Anne Lamott wrote this story about a woman, Mattie Ryder, how has recently left her husband and is working to put herself and her life back together. Mattie has multiple problems going on throughout this book. She is raising two young children and trying to find a way to make her finances stretch now that she is on her own. Her mother, Isa, has declining health and Mattie is working with her brother to figure out what the best care situation would be for her. And lastly Mattie is learning new information about her father who had died when she was younger…not information that she necessarily wants to know.
Throughout all of this Mattie has the support of two good friends, Angela and Daniel. She also is very involved in her church and that is a constant thread of support for her when she feels her life is getting out of control. Anne Lamott does a wonderful job and detailing the changes and struggles that take place in normal life.
One of my favorite things about this story were the kids. One of my favorite parts was a conversation that six-year old Harry has with his mother. He asks her if his stepmom will be dying at the exact same time as they will and Mattie goes through this logic with him and explains that she is older than him and probably won’t be dying at the same time as him.
“Harry gaped at her. He pushed his eggs away. Then he covered his face with his hands and began to sob, which got Ella started too. “If I had known that,” he cried, running back to the window, “I would never have agreed to be born.”
Little moments like that make Blue Shoe into something special. The characters were all well developed and the story developed well. I will be reading more of Anne Lamott’s work.
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