Lori L’s review of A Perfectly Normal Childhood: (and other lies I tell myself) (Still Noticing Book 1) > Likes and Comments

Thank you much!

Lori — thank you for such a thoughtful and generous review.

What I appreciated most is that you caught the transition in the book. The early stories are intentionally lighter and more chaotic, but as the essays move forward, the point was always to let the reader slowly realize that all of those ridiculous little childhood moments were leaving clues.

The entrepreneurial schemes, the confidence, the need to observe, the habit of reading the room, the anxiety, the pattern recognition — at the time, they were just things that happened. Looking backward, they start to look suspiciously like a blueprint.

I also loved that you mentioned the Open Kiosk Law and the idea of asking what your soul is asking of you. Those later essays are where the book stops being only about what happened and starts asking what any of it meant, which was really the destination all along.

And I have to say, “vegatable” is a brutal way to go out. The spelling bee shows no mercy.

Thank you for reading the book so closely and for taking the time to write such a detailed review. I’m genuinely grateful.

Jason