Daring; My Passages
A memoir, by Gail Sheehy, 2014.
I picked this up at the library because I recognized "Passages" as a book I had seen while working at the Bon Air Library. Having just finished a lengthy book (this one is 450+ pages), I wasn't sure if I wanted to pick this up, and thought that if it seemed the least bit boring I would immediately put it down and start a new one. I was pleasantly surprised, as this book turned out to be a fascinating read.
Gail didn't have the easiest start to life, from parents with a rocky relationship (including a mother who suffered from mental illness), her early marriage to a man that didn't work out (but who gave her the Sheehy name and a daughter), and a start in the working world where women were not treated with respect. From there she was able to eventually find a successful career; love with a man whom she eventually married, after years of friendship and on-again, off-again romance; and a second child (whom she adopted from Cambodia).
Part of what made the book so interesting was the stories she told of people she encountered during her (and her life partner's, Clay Felker) journalistic career, including Hillary Rodham Clinton, Tom Wolfe, Geraldine Ferraro, Katherine Graham, Margaret Thatcher and Henry Kissinger.
One of the most moving parts was near the end, where she told of Clay's failing health & eventual death, and how they coped with it.
I picked this up at the library because I recognized "Passages" as a book I had seen while working at the Bon Air Library. Having just finished a lengthy book (this one is 450+ pages), I wasn't sure if I wanted to pick this up, and thought that if it seemed the least bit boring I would immediately put it down and start a new one. I was pleasantly surprised, as this book turned out to be a fascinating read.
Gail didn't have the easiest start to life, from parents with a rocky relationship (including a mother who suffered from mental illness), her early marriage to a man that didn't work out (but who gave her the Sheehy name and a daughter), and a start in the working world where women were not treated with respect. From there she was able to eventually find a successful career; love with a man whom she eventually married, after years of friendship and on-again, off-again romance; and a second child (whom she adopted from Cambodia).
Part of what made the book so interesting was the stories she told of people she encountered during her (and her life partner's, Clay Felker) journalistic career, including Hillary Rodham Clinton, Tom Wolfe, Geraldine Ferraro, Katherine Graham, Margaret Thatcher and Henry Kissinger.
One of the most moving parts was near the end, where she told of Clay's failing health & eventual death, and how they coped with it.