Things to Bring, S#!t to Do: A Life in Lists

...or the journaler, or the parent, or the child, or - you can see where this is going! As a list-maker myself I found this book to be comforting, but its insights would be available to anyone. Following Karen on her path from childhood through motherhood in bits, here and there, was an amazing experience. I wasn't so sure about the book when I received it as a gift - a book of lists? are you trying to mock me? - but it was a heartwarming journey through which I (along with other reviewers!) laughed and cried.

You could send this out to all the people in your life that end up on your lists and they'll love you for it. I read this book in one sitting, couldn't put it down really. It puts the small moments in line with the big ones and reminds you that they all add up to a grand life. I gave it to my mom and she laughed and cried, which she loves to do... this one's a keeper.

Karen Rizzo finds a way to say so much with few words. The writing is lean and elegant, yet so rich. Her story speaks to the experiences of so many people of my age; growing up, trying to find our way in life, making some great choices and some what-was-I-thinking choices, asking the tough questions and sometimes regretting the questions we didn't get to ask, finally realizing that the richness of life is in the details. I sometimes felt I was reliving my own life with this book. By the end, I really felt I knew these people in her life. Her writing is spot-on real and humorous; if one of Marian Keyes' characters wrote a memoir, this might be it. I actually laughed aloud at some parts. Rizzo's descriptions of taking care of her parents brought back so many memories, both happy and poignant for me. This is the perfect book to own, to give and most of all to share with those you care about.

I confess I read this entire book in one gluttonous sitting. In a clever, funny and totally original format, Karen Rizzo gives us her thoughts, ideas and observations of life through a series of lists she has saved from childhood - February, 1972 - favorite person - mom, through her struggles as a starving artist in New York- September, 1985 -I want: to not sit next to someone chanting "Nam-mycho-renge-kyo" on the A train; through romance and marriage to an outdoors boy who September, 1990 - "had neighbors who killed their own food." And finally onto that long and winding road of motherhood, i.e, March 1998 - buy bumper for crib [and what is that again?] and everything in between. Along the way she struggles with the death of her feisty mother - "rest shmest" and her gentle father, realizing that December, 1985 - my parents are still in love. Things to Bring, S#!t to do manages to be poignant and touching, dry and witty, all at the same time. A must read for women who have struggled with fear, anxiety, death, marriage, worry, children, work, and LIFE.

I can't remember when a book made me laugh and cry at the same time. Karen shows perfectly how family life is full of both happiness and heartache; how those near and dear to you grow and blossom while others move on. I found myself reflecting on my own children and parents and, amid the adventures of her family, Karen's point that we all should appreciate the moments with those we love and be aware of them, whether you list them or not.