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The Middle Place

by Kelly Corrigan (Goodreads Author)

3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 · rating details · 15,469 ratings · 2,352 reviews

Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers
Corrigan opens her memoir with these words: "The thing you need to know about me is that I am George Corrigan's daughter, his only daughter."
She continues with an unabashed tribute to the first man in her life.
George Corrigan emerges as an outsized figure of immense good cheer and spirited disposition. A self-assured adman and f...more

Hardcover, 272 pages

Published January 8th 2008 by Hyperion (first published June 25th 2005)

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Jan 07, 2009 Anne rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is the memoir a Piedmont mother of two, learning to navigate life in the middle place - that place where you're trying to learn how to be an independent person/parent of your own, but still find yourself running home to your parents when problems arise. Corrigan has a gregarious larger than life father, who has consistently convinced her that she is the most awe-inspiring wonderful person around. As a result, she seems to believe a little too much that the world revolves around her and that...more This is the memoir a Piedmont mother of two, learning to navigate life in the middle place - that place where you're trying to learn how to be an independent person/parent of your own, but still find yourself running home to your parents when problems arise. Corrigan has a gregarious larger than life father, who has consistently convinced her that she is the most awe-inspiring wonderful person around. As a result, she seems to believe a little too much that the world revolves around her and that people live for her daily accomplishments and advice. There are times throughout the book where she seems to acknowledge this and reflect a bit on the reasons for her selfishness, but often it goes by unseen. Corrigan is diagnosed with breast cancer, and the book focuses mainly on how she handles this crisis - while still protecting her children, and being there to support her aging parents. I found it a little odd that on the day she found out about her diagnosis, she chose to email her 100 closest friends about what she was going through. While it is amazing that she had such a wide support network, it just seemed like such a public announcement of a private situation - admitting that she sent it to friends and family members that she hadn't really spoken to in years. She reproduces her email for the reader - and while touching, it failed to acknowledge that many of the people she was sending the email to had probably already been through a similar experience. To me, this anecdote highlighted Corrigan's focus on the self - and while she consistently wanted her friends to walk in her painful shoes, she rarely seemed able to walk in theirs, or ever acknowledge that others might be going through difficult times of their own. While I found her struggle with cancer to be quite honest (and it, as well as her close relationship with her father, brought tears to my eyes on numerous occasions throughout the book), I was frustrated by her view of the world, which often seemed to presume that she was the only one suffering - and never fully appreciating that she lives in one of the most wealthy towns in the country, and has a family willing to go above and beyond in every situation. This book is an interesting example of the difficulty transitioning from being someone's child, to being your own person. But, Corrigan is also a fine example of how profoundly (for better or worse) parents are able to warp their children's views and expectations of what the world owes them.
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Mar 25, 2009 Kelly Ballard rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book was recommended to me by a clerk in a bookstore. I think it is his go-to suggestion for that thirty-something Mommy he believes is looking for a little more…Unfortunately, although I fit the type - not it.

I liked the first third of the book fine and then her father also got sick – and that is where she lost me. I immediately stopped liking her. Absolutely I had compassion from her desperate place, but I (like her family too) was unbelievably annoyed and frustrated by her behavior.

Yes,...more

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Jul 11, 2008 Rosie rated it 4 of 5 stars

I just finished The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan, and I am aching. Aching at the beauty of it, at her good humor, honesty, and vulnerability, at the awful fates that give a young mother of two stage 3 breast cancer, at the even worse fates that give that young mother's beloved father his own grave cancer diagnosis just months after her own. I ache because the book is really beautiful; it's a book that I wish that I had written- and that ache turns into a shudder because I was living half of th...more

9 likes · like · see review

Dec 04, 2007 Kristen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoirs

I am read this book as part of an experiment...the publisher gave out advanced copies to people who were willing to participate in an online book group. The book sounded great so I agreed.

Fantastic book. Beautiful and witty. Corrigan articulated everything I never knew I felt about my parents and being a daughter. Her family is charming and she told just the right details to make me smile.

