Separation Anxiety is utterly unexpected and charmingly quirky. A first purchase for adult fiction collections, particularly where uplit is popular.

I'm so excited to have been able to read another Laura Zigman book! It was a good mix of serious and silly and I like the way it used humor to make us see the absurdities in our lives.

I could not finish this book.  I made it to about 20% but felt no connection to the characters or the plot.  The premise sounded good, but it just didn't click for me.  I don't plan to post a public review because I don't necessarily think this is a bad book.  It's just not for me.  I hope it finds its audience.

This is not the kind of book I normally read, but I was really intrigued by the cover. I heard about it from a Harper/Collins Book Buzz. As it turns out, I adored this book! It was funny, sad and very relative.

Not going to lie the opening chapter of this book didn't make me empathetic of the protagonist, nor did it make me find her relatable, and therefore the book was just plain weird to me and not entertaining. I couldn't get past it.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

3 stars

There is some humor in this book but mostly I just found the subject matter so depressing. I am not at the same point in my life where I can relate to Judy so that made it hard to read this book. I can definitely see how this book could be important for some people to read but I just couldn't understand or relate. Overall, the writing was good and I enjoyed bits and pieces but this book just didn't have me intrigued.

Judy's life is a mess and she knows she has to find a way to deal with her always buzzed, anxiety-ridden, almost ex-husband, her best friend's cancer, her own creativity slump, mounting financial worries and her teenage boy who doesn't find her fun anymore - sigh. The one place she feels comfort is by carrying her dog around in her son's old baby sling.  This is middle-age madness that some of us can relate to only because of Zigman presenting it to us with tears and laughter in equal measure.  While we may not have all the issues that are plaguing Judy and her family, we can all use a bit of time with the doggy sling.  This will resonate with fans of "feel good but with a purpose" fiction that focuses on wonderful characters that make us giggle and cry.  My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

This book was so interesting and relatable.  It addressed anxiety and family issues in a way that was humorous but didn't diminish them.

This book reminded me a bit of Laurie Gelman's Class Mom series.  It's funny but touching and entertaining but at times, poignant.  I enjoyed it- fast, fun read!

I found the story quirky but cute. I could see my mom in this character when I was about to go leave for college. It was a good read but I can see this book being kind of hard for my age group to relate to. I also found some sections a little slow.

Judy is middle aged, her writing career has stalled, and she’s stuck in a failing marriage. Her once lovable sweet son is now a teenager and becoming more sullen everyday. Judy finds herself at a cross roads... face her problems head on or look for a crutch to keep her from falling further?? She chooses denial and begins to wear her dog in a baby sling to get the emotional support she so desperately needs. Judy has no shame.

 
It hits a little close to home. I know my boys will one day shrug off my hugs and refuse to share their feelings. I am dreading it. Judy’s character is equally haha 😂and oh, s#%* is this my future?! Hilarious and emotionally painful. Laura Zigman has captured how totally hilarious and emotionally painful being a mother, wife, and middle aged woman is all in the most ridiculous way!
 
“... is totally weird but somehow not weird at all.”
 
“Sometimes the things we do are clues to how we’re really feeling”
 
Thank you Net Galley and the publishers at Harper Collins for my advanced copy!

This was intended to be an insightful, witty look at mental illness, marriage troubles, and midlife happenings. Unfortunately, it missed the mark. I couldn’t connect with the characters and the storyline crept along too slowly for my tastes. I was hoping for more depth, more emotion, more SOMETHING. I didn’t care for the characters and wanted to shake them. This unfortunately didn’t work for me but others have left it glowing reviews so I may be the oddball here. 🤷‍♀️ Thank you to the publisher for the advance reader in exchange for my honest review.

A quirky novel about motherhood once the babies are teenagers and don't need you like once before. I laughed a lot and also felt a lot of this book in my heart. I believe any mothers that have or have had teenagers will likely connect.

Do yourself a favor and just go with the premise of this book. Do not overthink the logistics or why of Judy wearing her dog. Once you do that, the story is something beautiful and moving that is rarely found in this genre. Being a "woman of a certain age" isn't easy and Zigman does an increible job bringing this famiy to life in a powerful and moving way. I don't think anyone who truly sumbits to the book will walk away unmoved. Grateful to have had the chance to read this.

I had a hard time relating to the main character, Judy, as she’s very negative and self-sabotaging. She has a “woe is me” outlook on life and feels like everyone has been dealt a better hand, instead of owning that her actions have landed her in some of the situations she finds herself in. I appreciate quirky characters and stories but I found it hard to empathize with Judy, which may have been the point. I liked that the story touched on topics of mental health but felt like it could have delved deeper into therapy.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.   The plot of this novel is both ridiculous and relatable.   It is a quirky fun read.

3.5 stars 

"Being a child’s primary focus is temporary, fleeting; I knew that the aperture was closing, that the light on me would eventually dim and I’d be replaced with friends."

I have mixed feelings about this book. The story has a lot of absurd parts which I think was always the intention. It's about a mom who's wearing the family dog in a baby sling, after all. But that's not all of it. There are more moments like this where you're like really? what made the author pick that choice?

"All I feel is loneliness—every cell in my body and brain is empty and devoid of what’s supposed to connect me to the rest of the world—and to Gary—and I am full of a strange new grief, that of a nonjoiner who suddenly sees what they’ve been missing out on all these years: community, connection, the quiet comfort of others."

But then there are such resonant moments. Moments where I felt like she was speaking directly to me, directly to experiences I've had, feelings I carry, and grief I have. I would have to take a break and be in the moment, and experience someone reflecting my truth so eloquently.

“No one cares how weird your life is, Judy. Or all the ways you think it’s failed you,” Gary says. “Your mother’s gone. No one sees the bird on your head except you.”

So many of us hang on to experiences and feelings (especially of inadequacy long after the source is gone.)

'Loss has made you afraid of life, but you have to stay open. Porous. You have to let all the available light—all the tiny shards of joy—still flow through you.” She closes her eyes. “Who knows what beauty the rest of the way will bring.”'

I love the image of tiny shards of joy flowing through me. I love love love that image so much.

"I feel all the available light—all the life—all the tiny shards of joy and sadness and grief and love—flow through me, the chimera of the past finally giving way to the reality of the present: we are who we are; we are doing our best; it will all work out. It is a choice—to accept, to believe, to remain—and I am choosing all of it now."

This book is full of beautiful moment. Beautiful thoughts, truths, grief and absurdity of life. I think in the end, though, I felt like it tried too hard. It was a bit too absurd. Just shy of what I would have called a really good read.

with gratitude to netgalley and HarperCollins Publishers for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book captured my attention immediately. I was always anxious to get back to it whenever I left off. Laura Zigman writes about an anxiety ridden family with compassion, humor and the realization that despite each of their hangups everything was going to be okay.

Thank you to NetGalley and publishers.

This was a good read.  I didn't move very quickly through the novel, but I enjoyed it nevertheless.  The author writes with humor and presents a good look inside a white, middle class family.  The relationships between the main family seemed very true to life.  The author brought up loss in a poignant and meaningful way.  I felt many emotions throughout the novel and will recommend this one to patrons.

This book is a little quirky, starting as it does with the main character, Judy, deciding to wear her little pet dog in a baby sling at all times. That took a little getting used to -- very, very glad I kept reading, because this is an outstanding book. Judy is so relatable as she deals with mid-life issues readers will identify with. Recommend this to readers who enjoy Anne Tyler, Elinor Lipman, Jennifer Weiner, Jane Green, Jessica Francis Kane and Emily Giffin.