She Got Up Off The Couch: And Other Heroic Acts From Mooreland, Indiana
by:
Haven Kimmel (author)
The # 1 "New York Times" bestseller "A Girl Named Zippy" was a rare and welcome treat: a memoir of a happy childhood. Spunky, strong-willed, and too smart for her own good, Zippy Jarvis brought readers delight and joy. In "She Got Up Off the Couch," Haven Kimmel invites us to rejoin the quirky...
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The # 1 "New York Times" bestseller "A Girl Named Zippy" was a rare and welcome treat: a memoir of a happy childhood. Spunky, strong-willed, and too smart for her own good, Zippy Jarvis brought readers delight and joy. In "She Got Up Off the Couch," Haven Kimmel invites us to rejoin the quirky and hilarious Jarvis family saga. Zippy is growing up and struggling with both her hair and her distaste for shoes. But this memoir strikes a deeper and more emotional chord, as now Kimmel shines the spotlight on her remarkable mother, Delonda. Courageous and steadfast, Delonda finally realized that she "could" change her life, and she got up off the funky couch in the den, bought a beat-up flower power VW bug (and then learned to drive it), and went back to school, which gave her the chance to gain both financial independence and, at long last, self-respect.A true pleasure for old fans and new ones alike, "She Got Up Off the Couch" is a gorgeous encapsulation of an innocent time when a child didn't understand that her mother was depressed or felt stifled, but just noted on her way out the door that Delonda was a fixture in the living room. Kimmel captures the seminal moments of her mother's burgeoning empowerment with the full strength of her distinctive, deft storytelling, and with the overflowing sense of humor that made "A Girl Named Zippy" a favorite of readers everywhere.
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Format: hardcover
ISBN:
9780743284998 (0743284992)
Publish date: December 1st 2005
Publisher: Free Press
Edition language: English
Series: Zippy (#2)
Well... maybe it's because I didn't read the first one (A Girl Named Zippy). Or maybe that wouldn't have mattered, I don't know, but either way I just wasn't too into this one. It was fine. Cute anecdotes about childhood, but nothing particularly outstanding or noteworthy... just, fine.
This memoir was hard to read, but only because it was accurate. (If that makes sense? You're talking to the girl who will turn the channel when people on TV shows start doing things that are self-sabotaging because it makes her uncomfortable, so take that with a grain of sugar, I guess.) It was a...
Further tales from Moorland, Indiana. Audio read by the author.
I didn't like A Girl Named Zippy, but my friend suzyfran recommended it as better, and it was. If you were a child in the 70s, you will relate.
We listened to this in the car. Kimmel has a deft touch with language, and a deadpan delivery that can be hilarious. A nicely crafted memoir, and one read by the author to good effect. A lot of fun. I'm going to look up the book which came before this, too.