Review of Sandwiched

[Theresa Moffitt]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Sandwiched" by Laurie James.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Sandwiched by Laurie James is a nonfiction memoir documenting the struggles of a woman in an unhappy marriage who is raising four daughters and caring for her elderly parents. While she manages to successfully juggle her daily responsibilities, she wants more out of her life. Like many women, she gave up her career early in her marriage to prioritize raising a family. When she and her husband decided to have a third child, they were surprised to learn they were having twins. This added to the mounting responsibilities Laurie faced at the time. Her husband worked long hours, so she was forced to handle the daily responsibilities of four young children on her own.

In addition to raising her four daughters, Laurie was faced with additional responsibilities when her mother had a heart attack and started showing signs of dementia. She needed to find a caregiver to stay with her parents and help her mother and father with daily needs. Trying to coordinate and find someone reliable and capable was a huge undertaking. When some of the caregivers hired were found to be less than trustworthy, she had to deal with terminating them and searching for another caregiver. As Laurie struggled with her added responsibilities, she realized her husband was not supportive and she questioned her marriage. When she went with her husband to sign documents at their attorney’s office, she discovered that he was keeping secrets about his finances from her. They started going to marriage counseling to save their marriage. However, when both partners aren’t equally committed to the marriage, how can it be repaired?

I like the author’s writing style. She conveys her emotions and concerns very well. Readers can feel her shock and confusion upon learning of her husband’s secrets at the lawyer’s office. She’s embarrassed that she didn’t know what he was planning. There are several instances when her husband says or does something and Laurie is angry. Readers can feel the tension bubbling up to the surface in their conversations. For example, Laurie is adopted, and her husband took it upon himself to contact her birth mother without Laurie’s knowledge or consent. This was a shocking invasion of privacy and betrayal of trust. Readers can feel the emotions Laurie is feeling in that moment due to the well-written descriptions provided.

There was nothing I disliked about this book. I believe many women can relate to the issues Laurie faces. Taking care of elderly parents with dementia is something many women face. Acting as caregivers and locating responsible caregivers are overwhelming responsibilities. Women struggling through unhappy marriages can relate to Laurie’s struggles with her husband. She has many friends that help her through difficult situations, and she describes how counseling helped her in many ways.

I would recommend this book to women who are struggling with overwhelming responsibilities in life. Laurie James describes how she was able to cope with the issues she faced. The book covers a wide range of topics. In addition to marriage and parenting, James covers issues with being adopted. She was also raped when she was young and struggled with coming to terms with that as she grew older. Readers with an interest in these specific topics would also enjoy this book. James addresses her issues and shows readers how she moved forward to find happiness in her life. There were a few errors in this book; however, they did not take away from my enjoyment. I give this book a rating of four out of four stars.

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Sandwiched
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[Shivansh_007]

Laurie's story seems quite fascinating to know about. She's been throught a lot and I'd like to know more about it. Currently I'm reading something else but I'll try to shift to this one ASAP. Thanks for the review.

[Ekezie1998]

Have never really been a great fan of memoirs. Great review though.

[kirthana_shivakumar]

This looks very interesting. It's also one of my favourite genres so I'll definitely give it a try. Thanks for the review!