Book Summary and Reviews of Bomb Shelter by Mary Laura Philpott

Bomb Shelter by Mary Laura Philpott

Bomb Shelter

Love, Time, and Other Explosives

by Mary Laura Philpott

  • Published:
  • Apr 2023, 288 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

From the bestselling author of I Miss You When I Blink comes a poignant and powerful new memoir that tackles the big questions of life, death, and existential fear with humor and hope.

As a daughter, mother, and friend, Mary Laura Philpott considered herself an "anxious optimist"—a natural worrier with a stubborn sense of good cheer. And while she didn't really think she had any sort of magical protective powers, she believed in her heart that as long as she loved her people enough, she could keep them safe.

Then, in the early hours of one dark morning at home, her belief was upended. In the months that followed, she turned to poignant memories, priceless stories, and a medley of coping mechanisms (with comically mixed success) to regain her equilibrium and find meaning in everyday wonders.

Hailed by The Washington Post as "Nora Ephron, Erma Bombeck, Jean Kerr, and Laurie Colwin all rolled into one," Philpott tackles the big questions of life, death, and existential fear—not to mention the lessons of an inscrutable backyard turtle—with hope, humor, and joy.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"I was struck to my core--all kinds of overripe feelings and neglected memories shook loose--by Mary Laura Philpott, or more precisely, by her new masterwork, Bomb Shelter." —The New York Times Book Review

"I have never met Mary Laura Philpott, but reading Bomb Shelter felt like sitting up all night talking with a dear friend who saved up all her best secrets to share with me. Delicious." —Duchess Goldblatt, author of Becoming Duchess Goldblatt

"Witty, inspiring, and piercingly honest, this book will pull you in and it won't let go. Mary Laura Philpott has the gift of making the ordinary extraordinary as she invites you to reflect and laugh. You'll leave these pages with a deeper appreciation for this exceptional and explosive thing we call life." —Tembi Locke, New York Times bestselling author of From Scratch

This information about Bomb Shelter was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

Mary Laura Philpott

Mary Laura Philpott, nationally bestselling author of I Miss You When I Blink and Bomb Shelter, writes essays and memoirs that examine the overlap of the absurd and the profound in everyday life. Her writing has been featured by The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Atlantic, among many other publications. A former bookseller, she also hosted an interview program on Nashville Public Television for several years. Mary Laura lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with her family.

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