, get a real job, stay in one place, stop lavish spending on food and trips you can't afford, start giving instead of receiving, and learn what truly made this land for you and me.
April 11, 2011
A memoir about the hardships faced by a young couple during the Great Recession. Caitlin and Dan decide to move from Maine to LA for better job opportunities in their fields (he is a photographer & she is a playwright/writer). After some brief initial success, the bottom falls out and broke and with a new baby they move back to Maine and live with her mother.
I had difficulty relating to their struggles (even though I have had difficulty finding jobs). So many people have hard luck stories these days; Caitlin and Dan's wasn't memorably awful and didn't offer any new insight into being broke in a bad economy. The author's thesis was that she learned to make do with bare essentials and the love and support of her husband, family, and friends is helping her survive a difficult time (not exactly surprising info.) Shetterly's prose is efficient but never poetic or beautiful (something I think a narrative like this needed since so many of the events are mundane and not uncommon). At times when describing her marriage or child she seems smug (i.e. "A year later we were married in that same field [where her husband proposed]. Anyone who ever saw a photo or was there will tell you it was the most beautiful wedding, ever." (p. 29)[Followed by a long description of her awesome wedding.]
This wasn't a horrible book but I don't understand why some people seem to have connected so strongly with her story. Shetterly's narrow focus on herself/pets/son/husband made this an intensely personal story, not an experience that could be extrapolated into a statement on life in America today that it was marketed as.
I had difficulty relating to their struggles (even though I have had difficulty finding jobs). So many people have hard luck stories these days; Caitlin and Dan's wasn't memorably awful and didn't offer any new insight into being broke in a bad economy. The author's thesis was that she learned to make do with bare essentials and the love and support of her husband, family, and friends is helping her survive a difficult time (not exactly surprising info.) Shetterly's prose is efficient but never poetic or beautiful (something I think a narrative like this needed since so many of the events are mundane and not uncommon). At times when describing her marriage or child she seems smug (i.e. "A year later we were married in that same field [where her husband proposed]. Anyone who ever saw a photo or was there will tell you it was the most beautiful wedding, ever." (p. 29)[Followed by a long description of her awesome wedding.]
This wasn't a horrible book but I don't understand why some people seem to have connected so strongly with her story. Shetterly's narrow focus on herself/pets/son/husband made this an intensely personal story, not an experience that could be extrapolated into a statement on life in America today that it was marketed as.
March 15, 2011
I like to tell people that reading a good "trainwreck" memoir is my greatest guilty pleasure. Women scorned, love lost, worlds unraveled - this is the delicious stuff of reality tv made all the more intimate when told long form in the author's own voice. I always have mixed feelings about these books - I respect the authors for baring their souls and revealing the messiness of their lives in such a courageous way ("unflinching" seems to be the word that appears on the flap copy of all these books), yet I always feel some sense of irritation at the self-importance that seems to permeate these books.
I think Shetterly's tale isn't quite a trainwreck story, but it is one of repeated disappointment, dreams deferred, lives upended, and good people dealing with circumstances beyond their control. And it's a story about just how much we need to support each other in these tough times when employment can be difficult to come by and care (in every sense of the term) can be scarce. There are some important universal themes here and for many people, this could be a representative American story. But for many more people, even Shetterly's "failures" are out of reach. An alternative title for the book might be, "How I Couldn't Afford to Shop at Whole Foods Anymore and Wrote an Interesting Blog About It That Was Picked Up By NPR." There's something maddeningly insular here that seems to bolster the image of the American dream as a sort of privileged lifestyle that the young, white, and educated feel fiercely entitled to.
I think Shetterly's tale isn't quite a trainwreck story, but it is one of repeated disappointment, dreams deferred, lives upended, and good people dealing with circumstances beyond their control. And it's a story about just how much we need to support each other in these tough times when employment can be difficult to come by and care (in every sense of the term) can be scarce. There are some important universal themes here and for many people, this could be a representative American story. But for many more people, even Shetterly's "failures" are out of reach. An alternative title for the book might be, "How I Couldn't Afford to Shop at Whole Foods Anymore and Wrote an Interesting Blog About It That Was Picked Up By NPR." There's something maddeningly insular here that seems to bolster the image of the American dream as a sort of privileged lifestyle that the young, white, and educated feel fiercely entitled to.
February 28, 2011
It’s easy to think many who were hit hard by the recession of 2008 were those who bought overpriced houses and maxed out their credit cards by buying luxury items, but there were others who just suffered from bad timing.
