Imperfect Birds

Just read this book in less than four hours. I adore the story. Real, connected, loving, insightful. I feel I have gained perspective in having more compassion for my own mother/daughter tug o' war.

Imperfect Birds is, on the surface, a frank and brutally honest story of a rebellious teenager and her mother. To outsiders, Rosie Ferguson appears to be a typical high school senior spending time with friends, volunteering at her local church, giving tennis lessons, yet still child enough to refer to her mother as "Mommy." The other side of Rosie is a master-manipulator experimenting with all manner of drugs and sex and full of disdain for many of the adults in her life. Rosie's mom, Elizabeth, is a recovering alcoholic who chooses not to acknowledge the subtle signs of her daughter's self-destructive behavior. Mother and daughter have an almost-obsessive, but unspoken, fear of the other dying, yet at times claim to hate one other. Rosie's step-father James, despite best intentions, spends too much time and energy on his work to recognize that there are problems at home. When Rosie's behavior begins to spiral out of control and James and Elizabeth can no longer ignore the obvious, they begin performing random drug tests on her in an attempt to force her sobriety. Their strategy backfires when Rosie seeks alternative ways to find a high that won't show up on the tests. All comes crashing down when Rosie drinks cold syrup prior to a church picnic and Elizabeth acts on the sage counsel of a friend who advises "Just don't do nothing today. Today, do something big." Elizabeth takes Rosie to the ER where the full spectrum of her drug use is revealed and Elizabeth and James are forced to confront the truth and take steps to save their family. Underneath this compelling story are currents that reflect the classic struggle between mothers and daughters. As mothers, we cheer our daughters on when they reach adolescence and we begin to see glimpses of the women they will become, yet at the same time we mourn the fact that they are taking the first steps on a path that will one day take them away from us. As daughters we struggle to be free from the confines of our mother's arms, yet we wrestle with sorrow at the thought of leaving the security and love that they represent. Read Imperfect Birds the first time to enjoy the story; read it the second time to appreciate the message it contains. by Linda Hoye for Story Circle Book Reviews reviewing books by, for, and about women

Anne Lamott, bestselling author of Traveling Mercies and Crooked Little Heart is one of the best writers today. Imperfect Love is a compelling story of love and redemption within the confines of a family unit. Heart rendering and heart breaking and, like all of Lamott's books, it is impossible to put down.

Remember that term from the 60s and early 70s? Remember when kids didn't trust anyone over 30, drank, took drugs, smoked pot, went on the pill, had sex, even group sex, attended rock concerts and all night parties where they drank, took drugs...and California set the tone for the rest of the nation. I was in San Francisco in 1970. I know how Rosie felt and I don't mean emotionally. So why is it (and this doesn't mean the author has it wrong) that those kids, who are now the parents, don't get it when their own kids are doing the very same things? The kids lie to their parents routinely and the parents believe them. The kids are telling the parents what the parents want to hear (just like back then). The parents then didn't want to know when you got home at 5 o'clock in the morning that you'd been having sex in the back seat of John's car for the last few hours. Rosie is really a professional at lying. She can think on her feet and do some Oscar-winning acting. And Elizabeth has problems of her own with alcohol and drug addiction, goes to AA and sees a psychiatrist. So maybe she feels she can't call her daughter out on this one. James is harder to fool, and he is starting to get it. Things are catching up with Rosie. Two classmates have alreaddy died in a car crash that summer, speeding home after taking drugs. The writings on the wall, but teenagers often don't think. Will Rosie's parents wake up before it's too late?

This book is a continuation of some of Ms. Lamott's former novels, but you don't need to have read them to enjoy this one. I know because I haven't read them and I loved this one. This is the story of Elizabeth and her teenage daughter Rosie. Rosie is a teenager and quite frankly Rosie is lost. She tells a lot of lies to both herself and her mother Elizabeth. Add into the mix the stepfather and there's a lot of lying flying around. Rosie claims to be a good kid, and everyone wants to believe it so bad they appear to be doing just that. Because Rosie's parents love her they want to believe she's not doing drugs, want to believe she's not having sex. Just like most parents of teenagers want to believe these lies from their own children. In Rosies case not only is she doing these things, these things have led to bigger problems. This novel stands as a warning letter to all parents who believe "not my child" and the lies. It's important to know the lessons contained within this novel. But let's say you have no children. This is a good novel for everyone. Lamott knows how to write a novel about real people, her characters begin to feel like people you can pick up the telephone and call. The storyline is so real. I read this one so quickly and kept trying to slow down to prolong the enjoyment. I don't want to give away anymore, but this would be a great book for every parent of a teenager or eventual teenager to read. I've read other fiction novels by Lamott and this book further reminds me of why I love this author, good writing, good storylines and realistic characters.