8 likes · like · see review

Feb 24, 2008 Michele rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Top Place for Outstanding Memoirs
This memoir is filled with love, humility, honesty, compassion and a great sense of humor. Well-written and highly readable, the structure pulls you from cover to cover so quickly, it's readable in one sitting. My one sitting happened to be on a long plane ride, however, the time I spent getting to know Kelly Corrigan and her father, "Greenie," along with the rest of Kelly's family, made the plane not only bearable, but also enjoyable. She moved me from tears...more

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Oct 09, 2008 Sandy rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone

It made me laugh. It made me cry. It made me remember what going through breast cancer was all about. It's kind of ironic, but we must have been going through breast cancer about the same time during the years of 2004-05. It made me remember how I loved my husband and my girls, my family and my friends for helping me through that difficult time. It made me think of my Dad and how much I love him and appreciate his sense of humor. It made me remember times of growing up and silly things I'd forgo...more

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Jan 03, 2009 Bridget rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really related to Kelly on many fronts. I didn't however like her continuous use of the Lord's name in vain NOR the f-bomb. I actually censored my copy of this book to clean it up a bit. Kelly is an amazing author and I really liked the style of how she goes back and forth from the past and present. It's also so current. The story ends just a couple of years ago so when she mentions President Bush or the Brad/Angie/Jen triangle it feels like I'm right there with her. I know what she's talking...more

3 likes · like · see review

Mar 27, 2009 Jacqui rated it 2 of 5 stars

Just started. I've laughed and cried already and am only a couple of chapters into it. I can't imagine getting cancer, but breast cancer is in my line now that my grandmother is suffering from it.

**Update**

I just finished, and I'd love to give this book more stars, but I feel it would be overly generous. I really liked Kelly at the beginning of the book, and I really WANTED to like her by the end, but just couldn't relate.

A few things bothered me. I didn't like reading with a pen in my hand to...more Just started. I've laughed and cried already and am only a couple of chapters into it. I can't imagine getting cancer, but breast cancer is in my line now that my grandmother is suffering from it.

**Update**

I just finished, and I'd love to give this book more stars, but I feel it would be overly generous. I really liked Kelly at the beginning of the book, and I really WANTED to like her by the end, but just couldn't relate.

A few things bothered me. I didn't like reading with a pen in my hand to mark out the offensive language. I am not a prude, and I even think that some basic swearing can occasionally add to the realism of a situation, but one thing that gets to me is the use of the so-called f-bomb. I don't want to qualify when it should be used (if ever), but it is especially off-putting when it's thrown into an average scenario or situation. Not loving that. I just think there is a better, classier way to communicate. (If you'd rather borrow my censored copy, just let me know). Another thing is she takes the Lord's name in vain so much that I started blacking that out, too. I found it interesting that for someone who doesn't believe in God, His name is her favorite swear word.

The story--well, it has many poignant passages, and some that are hilarious. I admit, though, that several times I just want to say "buck up, girl, you are not 10 anymore." Kelly has an incredible relationship with her dad--what a guy!--but I don't think she appreciates her mom as much as she should. Yeah, they're different, but for me, when she spoke about her mom, it was usually a complaining whine and it grated on my nerves. Her Mom sounds like a saint...but maybe that's what bothered her. She says over and over that she is a Corrigan, through and through. While I LOVE the family banter, the nick names, the bonding, I didn't buy that she was 100% Corrigan. Her dad is an upbeat, gregarious, optimistic, faith-filled, mass-going man. Kelly is really funny, but besides that part I didn't see a ton that made her a cookie cutter copy of her Dad.

I think she does a good job of portraying our humanity realistically. All of us are far from perfect, we lose it, we take things for granted, we act stupid, selfish and impatient. I appreciated her ability to find beauty in every day situations. I didn't like reading about her losing her virginity. I don't need the details about it, even if it is to prove thatshe was ditching the Catholic church's teachings. Yes, plenty of people do that, but it didn't add anything to the book to detail the situation.

The main problem I have is relating to someone who has zero faith in God. I can't handle the whole agnostic yuppie mentality of "we are living in the Bay Area, therefore we are more enlightened than you." Faith is such a driving force in my life that I cannot believe her when she says that God cannot cure cancer, that He cannot work at the "cellular level." Yet, by the end of the book, her mother (portrayed as a simpleton) believes that a healing is a miracle and attributes it to faith and prayers. Kelly can't agree about the miracle, but she also can't give any other explanation as to why the healing happened. But it sure is quaint that people prayed.

