It Hit Me Like a Ton of Bricks: A Memoir of a Mother and Daughter

by Catherine Lloyd Burns

Life is a series of losses. I've decided to be very Zen about it. I have lost two husbands, my parents, my brother, countless friends; it is just one loss after another. You might as well get used to it.

So muses the author's mother in this poignant and humorous memoir about mothers and daughters. Loss is a way of life for both Catherine and her mother. But where it made the daughter ravenous for contact, it made the mother lose her appetite for people. While the two always had a fierce attachment, by turns intimate and tumultuous, decades of fractious and contentious and frustrating interactions found a reprieve after the birth of Catherine's daughter, Olive.

Witty and direct, weaving back and forth in time, the book charts the transformation of this volatile and unique mother-daughter relationship from longing to connection. A book about love, mortality, and the nature of family bonds, It Hit Me Like a Ton of Bricks is a must-read for anyone trying to navigate their way through the distance between their fantasies of love and the realities of family relationships.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction

240 pages, Hardcover

First published April 18, 2006

Reviews

[Eleanor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ms Lloyd has a voice, which is vital for any kind of memoir or autobiography. This is a small slice of her life, focusing on her relationship with her mother, and subsequently her small daughter. Her voice is authentic; her candor is refreshing. I am more than tired of female authors stealth-bragging in their own works about motherhood. Lloyd does not do that. I've read reviews that claim she is whiny in this book. I disagree. Her childhood sounds hellish, despite her privileged background. She is almost my exact age, and I too, had a daughter first. Some of our life experiences overlap in the oddest ways. What particularly appeals to me is how her relationship with her mother comes full circle. This is a book I am glad I read, although I don't feel the need to ever reread it. Her description of the late 60s and the the 70s is spot on--something so few memoirs seem to get right. I will look for other books by Catherine Lloyd; I bet she'd do well writing novels.

[Apryl McLean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. I am the age of the author when she wrote it and I could really relate to her feelings about life and changing from being in one stage of your life to another. She is a great writer and her relationship with her mother, though difficult at times, was a joy to read about. Life is rough and sometimes it's rougher and sometimes it's easier, and mostly I like reading about other people's thoughts. I would recommend this book for sure!

[Sara Hook]

I like this author's frank and often funny voice. It's quick and engaging. As another mother who is considering writing a memoir one day, and who has spent many years in NYC, I related a lot. I recommend.

[Laura Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

A woman reflects on motherhood, including her intense love for her daughter and her relationship with her own mother.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written by an actress, whom I guess is now focusing more on writing and motherhood, this was a quick read. Catherine Lloyd Burns examines her relationship with her mother and young daughter. There was a bit too much mommy talk, and in particular, "poopy" talk for me, although overall I did enjoy reading this book. If you're a mother with a young child you'd probably get more out of this book than I did.

[Robin Moore · Rating 2 out of 5]

A mother-daughter memoir (told from the recollections and the viewpoint of the daughter), and, after reading it you will feel that you (and everyone else that you know) ought to be nominated for Mother of the Year/Century. The writer is an actress who has done some film and some TV but I never heard of her. Makes you wonder how she can be normal…..also makes you nervous for the child she now must parent.

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was affected by this book -- but you all know I'm sentimental and have a soft spot for family relationships. I think I understand the mother-daughter relationship better now. At least it gave me much to think about. I only hesitate to give it five stars because it's not Middlemarch or The Dispossessed. But I liked it very much and finished it in some two days.

[Margene · Rating 1 out of 5]

The good news is that this is a fast read. The bad news is that the narrator is whiny and neurotic. The constant "poor me" and "aren't I the smartest in the world" back and forth left me with no sympathy for the character at the center of the book. Skip it.

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

juicy, sharp, hilarious, emotionally rich memoir.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

My mother gave me this book. It was a very quick read. A nice little slice of life.

[Susie J · Rating 2 out of 5]

? unsure ? bit morbid ...