Book review

Ever since I graduated from college (not like it was that long ago...) it has been a challenge to get interested in fiction again. I think I got so used to reading non-fiction for four years, any fiction I read was not as captivating. Recently, this is no longer the case! I read a fantastic book titled "This is Where I Leave You". I laughed (out loud on the EL). I cried (not really, but there are several moments in the book where it would have been appropriate). And I couldn't put the book down. 


The story follows the dysfunctional Foxman family as they sit shiva for their deceased father/husband. (Ironically, the deceased was an atheist). The main character, Judd, is dealing with marital problems - his wife cheats on him with his boss - bad news - - and has lost his direction in life. The other siblings are Paul (the oldest), Wendy (in a loveless marriage) and Phillip (the charming, youngest and misguided one of the brood). Their mother is famous for her book on child rearing, which explains, and attributes to the family dysfunction. As the family comes together for the week, the past collides with the present as memories and emotions run high. The author, Jonathan Tropper, weaves the book with comedy and grief. The unraveling of the characters' lives left me wishing shiva wouldn't end so I could continue to learn more about them.  Although the book did not end with a clear resolution, it ended with optimism. 

Sound bite

I got a job! I am no longer a part of a scarily large percentage of Americans currently unemployed. Thank.God. 

Ramblings of an unemployed Chicagoan.

You have a lot of time to think when you are unemployed. Such is my fate as of late. Just graduated from college in June and I am already another number added to unemployment statistics. But like I said, I now have amble amounts of time to think about me, my future, my purpose, my plan. These thoughts can be overwhelming. When I was younger, it was so easy to have a purpose, a plan. –Get good grades, get your high school diploma, go to college, graduate- but so far it seems my path has stagnated. And its not a great place to be. I often wonder what my purpose now is. In college, it was move to DC and get a government job. Of course events alter plans. Life just sometimes gets in the way. I guess I want to get life out of the way so that I can live. If that makes any sense at all. I also wish I knew my plan as clearly as I did as a freshmen in college. It was so easy then to predict where I would be in four years. Now I have no clue. And if there is no purpose, then what is the point? Unfortunately, I am not the kind of gal that could be satisfied with the white picket fence, 2.5 children and a dog. Sometimes I wish I could be that person, life would be easier, to have the sole ambition of being a homemaker (not that there is anything wrong with that). But I want/need more than that. I want to travel, meet new people, hear new ideas, explore.

MAKE SOMETHING OF MYSELF.

DO SOMETHING TO BE PROUD OF.

Although…I did read something interesting the other day.  It went something along the lines of - - If we focus so much on where we are going, we miss opportunities of where we could be. This got me thinking, “am I so determined to be in Washington, DC and do something internationally related that I am missing out on other opportunities?” Perhaps. However I do know that to be completely satisfied with my life, I do need to do something that involves the world. Before, I would flip flop between working for some government agency or the non-profit sector. Now I realize, I don’t need to constrain my options. I know at least a half of my purpose- do something that will make a difference in the world. I know how ambiguous and lofty that sounds. But what I mean is I need be a part of the action, not the bystander in issues that concern people in different places around the globe. From human rights, to education, to hunger to politics, there is plenty I can be a part of.  

Now comes forming a plan…..