Maeve in America by Irish comedian Maeve Higgins
*****9 stars****
Dedication: For Liam, Aoibhinn, Cathal, Hazel, Nora, Sadie, and Daniel. You think I am your aunt, but really I am your mother.
NOTE: There are two books I regret reading this year instead of listening to the audiobook version, instead, and this is one of them. I'll bet hearing comedians Noah Trevor and Maeve Higgins read their own books in their own delicious accents would be even better than reading them the old-fashioned way.
From the tears of hysterical laughter in the first essay as she reluctantly swam with dolphins to the throat-lump of concern in her essay "Aliens of Extraordinary Ability" to her thoughtful acknowledgments at the end of the book, Maeve Higgins just NAILS IT.
Favorite quote? Too many to list, but her essay called "Other People's Children" was so great, I had to read it twice. Her idea of an Auntie Army, made up of women "who have somehow managed to wrench off that veil placed so craftily on us as we grew up, obstructing our view of the truth, which is that women are just as valid and important and human as men."
"We will be an army of women, there to protect these girls and claim back their land. Our recruits will come from all around. Aunts can be mothers, too. And, actually, boys can be nieces. You don't even have to be related to a niece to be her aunt, did you know that? Nieces are everywhere and the aunt ranks are made up of any woman who can guide a girl to safety."
Run, do not walk, to see if your library has Maeve in America...and REQUEST IT, if they do not. (That's how I got mine! Our fabulous Abilene Public Library has a suggestion form, and if they take your suggestion, you get an email so that you can check it out first.)
https://www.maevehiggins.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzVFoXHFK3A
https://youtu.be/iUwntYVxkWA