In 2008, full of hope and the promise of a becoming more successful in their free-lance careers, Caitlin and Dan loaded up their car, and along with Hopper the dog and the cat Ellison left their home state of Maine and headed to Los Angeles. For a while everything was fine (except for a bad apartment) but then the recession hit and job prospects started drying up. After a year of suffering through more apartment troubles, financial difficulties, and an unexpected pregnancy that left Caitlin mostly bedridden, they re-loaded the car and with their new son trekked back to Maine to live with Caitlin’s mother. Along the way Caitlin wrote periodic diary entries for NPR that earned her an outpouring of empathy and support for their plight.
Caitlin is an excellent and honest writer, and parts of this will try your patience and at the same time break your heart. I zipped through this in no time and was hoping all would work for the couple by the end of the book.
If you read this book, be sure and contact the author (she is easily found on Facebook) as she loves to hear from readers.
Book provided in e-format by NetGalley.
In 2008, full of hope and the promise of a becoming more successful in their free-lance careers, Caitlin and Dan loaded up their car, and along with Hopper the dog and the cat Ellison left their home state of Maine and headed to Los Angeles. For a while everything was fine (except for a bad apartment) but then the recession hit and job prospects started drying up. After a year of suffering through more apartment troubles, financial difficulties, and an unexpected pregnancy that left Caitlin mostly bedridden, they re-loaded the car and with their new son trekked back to Maine to live with Caitlin’s mother. Along the way Caitlin wrote periodic diary entries for NPR that earned her an outpouring of empathy and support for their plight.
Caitlin is an excellent and honest writer, and parts of this will try your patience and at the same time break your heart. I zipped through this in no time and was hoping all would work for the couple by the end of the book.
If you read this book, be sure and contact the author (she is easily found on Facebook) as she loves to hear from readers.
Book provided in e-format by NetGalley.
November 17, 2011
I enjoyed reading this memoir, you really got a sense for the author and her family. In general I thought her writing made her story relatable, even in the parts where a lot of people who have written reviews have been annoyed: mentioning her weight or talking about having a mini-break down. I guess I find that sort of honesty where you admit about things you might not appreciate about yourself refreshing. I liked that she described how life is a total mess and you're just trying to get by while still doing what you think is right like pursuing a career you love or trying to eat organic when you're broke.
This book got 3 stars because, while I liked the story and thought it was interesting (especially the part where there's no real wrap up, because well, that's life...it doesn't always wrap up in a neat little bow), it didn't have more. Part of me wanted a deeper examination of her story in a larger context. I guess it's probably a bit early for that, we're in no way to a place where we can look back at recent events and determine their larger meaning but it was still what I was hoping for. I guess my recommendation is don't go into this book expecting some larger message but go in to learn a story of a family.
This book got 3 stars because, while I liked the story and thought it was interesting (especially the part where there's no real wrap up, because well, that's life...it doesn't always wrap up in a neat little bow), it didn't have more. Part of me wanted a deeper examination of her story in a larger context. I guess it's probably a bit early for that, we're in no way to a place where we can look back at recent events and determine their larger meaning but it was still what I was hoping for. I guess my recommendation is don't go into this book expecting some larger message but go in to learn a story of a family.
May 26, 2011
This book gets 2 stars because it made me realize how lucky I have been through the recession of 2009, 2010, (2011, 2012?). Other than that, this was blah. The book feels like a blog that has been rehashed into a novel (which is exactly what it is, big shocker!). The author grated on my nerves.
March 16, 2013
A well-written book, funny at times, but utterly frustrating content and main character. The word "spoiled" comes to mind.
July 3, 2017
Is that not the most gorgeous cover ever? It's spectacular, and the story that is Made for You and Me is one of the best-written and engrossing memoirs that I've read. It's the story behind the statistics of what has been, for countless people, the disappearance of their American dreams at the hands of the American recession.
It doesn't take a psychologist to figure out that the reason this one resonated so much with me is because I identify with Caitlin and Dan so much. Our story is very different, yet there's some similarities.
In November 2007, we moved to a different state and into a large beautiful house that represented everything we had worked for during the past two decades. Yeah, in hindsight we didn't need to buy The American Dream, but isn't that what we're taught to do, to aspire to, to believe in? We're conditioned to believe in the possibility of new beginnings, to chase our dreams and to take a risk and a chance. So we started what we believed to be a new chapter - but then one person and then another and then another beat us down. The housing market plummeted, the economy crashed into a recession, the writing was beginning to be written on the wall in a Sharpie marker. We decided that we could either wait for the inevitable or get out of that state - mentally and physically - while we could. The Husband took a new job six hours away, I got fired, we sold the dream house at a huge loss and wiped out everything we'd saved to cover the loss and try to preserve our credit and keep our family intact. (Both of which we did. Thankfully.)
