The Middle Place

Alternating between childhood reminiscences and present-day events, this engaging memoir of growing up in a small town evokes an OUR TOWN sensibility, which will leave listeners amused, sympathetic, and occasionally teary. When Kelly, a young mother of two small children, and her beloved, larger-than-life father are simultaneously diagnosed with cancer, listeners will quickly become involved with the events that follow. Tavia Gilbert's performance fully captures Corrigan's youthful exuberance, shock, and evolving maturity as she contends with doctors, chemotherapy, and the fear of leaving her children motherless and losing her father. Her father's boisterous energy and expansive can-do personality are also brought vividly to life. This performance will especially resonate with anyone who has ever experienced the ups and downs of a cancer diagnosis. M.H.N. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

October 22, 2007
Newspaper columnist Corrigan was a happily married mother of two young daughters when she discovered a cancerous lump in her breast. She was still undergoing treatment when she learned that her beloved father, who’d already survived prostate cancer, now had bladder cancer. Corrigan’s story could have been unbearably depressing had she not made it clear from the start that she came from sturdy stock. Growing up, she loved hearing her father boom out his morning “HELLO WORLD” dialogue with the universe, so his kids would feel like the world wasn’t just a “safe place” but was “even rooting for you.” As Corrigan reports on her cancer treatment—the chemo, the surgery, the radiation—she weaves in the story of how it felt growing up in a big, suburban Philadelphia family with her larger-than-life father and her steady-loving mother and brothers. She tells how she met her husband, how she gave birth to her daughters. All these stories lead up to where she is now, in that “middle place,” being someone’s child, but also having children of her own. Those learning to accept their own adulthood might find strength—and humor—in Corrigan’s feisty memoir.

Starred review from May 1, 2008
This is Corrigan's heart-wrenching and humorous memoir of her struggle with breast cancer. The chapters alternate between detailed descriptions of her chemo and radiation treatments and her happy childhood growing up in a large, loving Irish family. The text is well written and poignantly read by Tavia Gilbert, whose narration brings out the personalities and feelings of the main characters: Corrigan's ebullient father, her worried mother, her loving husband, and her supportive brothers. Corrigan writes magazine articles (her most recent appears in the April 2008 issue of "Glamour" magazine) and a newspaper column. Highly recommended for self-help and health collections in public libraries.Ilka Gordon, Park Synagogue Lib., Pepper Pike, OH

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