4th out of 10 books
—
1 voter
Made for You and Me: Going West, Going Broke, Finding Home
by
Caitlin Shetterly (Goodreads Author)
"Caitlin Shetterly's Made for You and Me is a beautiful, moving, haunting, and funny memoir about what really counts. It moves deftly and lightly between the west coast and the east coast, and frustration and hope, with pointed, buoyant lines that make you smile as they pierce your heart. Made for You and Me is a memoir about great people (with great dogs, too; funny how t...more
Hardcover, 256 pages
Published
March 8th 2011
by Voice
(first published 2011)
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Elevated by misfortune.
“Made for you and Me” is a surprisingly heartfelt memoir about a young couple’s search for MORE. They are creative people, Dan’s a photographer and Caitlin’s an actrees/writer, so Los Angeles seems the perfect place to go to get ahead in their careers. They say goodbye to Maine and their families pack their car and take off on an odyssey across the country. Along the way they have adventures and, being a writer, Shetterly begins sharing them via email with the folks back h...more
“Made for you and Me” is a surprisingly heartfelt memoir about a young couple’s search for MORE. They are creative people, Dan’s a photographer and Caitlin’s an actrees/writer, so Los Angeles seems the perfect place to go to get ahead in their careers. They say goodbye to Maine and their families pack their car and take off on an odyssey across the country. Along the way they have adventures and, being a writer, Shetterly begins sharing them via email with the folks back h...more
I enjoyed this book at the beginning, but about two-thirds of the way through I began to feel frustrated with it. I wanted to love it because I have so much in common with the author. I live in Maine, but have lived a few years in CA. I listen to NPR, enjoy good, local food, etc. etc. But what I could not relate to was how much good fortune she had that she did not seem to recognize. To start with she has incredibly supportive parents, the kind many of us wish we had. She calls her dad when she...more
Is that not the most gorgeous cover ever? It's spectacular, and the story that is Made for You and Me is one of the best-written and engrossing memoirs that I've read. It's the story behind the statistics of what has been, for countless people, the disappearance of their American dreams at the hands of the American recession.
It doesn't take a psychologist to figure out that the reason this one resonated so much with me is because I identify with Caitlin and Dan so much. Our story is very differ...more
It doesn't take a psychologist to figure out that the reason this one resonated so much with me is because I identify with Caitlin and Dan so much. Our story is very differ...more
Caitlyn Shetterly, a writer known for her NPR pieces, and a Maine native, along with her photographer husband, head off to California following their dreams of making it big in the land of opportunity. There was just one problem; the bottom is just about ready to fall out of the U.S. economy, which is does after they arrive in California.
What follows is a harrowing look at the precarious nature of life for all but the richest Americans.
Shetterly, plagued by a extremely difficult pregnancy that...more
What follows is a harrowing look at the precarious nature of life for all but the richest Americans.
Shetterly, plagued by a extremely difficult pregnancy that...more
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I realllly wanted to like this book more than I did. I feel that she sort of danced around the larger social/political issues of which she suggests her experience is a reflection--that is, she occassionally hints that her experience is symbolic of the unemployment/underemployment/enormous health insurance premiums catastrophe happening in the country today. But she never gets too deeply into the connection, and I think the book suffers a bit because of it. It ends up being almost too personal, i...more
I think it's a sign of a promising memoir that I wanted more - lots more - from Caitlin Shetterly's tale of, as the subtitle says, "Going west, going broke, finding home" during the 2008-2009 recession. As she often was in her relationship column for the Portland Phoenix, Shetterly is quite frank about the circumstances in which she and husband Dan find themselves as the economy craters, their jobs falter and Caitlin is overcome with crippling nausea from her pregnancy with their unplanned first...more
I like to tell people that reading a good "trainwreck" memoir is my greatest guilty pleasure. Women scorned, love lost, worlds unraveled - this is the delicious stuff of reality tv made all the more intimate when told long form in the author's own voice. I always have mixed feelings about these books - I respect the authors for baring their souls and revealing the messiness of their lives in such a courageous way ("unflinching" seems to be the word that appears on the flap copy of all these book...more
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I enjoyed reading this memoir, you really got a sense for the author and her family. In general I thought her writing made her story relatable, even in the parts where a lot of people who have written reviews have been annoyed: mentioning her weight or talking about having a mini-break down. I guess I find that sort of honesty where you admit about things you might not appreciate about yourself refreshing. I liked that she described how life is a total mess and you're just trying to get by while...more
Memoir of a year in which the writer moves from Maine to LA with her husband, gets knocked up, struggles to find jobs in the rocky economy, and ends up having to move back to Maine to live with her mom.