W're luckier than most and fortunate to have what we have (and had), but like many Americans and in the words of John Lennon, we're starting over. The logistics - finding an apartment and our way around a new city, finding new jobs and schools - have all come together (and kind of nicely, really). What's been harder is shaking the feeling, as Caitlin Shetterly writes in Made for You and Me (I AM getting to this review, really!) of "feeling essentially flattened," of feeling that we can no longer afford to dream.
Caitlin and her husband Dan were like many young married couples when "the recession came home" to them in December 2007. Dan's full-time job as a photographer was reduced to part-time, downsizing his salary by more than a third. A second job as a bouncer didn't help cover the rent on their apartment (Caitlin worked as a freelancer and with a theater company she'd founded). Knowing that their lives would be changing dramatically, they decided to move from Maine to Los Angeles in hopes of new opportunities.
Caitlin writes of their journey west in poignant passages like these reflections upon driving through Washington, D.C. at night: "Even in the dark, the majesty of our white buildings and gray stone structures, shining with a post-rain sheen, belied the pain of a country embroiled in two endless wars, beginning a devastating recession, with many of its values and laws so desperately challenged that the people were morally lost and defeated. The alabaster monuments stood, powerfully silent. Dan said, 'I hope I never get this close to George Bush again,' and we both halfheartedly chuckled, because the purpose of our journey west and the place we found ourselves in as a nation really were sobering facts." (pg. 49)
"As we got farther and farther away from home, America seemed so big and bruised and foreign that our sense of who we were felt complicated by each mile we traversed. And it was this complication, possibly, that made the journey worth it. As we went, we were becoming citizens of America, really, not just of one place, one state, one town. We were witnessing our selves and our hopes, dreams and goals against the backdrop of places and people we didn't know or even, maybe, relate to. This rootlessness kept us wonderfully open to seeing and experiencing everything around us with the freshness of babies." (pg. 53-54)
Caitlin and Dan's dream turned out to be ... well, the stuff that John Lennon was talking about when he said that life is what happens when you're busy making other plans.
Finding work (and enough of it) to sustain themselves proved to be more of a challenge in California now that the country was in a recession. Safe and affordable housing became an issue. And then Caitlin became pregnant, with life-threatening complications during the entire nine months. A beloved pet died. The bottom was quickly dropping out of their world, taking with it the hopes and dreams of the new life they had planned for themselves.
"Still, for us, in our young marriage, in our story of of our lives falling apart while we tried to do whatever it took to take care of our son, our dog and ourselves, we felt, essentially, flattened. Actually, it was worse than that: What we felt was that we could no longer dream. That was, possibly, the most dangerous aspect of what had happened to us." (pg. 3)
Made for You and Me has its roots in Caitlin's emails to friends and family as she chronicled her and Dan's journey west. The emails turned into a blog, which turned into a feature on NPR. Being so open with her story has made others see themselves in her story (as I certainly did), but it has also brought out the snarks who consider Caitlin to be whiny (I did not find that to be the case at all; you would know it if I did). There are the cynics who espouse a "woulda-shoulda-coulda" attitude. They shouldn't have moved. If they would only get out of this dream world of being freelancers and get a real job, things would be fine. They shouldn't have had a baby.
Isn't it funny how everyone becomes an expert on life when it's not their own?
The thing is, we all make choices and decisions based on our circumstances and on what we feel are the best options at that time. Some work out, some don't - and when it's the latter, it's hard enough beating yourself up without having other people lining up to do it for you. It doesn't mean you don't appreciate what you have. It's that sometimes when you've lost so much and are hanging by a thread, you're too scared of losing what little you have because then where will you be?
I really liked Made for You and Me because there are very few of us who have not been affected by this prolonged recession, and stories like Caitlin and Dan's remind us that we're not alone. I think that is so very important in these times, to know that there are others who are struggling to make our way, to pick up the pieces of what remains. There's some comfort in that, in knowing that there are others who are also very scared about what our personal and collective futures hold and that, just like this land was made for you and me, it's going to take all of us, together, to try and get there.
It doesn't take a psychologist to figure out that the reason this one resonated so much with me is because I identify with Caitlin and Dan so much. Our story is very different, yet there's some similarities.
In November 2007, we moved to a different state and into a large beautiful house that represented everything we had worked for during the past two decades. Yeah, in hindsight we didn't need to buy The American Dream, but isn't that what we're taught to do, to aspire to, to believe in? We're conditioned to believe in the possibility of new beginnings, to chase our dreams and to take a risk and a chance. So we started what we believed to be a new chapter - but then one person and then another and then another beat us down. The housing market plummeted, the economy crashed into a recession, the writing was beginning to be written on the wall in a Sharpie marker. We decided that we could either wait for the inevitable or get out of that state - mentally and physically - while we could. The Husband took a new job six hours away, I got fired, we sold the dream house at a huge loss and wiped out everything we'd saved to cover the loss and try to preserve our credit and keep our family intact. (Both of which we did. Thankfully.)
