I was hesitant to pick up Bomb Shelter, because I was in the minority in not loving Philpott’s first essay collection: I Miss You When I Blink. One of my chief complaints with it was the lack of real vulnerability or personal detail. When I heard her latest centered around the emotional whiplash that is parenting teens, and always “waiting for worry to materialize.” Well… I am in the thick of that right now - exactly the same space as where her book begins, with a 15 year old son and a daughter in middle school.
She articulates the complex feelings of this wild time with such clarity, giving words to feelings so eloquently. I appreciated her “going there” and being vulnerable in telling more of her personal stories this time around. All were so compelling, real, sharply tied and layered together (the book could not be more perfectly named), and felt so timely (even included some Covid anecdotes).
I REALLY enjoyed this one. Especially on audio! Perhaps that’s how I should have read her first book… Might go back and do a re-read that way.