Although I read the new collection of columns by mother-and-daughter team Lisa Scottoline and Francesca Serritella, I’m going to make a recommendation based on a friend’s viewpoint. She hasn’t yet listened to I’ve Got Sand in All the Wrong Places. But, she’s listened to their earlier books. The authors read them on audio. She says the books are even better when you hear them read their columns with their Philadelphia accents.

Scottoline and Serritella write the “Chick Wit” column for The Philadelphia Inquirer. The columns cover everything from Scottoline’s remodeling of her kitchen to Serritella’s dating. And, many of the essays are witty. In fact, they’ll hit home for many women, particularly women who are single. But, the authors always have meaty stories as well. The last book contained the articles about the death of the matriarch of the family known as Mother Mary. The current collection has a section dealing with Francesca’s brutal mugging. I had read Francesca’s original account. I had not read the follow-up essays about the aftermath, dealing with the police and the hospital, and her emotions after the fact. I hadn’t read Lisa’s article, a mother’s struggle knowing her daughter had been punched and beaten.

While they talk about their lives, their mother-daughter spats and love, the authors manage to give advice as well. There’s a thoughtful piece by Scottoline called “Protect the Candle” in which she tells how she finally learned to say no in order to give herself time to do what’s important to her. Many of us women struggle with it, thinking we need to be accommodating.

The two women write about grief, family, their dogs, dating and exes, girlfriends, bookstores, book parties. But, most of all Lisa Scottoline and Francesca Serritella write about life. And, they write those articles with humor and wisdom and love. Try I’ve Got Sand in All the Wrong Places. I’m guessing it will make you nod some in recognition, laugh a little, and acknowledge the truth in their writing.

Lisa Scottoline’s web site is www.scottoline.com
Francesca Serritella’s web site is www.francescaserritella.com

I’ve Got Sand in All the Wrong Places by Lisa Scottoline and Francesca Serritella. St. Martin’s Press. 2016. ISBN 9781250059956 (hardcover), 306p.

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