W're luckier than most and fortunate to have what we have (and had), but like many Americans and in the words of John Lennon, we're starting over. The logistics - finding an apartment and our way around a new city, finding new jobs and schools - have all come together (and kind of nicely, really). What's been harder is shaking the feeling, as Caitlin Shetterly writes in Made for You and Me (I AM getting to this review, really!) of "feeling essentially flattened," of feeling that we can no longer afford to dream.
Caitlin and her husband Dan were like many young married couples when "the recession came home" to them in December 2007. Dan's full-time job as a photographer was reduced to part-time, downsizing his salary by more than a third. A second job as a bouncer didn't help cover the rent on their apartment (Caitlin worked as a freelancer and with a theater company she'd founded). Knowing that their lives would be changing dramatically, they decided to move from Maine to Los Angeles in hopes of new opportunities.
Caitlin writes of their journey west in poignant passages like these reflections upon driving through Washington, D.C. at night: "Even in the dark, the majesty of our white buildings and gray stone structures, shining with a post-rain sheen, belied the pain of a country embroiled in two endless wars, beginning a devastating recession, with many of its values and laws so desperately challenged that the people were morally lost and defeated. The alabaster monuments stood, powerfully silent. Dan said, 'I hope I never get this close to George Bush again,' and we both halfheartedly chuckled, because the purpose of our journey west and the place we found ourselves in as a nation really were sobering facts." (pg. 49)
"As we got farther and farther away from home, America seemed so big and bruised and foreign that our sense of who we were felt complicated by each mile we traversed. And it was this complication, possibly, that made the journey worth it. As we went, we were becoming citizens of America, really, not just of one place, one state, one town. We were witnessing our selves and our hopes, dreams and goals against the backdrop of places and people we didn't know or even, maybe, relate to. This rootlessness kept us wonderfully open to seeing and experiencing everything around us with the freshness of babies." (pg. 53-54)
Caitlin and Dan's dream turned out to be ... well, the stuff that John Lennon was talking about when he said that life is what happens when you're busy making other plans.
Finding work (and enough of it) to sustain themselves proved to be more of a challenge in California now that the country was in a recession. Safe and affordable housing became an issue. And then Caitlin became pregnant, with life-threatening complications during the entire nine months. A beloved pet died. The bottom was quickly dropping out of their world, taking with it the hopes and dreams of the new life they had planned for themselves.
"Still, for us, in our young marriage, in our story of of our lives falling apart while we tried to do whatever it took to take care of our son, our dog and ourselves, we felt, essentially, flattened. Actually, it was worse than that: What we felt was that we could no longer dream. That was, possibly, the most dangerous aspect of what had happened to us." (pg. 3)
Made for You and Me has its roots in Caitlin's emails to friends and family as she chronicled her and Dan's journey west. The emails turned into a blog, which turned into a feature on NPR. Being so open with her story has made others see themselves in her story (as I certainly did), but it has also brought out the snarks who consider Caitlin to be whiny (I did not find that to be the case at all; you would know it if I did). There are the cynics who espouse a "woulda-shoulda-coulda" attitude. They shouldn't have moved. If they would only get out of this dream world of being freelancers and get a real job, things would be fine. They shouldn't have had a baby.
Isn't it funny how everyone becomes an expert on life when it's not their own?
The thing is, we all make choices and decisions based on our circumstances and on what we feel are the best options at that time. Some work out, some don't - and when it's the latter, it's hard enough beating yourself up without having other people lining up to do it for you. It doesn't mean you don't appreciate what you have. It's that sometimes when you've lost so much and are hanging by a thread, you're too scared of losing what little you have because then where will you be?
I really liked Made for You and Me because there are very few of us who have not been affected by this prolonged recession, and stories like Caitlin and Dan's remind us that we're not alone. I think that is so very important in these times, to know that there are others who are struggling to make our way, to pick up the pieces of what remains. There's some comfort in that, in knowing that there are others who are also very scared about what our personal and collective futures hold and that, just like this land was made for you and me, it's going to take all of us, together, to try and get there.
April 20, 2013
I enjoyed this book at the beginning, but about two-thirds of the way through I began to feel frustrated with it. I wanted to love it because I have so much in common with the author. I live in Maine, but have lived a few years in CA. I listen to NPR, enjoy good, local food, etc. etc. But what I could not relate to was how much good fortune she had that she did not seem to recognize. To start with she has incredibly supportive parents, the kind many of us wish we had. She calls her dad when she is struggling during labor, and he knows just what to say to help her! I understand that what they went through was difficult, but no one forced them to live in Venice Beach. They could have chosen a cheaper neighborhood and worked their way up to the fancier parts of the area. I felt like she was complaining about having to give up a lifestyle that so many of us will never be able to afford in the first place (a great apartment in the hippest part of Portland, organic food every day, not having to plan a weekly menu). And so I ended up feeling like I couldn't relate much to her at all in spite of the apparent similarities.
