Life as We Know It: A Collection of Personal Essays from Salon.com

by Jennifer Foote Sweeney (Editor), Jane Smiley (Foreword)

"...these essays are jewels of the unexpected, and in introducing them, I don't want to steal any of their surprise. Suffice it to say that family life...is alive and well, but it is not like anything you ever read about before in your life."
-- Jane Smiley, from the foreword
The nuclear family peaked in 1960 with 45 percent of the American population. Many decades later, the tidy ensemble is rare. Relationships, baby making, sex, dating, divorce -- they aren't what they used to be. But the mainstream media keeps the reality of American life a secret, only leaking the occasional tidbit to remind us that those in "unconventional" configurations are a sad anomaly to be pitied or ignored.
Life As We Know It offers proof in its most engaging form -- the personal essay -- that the big guys have got it wrong. This collection of blunt, lyrical, and often very funny work from award-winning Salon.com tells the true stories about how we live -- of hustling fertility drugs, losing a child, hating dad, and coming to terms with a parent who was the voice of "Frosty the Snowman" on TV. First-time writers and critically acclaimed authors like Amy Bloom, Kathryn Harrison, Susan Straight, and Benjamin Cheever, plumb the familiar to deliver portraits of moments, seasons, and eras that we recognize or long to understand.

Genres: Nonfiction, Essays

319 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Jennifer Foote Sweeney is a regular contributor and writer for Salon.com's website.

Reviews

[behsforensics]

Check out Faith in the Baby
Ohlson, Kristin

[Marissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was like reading the Lifetime channel, although I guess the long article about a woman's husband trying to reconstruct the foreskin on his circumsized penis (!!!!) might not show up there (if only every men's studies group culminated in quasi-medical penile alterations). Almost every essay was an excellent example of what NOT to do when writing creative non-fiction. Although much of the book is drenched in emotional drama, it lacks any emotional weight. This is especially emphasized by frequent pat, moral-of-the-story conclusions. I know it is always kind of dangerous to try to create a deep narrative out of your life and maybe these essays would have made a little more sense in blog format, but to be honest, I think that's a pretty lame excuse. They're just really, really badly written.

[Monika · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not usually a huge fan of collections b/c I don't get involved enough in the stories to really care about the book. This compilation, however, was about important enough topics that it really kept me hook. I value the lives into which I got a glimpse, and I appreciate the perspectives this book offered.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this while my adult son was dying of cancer. Somehow the stories of different family situations helped to sustain me, and I began buying up used copies to give all my close friends. I still go back to read from this book from time to time; it feels like visiting like an old friend who saw me through the darkest months of my life.

[Ehrrin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had a couple great essays, but the rest were very "eh". I'm surprised since Salon.com generally features some pretty outstanding writing.

[kim McRad · Rating 3 out of 5]

lovely little quick read.