And the title...The Middle Place. It's a reference to still being reliant on your parents--still being their child--while simultaneously being a parent, too. I guess I thought that this "place" was more likely to occur in your 20's. Kelly is pushing 40 at the end of the story. Maybe it's because I was married young and experienced the "middle place" (still needing mom and dad to take care of me somewhat) during my 20's. I can't imagine being there now, let alone at 40+. Maybe it's a generational thing, as more and more people marry later in life, so are dependent on their parents for longer periods of time, and that dependency spills over into what historically has been a more mature period of life (30's).

I expected more of an 'ah-ha' moment at the end of the book, but it never happened. I can't figure out where her growth took place...for example, toward the end she's meeting with a nutritionalist who is trying to help her adjust her diet so there is less of a chance for recurrence. She makes fun of everything the nutritionalist says, balking at the idea of cutting back on alcohol to save her life. I kept thinking that the medical institution just SAVED her, yet where is the respect? The appreciation?

What do you think? Have you read this? I would be interested to know your opinions. Personally, despite the rave reviews elsewhere, if I had to do it over I'd skip this book.(less)

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Feb 21, 2009 Lynne rated it 4 of 5 stars

I liked this book so much. Definitely a cry-book - be warned - but I think what I got from this the most, beyond all of the cancer stuff, had to do with parenting. In the prologue she writes (about her father) "He defined me first, as parents do. Those early characterizations can become the shimmering self-image we embrace or the limited, stifling perception we rail against for a lifetime. In my case, he sees me as I would like to be seen. In fact, I'm not even sure what's true about me, since I...more

3 likes · like · see review

Mar 30, 2009 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: parenting

The other reviewers on GoodReads have said it all. I most enjoyed the core theme of the book - the middle place, "that sliver of time when childhood and parenthood overlap" (29). When things go wrong or very right, you are so glad you can still call mom and dad (if you are lucky enough to still have them around).

I recommend it to anyone who thinks they might like it. I doubt it would disappoint. If it doesn't sound like your cup of tea, (I fall into this category), you might enjoy it anyway (as...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 06, 2009 Melissa rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: listened-to

When I had seen the YouTube video with Kelly Corrigan reading about the value of friendship, I was very touched, and I thought that this book would be absolutely fantastic. It wasn't. I did this as a BOCD rather than actually reading the book, and I am sure that had some impact on my review. The reader was too effusive, and hearing someone's dad refer to the daughter as Lovey was disconcerting. All I could think of was Gilligan's Island and Thurston Howell III. If everyone who has cancer gets to...more

5 likes · like · see review

Jun 03, 2010 Julie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 5-star-reads, audiobooks, non-fiction

Yesterday, I finished listening to The Middle Place and wept.

At 36, Kelly Corrigan's life seems perfect. She and her husband are doing well living and working in the Bay Area and she is embracing motherhood with 2 young girls. Even though she is an adult, she still sees herself as George Corrigan's only daughter. Her father, who is described as larger-than-life, still remains a major part of her life. She is in the 'Middle Place' between when our parents are everything and we are the parents. An...more

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Feb 03, 2010 SallyHP rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mm-bookclub

Corrigan has written a beautiful book about our position in life when we become parents to our children, yet are still children to our parents.

In the midst of her breast cancer diagnosis, her father is diagnosed with late stage bladder cancer. This is such a moving book, but it's so much more than another tear-jerker 'Chicken Soup for the Cancerous Soul'.

Her descriptions of the sometimes rote and mundane tasks of motherhood are right smack in the middle of what is quite possibly the best love l...more

1 like · like · see review

Aug 29, 2009 Jennifer rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Middle Place is a book that will resonate with countless women in their 30s, women trying to figure out how to stand on their own two feet when it’s so comfortable to (still!) be coddled by doting parents. The book’s jacket description states this, but makes it sound like a reasonable and sympathetic dilemma. Reading the book myself, I got a more negative spin on this quandary.