May 16, 2011
Found that I could really relate to Caitlin Shetterly's situation. Sometimes by trying on a new way of being you can sink the ship and there is nothing more humbling than trying to put things back together again. She wrote her story with real humanity - it was really funny and really sad. And moving into your mother's house with a husband and a baby - I can relate.
January 20, 2018
I found this more tedious than interesting, though I did finish it. I couldn't put my finger on my feelings, but generally I didn't like the author or her attitude about life. I realize that she is writing about a dark time in her life, but it didn't fit my cultural norm and so I struggled to empathize or care about what happened to her and her family.
April 11, 2011
I thought this author and I were going to click, but the things she found funny and/or poignant didn't resonate the same way with me. The heart of her story is important, but despite that I kept wondering as I read, "Is this really enough for a book?" and was asking the same question at the end.
November 7, 2021
Some things I could really relate to. Struggling at a certain age and feeling like a failure, being so broke that forces someone to be creative with cheap ingredients like beans and lentils. I appreciated the insight of trying to make a living in a big city and to follow their dream and give it a try. Also the complicated relations within a family.
For some reason for whatever reason I can't pinpoint I felt sometimes weird about the authors writing. But then on the other hand I could understand from where she was coming from.
Will hand this book to a friend and will see how she feels about it :)
For some reason for whatever reason I can't pinpoint I felt sometimes weird about the authors writing. But then on the other hand I could understand from where she was coming from.
Will hand this book to a friend and will see how she feels about it :)
July 14, 2023
I loved this book by the author of Pete and Alice in Maine which I loved :) it was written in 2011 and is autobiographical, originally started as a blog as she and her husband moved first to the west coast and then back to their native state of Maine and everything that happens during those turbulent times of the 2009 recession. It was fun to read this after having read her recent because I felt like I got to know the person who dreamed of one day writing a novel with the knowledge that she beautifully reached her goal.
Was so pleased and great fun to dining this after believing that the novel was the only thing she Elgar written…an unexpected gift
Was so pleased and great fun to dining this after believing that the novel was the only thing she Elgar written…an unexpected gift
March 3, 2018
A good book is one you think about all day at work, and can't wait to get back home to read. That's how I felt about Caitlin Shetterly's memoir. It will resonate with anyone who has ever searched for the American Dream but felt like the universe was just not on their side. I loved her message in the end, that ultimately life is all about family and friends and our need to depend upon and get help from each other, and until Americans realize this, there will be people who fall through the cracks.
March 20, 2018
Caitlin tells her story with just enough details to build the suspense of where life will take them next, just enough humor to make the reader feel a part of the story, and beautiful imagery to paint the picture of her surroundings. Despite every chapter bringing another setback, the family never dwells on being victims. This shows a true spirit of inner strength and sustaining marriage built on love and trust. It should inspire the reader to never give up hope or lose sight of your goals
June 8, 2017
I really enjoyed this read. I went trhough it rather quickly as it was engaging. I could relate to alot of what she was going through but appreciated her insights.
February 16, 2020
Well written.
Read
March 30, 2025I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.
March 14, 2011
Although she shared her story via NPR radio diaries as it happened, I didn't learn about Shetterly's personal financial turmoil until I read an excerpt from her new memoir, Made for You and Me: Going West, Going Broke, Finding Home, in the Sunday crossword section (some people call it the magazine) of the New York Times. The excerpt intrigued me, in part because of the witty and poignant writing, but mostly because I couldn't believe Shetterly, someone whose work I admired and assumed would steady work stemming from her talents, had fallen onto hard times just like so many other Americans.
I bought the memoir as soon as it came out. Knowing I've had trouble with memoirs, I was wary, but as an avid NPR fan and someone huddling in grad school because of the recession, the story intrigued me. Shetterly begins at the end: she and her husband, Dan, her dog Hopper, and her new baby son lie in her mother's house in the woods in Maine, just back from an 11-day drive across the country. This drive, long and grueling, filled with strange motels and late-night stops to nurse the baby, was a dragging end to a yearlong odyssey.
After getting married, Caitlin and Dan decided to move to Los Angeles. The city held many possibilities for the two. Dan, a successful photographer who worked his way up from a trailer park outside of Portland, and Caitlin, who, besides Fault Lines, had written various magazine and radio pieces and founded a theater company near her hometown, seemed poised for a promising and successful start to married life in the new city. Only a few months after their move, an unexpected pregnancy arose, the crisis hit, and where Dan had been lining up job after job and traveling around the country and even to Europe, work suddenly dried up and left them with next to nothing to support a new family.
