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From Publishers Weekly

Newspaper columnist Corrigan was a happily married mother of two young daughters when she discovered a cancerous lump in her breast. She was still undergoing treatment when she learned that her beloved father, who'd already survived prostate cancer, now had bladder cancer. Corrigan's story could have been unbearably depressing had she not made it clear from the start that she came from sturdy stock. Growing up, she loved hearing her father boom out his morning HELLO WORLD dialogue with the universe, so his kids would feel like the world wasn't just a safe place but was even rooting for you. As Corrigan reports on her cancer treatment—the chemo, the surgery, the radiation—she weaves in the story of how it felt growing up in a big, suburban Philadelphia family with her larger-than-life father and her steady-loving mother and brothers. She tells how she met her husband, how she gave birth to her daughters. All these stories lead up to where she is now, in that middle place, being someone's child, but also having children of her own. Those learning to accept their own adulthood might find strength—and humor—in Corrigan's feisty memoir.
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Review

"Kelly Corrigan's utterly absorbing memoir, The Middle Place, is wry, smart, and often heart-wrenching. Corrigan takes us down memory lane and then, at the same time, down some other, darker road most of us hope never to travel. Yet we follow her all the way, quite willingly, thanks to her sharp eye and her great sense of humor." -- Cynthia Kaplan, author of Why I'm Like This and Leave the Building Quickly

"The Middle Place is inspiring, luminous, and true. Reading this memoir, I felt like an honorary member of the Corrigan family . . . Kelly Corrigan is a wonderful writer." -- Luanne Rice, author of What Matters Most

"An amazing story told with steep honesty, buckets of humor and, above all, integrity. The Middle Place is memoir at its highest form." -- Darin Strauss, author of The Real McCoy and Chang and Eng

"Kelly Corrigan has a great sense of humor, an honest voice, and a brilliant way of telling it like it is -- but that's just for starters. It's her heart that really counts. The Middle Place is a love letter to family and home and life." -- Linda Greenlaw, author of The Hungry Ocean and Slipknot

"Kelly Corrigan takes what might have been a fairly standard story of survival, and reframes it, most charmingly, as a coming-of-age narrative. We see here a headstrong girl, under the most severe adversity, turn into a genuinely strong woman." -- Carolyn See, author of Making a Literary Life

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Customer Reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars

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“ That this story can be told with humor, honesty and grace is a tribute not only to Kelly Corrigan the person but to Kelly Corrigan the writer. ” Gail Cooke | 92 reviewers made a similar statement

“ I laughed out loud and, at other times, had tears in my eyes while reading this book. ” Jennifer O. Jones | 40 reviewers made a similar statement

“ It is a book that makes you think, makes you feel and alters the way you see the world. ” Jennifer Nelson | 32 reviewers made a similar statement

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

179 of 192 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Started out great, but what happened in the second half? April 22, 2009

By Lia

Format:Paperback

I have struggled with the idea of whether to review this book or not because this book is a memoir about someone's actual life. But I have been mulling this book over for a few weeks since I read it, and frankly, I am mystified as to how it has garnered so many 5 star reviews.

I absolutely loved the first half of the book. I truly did. It was a real, moving, lovely tribute to her dad, known as "Greenie". The anecdotes about him and her early growing up years were so funny. Her description of her family members was so detailed and she gave so many humorous accounts of them, I felt as if I knew them. I also thought how much I would love to have Kelly as a friend. She sounded funny, spunky, and real. If she had stopped the book right there, just as a wonderful reminiscence of her life growing up with her family, I would not be writing what I am about to write.

But just past the second half of the book, the writer's tone and the content becomes whiny, self indulgent, leaving the author sounding like a spoiled child who needs to grow up. She recounts several seemingly unrelated episodes in which she is either bemoaning someone's insensitivity to her needs or is patting herself on the back for how strong she is when she needs to be. Her example of her strength? When she was in the delivery room, she kept screaming "I can't do it!" when it was time to push. But in the end, she stepps up to the plate and pushed, giving birth to her child! What else was she going to do, NOT have the baby?! It is the self-congratulatory way she perceives herself in this instance that is irritating.

The other episodes in which she is complaining about someone's insensitivity reads like a personal diary entry - one we all may make now and then when feeling particularly sorry for ourselves, but not a diary entry we ever expect anyone else to read. She complains that she can't have any more children (she already has two). Then there is the incident at the dinner party with friends where two male friends are talking about how far they have come in getting themselves healthy and in shape. The author then throws a wet blanket on the conversation with them with a "what about poor old me" monologue about how broken she feels since her cancer, and how her body has failed her. Then there is the time she runs into an old acquaintance on the street who hasn't seen her since her cancer and makes a series of very benign remarks about one thing or the other that Kelly finds insensitive, and then states how this "friend" will blanch later when she learns Kelly has cancer and remembers what she said to Kelly. She complains about her husband and his closeness to his family (how ironic is that?), complaining about how he calls them on the weekend when she feels he should be devoting his time exclusively to her and their two children. The poor guy sounded so hen pecked based on her description of the conversation she had with him, I felt sorry for him. And he ends up agreeing, not unagreeably, to no longer phone his parents on the weekend when she is around, but when he is driving home from work!

