2
Broads Abroad: Moms Fly the Coop
by
Deborah Serra and Nancy Serra Greene
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GENRE:
Nonfiction, Motherhood, Travel Memoir
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BLURB:
When
sisters, Deborah & Nancy, discovered that motherhood was a temp
job they decided to run away from home. After packing up that last
kid for college, and facing the sad stillness of their suddenly quiet
homes, they decided to leave the country. 2 BROADS ABROAD: MOMS FLY
THE COOP is a funny, irreverent, occasionally poignant travel tale of
their impulsive road trip around Ireland.
In this witty
warm-hearted adventure, they experienced some of Ireland’s quirkier
history while sharing universally relatable stories of maniacal
school coaches, neurotic neighbors, and tiger moms. Having kicked
that empty nest into their rearview mirror, the sisters took off
careening down the wrong side of the road, making questionable
choices, getting trapped in a medieval tower, sneaking Chinese
take-out into a famous cooking school, drinking way too much, and
gaining a changed perspective on their lives ahead.
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Excerpt:
“Your
youngest is leaving for college? Aw, empty nest?” Then, sappy eyes
followed by a plaintive grin and, “What will you do?”
Before
my sister and I decided to run away from home we were bothered by
that question. There was something minimizing about it, minimizing
and not completely untrue. Motherhood had been so deceptive, the
greatest paradox in life: every single bleary-eyed day felt a month
long, and the years went by in an instant. They flashed by like
lightning and left a desiccated scorch mark wearing my clothes. It
was disagreeable to imagine what life would be like childless: there
would be the family tree, and there would be the mom who’s the
center of the family tree, standing leafless, bare (and it has been a
while since I looked good bare). There was some solace as I glanced
around me to see my younger sister, Nancy, would be standing there
bare as well. We were embarking on this progeny-shedding calamity
simultaneously as both of our youngest daughters, Nicole and Olivia,
were leaving for college the same week.
I knew
that Nancy hadn’t really focused on it yet. And then, we met at
Fashion Island in Newport Beach near her home to get a birthday gift
for our mom. We ran into two of Nancy’s neighbors, Vicki and Susan.
“Nancy,”
Vicki asked, “doesn’t Nicole graduate from Corona Del Mar High
School this June?”
“Yes,”
Nancy said. “She’s going to the University of Washington.”
“Oh,”
Susan lifted her eyebrows, “you must be devastated.”
“What?”
Nancy looked confused. “No, actually I was happy for her. She
worked really hard. It was her first choice school.”
“But
so far away!” Susan added in that annoying singsong tone.
Nancy
shifted her feet, a move I knew well as her sister. It was something
she always did when she was being told something she did not like to
hear.
“It’s
not that far.” Nancy said.
“It’s
a plane ride. You need an airplane to see your daughter.” Susan
said loudly.
“Yeah.”
Nancy turned to me in an effort to change the subject. “You
remember my sister, Deborah?”
“Of
course.” Vicki smiled. And we exchanged hellos. Vicki seemed
normal, but I had an inkling that I might have to slap Susan.
Susan
continued on with her one thought. “With your son gone already, and
soon Nicole, well, Nancy, I guess you’re all alone now.”
Nancy
shifted her feet again. “I’m still married, Susan.”
“Sure.
Sure. Right. So that’s better than nothing, huh?”
Nancy
and I both froze. Did she just say that?
“You
know,” Vicki tried to cut off Susan, “when Terrie’s youngest
left she bought a Chihuahua puppy. Cutest thing you’ve ever seen.
And the Walkers gave a room to an exchange student from Sweden,”
she explained happily.
Nancy
nodded. “That sounds like a good plan.”
Susan
opened her mouth to speak again and I wasn’t sure whether I should
just smack her now and be done with it, or let her continue. I made
the wrong choice.
“Remember
Pam Winthrop?” Susan leaned in. “When her son left she started
eating a pint of Ben & Jerry’s every day until she put on 60
pounds. Sad, really, tragic. Even her kneecaps were fat.” Then
Susan turned to me, “So, Deborah, isn’t your youngest graduating,
too?”
“I’m
leaving the country,” I said.
Susan
cocked her head. “What?”
“I’m
leaving the country,” I repeated matter-of-factly.
“So am
I,” Nancy said. I looked at her. I saw the decision in her eyes.
“I’m going with Deborah. We’re taking a long trip together –
a sisters trip.”
“You
are?” Susan sounded a little thwarted, which Nancy found
gratifying.
“Yup,
in the planning stages.” Nancy smiled at Susan who was clearly
disappointed that we were not miserable as anticipated. “Nice to
see you though, Susan, Vicki. Got to go. In the middle of booking
flights and stuff. So much to do!”
We
turned away and strode with purpose toward the door.
I
whispered, “Susan’s a real gem.”
“She
did me a favor.”
“Yeah?”
“I’ve
been so busy I just wasn’t thinking about it.”
“And I
haven’t been able to think about anything else,” I said. “When
I’m awake in the middle of the night it runs over and over in my
mind.”
Nancy
said, “When I heard that crap Susan was dealing, all of a sudden I
realized, there’s no way am I plodding into that sunset with fat
kneecaps carrying a Chihuahua.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Review: This book made me long for a sister that I'm close to. (I have a sister, but our relationship, not so close). They have the kind of relationship that is enviable.
All of their children are out of the nest, so its safe to say that this is a severe and severely funny case of empty nest syndrome.
If you don't get loads of laughs while reading this, well, you might need a cast on your broken funny bone.
I loved the sisters antics. It really had me smiling the whole way through.(And this is from a 40 something single woman without children)
This is definitely a must read
Rating: 5 stars
AUTHOR
Bio and Links:
Deborah
Serra has been a sought-after screenwriter for twenty-five years
having written for NBC, CBS, Sony, Lifetime, Fox, and others. She was
a recipient of the 2012 Hawthornden Literary Fellowship. Her first
novel was a semi-finalist for the William Faulkner-William Wisdom
Creative Writing Award given by the Faulkner Society in New Orleans,
LA.
Nancy is
a graduate of San Diego State University. She worked in medical sales
before stepping away to raise her two children, at which point she
became: Team Mom, Snack Mom, PTA member, Assistance League Volunteer,
and the list is never-ending. Nancy was the editor and publisher of
the Buffalo Hills Echo newsletter with a circulation of 1400. She
also designed and managed her community website.
Buy
Link:
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/2_BroadsAbroad
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