Throughout the ordeal, Shetterly manages to find a voice with the right combination of urgency and reflection. She describes in detail each step of trying to keep their new life together; the reader stays right with her as she sees the effects on her stalwart husband, as she struggles to stretch dollars at the grocery store, as frustration mounts in a series of apartments in the big, unfamiliar city that they can't enjoy like they thought they would be able to. The narrative has its choppy moments, but more often Shetterly's tangents - about childhood memories, about emotional transformations during the ordeal - serve to deepen the story and bring us closer to her experience. She pays careful attention to detailing the changing terrain as they drive cross-country (twice) and make the drastic move from coast to coast.
At its best, this memoir not only combines righteous frustration with the recession, a rich sense of place even when its author has just arrived in a new setting, and a frighteningly sudden and rich emotional journey; it holds beautiful surprises, big and small, like the way Shetterly writes about her dog and cat as essential parts of the family; her strong and beautiful partnership with Dan; the occasional simple and delicious sounding recipe, rattled off in the middle of a scene; and, especially, the kindness and generosity of strangers and far-flung family and friends alike. This chronicle of a hardworking and well-meaning couple's struggle amidst crushing economic forces reminds us, through Shetterly's eyes, that dreams and aspirations may well wither away, but there are forces within and without ourselves that will lead us survival, and, someday, to imagine new dreams, and live them out with the rich and deep background of having fallen down and gotten back up again.
www.whatbooktoday.com
I bought the memoir as soon as it came out. Knowing I've had trouble with memoirs, I was wary, but as an avid NPR fan and someone huddling in grad school because of the recession, the story intrigued me. Shetterly begins at the end: she and her husband, Dan, her dog Hopper, and her new baby son lie in her mother's house in the woods in Maine, just back from an 11-day drive across the country. This drive, long and grueling, filled with strange motels and late-night stops to nurse the baby, was a dragging end to a yearlong odyssey.
After getting married, Caitlin and Dan decided to move to Los Angeles. The city held many possibilities for the two. Dan, a successful photographer who worked his way up from a trailer park outside of Portland, and Caitlin, who, besides Fault Lines, had written various magazine and radio pieces and founded a theater company near her hometown, seemed poised for a promising and successful start to married life in the new city. Only a few months after their move, an unexpected pregnancy arose, the crisis hit, and where Dan had been lining up job after job and traveling around the country and even to Europe, work suddenly dried up and left them with next to nothing to support a new family.
Throughout the ordeal, Shetterly manages to find a voice with the right combination of urgency and reflection. She describes in detail each step of trying to keep their new life together; the reader stays right with her as she sees the effects on her stalwart husband, as she struggles to stretch dollars at the grocery store, as frustration mounts in a series of apartments in the big, unfamiliar city that they can't enjoy like they thought they would be able to. The narrative has its choppy moments, but more often Shetterly's tangents - about childhood memories, about emotional transformations during the ordeal - serve to deepen the story and bring us closer to her experience. She pays careful attention to detailing the changing terrain as they drive cross-country (twice) and make the drastic move from coast to coast.
At its best, this memoir not only combines righteous frustration with the recession, a rich sense of place even when its author has just arrived in a new setting, and a frighteningly sudden and rich emotional journey; it holds beautiful surprises, big and small, like the way Shetterly writes about her dog and cat as essential parts of the family; her strong and beautiful partnership with Dan; the occasional simple and delicious sounding recipe, rattled off in the middle of a scene; and, especially, the kindness and generosity of strangers and far-flung family and friends alike. This chronicle of a hardworking and well-meaning couple's struggle amidst crushing economic forces reminds us, through Shetterly's eyes, that dreams and aspirations may well wither away, but there are forces within and without ourselves that will lead us survival, and, someday, to imagine new dreams, and live them out with the rich and deep background of having fallen down and gotten back up again.
www.whatbooktoday.com
March 29, 2011
Caitlin and Dan are newlyweds in Maine who hold onto that old-time vision of California as the promised land. As freelancers, they decide the best opportunities for their careers lie in the west, so they pack up their lives and move to Cali. And then the recession hits. Neither of them can find steady work, and the jobs Dan had scheduled keep getting cancelled. Soon, they are faced with a surprise pregnancy that leaves Caitlin too sick to even get out of bed most days. So, shortly after their son is born, they make a decision: they must go home.