I absolutely loved this book for its honesty. Kelly does not paint herself as a heroine who reaches through difficul...more

2 likes · like · see review

Mar 10, 2008 nimrodiel rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to nimrodiel by: Front Street Reviews

Shelves: 2008-books-read, bookcrossing-books, wild-releases, reviewed-for-front-street-reviews, memior, non-fiction

Reviewed for http://www.frontstreetreviews.com

"The Middle Place is about calling home. Instinctively. Even when all the paperwork—a marriage license, a notarized deed, two birth certificates, and seven years of tax returns—clearly indicates you're an adult, but all the same, there you are, clutching the phone and thanking God that you're still somebody's daughter." – Kelly Corrigan

Thirty-six year old Kelly Corrigan was living a very content life. She had a job she enjoyed, a wonderful husband, t...more Reviewed for http://www.frontstreetreviews.com

"The Middle Place is about calling home. Instinctively. Even when all the paperwork—a marriage license, a notarized deed, two birth certificates, and seven years of tax returns—clearly indicates you're an adult, but all the same, there you are, clutching the phone and thanking God that you're still somebody's daughter." – Kelly Corrigan

Thirty-six year old Kelly Corrigan was living a very content life. She had a job she enjoyed, a wonderful husband, two beautiful young daughters, and a great relationship with her family. Then, one evening she discovered an unexpected lump in her breast. Before long, she found herself facing the results of many tests – she had breast cancer. Kelly, who still considers herself George Corrigan’s daughter, finds herself facing her middle place. Before starting chemo treatments, Kelly draws a cacoon of safety around her – her family, her friends, and her desire to survive. She plans a the cancer is gone party for one year after her diagnosis, and calls back home to her parents.

Kelly’s life becomes a changing one of chemotherapy, loss of hair, weakening body as she goes through treatments, and through it all her strength is supported by her husband Ed, and her father. However , six months into her treatments, Kelly finds herself facing a phone call of her own. Her father has been diagnosed with bladder cancer. Suddenly, she finds herself plaugued with worries about not only herself, but her father as she tries to help support her parents from the opposite side of the country.

The Middle Place, is a journey through illness, and health, where strength and support are. found in places that the author does not expect. Kelly Corrigan writes a memoir that is both humerous, as well as thought provoking. She makes her readers feel like they are a part of her family, sharing her stories of growing up and her recovery from cancer with honesty, humor, and a fantastic flair for storytelling. I started the book on a day I was myself laid up with the flu, and found myself engrossed by it. It made me laugh, as well as bringing me to tears as the subjects of love, family, friendship, illness, cancer, and even death were touched on.

See where this book travels to next, at: http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/5...
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Mar 30, 2009 Kate rated it 2 of 5 stars

I think I need a sabaticcal from ordinary joe/joanne memoirs. It all starts out OK, I'm enjoying myself, and then the person just starts to annoy me! As a woman who was diagnosed with breast cancer at a young age myself (41), I realy thought I would relate to her staory, and early on, I did. Her process and recovery would be of interest to me, but not so much the story of her life and her almost squeamishly strong attachment to her father. Sorry, but I'm just not interested in her jobs or how sh...more

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Mar 19, 2008 Leslie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

This is a great read. I enjoyed her easy-going nature and ability to move through such difficult times. I do have a problem with showing the father in such a positive light. All characters need to be shaped by their positive and negative qualities to make them real. I felt the characterization of the father was a bit over-the-top, esp. given we don't see anything remotely negative to counter his vivid personality. No one is perfect. I felt at times it didn't come full circle and tell enough on h...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 07, 2009 Jamie rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Eat Pray Love bullshit enthusiasts

Shelves: the-lighter-side

Shoot me now. In the face. I read this book for two free drink coupons (which came in handy immediately thanks to two six a.m. shifts) and read it in like four hours. It's just what you would expect it to be. Exactly what you would expect it to be. ARRGGHHHH....

I have nothing to say about this book, I just thought I would show that I actually read a book. I will say that after the last few books that I've read, this one made me realize something: Infinite Jest costs, what? 17 dollars? And that g...more

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Jan 27, 2009 Andrea rated it 5 of 5 stars

I absolutely loved this book. She's writing about having cancer while her children are tiny and vulnerable (really a worst nightmare scenario) and somehow it's touching and humerous and beautiful. It's the love story of her family. She's the kind of person you would love to have for a friend. I can't wait for her next book.

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Sep 25, 2010 Andrea rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010

I will take Kelly and her family with me in the back of my head for a long time to come. I didn't have to give it a second thought, this book is a five! Kelly Corrigan is the kind of person who you would be proud to say is a friend or sister. I loved how she was so dedicated to her family and shared that relationship with readers. I work in the medical field and I've seen many people suffer from cancer. Kelly's story is no different and her times of strength and weakness are so very real. I can'...more

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Apr 24, 2009 Tara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Though I am quite certain Kelly Corrigan's neediness would annoy me in real life, it translates quite well in this memoir. I laughed, I cried, I could not put this book down. A moving memoir that captures how illness can propel you toward growth.

