Fads and Fancies

Book excerpt: "Award-winning journalist Michele Weldon provides a potent antidote to the harried single mom stereotype in this beguiling memoir of raising three sons alone in the face of cancer, an ambitious career, and the shadow of her ex. Untethered from a seemingly idyllic life with a handsome but abusive attorney husband, Weldon relates the challenges and triumphs of the years that followed her divorce as she maneuvers through a complicated life of long daily commutes, radiation treatments, supporting the boys' all-consuming high school wrestling careers, and trying to mitigate their hurt and resentment at an absent father. By turns humorous and heartbreaking, Weldon describes facing her fears and failures honestly, guided by a belief in the power of staying calm, doing one's best, and asking for help. She provides a graceful example of how a single mother, and her children, can succeed when others--neighbors, family, teachers, and in this case an incredible high school wrestling coach--step in to fill the void and she can stay the course with common sense and dutiful love"--