Pieces of Someday

The theme of self-discovery is a common one in memoirs, and this is often what appeals most to readers of the genre. In Pieces of Someday, Jan Vallone explores the paths that her personal and professional life have taken, trying to discover the one that will bring happiness and contentment.

High expectations have always been in place from her father, and this pressure remains apparent throughout Vallone’s life, affecting her mindset through her various career choices, and seemingly causing her frequent doubt. Her roles as mother and wife are secondary in her narrative, with her focus primarily on her attempts to find professional fulfillment, especially in her switch from practicing law to becoming a teacher at an Orthodox Jewish high school, even as she herself is a practicing Catholic.

I found this memoir to be made up of more questions than answers, more seeking than finding, more wondering than storytelling. I appreciated the author’s humility in openly baring her worries and fears and abundant questions about her own life experiences and those of her family members. Vallone writes with elegance and beauty, much more poetically than I would have expected from someone with a background in law! While I was somewhat confused by the bouncing-around nature of the book’s chronology, I understood the impact the author was intending with this type of set-up. Personally, I needed to do some shuffling back and forth at times to get reestablished when the time shifted significantly from one chapter to the next, but in the end, I feel that I had a full picture. Pieces of Someday enters the field of memoirs as one of hope and fulfillment.

Books and babies (who are growing up too fast!) are the current primary players in the story of Dawn’s life. For now, they get to be front and center on her blog, my thoughts exactly.