I Miss You When I Blink

Essays

By: Mary Laura Philpott

Narrated by: Mary Laura Philpott

Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

Acclaimed essayist and bookseller Mary Laura Philpott presents a charmingly relatable and wise memoir in essays about what happened after she checked off all the boxes on her successful life’s to-do list and realized she might need to reinvent the list - and herself.

Mary Laura Philpott thought she’d cracked the code: Always be right, and you’ll always be happy. 

But once she’d completed her life’s to-do list (job, spouse, house, babies - check!), she found that instead of feeling content and successful, she felt anxious. Lost. Stuck in a daily grind of overflowing calendars, grueling small talk, and sprawling traffic. She’d done everything “right”, but she felt all wrong. What’s the worse failure, she wondered: smiling and staying the course or blowing it all up and running away? And are those the only options? 

In this memoir in essays full of spot-on observations about home, work, and creative life, Philpott takes on the conflicting pressures of modern adulthood with wit and heart. She offers up her own stories to show that identity crises don’t happen just once or only at midlife; reassures us that small, recurring personal reinventions are both normal and necessary; and advises that if you’re going to faint, you should get low to the ground first. Most of all, Philpott shows that when you stop feeling satisfied with your life, you don’t have to burn it all down and set off on a transcontinental hike (unless you want to, of course). You can call upon your many selves to figure out who you are, who you’re not, and where you belong. Who among us isn’t trying to do that?

Like a pep talk from a sister, I Miss You When I Blink is the funny, poignant, and deeply affecting audiobook you’ll want to share with all your friends, as you learn what Philpott has figured out along the way: that multiple things can be true of us at once - and that sometimes doing things wrong is the way to do life right.

©2019 Mary Laura Philpott (P)2019 Simon & Schuster

Good for 30 somethings

I thought this book was well written and performed. But, I think the target audience is probably more toward women in their 30’s and early 40’s, especially if you are a perfectionist. I am in my mid fifties and I didn’t gain much insight from the stories, since many of the experiences the author
spoke about, were already behind me.

A story for forty-something’s.

This book of light essays on the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of a talented writer was definitely geared toward the younger generation where it would be so much more relatable. As a reader over sixty, it just didn’t ring true in any sense. My fault for not doing my homework before beginning the read.

Witty and Smart

I Miss You When I Blink is a combination of “oh my gosh, you feel that way too-giggle giggle” and “I know your pain- tear tear” that makes another working mom (trying to balance family, career and the ever elusive self-care) feel like she has a tribe. Mary Laura, Thanks for your honesty and your willingness to poke fun at your own journey so I feel more normal!

I’m old enough to be her mom, and yet

Everything she writes about resonates with my own experience. The title essay is destined to be a classic. Loved every part of this book.

Great read

Such a good book. I give it 4.5 stars as some essays I didn’t connect with however I love, love, love, the authors sense of wry humor. Her type A personality mimicked mine and her after thoughts when she made or didn’t. Are a decision could have been taken straight from my head. Most of the essays made me laugh in collaboration with her knowing and feeling the same way. I recommend this book.

Not relatable unless you’re privileged

I didn’t enjoy the sense of humor and it was a struggle to finish it, I kept waiting for a resolution or ways to solve the problems she had that weren’t really problems. As a POC that has struggled with real issues I found this book pointless and a waste of time, didn’t leave me any lessons and not even a laugh.

Light quick read. Fun. Not too deep.

An easy, quick, and overall good read. Nothing too deep or insightful. Funny in parts. Enjoyed some essays more than others.

So delicious!

I devoured this book in one sitting! Such a witty take on life and motherhood.

I laughed, I cried, I totally related

One of my favorite memoir essay collections ever. So relatable to the everyday struggles of mothers and women in midlife. Can’t wait to read Bomb Shelter next.

Boring and Predictable

After the great title, what followed was a struggle to try and get through (until I just couldn't listen anymore). The stories were boring. The stories each could have told in a few sentences, but we're each stretched to ten minute essays. At first, it felt like the author was being paid by the word, then when I got to know the author through reading, I felt as though she simply liked hearing herself speak. Being 43 years old, I thought that I was the target audience, however, it seems that you also must be a mother, privileged and have a Type A personality. Other reviewers said that the book made them feel good because they could relate to the stories; I felt worse about myself because I couldn't relate. To her benefit, the author admits that she is privileged, but I felt that she did nothing to relate to the people excluded from privilege. I felt that the author was trying to sound self-deprecating and relatable, when in reality, she is arrogant and judgemental. I know that I'll never know the author's true feelings or motivations, but that doesn't prevent me from feeling judged and bad about myself in general.

Smug breeder heteronormative personal stories

I'm not usually so harsh on a book that's reasonably well written - but her intensely self obsessed world had little humour and little of interest. I was very surprised with this after seeing her interviewed and her being apparently entertaining, kind and insightful. This book however is dull and I'll be returning it.

In the book she describes a slip into depression - which I wouldn't wish on anyone, but seems not at all unsurprising with her insipid unexamined life. Hopefully the book helps her deal with that. but that doesnt mean it's fun to read