Synopses & Reviews
Having children transforms us -- through the amazing power of our love for them and theirs for us, through the anger they can provoke, and because being good parents means we must accept that we are no longer children. In
As Good as I Could Be, bestselling author Susan Cheever chronicles with passion and courage her own imperfect transformation, offering inspiration for other parents doing the best they can.
By relating the trials and triumphs of raising a daughter and a son Cheever illuminates some basic truths learned along the way: a family should not be a democracy; teaching your children to celebrate their mistakes helps them forgive yours; and a damaged childhood is not a guarantor of bad parenting. With unflinching honesty, Cheever tackles tantrums, divorce, eating disorders, and alcoholism, celebrating how she and her kids have weathered all this -- and more -- with love and respect intact.
Review
Philadelphia Inquirer It is Cheever's ability to dive suddenly from the surface to the deeper places of the soul.
Review
Los Angles Herald Examiner Out of the pain of real life, Susan Cheever has created a document that is ultimately a paean to family love.
Review
The New York Times Book Review Cheever's writing has true resonance.
About the Author
Susan Cheever has written nine previous books, including five novels and the memoirs
Home Before Dark, Treetops, and
Note Found in a Bottle. She has also written for
The New Yorker, The New York Times, and
Talk magazine, among other publications. She is a contributing writer for
Architectural Digest and writes a weekly column for
Newsday. She has appeared on
The Today Show, 20/20, and
CBS Sunday Morning. A Guggenheim fellow, Cheever teaches writing in the Bennington College MFA program. She lives in New York City.