Sandwiched: A Memoir of Holding On and Letting Go

After her mother has a heart attack and her husband’s lawyer delivers some shocking news, Laurie James finds herself sandwiched between caring for her parents, managing caregivers, raising four daughters, and trying to understand her husband’s choices—to keep herself afloat, she seeks therapy, practices yoga, rediscovers nature, and begins to write. Will it be enough to keep her family together?

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 322 pages
Publication date: 22 June 2021
Publisher: She Writes Press

Laurie James spent most of her life wondering what it means to belong; loneliness dictated the choices she made. She rarely shared this secret with others, however; it was always hidden behind a carefree and can-do attitude. When she's in her mid-forties, Laurie's mother has a heart attack and her husband's lawyer delivers some shocking news. She suddenly finds herself sandwiched between caring for her parents, managing unruly caregivers, raising four teenage daughters, and trying to understand the choices of the husband she thought she knew. Laurie's story is about one woman's struggle to "do it all" while facing the reality that the "ideal life" and "perfect family" she believed could save her was slowly crumbling beneath her. Laurie tries everything to keep her family together—seeks therapy, practices yoga, rediscovers nature, develops strong female friends, and begins writing—but as she explores the layers of her life and heals her past, she realizes that she's the only one who can create the life she wants and deserves.

Loneliness dictated the choices she made, and she rarely shared this secret with others. However, it was always hidden behind a carefree and can-do attitude. When she's in her mid-forties, Laurie's mother has a heart attack, and her husband's lawyer delivers some shocking news. She suddenly finds herself sandwiched between caring for her parents, managing unruly caregivers, raising four teenage daughters, and trying to understand the choices of the husband she thought she knew. Laurie's story is about one woman's struggle to "do it all" while facing the reality that the "ideal life" and "perfect family" she believed could save her was slowly crumbling beneath her. Laurie tries everything to keep her family together—seeks therapy, practices yoga, rediscovers nature, develops strong female friends, and begins writing—but as she explores the layers of her life and heals her past, she realizes that she's the only one who can create the life she wants and deserves.

Loneliness dictated the choices she made, and she rarely shared this secret with others. However, it was always hidden behind a carefree and can-do attitude. When she's in her mid-forties, Laurie's mother has a heart attack, and her husband's lawyer delivers some shocking news. She suddenly finds herself sandwiched between caring for her parents, managing unruly caregivers, raising four teenage daughters, and trying to understand the choices of the husband she thought she knew. Laurie's story is about one woman's struggle to "do it all" while facing the reality that the "ideal life" and "perfect family" she believed could save her was slowly crumbling beneath her. Laurie tries everything to keep her family together—seeks therapy, practices yoga, rediscovers nature, develops strong female friends, and begins writing—but as she explores the layers of her life and heals her past, she realizes that she's the only one who can create the life she wants and deserves.

Weight: 454g
Dimension: 140 x 215 x 28 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781631527852