The madwoman in the Volvo : my year of raging hormones

by Sandra Tsing Loh

Hardcover, 2014

Status

Available

Publication

New York : W. W. Norton & Company, 2014.

Description

Writer, performer, and radio show host Loh "speaks ... about her life as a mother, a daughter, and an artist. She recounts her journey through a tumultuous time of life, trying to maintain appearances during an epic hormonal--and that means physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual--change. The upbeat conclusion: it does get better"--Dust jacket cover.

User reviews

LibraryThing member Twink
Having reached the age where the word menopause comes up in conversations with friends, Sandra Tsing Loh's memoir The Madwoman in the Volvo: My Year of Raging Hormones caught my eye.

I think there's much more than menopause driving Sandra Tsing Loh's year of raging hormones. While she explores
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menopause with some actual references to science and respected authors on the subject, Loh's life just seemed to go off the rails as she turns fifty. And menopause was along for the ride. I felt her mood swings, anger and depression had roots in 'pre-existing conditions', if you will. Her affair (Mr.Y) and the dissolution of her marriage (Mr. X) seem to take top billing for much of the book. She also explores her relationships with her children, her aging father, her sibling, friends with seeming candor, but admits, " Like with my middle-aged Volvo, I don't have a temperature or emotional thermostat that actually works."

Although the book is only 288 pages, I had to take a break from the book a few times and return later. Loh's intensity and selfish me, me, me attitude was tiring and quite frankly, grew boring.

I must admit, I had not heard of Loh before picking up this book - she is a broadcaster, writer and performer. But, I was actually quite disappointed (and felt manipulated as a reader) when I reached the end of the book and read the disclaimer....

"Except where noted in the acknowledgments, the characters appearing in this book are composites who are not intended to refer to specific people. While inspired by true events, the actions, scenes, and dialogue in this book have been chosen to illuminate the changes states of mind of the narrator, and are of story-making purposes only."

Fans of Loh will probably enjoy the book.
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LibraryThing member bookczuk
I really thought I was going to enjoy this book a lot more than I did, especially after hearing Sandra Tsing Loh on NPR, and reading an excerpt of the book in AARP's magazine. It's not that wasn't well written, because it was, but eventually it proved to be not something I was really interested in
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reading. I guess I thought it would be funnier, and believe me, menopause needs all the humor it can get. Unfortunately, I don't think menopause was the only thing driving Tsing Loh's depression and rage.
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LibraryThing member WordMaven
Madwoman in the Volvo is Sandra Tsing Loh’s memoir about her 40s leading up to menopause. This book is uproariously funny in parts but does tend to get a bit somber in the middle when she talks about her father, a man with a ridiculously low heart rate who simply will not give up the ghost.
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Sandra is the single mother of 2 tween girls, and she miraculously sees a parallel between her daughters’ hormonal conditions and mental state before the onset of menses with her own condition at the other end of the reproductive spectrum. Long story short: if you’re struggling through this passage of life, it gets better. Highly recommended. Read with an empty bladder. Perfect for women’s book clubs. You’ll howl with laughter until you cry.
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LibraryThing member bobbieharv
I expected to enjoy this more than I did, because I enjoy her magazine essays. Oddly, even though we learn all about her affair and leaving her husband and children and then the difficulties with her new husband, I felt we never really got to know Loh - perhaps because she was trying too hard to be
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funny.
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Language

Barcode

1776
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