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asurges's review against another edition
4.0
I don't know that I'd call her a *great* writer, like all artsy 'n' stuff, but she's funny as hell. I laughed so hard I embarrassed myself in public.
Highly recommended to all my friends going through MENOPAUSE. Did I just out myself? Yes, I did. But this is probably the best guide to it I've read, and it doesn't have some stupid pastel cover and contents encouraging me to looooooove this transition. That said, the author helped me come to terms with it. Much appreciated.
Highly recommended to all my friends going through MENOPAUSE. Did I just out myself? Yes, I did. But this is probably the best guide to it I've read, and it doesn't have some stupid pastel cover and contents encouraging me to looooooove this transition. That said, the author helped me come to terms with it. Much appreciated.
dcmr's review against another edition
4.0
Loving a book, like loving a person, is so much about timing. This book came to me just when I needed laughter, comfort and relief. Loh is smart, sharp, and honest, and "Madwoman" offers quick wit combined with funny-but-true tales.
juliana_aldous's review against another edition
4.0
I vote Sandra Tsing Loh to be most likely to be included in my group of friends on a trip to a day spa for wine, brunch and massages. I know she would fit right in with my brilliant witty girlfriends. She is like the friend that gets me and experiences things I experience just a mere two years ahead of me. I am her demographic.
In her latest personal memoir Loh takes on her year of surviving perimenopause hormonal changes while dealing with the fall-out from her divorce (which was famously chronicled in the Atlantic) while dealing with tweens and an aging father. Let's just say I can relate to all of it and it is good to know it will all come out well in the end.
Thank you Sandra--the Gail Sheehy for Generation X.
In her latest personal memoir Loh takes on her year of surviving perimenopause hormonal changes while dealing with the fall-out from her divorce (which was famously chronicled in the Atlantic) while dealing with tweens and an aging father. Let's just say I can relate to all of it and it is good to know it will all come out well in the end.
Thank you Sandra--the Gail Sheehy for Generation X.
moogen's review against another edition
4.0
Loved it... almost worth the misery to appreciate the jokes/insights.
connieaw's review against another edition
4.0
This was a very funny look at a woman in menopause. Now I know what I have to look forward to in the next few months.
mzdeb's review against another edition
3.0
I'm going to be honest--I didn't finish it; but what I read had me grinning from ear to ear when not bust out laughing. This is me! (Well, except for the affair and divorce from Mr. X, but honestly? Mr. X needs to shoulder some of the blame, too.) One moment I love my spouse, the next minute I'm ready to throw shoes. And all the things menopausal women face--career changes, kids moving out, aging/sick relatives, marriage issues--add to this hot mess. Like someone else said, you're not necessarily given advice on how to deal with this; it's just a road map with someone to commiserate with.
cook_memorial_public_library's review against another edition
4.0
A 2014 favorite recommended by Andrea. Read her review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/992278861?book_show_action=false&page=1
Check our catalog: http://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Smadwoman%20in%20the%20volvo%20loh__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=pearl
Check our catalog: http://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Smadwoman%20in%20the%20volvo%20loh__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=pearl
lola425's review against another edition
2.0
Just no. I can't read another poor privileged woman messes up her life and learns absolutely nothing along the way.
sam8834's review against another edition
3.0
More memoir than informative, The Madwoman in the Volvo is Loh's navigation of the perimenopause phase of her life. It's not pretty - she has an affair, her marriage ends, she can't lose weight, she seemingly has some separation anxiety and/or trouble being alone, and her home doesn't look like a Pottery Barn catalogue. All this leads to a general inability to feel happiness or at least gratitude for what she has (two kids, a career, and a somewhat financially comfortable life).
This felt like a memoir women should relate to, but I don't know how many actually will. I saw myself in very little of it (like Loh, I have an old car that's <i>just</i> reliable enough for me to hang onto, probably until the end of time; she also has a lot of anxiety around clutter, and it's very easy to see how easily a cluttered house could set off perimenopausal mood swings). Loh subscribes to a lot of mainstream, upper-middle-class, white woman nonsense tbh (your house must be well furnished, you must work out and eat no carbs and look a certain way (far too much emphasis on this for my taste, btw, I understand Loh is of a generation older than mine, but some of the writing around her attempts to lose weight, as an already thin-to-average woman, is downright fat-shaming), you must have a good turnout at your birthday party or it's a failure), so if that's your jam, you'll vibe with this book.
If not...take what you will from it. Which is that it is important to highlight perimenopause and how its changes can throw your life into disarray without proper care and treatment. Loh appears to be a pretty privileged person, often too selfish to appreciate what and who she has. Humming under that are also completely valid mood swings tied to hormones and aging.
This felt like a memoir women should relate to, but I don't know how many actually will. I saw myself in very little of it (like Loh, I have an old car that's <i>just</i> reliable enough for me to hang onto, probably until the end of time; she also has a lot of anxiety around clutter, and it's very easy to see how easily a cluttered house could set off perimenopausal mood swings). Loh subscribes to a lot of mainstream, upper-middle-class, white woman nonsense tbh (your house must be well furnished, you must work out and eat no carbs and look a certain way (far too much emphasis on this for my taste, btw, I understand Loh is of a generation older than mine, but some of the writing around her attempts to lose weight, as an already thin-to-average woman, is downright fat-shaming), you must have a good turnout at your birthday party or it's a failure), so if that's your jam, you'll vibe with this book.
If not...take what you will from it. Which is that it is important to highlight perimenopause and how its changes can throw your life into disarray without proper care and treatment. Loh appears to be a pretty privileged person, often too selfish to appreciate what and who she has. Humming under that are also completely valid mood swings tied to hormones and aging.
Content Warnings
Minor: Fatphobia