PERFECTION: A MEMOIR OF BETRAYAL AND RENEWAL (Julie Metz)

I started reading Perfection as I was preparing to move the book from the library's workroom to our NEW area. I was immediately drawn in to Metz's story of a woman suddenly widowed, left with a young daughter and a life in turmoil. The marriage was stressful and Henry, the late husband, left behind a complicated tangle of questions and problems for Julie and Liza, her daughter, to unravel. One surprising aspect of this story for me was that it is a nonfiction memoir, a fact that for some reason totally escaped me until I reached the end of the story and realized that the main character had the same name as the author! Duh!

Anyway, despite the fact that I am unable to distinguish nonfiction from fiction (bad trait for a librarian!), I would recommend this book. Julie Metz's willingness to open herself to scrutiny and to expose her innermost feelings about herself and her marriage to the world results in a memoir that is painful to read in many ways, but also reassures that reader that life can go on, even joyfully, after grief and betrayal. Metz presents herself as a real person with flaws, one who makes mistakes and shares responsibility for the less-than-perfect marriage that ends with her husband's death. She took the high road with this memoir when she could have presented herself as the pitiable victim. She's a strong woman who has worked hard to achieve peace and tranquility in her life. I don't think I could ever open my life to this kind of intimate scrutiny, but Metz does it in a way that makes you admire her courage.