It’s funny to talk about myself in third person. But pretend this on the book jacket, along with my smiling mug and all the glowing book reviews.
Synopsis: HOLDING ON AND LETTING GO: A MOTHER’S STORY
Genre: Memoir
Word Count: 48,500 words
Pages: 198 pages
When Michelle Zive’s seven-year-old daughter, Molly, almost dies from a ruptured appendix, the young mother is forced to take stock of her life. Her daughter’s trauma sets forth a chain reaction of events that helps Michelle let go of the suburban wife persona she’d been hiding behind in her loneliness. Michelle divorces Molly’s father, remarries and has a son. Throughout all these life changes one thing remains unchanged–a bond with Molly precipitated by her time at her daughter’s beside that continually grows deeper and stronger.
Eleven years later when Molly is about to go away to college, the bond is tested. Michelle is astonished to discover a woman-child in her life. This Molly stays out all night, communicates in grunts rather than words, and, on the rare occasions she is home, hides in her room. During this time, Michelle takes comfort in memories of the little girl who wrote “You’re the World’s Greatest Mom” cards, who once preferred home to anywhere else, and called her mom her best friend.
With Molly’s departure on the horizon, Michelle must find ways to negotiate this transition without resorting to drinking and anti-depressants. She must, once again, learn to let go of the past and find a way to accept her “new” young adult Molly. By focusing on herself through Weight Watchers’, her crazy CrossFit workouts, and her writing, Michelle discovers another new woman, the one she had lost touch with during those mothering years. Michelle reemerges with a new confidence and clear perspective. She can now untangle herself from her need to cling to Molly and the past. Michelle and Molly both find a freedom in the love that comes from letting go.
HOLDING ON AND LETTING GO: A MOTHER’S STORY is the story of what every mother must ultimately do: let go.
