Customer Reviews

Paradise, Piece by Piece

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Encountering an uncorrected proof of this book at a local Friends of the Library book sale, the selling point for me was the author's statement that she began writing this book because she wanted to tell the story of why she decided not to have children.

Being a member of what feels like a definite minority -- men and women who have chosen to remain childfree -- I welcome the viewpoint of anyone who affirms this choice as a valid one. Too often, society inflicts a completely different viewpoint upon me.

People who don't know about the decision my husband and I have made, assume unthinkingly that we will have children at some point in our lives.

When people do find out about our choice, many of them tell us our lives are incomplete, that we are being selfish, that we don't really mean it. One woman, apparantly believing that our stated decision was a cover-up for inability, asked me if I am able to have children. A male gynecologist, not content to merely warn me that if I change my mind, I should have children before I turn 35, waxed poetic for several minutes about how choosing to have a child is an "affirmation of life."

Again and again, our choice is reacted to with extreme negativity and so, a book like Ms. Peacock's is a much-needed antidote.

Of course, her book is much more than a first-hand account of the decision to remain childfree. It is a poetic account of her life, of her development as a poet and as a woman.

This intimate and moving memoir is an outstanding work of literature. Yes, it holds special meaning for me because I am a kindred spirit -- another woman who has chosen to remain childfree -- but the book can also be enjoyed on other levels by people who have made a different decision. Ms. Peacock's story of her life is a tapestry with many threads, each of which has the potential to resonate with someone who has been there.

You will laugh, cry, and smile as you travel with Molly PeacocK to "Paradise, Piece by Piece" -- chapter by chapter.

A courageous and compelling book. The book is so much more than a book about Ms. Peacock's decision to live childfree. It is an invitation to experience the processes of one's life. The honesty of her story, will surprise you -- the journey well worth the time.

A poet too. That -- you will see as the words chosen to tell her story are full of expression and emotion. Ms. Peacock addresses with such simplicity the emotions we all feel when challenging the expections of our society, family, and friends. You don't have to be "childfree by choice" to enjoy this book.

I picked up this book by "chance" -- the title was interesting, the cover eye catching -- you'll want to pick it up by choice.

A memoir themed around deciding not to have children, opening with the statement "When I was three, I decided not to have children." An incredibly bad father, a mother who needed a life (and mothering), a sister who became an alcoholic -- you get the picture. When she tells the story, the book is fascinating; when she natters on with her thoughts on children, love and life, it is tiresome.

Although I know she wouldn't remember me, I knew Molly indirectly at SUNY Binghamton. I bought the tape of this book out of curiosity so that I could pass the time driving up to Maine from New York. The story turned out to be spell-binding. Such an honest, touching, funny history of a woman's journey through an authentic life. Bravo Molly!!!

I haven't read it all, but I did page through it and read many parts of it. This book gave me the best laugh I've had in a long, long time. There is a laughably bad love scene. I read parts of it to my friend and we had tears streaming down our faces from laughing so hard. A quote: "Usually, we made love at my place in Manhattan, but I had stayed in Williamsburg with Tilla because we had come from a family birthday party and were scheduled to go to brunch in Manhattan with Mariah and one of her ex-husbands who had turned out to be a set-designer friend of Tilla's." A longer scene set-up will not be had. And, later: "...I watched his eyes open and shut, open and shut with his thrusts...." This scene was horrendously bad, but just about every sentence I read had the same pretentious, over-indulgent self-awareness. It gets tedious and annoying. I would not read this book in its entirety.

Try that one on for size--opening and shutting your eyes while thrusting, I mean. It's pretty fun.