Title: Planting Dandelions: Field Notes From a Semi-Domesticated Life
Author: Kyran Pittman
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Publication Date: April 28, 2011
Harcover: 256 pages
ISBN: 978-1590514344
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir
From the Publisher:
Introducing a writer with a keen eye, a wicked tongue, and an appealing take on family.
In the family of Jen Lancaster and Elizabeth Gilbert, Kyran Pittman is the laid-back middle sister: warm and witty and confiding, with an addictively smart and genuine voice-but married with three kids and living in the heartland. Relatable and real, she writes about family in a way that highlights all its humor, while at the same time honoring its depth.
A regular contributor to Good Housekeeping, Pittman is well loved because she is funny and honest and self-deprecating, because her own household is in chaos (“semi-domesticated”), and because she inspires readers in their own domestic lives. In these eighteen linked, chronological essays, Pittman covers the first twelve years of becoming a family, writing candidly and hilariously about things like learning to maintain a marriage over time; dealing with the challenges of sex after childbirth; saying good-bye to her younger self and embracing the still attractive, forty-year-old version; and trying to “recession- proof” her family (i.e., downsize to avoid foreclosure).
From a fresh new talent, celebrating the joys and trials of a new generation of parents, Planting Dandelions is an entertaining tribute to choosing the white-picket fence over the other options available, even if you don’t manage to live up to its ideals every day.
My Review:
Planting Dandelions by Kyran Pittman is a witty and beautifully written memoir that at times reads more like a collection of short stories. Pittman draws the reader into her life beginning with her “free-loving” and “free-thinking” ways when she left her husband, left Canada, met Patrick, fell in love, divorced, married, and settled in Arkansas and began a family. At all times Pittman is open, candid, and speaks directly to the reader, however, readers only receive allusions to her upbringing by hippie parents and I think the book would have been far more interesting with as much attention given to her early informative years as was given to her adult life. Kyran and Patrick made some intriguing choices, but always were a united front and Pittman speaks often of her love for her three boys. While I enjoyed reading Planting Dandelions, I cannot say I took anything away with me, however I did have a wonderful time reading the book. Because I am a mum with three boys, I am uncertain if this book would be as funny to someone much younger, who has not gone through similar circumstances. For that reason, I am uncertain to whom I would recommend this book, but if you are a mum, or simply enjoy witty memoirs, then take a look at Planting Dandelions, I certainly enjoyed it.
Kyran Pittman is a contributing writer for Good Housekeeping. She lives in Arkansas with her husband and three children.
To learn more about Kyran Pittman, please visit her website.
A book I’d like, having raised two boys.
Book Dilettante
I too related having three sons myself.
I love memoirs, so I’ll probably enjoy this one too.
Watching her transform from her free-loving self to a 40 something with 3 sons and a husband was quite a ride. It is an interesting and witty book.
Kyran Pittman sounds like an interesting woman with a rather crazy life! Your description of the elements she brings to her writing piques my interest in this book. I enjoy non-fiction by women with a self-deprecating sense of humor and an honest voice sine you get entertaining anecdotes as well as truth.
Thank you for a terrific review. I’m off to check out Kyran’s website!
From everything you mentioned, this sounds like a good match for you. She is quite witty and self-deprecating. It was a fun read.