I had never heard of this story before, though Caitlin had shared some of it as an audio diary on NPR. I wanted to read this because I'm from Maine and, as Caitlin states, you will always be from Maine. So I felt a bit of a personal connection reading this story. I really enjoyed it. Caitlin is a wonderful writer. Her prose is very well put together. The way she writes about motherhood was beautiful. It is very easy to connect with Caitlin and Dan's story, perhaps especially so for me as I prepare to move West in search of a career, and I felt deeply involved in their story. I cried when they lost Ellison and felt the same heartbroken-ness I felt when I lost my own pet. The ending feels a bit abrupt, though there is good reason for that - the story is still going on. Caitlin does provide an epilogue with a bit of "where are they now" but it still feels a bit incomplete. Perhaps the book was rushed a little to publication, while they are still in the middle of writing their story. But I'm happy that they got the book advance to help their situation. It's just an interesting situation that I might expect to run into more often when reading memoirs but this is the first instance of it that I recall. Overall, though, this book was a wonderful read. Touching and lovely.
I received this book from the publisher through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.
I had never heard of this story before, though Caitlin had shared some of it as an audio diary on NPR. I wanted to read this because I'm from Maine and, as Caitlin states, you will always be from Maine. So I felt a bit of a personal connection reading this story. I really enjoyed it. Caitlin is a wonderful writer. Her prose is very well put together. The way she writes about motherhood was beautiful. It is very easy to connect with Caitlin and Dan's story, perhaps especially so for me as I prepare to move West in search of a career, and I felt deeply involved in their story. I cried when they lost Ellison and felt the same heartbroken-ness I felt when I lost my own pet. The ending feels a bit abrupt, though there is good reason for that - the story is still going on. Caitlin does provide an epilogue with a bit of "where are they now" but it still feels a bit incomplete. Perhaps the book was rushed a little to publication, while they are still in the middle of writing their story. But I'm happy that they got the book advance to help their situation. It's just an interesting situation that I might expect to run into more often when reading memoirs but this is the first instance of it that I recall. Overall, though, this book was a wonderful read. Touching and lovely.
I received this book from the publisher through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 25, 2011
I received this book as part of LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
Made for You and Me follows the journey of Caitlin and her family as they move across the country to L.A. follow their dreams, but are ultimately forced to move back east when they run out of money and job prospects. I could relate to the impulsive decision-making and the plan to leap and wait for the net to appear. They are a brave family clearly full of love and lucky to have so many people who love and supper them that they were able to rely on.
The author describes writing regular emails to her family and friends from the road which eventually turns into a blog and I found myself wishing I had been following along when her story was unfolding and I feel like the book could have worked better as a series of letters and blog posts as opposed to a narrative. It was an engaging story, but I think that format would have been even more so.
I agree with many of the other reviewers when they also wished for more distance before the story was completed. I feel like we were left at a bit of a loose end without full perspective on what their journey has meant to their lives. I certainly wish the Shetterly family luck and prosperity and would be interested to hear more about them.
Made for You and Me follows the journey of Caitlin and her family as they move across the country to L.A. follow their dreams, but are ultimately forced to move back east when they run out of money and job prospects. I could relate to the impulsive decision-making and the plan to leap and wait for the net to appear. They are a brave family clearly full of love and lucky to have so many people who love and supper them that they were able to rely on.
The author describes writing regular emails to her family and friends from the road which eventually turns into a blog and I found myself wishing I had been following along when her story was unfolding and I feel like the book could have worked better as a series of letters and blog posts as opposed to a narrative. It was an engaging story, but I think that format would have been even more so.
I agree with many of the other reviewers when they also wished for more distance before the story was completed. I feel like we were left at a bit of a loose end without full perspective on what their journey has meant to their lives. I certainly wish the Shetterly family luck and prosperity and would be interested to hear more about them.
April 10, 2011
I think it's important to remember that Made for You and Me is a memoir, one person's experience of a certain point in her life and in American history. It's not a how-to book; Shetterly isn't giving advice to others in similar positions. She's also not trying to compare her situation to those of others in any sort of mine-is-worse-than-yours sort of way. Rather, she is sharing her family's story, with its good decisions and its not-so-good ones, its ups and downs as they, personally, experienced them. As a memoir, I thought it held up quite well.
Caitlin's writing is honest and engaging. There's plenty of emotion in her story, but to me it never felt overdone. She welcomes the reader into her family's life without holding back.
I liked reading Caitlin's story. I appreciated her honesty and never felt like she was seeking sympathy or whining. She shares her frustrations and reflects on the family's journey, but always in a way that moves her forward. I'll admit, the book turned out better than I'd expected, and I'm certainly glad I read it.
My full review is posted on my blog, Erin Reads.
Caitlin's writing is honest and engaging. There's plenty of emotion in her story, but to me it never felt overdone. She welcomes the reader into her family's life without holding back.
I liked reading Caitlin's story. I appreciated her honesty and never felt like she was seeking sympathy or whining. She shares her frustrations and reflects on the family's journey, but always in a way that moves her forward. I'll admit, the book turned out better than I'd expected, and I'm certainly glad I read it.
