I recently received a copy of Amy Dickinson’s memoir, The Mighty Queens of Freeville, and was asked to read it and share my thoughts here on my blog. True confession: I don’t read very many memoirs, but the last couple I’ve read have been enjoyable. However, I started off reading The Mighty Queens of Freeville, thinking I wouldn’t like it…

But wait, first let me tell you what the publisher says about the book.

From Hyperion:

Millions of Americans know and love Amy Dickinson from reading her syndicated advice column “Ask Amy” and from hearing her wit and wisdom weekly on National Public Radio. Amy’s audience loves her for her honesty, her small-town values, and the fact that her motto is “I make the mistakes so you don’t have to.” In The Mighty Queens of Freeville, Amy Dickinson shares those mistakes and her remarkable story. This is the tale of Amy and her daughter and the people who helped raise them after Amy found herself a reluctant single parent.

Though divorce runs through her family like an aggressive chromosome, the women in her life taught her what family is about. They helped her to pick up the pieces when her life fell apart and to reassemble them into something new. It is a story of frequent failures and surprising successes, as Amy starts and loses careers, bumbles through blind dates and adult education classes, travels across the country with her daughter and their giant tabby cat, and tries to come to terms with the family’s aptitude for “dorkitude.”

My thoughts:

I confess that I don’t read Amy Dickinson’s “Ask Amy” column (I’m just not much into advice columns, I guess), but I have heard her during her occasional guest appearances on NPR’s Talk of the Nation. Though I might not always agree with her advice (I’m admittedly opinionated), I always got the impression that she was down-to-earth, practical, kind, and reasonable.

I knew nothing of Amy’s background, however, and when I read the first few pages of The Mighty Queens of Freeville, I was a bit worried. It seemed like her approach to life might be: “Hey, divorce happens. No big deal. We strong women don’t really need men anyway.” And if that had been the theme of the book, I doubt I would have made it past chapter three.

I was wrong, though. And I’m delighted that I was, because it turns out that I enjoyed Dickinson’s memoir quite a bit. She talks honestly about the pain of her divorce, her struggles as a single mom trying to support herself and her daughter, and the strength she drew from her mother, sisters, and aunts. She most certainly doesn’t have a “divorce is no big deal” attitude, but she does show that it is possible to go on after such personal devastation. My heart went out to Amy and her daughter, Emily, right from the start.

The author also shares humorous and warm vignettes about…well…just life: buying a charming but falling-apart house (where every home repair seemed to cost $1,000); raising and caring for a cat named Pumpkin; and taking her daughter to college (a chapter that only confirmed my belief that I will definitely may be a wreck when it’s time for my boys to take that step).

My one complaint is that I don’t think the title of the book is a good fit. Yes, she talks about the women in her life who loved and supported her through the good years and the rough ones, but I don’t think the “mighty queens” were the focus of the book. The memoir was much more diverse, with each chapter exploring a different aspect of Dickinson’s life, family, or career.

Overall, I enjoyed The Mighty Queens of Freeville. It is a quick read, and an easy one. Amy Dickinson and I might not hold the same opinions in every area of life, but I found myself drawn to her warmth and wit. And the chapter where she admits that she’s a total dork? That one endeared her to me forever.

If you’re interested, you can pick up a copy of The Mighty Queens of Freeville at Amazon.com

But wait — I have one copy to give away! If you’re interested, just leave a comment on this post. I’ll randomly draw a winner next Wednesday evening (April 15th), and announce the winner on Thursday the 16th with my usual weekly giveaway. U.S. and Canadian mailing addresses only please.