Book Review A SMOKE AND A SONG Sherry Sidoti

Thank you to the author Sherry Sidoti, publishers She Writes Press, as well as BookSparks, for an advance physical copy of ᴀ sᴍᴏᴋᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀ sᴏɴɢ.



"'Practice listening.... [your dad's] just a man. And men have limits.... Remember, his truth may not be your truth or the truth at all, for theat matter. Everyone has their side of the truth."p66

Sidoti's memoir grabbed me and wouldn't let go. I felt so connected to this young girl, growing up in the 80's, whose parents were uninvested in a child's affairs, especially their emotions. I grew up in the same decade, and it's true: parents of that era just didn't care about the same things that they do now. That was, "my daughter's my best friend" and "stop crying or I'll give you something to cry about" era. When Sidoti wrote about trying to make her parents and sisters happy, and how elusive that goal was, I felt the potency of the scenes. How could adults expect kids to be so adult? How could they, and not expect them to crave adulthood?

Memoir is often one of my favorite genres to read because of the opportunity to read about all kinds of people and their experiences, described through their own lens. Sidoti's book displays the best of what this genre has to offer, really-- the draw isn't her fame, but her story, which she tells in an interesting fashion, composed of interesting components. Sidoti's life is rife with tragedy and ripping with adventure -- her story is riveting.

I'm also so impressed with how delicately she balances style with respecting the privacy of certain individuals who shared her life, but requested not to share the page.

This is one of the better memoirs I've read this year. Stylish and fascinating, not to mention inspiring for this reader.

Rating: 🧘‍♀️🧘‍♀️🧘‍♀️🧘‍♀️.5 / 5 yogis
Recommend? Yes, for sure!
Finished: August 3 2023
Format: Paperback, Advance copy 
Read this if you like:
👤 Memoirs
🌎 International travel 
👨‍👩‍👧‍👧 Family dynamics
🍵 Alternative medicine 

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