A while ago, I was contacted to review “Just Don’t Call Me Ma’am (How I ditched the South, Forgot my manners, and managed to survive my twenties with (most of) my dignity still intact)” by Anna Mitchael.
Let’s get to the point: I loved it. Seriously, I couldn’t get enough. Anna’s writing was humorous, snarky and had a very Jenn Lancaster-ish vibe to it. What I mean by that, is that she’s relate-able. I adore author’s – especially memoirists, who are relate-able.
The book documents her twenties, starting with a nasty break up, going through job loss, dating, and then of course, going back to the place no one wants to go to when they’re a college graduate…back to mom and dad’s house.
The book also goes a lot into her relationship with her grandmother and how she shaped her life from a very early age – teaching her manners, how to treat others, and how her grandmother supported or in some cases, didn’t support, her decisions in life. But the anecdotes, are really what make the book, seriously. How she decides to take up cooking to impress the boy who eventually leaves her; her adventures into online dating; and how she decided to move north. Just because she’d never been.
It was very real and throughout the book I kind of thought to myself “I’ve been there…and this is exactly what it feels like.” She’s real. She doesn’t sugar coat life, but she does leave you feeling like you want to be her new bff. No lie.
“It’s like my grandmother says, “If you’re not going to bother to learn from your past, there’s no real point in struggling through any tough times that appear in the present.” And now, I will sleep easier knowing my brother did not ingest all those tira-mud-su pies in vain. I’ll sleep longer knowing that if I accidentally sleep in past breakfast, maybe that simply means I’m destined to meet the love of my life while I grab an early lunch.” (p.105)
I HIGHLY recommend this book for any twenty something who wants to see what life is like on the other side. Seriously, we’ve all been through the same crap she went through, and it is just that, it sucks. Break ups suck. Losing your job sucks. Moving back home whether it’s the week after graduation or a month before your thirtieth birthday – sucks. But she makes it all humorous. She adds a light hearted side that makes you feel like you’re hanging out with your gal pal talking about it all over a couple of margs. You can buy the book over at Amazon here.
{FTC Disclaimer: I was not paid for this review. I was sent a free copy of the book valued at 16 big ones, but the opinions here? Are all my own}
