Perfection: A Memoir of Betrayal and Renewal by Julie Metz was somewhat difficult for me to read. Not because she lacks anything in story or style. Not because I did not feel her pain. The problem is that I re-felt my own. Our circumstances were so different that they were very much alike. A closed group of friends in any circle will certainly rally around the story on their side of the fence. Whether the what people knew was an adulterous affair or an intense emotional alliance, the when they tell you is after the fact. In many cases, you are not sure what is behind the telling. Be it true caring, pure delight, or just to have something to say in the face of your anger. The only thing lacking in Metz’s story (when compared to mine and many others) is the hysterical and angry diatribe against her spouse that often lasts months or years. This was not an oversight. He was dead.
This memoir unfolds in first-person anguish as Julie’s husband has a heart attack and dies. In the midst of her own pain, Julie hears another females cry in her own house and wonders who could be as upset as she was?? It seems it was one of many women who cried because their current or previous lover was gone. We follow Julie as she heals. I found myself hoping she and her daughter would mend, would find love again. When she went on her first post-traumatic stress date, I cheered. The guy wasn’t the right one. When her friends tried to help her and then turned away from her pain, I understood. Anguish and rebuilding take a lot out of a person and it is sometimes hard to sit back and watch it muck along. I looked forward to the end of the book because I could only assume that it would end well or the book would have been a very different one. When it ended, I was sad because I wanted to know how my friend was doing, how her daughter was adapting. Metz plans to add a blog to her website, so maybe I can follow her story a bit longer.
Another interesting place to look is http://www.everywomansvoice.com/ where after creating an account, members may take a look at what is being discussed regarding Perfection and other selected books highlighting women’s voices. Thank you to Hyperion for providing me with the opportunity to read and review Perfection.
TITLE: Perfection: A Memoir of Betrayal and Renewal
AUTHOR: Julie Metz
COPYRIGHT: June 2009
PAGES: 340
TYPE: non-fiction, memoir
RECOMMEND: I loved it.
This memoir unfolds in first-person anguish as Julie’s husband has a heart attack and dies. In the midst of her own pain, Julie hears another females cry in her own house and wonders who could be as upset as she was?? It seems it was one of many women who cried because their current or previous lover was gone. We follow Julie as she heals. I found myself hoping she and her daughter would mend, would find love again. When she went on her first post-traumatic stress date, I cheered. The guy wasn’t the right one. When her friends tried to help her and then turned away from her pain, I understood. Anguish and rebuilding take a lot out of a person and it is sometimes hard to sit back and watch it muck along. I looked forward to the end of the book because I could only assume that it would end well or the book would have been a very different one. When it ended, I was sad because I wanted to know how my friend was doing, how her daughter was adapting. Metz plans to add a blog to her website, so maybe I can follow her story a bit longer.
Another interesting place to look is http://www.everywomansvoice.com/ where after creating an account, members may take a look at what is being discussed regarding Perfection and other selected books highlighting women’s voices. Thank you to Hyperion for providing me with the opportunity to read and review Perfection.
TITLE: Perfection: A Memoir of Betrayal and Renewal
AUTHOR: Julie Metz
COPYRIGHT: June 2009
PAGES: 340
TYPE: non-fiction, memoir
RECOMMEND: I loved it.
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