This book was ok, but it didn't really move me or tell me anything new about the recession. The author was a bit of a complainer at times & that was tiresome, as she and her husband chose this path & took risks that didn't work out. They risked getting pregnant (and did). She had a rough...more
This book was ok, but it didn't really move me or tell me anything new about the recession. The author was a bit of a complainer at times & that was tiresome, as she and her husband chose this path & took risks that didn't work out. They risked getting pregnant (and did). She had a rough...more
I received this book as part of LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
Made for You and Me follows the journey of Caitlin and her family as they move across the country to L.A. follow their dreams, but are ultimately forced to move back east when they run out of money and job prospects. I could relate to the impulsive decision-making and the plan to leap and wait for the net to appear. They are a brave family clearly full of love and lucky to have so many people who love and supper them that they were abl...more
Made for You and Me follows the journey of Caitlin and her family as they move across the country to L.A. follow their dreams, but are ultimately forced to move back east when they run out of money and job prospects. I could relate to the impulsive decision-making and the plan to leap and wait for the net to appear. They are a brave family clearly full of love and lucky to have so many people who love and supper them that they were abl...more
Although she shared her story via NPR radio diaries as it happened, I didn't learn about Shetterly's personal financial turmoil until I read an excerpt from her new memoir, Made for You and Me: Going West, Going Broke, Finding Home, in the Sunday crossword section (some people call it the magazine) of the New York Times. The excerpt intrigued me, in part because of the witty and poignant writing, but mostly because I couldn't believe Shetterly, someone whose work I admired and assumed would stea...more
I felt like the story was rushed. That she was breathlessly trying to tell us about the terrible, horrible, not so good, very bad thing that happened to them. While they blame the economy, some of it was just poor planning on their part, no contingency plan, and a want of more. Wasn't that what took them to the westcoast? Although she does appear to finally "get it" to the end, with the simplicity thing.
I wanted to love this story, the idea of going out to come back home, but really didn't have...more
I wanted to love this story, the idea of going out to come back home, but really didn't have...more
It's hard to figure out what to say about this book without seeming cranky. I really do have compassion on this woman who did have a difficult time, whose family did suffer problems during the recession, a difficult pregnancy--I sympathize. I really do. If only the poor author weren't so woefully self-absorbed and clueless. I'm sure she DID suffer during these problems--but some of her suffering was because she has this view that the world sort of owes her a nice upper-middle-class maintenance,...more
Feb 27, 2011
Robin
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Book Groups
Shelves:
memoir-autobio,
book-group-worthy
It’s easy to think many who were hit hard by the recession of 2008 were those who bought overpriced houses and maxed out their credit cards by buying luxury items, but there were others who just suffered from bad timing.
In 2008, full of hope and the promise of a becoming more successful in their free-lance careers, Caitlin and Dan loaded up their car, and along with Hopper the dog and the cat Ellison left their home state of Maine and headed to Los Angeles. For a while everything was fine (excep...more
In 2008, full of hope and the promise of a becoming more successful in their free-lance careers, Caitlin and Dan loaded up their car, and along with Hopper the dog and the cat Ellison left their home state of Maine and headed to Los Angeles. For a while everything was fine (excep...more
This is a love story, first and foremost, about a young couple, in love, who venture West from the East, imagining themselves, or at least the author imagining themselves, as a contemporary Little House on the Prairie family. They are in love with the U.S., being young and alive, with dreams of prosperity and excellence. But what happens is not what they dreamed. Nevertheless, the love story prevails. It is easy to read. There are lots --but not overbearing-- references to literature, song, and...more
I thought this book would be about Shetterly's journey across the U.S. and her blog based on the blurb on the back of the book. However, it was more about the story of her and her husband's decision to take a huge risk to move across the country and how that decision "failed." The story is timely given the state of the economy, and while I enjoyed the book, I couldn't help but feel as if a piece of the story was missing. I would have thought Shetterly's theater company would have been more cruci...more
Caitlin Shetterly's Made for You and Me, Going West, Going Broke, Finding Home is a great read for anyone who has lived in Maine.
I appreciated the bits of Maine she wove into her memoir: such as the usage of the phrase, "people from away"
At times I could picture myself in the places in Maine she lived and visited.
However, I didn't find her part about living in the LA area particularly interesting. Although thinking about it, the whole point of the book might be to compare how horrible living and...more
I appreciated the bits of Maine she wove into her memoir: such as the usage of the phrase, "people from away"
At times I could picture myself in the places in Maine she lived and visited.
However, I didn't find her part about living in the LA area particularly interesting. Although thinking about it, the whole point of the book might be to compare how horrible living and...more
Caitlin Shetterly's audio diaries on NPR about her and her husband's attempt to make a life in L.A. just as the recession began introduced me to her story, so I wanted to read her book when it came out. Her insights at the end were the best part of the book--lessons learned through facing financial hardship, asking for help, returning to Maine, and then getting back into a position to pursue their dreams. I loved that part of the story. Her language would be offensive to some of my friends, thou...more
I received an ARC copy of this book. Caitlin and her new husband Dan leave Maine to try their fortunes in California. Not only is it a love stroy of Caitlin and Dan, but there is a sub-plot of a love story with the state on Maine. I maybe picked up on that more than others as I grew up there and feel the same way about the state. I must say I really enjoyed the book and would have given it 4 stars if not for the overabundance of the F-word. Surely a writer with the skill of Ms. Shetterly can fin...more
I got this book thru Librarything Early Reviewers.