The only real conclusions I felt the author reached at the end of the book were: (a) until she experiences the death of a parent, she doesn't feel she will really be an "adult", and (b) no one will ever admire, cherish, and idolize her like her father does. The best piece of advice in the entire book comes from her mom. The advice she gives, just prior to Kelly becoming engaged, is for Kelly to not expect too much from people in life because if you don't expect a whole lot, you will never be too disappointed. Sadly, I think Kelly might come across as a happier person had she considered this advice. She seems to expect a lot from everyone throughout the book.

I think the author is a talented writer, and, again, I thoroughly enjoyed the first half of the book. And I think with a bit more editing, or perhaps as a series of essays, this book could have been a better read. But not as a full length book with no conclusions or resolutions of much depth.

For a really touching memoir about parenthood and dealing with aging parents (with a twist) that was written with depth and introspection, I highly recommend "Accidentally on Purpose" by Mary Pols.

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28 of 30 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars What is all the hype about this book; it is dreadful February 23, 2010

By Tiza

As so many have written, the author is a whiny self-indulgent adult who needs to grow up. The world appears to revolve around her and she appears to be the only one who knows what should take place, who to contact etc and how people should act or believe. I am just grateful my 30 some children don't feel the need to come in my house and rearrange things and replace valued items as she did with her parents home without their knowledge. I was sickened by her take-over of her father when he was ill. She had no compunction about asking her mother for a loan for their house while admitting that she was Daddy's girl and everything was about Daddy or Greenie as he was called and not her mom. To me the real hero of the book is her husband who tolerates this childish, child-like immature behavior and still appears to love her. I just wanted to shake her and say grow-up. I don't understand all the five star reviews for this book and all the hype surrounding it. I finished it just to see what happened not because I was enjoying the book. I just kept shaking my head unreal the more I read of her personality.

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32 of 36 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars If you like fluff, then this is for you May 27, 2009

By K. Hoffman

My book club read this memoir and all nine of us disliked it. Not one of us thought this was the inspiring memoir of a breast cancer survivor - which is what we expected. If you like reading light, fluffy stuff about people you don't know, then you may enjoy this book. There are some funny stories (when she went to the prom as a freshman, for example), but to read this book thinking you'll hear about a survivor's journey is a mistake. I think she used her breast cancer as an excuse to write a memoir. I found her to be incredibly selfish. For example, she criticizes her mother throughout simply because she was (had to be) the disciplinarian in the family - she even recognizes her unfair treatment but chalks it up to "that's just a mother's burden". What??? Everything had to be about Kelly - especially her father's cancer (she was unbelievably bossy - to the point of bombarding her father's doctor with emails, the poor guy!!! Bless him for his patience with her). Add her whining tone to her selfishness and what a recipe for bad reading. ("It's just so unfair that I can't have more children because it would put my health at risk" - ever consider helping a child in need and adopt? And, "Oh my God, do you really mean I can't drink alcohol anymore? I don't think I can handle that - I, like, live to drink, even if it means temporarily losing my daughter.") I was also very offended by her statement that women are just play-acting at life and marriage until they have children, which, according to the author, is when "real life" commences. Sorry, Ms. Corrigan, but I've chosen not to have children and I think my life and marriage are plenty real. It amazes me that someone can write such fluff and make, presumably, tons of money off of it. Hmmm... I gotta go - need to write my own memoir.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars love this book

This book touched my heart. I truly like Kelly Corrigan and would love to have her as a friend. I like that she has such a great relationship with her dad. Read more

Published 7 days ago by tysmom

3.0 out of 5 stars Quick read with some feel good moments

This book is an easy read--I read it in one sitting. The story is told using simple narrative and dialog style in first person from Kelly's PoV. Read more

Published 10 days ago by Illinoiswordgirl

5.0 out of 5 stars Love this book!

I wish Greenie was my dad! What a wonderful world it would be if we all had him in our lives.

Published 1 month ago by Nancy Dorin

2.0 out of 5 stars Didn't finish it

Sounded good, but I never really got into it. It may have gotten better, but I set it aside in favor of another book.

Published 3 months ago by Carol

4.0 out of 5 stars Going home

Kelly Corrigan is certainly more than a housewife with laptop! With wit and tenderness she shares her journey battling cancer and gives us the gift of a trip home to wooded lane to... Read more

Published 3 months ago by Jennifer Hix

4.0 out of 5 stars entertaining and heartwarming autbiography

i finished middle place last night. i can see why the reviews are mixed. she's got quite a personality and the book is not well-developed in terms of a plot, but it *is* an... Read more

Published 4 months ago by Jennifer Chandler

3.0 out of 5 stars account of her life

I started to read this book and just did not find it interesting enough to read. It is Ms. Corrigan's account of her life, in general, and her battle with breast cancer,... Read more

Published 4 months ago by David Brockert

2.0 out of 5 stars Lame

As someone else mentioned, this book is not about going through the experience of having cancer. The author probably framed it that way to increase her chances of having it... Read more

Published 5 months ago by havana

4.0 out of 5 stars read this at just the right time

as a middle child myself and a woman I could really appreciate much of what Kelly was describing about family life. Read more

Published 5 months ago by Suzanne

4.0 out of 5 stars The Middle Place

Kelly Corrigan has a real love for life and it came through in this book. She beautifully wrote how cancer affected her and her immediate family and then how having her father... Read more

Published 7 months ago by Gretchen

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