My full review is posted on my blog, Erin Reads.
November 12, 2011
I love books written by Maine authors and if it's set in Maine too? Well, that's a huge bonus. Right at the beginning (p. 53),this statement, "Maine, more like a family member than a state..." grabs you and pulls you into Caitlin's story about the journey she took with her husband to California to start their lives together. Their philosophy is summed up in this quote she offers (p. 72)by Helen Keller: " Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." The reader gets a glimpse inside the lives of the author and her family when they are at their highest points, which they celebrate, and at their lowest points, which they bravely plunge through to come out okay on the other side, searching for (and finding) things to be grateful for along the way. I love the couple's ritual of making and eating egg rolls all day every New Year's Day. She also gives one of the best definitions of marriage (p.75) that I've ever heard:
"It's funny how your partner can be the person who drives you the most nuts in the world, the person you are the most awful to, the person who sees you the most closely at your worst but is also the one person without whom you'd feel like your life is entirely incomplete."
This is wonderful book; definitely worth reading.
"It's funny how your partner can be the person who drives you the most nuts in the world, the person you are the most awful to, the person who sees you the most closely at your worst but is also the one person without whom you'd feel like your life is entirely incomplete."
This is wonderful book; definitely worth reading.
November 15, 2011
Caitlyn Shetterly, a writer known for her NPR pieces, and a Maine native, along with her photographer husband, head off to California following their dreams of making it big in the land of opportunity. There was just one problem; the bottom is just about ready to fall out of the U.S. economy, which is does after they arrive in California.
What follows is a harrowing look at the precarious nature of life for all but the richest Americans.
Shetterly, plagued by a extremely difficult pregnancy that had her throwing up for nearly 9 months, and Dan, her husband, sees his photography work disappear and cannot find work.
They eventually head back to Maine, with baby, dog, and as many belongings as they can stuff in their car, and move in with Caitlyn's mother, and she recounts these challenges in an honest and humane way.
A wonderful book that brings the realities of where we've landed as a nation. Right-wingers, in denial about the loss of the American Dream will blame Caitlyn and her husband, ala Herman Cain, who says that if you aren't successful in American, "you're not working hard enough," all the while, he's pushing his face into the crotches of women not his wife. Others that have some compassion will empathize with Caitlyn and Dan's plight.
What follows is a harrowing look at the precarious nature of life for all but the richest Americans.
Shetterly, plagued by a extremely difficult pregnancy that had her throwing up for nearly 9 months, and Dan, her husband, sees his photography work disappear and cannot find work.
They eventually head back to Maine, with baby, dog, and as many belongings as they can stuff in their car, and move in with Caitlyn's mother, and she recounts these challenges in an honest and humane way.
A wonderful book that brings the realities of where we've landed as a nation. Right-wingers, in denial about the loss of the American Dream will blame Caitlyn and her husband, ala Herman Cain, who says that if you aren't successful in American, "you're not working hard enough," all the while, he's pushing his face into the crotches of women not his wife. Others that have some compassion will empathize with Caitlyn and Dan's plight.
May 17, 2011
Memoir of a year in which the writer moves from Maine to LA with her husband, gets knocked up, struggles to find jobs in the rocky economy, and ends up having to move back to Maine to live with her mom.
This book was ok, but it didn't really move me or tell me anything new about the recession. The author was a bit of a complainer at times & that was tiresome, as she and her husband chose this path & took risks that didn't work out. They risked getting pregnant (and did). She had a rough time during her pregnancy which sucks, I'm sure, but I got tired of pages about her being nauseous.
They moved across the country with no jobs. Maybe living in Portland has made me cynical, but it's funny to me how many people head west (many end up here in Oregon) & then are shocked that it's hard to find work, etc. It's a risk you're taking - recession or not. They didn't qualify for unemployment as they were freelancers, but I did wonder why they didn't check out food banks or other programs (like WIC maybe?) to get support.
It wasn't a terrible book, but it just needed a little more to it - more stories of other people or ??
This book was ok, but it didn't really move me or tell me anything new about the recession. The author was a bit of a complainer at times & that was tiresome, as she and her husband chose this path & took risks that didn't work out. They risked getting pregnant (and did). She had a rough time during her pregnancy which sucks, I'm sure, but I got tired of pages about her being nauseous.
They moved across the country with no jobs. Maybe living in Portland has made me cynical, but it's funny to me how many people head west (many end up here in Oregon) & then are shocked that it's hard to find work, etc. It's a risk you're taking - recession or not. They didn't qualify for unemployment as they were freelancers, but I did wonder why they didn't check out food banks or other programs (like WIC maybe?) to get support.
It wasn't a terrible book, but it just needed a little more to it - more stories of other people or ??
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