The Kids are Gone, The Dog is Depressed & Mom's on the Loose

by Shelley Mickle

Shelley Fraser Mickle's latest book is a departure from her
previously published works of fiction, Replacing Dad and The Queen of October. In this nonfiction book, she not only proves that you can go home again; you've never really left. Mom's on the Loose humorously details how events throughout our lives continue to influence the person we keep reinventing ourselves into.

This collection of delightful essays highlight events from her youth in Arkansas, such as the day the Thanksgiving football game ended in a knockout; her stint as a transplanted Southerner, her days as a homeroom mother, including the one when she is stopped by a police officer for speeding the party cupcakes to school, as well as the unforgettable day when
a snake shows up at the family room window.

After many years, she is finally free to pursue her own wishes and desires, yet her life's experiences are never far from the core of whom she was, and whom she has become. Only now she has the time to appreciate the mundane yet sometimes quirky events that take place in our everyday lives which leads to answering the question, "Just what exactly does one do when the kids finally grow up, move out, and the dog is lying under the grand piano, depressed?"

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Jennifer]

This is not a book you just sit and read cover to cover it is one that over time you get through. It is a collection of readings from Florida public radio. They are all funny but over time or when you are having a bad day and need something to make you laugh.

[Kathy Dobronyi]

Loved the title, but couldn't identify with any of her stories. I could tell she really enjoyed writing them.