A Conversation with Kelly Corrigan (Enter to win her book "Lift"!)

“I thought I’d be cooler as a mom. But then I leaned back on the delivery table and Dr. Laura Statchel pulled out a baby, and somewhere between the precious bundle that was Georgia and the placenta, all that it’s cool, no worries, sure why not? stuff came out too”...

 

New York Times bestselling author Kelly Corrigan’s latest book “Lift” is part memoir, profession of love to her children, and a raw look at how motherhood changes us, exhausts us, and lifts us in ways we’d never imagined, and now you can win your own copy of "Lift"! To enter, simply leave me a comment below telling me how motherhood has changed or lifted you. Enter now through September 15. Click here fore rules.  

 

I recently got the chance to talk to Kelly about the inspiration for “Lift”, life changing moments and all things motherhood. To talk to Kelly Corrigan is like talking with an old friend; her openness and honesty validated my feelings as a mom and renewed my mothering spirit. It’s a rare occurrence that I read a book (either fiction or nonfiction) that moves me down to my soul and makes me feel that even when I feel like I’m failing, I’m really doing the best that I can.

 

Kelly is witty and engaging in everything she says. I’m a conversation person so I love to just talk and see where things go. Our conversation weaved from talking about what we were like before we had kids to dropping the kids off at school. We love to see them go but our hearts are instantly torn with worry about their day and hoping they are safe and happy.

 

In talking with Kelly I learned that as emotionally draining as a book like "Lift" was to write, she’d like to build a relationship with her readers that can grow. She prefers to write and create books that will start a conversation and a relationship. Requests have already been made from some of her fans for another installment on what life will be like when her daughters are teenagers!

 

I don’t want to give away too much about the book but I will say that the idea behind “Lift” wasn’t born as a letter to Corrigan’s daughters. An event happened that moved Corrigan so much that she wanted to talk to about it. Get it out. It’s one of loss and moving on. As Corrigan put it, this event was at the bottom of everything. It was a fear of every parent. She began writing with Kathy’s story (yes, I’m purposely being mysterious) and she moved backwards from there to craft a beautifully written and intimate letter of motherhood to her own daughters.

 

I asked Kelly about how difficult it was for her to pour so much honesty, be it talking about yelling at her kids or cancer or tragedy, into such a small space and not feel like she was going to be judged. Her response?  “There are seven billion people alive right now. It really doesn’t matter what I say or do. I can’t possibly take it that seriously; the possibility of being criticized. There’s another feeling that you’re more out of control than the neighbor, that they’re handling things better than you do. But we’re all doing it. We’re all being brought to our knees every day. I don’t have to be chained to that. I don’t have to hold back on that. I don’t have to keep it a big secret. When I write about yelling at my kids and telling them no -- there’s so much relief from the audience and camaraderie. You can’t fight with people in your head or you’ll never say anything.” In the end, Kelly told me that the most important thing for her was that her dear friends Kathy and Meg were happy with the book.

 

I have often been outspoken about how difficult and unpleasant parenting can be. I mentioned to Kelly the posts that I’ve written on how hard parenting is and we both agreed that there’s no shame in saying that you’re having a rough day or that there are parts of parenting you don’t like and it’s OK to say it out loud.

 

“The experiences of parenting are often unpleasant but the overall experience is so fulfilling. The fact that it’s so very difficult in small and large ways every day and every year is the reason why it’s so fulfilling ultimately. It’s the most everything. It’s the most angry you’ve ever felt. The most scared. The most elated,” says Kelly.

 

From start to finish, “Lift” is only 82 pages. Initially I thought this would be a fast read. An easy read. What I didn’t expect was to read and be thrust through a roller coaster of emotions; raw, intimate emotions that you normally find in someone’s diary or sometimes in a person’s blog.

 

I can’t recommend "Lift" enough. It should be on every parent’s book shelf. It should be taken out and read when the kids’ try your patience, when you can’t stand to look at them another minute or you don’t think that you can love them any more than you do right now. It should be read in times of crisis and times of joy, if for no other reason than to remind you of the joy and why being a parent is worth the pain and struggle.

 

It will remind you of why you keep trying to do better for your children, even after broken promises and mass mom fail moments.

 

Ready to win it?

Leave me a comment telling me what lifts you as a mom or how has being a parent changed you to be entered to win "Lift" by Kelly Corrigan.

Then, check out Lifetime Mom Beth's review of "Lift" and a video trailer for the book.