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Disaster Preparedness, with Giveaway

January 19, 2011 by Dawn

Reflecting on her 1980s childhood in Disaster Preparedness, Heather Havrilesky walks a fine line between fully describing her family experiences and pointing an accusatory finger at her parents for their often cavalier attitude toward her needs and those of her siblings. Deeply reflective, Havrilesky holds her own choices and motivations under a microscope, as well, effectively creating a character study of herself, along with the other major players in her childhood life.

Exploring her early years as well as her adolescent and young adult years, the author shares a wide variety of stories of formative experiences. Family strife was the norm, and the realization that other families didn’t argue with the ferocity and frequency of hers came as a shock for her when she was young. Even worse, though, was trying to piece together a day-to-day normalcy when her mother decided to move out, indicating that it was only a temporary situation, but leaving the children feeling bewildered and confused about what would come next. Through her parents’ inevitable divorce, her father’s years of womanizing behaviors, and an adolescence spent just trying to find an identity that felt natural, Havrilesky maintains an honest tone that manages to convey both pain and humor, frustration and ultimate acceptance.

While reading each chapter, my comfort with the author grew and grew, so that by the end of the memoir, I felt as if we could absolutely be friends, for this woman is authentic and hilarious, that’s for sure. I found both her reflections on her childhood and adolescent experiences AND her ability to craft beautiful passages about them to be incredible. This isn’t so much a memoir about surviving a crappy childhood and rising above it all as it is a recollection of some depressing times and the ability to see through the poor actions of her parents, her peers, and herself to the reality of it all. There’s more acceptance than finger pointing, and not the ‘holier-than-thou’ type of acceptance, either. Havrilesky seems to be at a place in her life where she’s ready to move past being angry at people from her past for their failings. She can see the mistakes for what they are, without demonizing the people who made them. While we may not have identical background experiences, there’s something universal to the way in which she describes her childhood and teen years that I could absolutely relate to.

I’m thrilled to be able to offer a copy of Disaster Preparedness to one of our 5 Minutes for Books readers! To enter the giveaway, leave a comment on this post, U.S. and Canada residents only, please.

This giveaway is now closed. Thanks to all for entering.

  • The winners of Kristin Hannah’s Winter Garden are #33 Megan Dubois and #11 debi jackson.

Check out our current giveaways. Subscribe to our feed. Follow us @5M4B on Twitter.

Dawn’s failing memory skills won’t ever assist her in writing her own memoirs some day, but she will be happy to look back at her blog, my thoughts exactly, to be reminded of the silly little things her life brought about.

Filed Under: Dawn, Memoir, Non-Fiction

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Comments

  1. Brianna Beers says

    January 19, 2011 at 12:09 am

    This sounds like it would be an interwsting read! Thankyou for the opportunity to win it!
    briannabeers at yahoo dot com

  2. Jen says

    January 19, 2011 at 9:24 am

    Sounds good. Enter me!

  3. Susan says

    January 19, 2011 at 11:29 am

    I’ve read several really good memoirs in the last couple of years. Would love to win this and read another! Thanks for the chance.

    safoga at gmail dot com

  4. Shari says

    January 19, 2011 at 2:42 pm

    I love reading memoirs, so I’d be glad to add this to my library. Thanks!

  5. debbie says

    January 19, 2011 at 2:47 pm

    The author is quite young to have already written an autobiography.It should be interesting.
    [email protected]

  6. Some Lucky Dog says

    January 19, 2011 at 3:51 pm

    This sounds like an inteesting read!
    someluckydog at gmail dot com

  7. Ruthie B says

    January 19, 2011 at 4:06 pm

    I think this memoir would be a good one for my book club & I just love the matchstick figures on the cover!

    ruthiekb72ATyahooDOTcom

    • Dawn says

      February 1, 2011 at 8:31 pm

      Congratulations, Ruthie B, you’re our lucky winner!

  8. edj says

    January 19, 2011 at 4:33 pm

    I love memoirs when they are well-done.

  9. Jessica T says

    January 19, 2011 at 4:43 pm

    Sounds like a great read! Count me in!

  10. Carla Casilli says

    January 19, 2011 at 5:47 pm

    w00t! for Heather Havrilesky and her honest new book.

  11. Nicole says

    January 19, 2011 at 5:56 pm

    I have loved her writing on Salon; I can only imagine her long form will be terrific.

  12. katklaw777 says

    January 19, 2011 at 6:55 pm

    Sounds like a great read…thanks for the giveaway.

  13. Sharon Walling (sharon54220) says

    January 19, 2011 at 7:56 pm

    Memoirs are one of my most favorite genres to read and would love to add this to my collection.

    Thanks for the chance

  14. debi jackson says

    January 19, 2011 at 8:28 pm

    I’d enjoy reading and sharing this.

  15. Linda Kish says

    January 19, 2011 at 8:39 pm

    I would love to read this book.

    lkish77123 at gmail dot com

  16. tennille says

    January 19, 2011 at 11:39 pm

    looks pretty moving-thanks for the chance

  17. Rita says

    January 20, 2011 at 10:46 am

    Always interested in learning from memoirs.

  18. Alice Jacobson says

    January 20, 2011 at 11:08 am

    Have been an ardent Heather Havrilevsky fan since her hysterical work on the late-lamented (and non-porn site!) suck.com. Would love a free copy of her memoir!

  19. Megan says

    January 21, 2011 at 7:34 am

    I’d love to read this one! Thanks for the chance to win!
    mearley1979 at gmail dot com

  20. Benita says

    January 21, 2011 at 11:18 am

    Sounds like a good book to have on hand.

    bgcchs(at)yahoo(dot)com

  21. Jim Harford says

    January 22, 2011 at 3:23 pm

    I’ve been a fan since http://www.suck.com/ and I think the title alone should make this a best seller. I volunteer for a rural public library and would consider it unethical to recommend it so I can read it.

  22. Karen says

    January 22, 2011 at 5:23 pm

    I think we all probably have childhood issues of some sort, this sounds great, thanks!

  23. Beth C says

    January 23, 2011 at 10:53 am

    Please enter me! Thanks!
    pbclark(at)netins(dot)net

  24. John says

    January 23, 2011 at 10:26 pm

    I would like to read this book

  25. Natalia says

    January 23, 2011 at 10:26 pm

    Sounds like an interesting read.

  26. Maureen says

    January 26, 2011 at 1:38 am

    Sounds interesting… thanks for the review! Thanks, Maureen (jnomaxx at hotmail dot com)

  27. Stephanie says

    January 27, 2011 at 12:51 am

    Sounds like a good book. Thanks for the giveaway.

  28. Jody says

    January 27, 2011 at 2:39 pm

    This sounds great.

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