Book Review: "Lift" by Kelly Corrigan

Recently, I got the chance to read "Lift," by New York Times best-selling author Kelly Corrigan, whose first book "The Middle Place," touched my heart and had me laughing and crying as the author shared how she and her dad battled cancer all in the same year. While both thankfully are in remission, in Corrigan's latest book, which reads as a personal letter to her daughters, this incredibly gifted storyteller shares how her two girls have impacted her life in ways they will never know.

Corrigan had me hooked as she interspersed her own childhood memories along with those of her kids' and recounted a frightening experience with her daughter when she had to rush her to an emergency room. She also weaves in the story of one of her close relatives who tragically lost her son, just as he had reached young adulthood.

As bloggers, many moms attempt to capture those embarrassing moments in our lives or scary instances that made us do a gut check on whether or not we are cut out to master the art of motherhood.  And as my own children have grown, I've found that I censor my stories more and more because my kids don't want anyone to know what's going on in their lives at the moment.  It's their personal story and I'm not allowed to share it - especially during the tween and teen years.

However, they are curious to find out what happened the day both of them were born -- one took nearly 72 hours to arrive while the other nearly flew out of me -- and the times both were admitted to the emergency room.  My daughter was the first casualty at one years old - she slipped on a slide at the park and had a big gash at the top of her head that required one stitch.  While the diagnosis wasn't that severe, my 12 month old went ballistic and had to be restrained in a strait jacket in order for the doctors to sew up her tiny forehead.

A few years later, I wound up in the emergency room a second time when my son was running an extremely high fever and after I took him to the pediatrician, the one who was always surprisingly calm, he had a look of fear in his eyes and told me to take him to the hospital immediately.  The doctor suspected pneumonia in my nine month old and he was right on the money.  I can't tell you how scary it is to hold a child who is burning up in your arms while he's being x-rayed for the very first time in his life. After being diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia, he bounced back pretty quickly after we started feeding him antibiotics but after that experience, our nerves were completely frayed.

Over the years, my kids have caught everything from skin rashes, to lice (won't tell you where or when at their request), we've had bouts with strep, ear infections and one year, suspected an appendix attack but later learned it was a case of severe constipation.  

As a parent, when your child is sick, you try to put on a brave face when all you want to do is find your own mom so she can hold your hand and assure you that everything is going to be okay.  When I reflect upon my own childhood, while I never did see the inside of a hospital, my brother has had his share of near catastrophes - from falling out of my mom's car while she was driving out of a parking lot, to falling out of a treehouse to being run over by a bicycle!

The only painful moments I can remember as a kid were the time I was stung by a bee (I was picking raspberries), the day I had lost a few jelly beans in the seat of our car and proceeded to get my wrist caught on a coil that seared through my skin, and the time my brother accidentally spilled hot tea on me. After experiencing this trio of food-related injuries, I vowed to be careful around hot liquids, berries and candy.    

While we don't know what our lives hold in store, what I've learned from "Lift" is to cherish every single moment with our kids.  No matter how many years pass, we will always have those memories when our kids made their dad and I laugh, cry and thank our lucky stars to be their parents.

Take a look at this wonderful book trailer from Kelly Corrigan and I dare you not to cry!

Check out Lifetime Mom Nichole's interview with Kelly Corrigan and enter to win a copy of the book!