Life Among the Savages

Re-read: just as delightful the second time ‘round. Highly recommended as a refreshing antidote to perfect-mommy books and blogs, for Jackson admits to mistakes, fears, annoyances, anger, and the desire, to paraphrase my grandmother, to throw up her hands and run out the back door.
Grandma's full saying bears documentation in this context, for Jackson could have said it herself. When the family would have her at wits' end, Grandma would threaten to throw up her hands and run out the back door, and not stop until she reached Dix Hill.
Dix Hill was local slang for the Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Hospital.

Real family life

Bits were amazing, the whole was less than...
It was a bit muddled, and sometimes the humor wasn't to my taste, but I'm reading the sequel.

As I am not into horror, i thought reading her funny memoir about raising young children in the 1940ies was a good introduction to Shirley Jackson. And I was delighted by these domestic adventures and misadventures of raising a band of little precocious rascals speaking quaint English. Jackson's narration is straight out comedic and also cheeky. And even though at times she slightly overuses the comedic technique of repetition, I came out of it insanely charmed by Laurie, Jannie and little Sally.

A good time. A good listen. Like watching a really good black and white movie.

I loved parts of this, such as the thrice embroidered overalls, the genuine child logic and dialogue, the giant box, the day when everything goes wrong while her husband is out of town...

I was shocked when I heard of the reception she received when she arrived at the hospital to deliver her third child. The woman asked her occupation, but when given the answer of ‘author' said that she would instead write ‘housewife'. Additionally, the woman inquired if the child was legitimate.

Even understanding the frustrations of a child going overboard with a role model and that this took place in ‘another time', I was offended and disappointed that her husband told the daughter's teacher that her childlessness was unwomanly.

It was also difficult as a modern reader to hear about her smoking while pregnant, again I understand the different time.