Loh navigates a mouse sighting in her kitchen, the temptations of online goddess webinars, and an attempt to refresh her home (without getting sidetracked by the mysterious variety of light bulbs). Whether helping younger family members with their college essays (or trying to write them without laughing) or dodging algorithms that recognize her as a middle-aged lady with a VISA card, Sandra confronts her First World guilt on a much restricted budget.
Loh’s tone is breezy and self-deprecating—it’s like having a glass of wine or a long phone call with your witty, goofy friend. Because the narrative is loosely structured, you can read straight through or just dip into an essay when the mood strikes ... I wish that Loh had riffed on her amazing jumble of a creative life, and how switching genres works, or doesn’t work, for her. But maybe that’s a wish for Loh to write another book.
... zingy anecdotal entries ... hilarious detail. [Loh's] warm, chatty, stream-of-consciousness style will attract book clubs as well as those looking for reassurance that they, too, are doing OK despite unsuccessful stabs at homemaking and dealing with hot flashes. Fans of her previous memoirs and of her bite-sized NPR podcast, The Loh Down on Science, will scramble to pick this up and dive back into Loh’s world.
... let-it-all-hang-out essays ... Loh’s voice is laugh-out-loud hilarious, and her fun house perspective on the foibles of middle age are intelligent and effervescent. Fans of her previous memoir and her NPR program The Loh Down on Science will delight in this outing.