1 like · like · see review

Feb 27, 2009 Amanda rated it 5 of 5 stars

I.loved.this.book.

I loved the quirks and personalities in her family. I loved her insights into motherhood. I loved her Dad! She made me laugh and cry which is just what I needed this week.

1 like · like · see review

Mar 13, 2012 Maryann rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

At first I was annoyed that all Kelly talked about was Greenie. I was thinking it was odd that she was writing a memoir but also writing a biography except her dad isn't famous. Then I realized she really needed the reader to understand how much she loves the guy. I was a little disappointed about how she wrote about her mom. It's so clear that she prefers her dad over her mom which made me feel bad for her mom. I wanted to hear more about her cancer not her dad's cancer. It was a good read thou...more

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Jan 01, 2009 Mindy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

I read this book in two days. Something drew me to it and I couldn't put it down. Kelly is a breast cancer survivor and her book is very real and vulnerable. She is not a christian and it was eye opening for me to read someone's inner battle while facing death without the comfort of eternity with Jesus. I am praying for her to know that comfort! Good book, I feel like I know a little bit more about what someone who is fighting cancer goes through. And I feel like she could be my friend, her writ...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 03, 2013 Christine rated it 4 of 5 stars

I chose this memoir based on the positive reviews on Amazon and I wasn't disappointed. This is a story where two of the main characters are battling cancer and although the reviews said it was not a depressing book, I still thought it would be. I am happy to report that while there are sad moments, the overall tone is humorous.

We learn about Corrigan's life growing up in PA with her vivacious, happy-go-lucky father, stern mother and 2 older brothers. The cast of characters are so vividly descri...more

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Mar 27, 2009 Kate rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 02, 2009 Alyson Whatcott rated it 4 of 5 stars

My friend, in her review of this book, said she read it in almost one stretch, she couldn't put it down (thanks, Annie!) I too, was cast under the spell. Once I learned that school was canceled for Monday (more snow), I picked up this book, and at about 1 in the morning, I finished. I don't know if I even blinked. There are several reasons why I loved it. I loved her candidness, her humor, her family relationships. She wrote some hilarious similes and vivid descriptions that made me laugh out lo...more

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Jan 27, 2013 Milissa rated it 3 of 5 stars

I went back and forth between 2 and 3 stars when it dawned on me that I can "like" a book without completely "loving" the main character.

I understand the author...I've had my own medical issue at a young age (so I understand the whole "why is my body failing me?" thing) and a favorite loved one in my immediate family has been touched by advanced cancer. I understand this difficult place she was in. I also understand this "middle place" she describes. Like the author, I am attached to my family o...more

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Dec 03, 2012 Lynn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Heartwarming and relatable. While I don't have a father that is larger than life, he means the world to me as does my mother. Kelly Corrigan has written a "Thank you" to her parents for the years of love and nurturing. She has wisdom that she didn't have in her younger years to understand the choices they made in raising her. She battles her own health issues with great spirit and vulnerability. I loved this book. I could relate to this book. Trying to balance being a daughter and shifting to th...more

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Sep 01, 2012 Virginia rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Over 21

What a fun book—oh, but I wish it did not have the coarseness, the obvious non-Christian basis. So, it makes it hard to rate. Based on the foregoing sentence, I’d give it a 2. But the love, the passion for family and loving your kids—a 5. But what’s the best? The writing—the ability to make everyday things come alive with spark. Then it dawned on me—why was I so drawn to it? Because it sounds like our Muffin’s writing (if she weren’t a Christian). When our Muff writes her first book, non-Christi...more

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About Kelly Corrigan

Kelly Corrigan is a New York Times bestselling author whose writing has appeared in O Magazine, Glamour and Good Housekeeping. Her newspaper columns for the Bay Area News Group cover everyday matters from the power of an unequivocal apology to the contagious nature of weight gain, extramarital affairs and going green."

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Quotes from The Middle Place

“Appreciation is the purest,strongest form of love. It is the outward-bound kind of love that asks for nothing and gives everything.” — 48 people liked it

“Even when all the paperwork-a marriage license, a notarized deed, two birth certificates, and seven years of tax returns-clearly indicates you're an adult, but all the same, there you are, clutching the phone and thanking God that you're still somebody's daughter.” — 22 people liked it

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