Asher Syed – Readers’ Favorite

Every Shitty Thing by Marcia Abboud is an autobiographical memoir about the author’s life, filled with unimaginable hardship and, ultimately, redemption. The book starts with the suicide of Abboud’s brother, Tony, backtracking from there into her Australian childhood and memories of her brothers, then dancing between marriage, family, pregnancy—all littered along the way with heartbreaking details of deception, abuse, and everything one never hopes to come across in a single life. In this sense, Abboud makes the reader feel like she’s lived half a dozen lives, but is somehow able to weave her life story with grace, humor, and an authentic voice.

Every Shitty Thing is definitely one of the better memoirs that I’ve read, although it is certainly one of the hardest as well. Reviews of autobiographical memoirs can be tricky as it often feels like judgment is being passed on more than just the writing, but for all of her past troubles, Marcia Abboud is also a highly gifted and exceptionally skilled writer. There is a grit to the narrative that makes sure we do not forget that it is written by a woman who has been there, done that, and not just survived…but flourished. This is balanced with prose that is beautiful and complex, leaving me with the feeling that she has found the path she was meant to be on. I love a good tale of a woman who overcomes every obstacle thrown in front of her, and what Abboud delivers in this book couldn’t be more engrossing even if it was fiction.