As I read this book I thought I could hear Caitlin on NPR and imagining their travels. I loved her wit and warmth, as they piece together their life fromthe craziness it has become. The story is so much what many went through during these years from the good year to 9/11, the bust, recession and on. It was good to hear it from someone who made the trip so well. Her family struggles were so down to earth. But her cooking, I want to eat in her kitc...more
As I read this book I thought I could hear Caitlin on NPR and imagining their travels. I loved her wit and warmth, as they piece together their life fromthe craziness it has become. The story is so much what many went through during these years from the good year to 9/11, the bust, recession and on. It was good to hear it from someone who made the trip so well. Her family struggles were so down to earth. But her cooking, I want to eat in her kitc...more
For some, finding their place in the world is easy, for others, the journey helps you define your place. In this moving account of Caitlin Shetterly and her husband Dan, this was anything but easy. The couple face choices that take them from their comfort zone to unexpected surprises and heartfelt moments of sadness and joy. The economic crisis in America has touched us all. What you choose to learn, do and be when facing a tough roadblock is up to you. This is a really touching story. I hope th...more
I liked this book a great deal, not because it was a great peice of literature, but more because I related to the author and her struggles. Having been through the "poorer" side of marriage, I really could feel her pain, exhaustion and determination. I also commend her for her bravery in being so transparent with her feelings and percieved shortcomings. I am going to recommend it to my daughter who is turning 18 this summer. I think it is a cautionary tale for young, idealist, educated people wh...more
Even though I hadn't heard Shetterly's NPR reports I really felt that I got to know her in this book.
It was a humbling read; anyone who is making it through the recession relatively unscathed by unemployment or foreclosure should feel obligated to take the time to read this book and through Shetterly's detailed account feel a little of what real people have been experiencing. It is a well written, easy read, and while I accept people's criticism that it was too self focused with not enough anch...more
It was a humbling read; anyone who is making it through the recession relatively unscathed by unemployment or foreclosure should feel obligated to take the time to read this book and through Shetterly's detailed account feel a little of what real people have been experiencing. It is a well written, easy read, and while I accept people's criticism that it was too self focused with not enough anch...more
Self-absorbed Drivel. A princess finds out that life doesn't always hand you what you want, poor thing. Desperately attempting to draw parallels between her life and , first, that of Laura Ingalls Wilder and then Mary, yes That Mary, the author tries hard to pad her yawn inducing " memoirs". The mostly fluff narrative is speckled with oddly placed recipes and synonyms freshly plucked from the pages of Merriam-Webster. The stories aren't all that interesting and in the end her hardships aren't al...more
I love books written by Maine authors and if it's set in Maine too? Well, that's a huge bonus. Right at the beginning (p. 53),this statement, "Maine, more like a family member than a state..." grabs you and pulls you into Caitlin's story about the journey she took with her husband to California to start their lives together. Their philosophy is summed up in this quote she offers (p. 72)by Helen Keller: " Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." The reader gets a glimpse inside the lives of...more
I think it's important to remember that Made for You and Me is a memoir, one person's experience of a certain point in her life and in American history. It's not a how-to book; Shetterly isn't giving advice to others in similar positions. She's also not trying to compare her situation to those of others in any sort of mine-is-worse-than-yours sort of way. Rather, she is sharing her family's story, with its good decisions and its not-so-good ones, its ups and downs as they, personally, experience...more
The premise of this memoir appealed to me but the actual book left me distinctly underwhelmed. The bulk of the narrative felt like a hurried summary of events (this happened, this happened, this happened, and I felt like this) with no real depth or analysis. In fact, Made for You and Me made me appreciate recent memoirs I read by authors like Kate Braestrup and Claire Dederer. They may make it look easy, but it's not. I felt like I should have more sympathy with the author, who certainly had an...more
A memoir about the hardships faced by a young couple during the Great Recession. Caitlin and Dan decide to move from Maine to LA for better job opportunities in their fields (he is a photographer & she is a playwright/writer). After some brief initial success, the bottom falls out and broke and with a new baby they move back to Maine and live with her mother.
I had difficulty relating to their struggles (even though I have had difficulty finding jobs). So many people have hard luck stories t...more
I had difficulty relating to their struggles (even though I have had difficulty finding jobs). So many people have hard luck stories t...more
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Caitlin Shetterly is a frequent contributor to National Public Radio where she reports on arts and culture, food, and lifestyle. She can be heard on both All Things Considered and Weekend Edition. For Weekend Edition, she created a series of autobiographical audio diaries about the Recession under the title Diary of a Recession. These diaries, along with her blog, Passage West, inspired her memoir...more
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“There's something about being from Maine that you can never let hold of - the pointed firs and feathery pine trees, the wide open sky and stars and moon on a cold night, the ocean, which smells of this wonderful mix of saline and savory, and the colors - deep golds and reds and browns in the fall lit against a perfect blue sky; the lush, wet greens of summer and clean, white snow of winter piled against dark, stoic evergreens.”
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