Impersonation by Heidi Pitlor

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Impersonation by Heidi Pitlor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As I struggled to find time to read and review this book, I was struck with the parallels between it and my life, of raising my children while making time for work in this day and age. Having been a single mother for a time, the personalization of this novel and its message was rife and thought provoking.

Despite my outside distractions, within the span of the first page, I was hooked. Equal parts frustrating and fascinating, "Impersonation" is achingly relatable, and not much of a literary “escape” as it is highly relevant, magnifying some of today’s most acute concerns.

Personal lives and politics intertwine in a complicated braid that often lies in territory where I heavily disagree or is out of my comfort zone, but is impactful and valuable, nevertheless. The main character, Allie, and I could be friends in real life, trade parenting tips and tribulations, hash out the current state of our government over drinks and Happy Meals. We would enjoy swapping grammar jokes and lament about rent prices. I might joke with her about where the landlord can stick his recycling bin next time he comes around to complain about where it was in his yard.

As I write this review, I am simultaneously nursing my youngest, typing one-handed (a practice I’ve perfected over the years), and reflecting on my own path and career. I think of all the women who I will recommend this book to, how I will talk it up and share it with enthusiasm. This book is a timely piece of prose, so important now, and necessary for change in the forthcoming years.

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