Two Kisses for Maddy: Book Review

It’s a miracle, I started and finished a book in less than a month! I think it was more like two weeks, but the point is: I must have really enjoyed it.

I started reading Matt Logelin’s blog just a few months after a few significant events in his life occurred. In 2008, in the matter of 27 hrs, his daughter Maddy was born premature and shortly thereafter, his wife Liz died of a pulmonary embolism in the hospital.

The tragedy alone had me shaken, but the way Matt would pour his heart onto his blog had me hooked. And the pictures and stories of the places he and Madeline would go were amazing. By the age of three, this kid had more frequent flier miles than I ever will.

Well, when the book was published, I knew I had to read it. My heart broke all over again as I read Matt’s words-the way Liz died, the emptiness he felt and the amount of love he had for Liz. Many women could only dream of finding someone who would love them this much. He is truly an incredible person and there's no mistake about how true his love for Liz

A few of my favorite parts:
  • The way Matt describes his need to create the greatest funeral playlist ever full of hilarious, upbeat, random songs immediately after coming home from the hospital.
  • His overall mission to be the best dad ever for Madeline as he tries to fill the shoes of two parents. Some people might just give up or search immediately for someone to fill that hole to help raise Madeline, but Matt’s determination to do justice to Liz’s legacy and raise Maddy right is impressive.
  • The way he vows to replace all of Liz’s stolen jewelry one piece at a time. Maddy is going to have one heck of a Tiffany’s collection.

Truthfully, I cried probably four different times through this book. But I also laughed. Matt’s honesty has a way of bringing out the crappy truth. I highly recommend this quick read with its balance of sorrow and joy.

 To check out Matt’s blog, click here.

  What’s on your summer reading list?

I'm also enjoying reading a few career focused books: one that looks at your Myers-Briggs personality type (I'm an ESFJ) and talks about jobs each type might succeed at, one about food jobs (hey, it's fun to dream) and another about creating the career portfolio that fulfills all of your interests or strengths.

Comments

Amber said…
I really want to read this book! I don't read Matt's blog religiously but I do drop in on it from time to time and I really enjoy it. Great to hear the book is so good!
His blog is amazing - I've been a reader for a few years now, too, but kind of fell off for a while. I had no idea he published a book until you posted about it. I would probably bawl my eyes out, but I have no doubt it's a great read :)
Leigh said…
I remember stumbling upon his blog a couple of years ago and have read it ever since! Such a heart breaking story, yet so amazing to see how he has come through it with an amazing and cute daughter by his side. I need to pick up this book :)
Meggie said…
I'm currently reading "In the Garden of Beasts" by Erik Larson. I have on my list to read "The Power of One," "Sarah's Key," "Hardcourt Confidential" (tennis book), and I want to re-read the 7th Harry Potter book. I highly recommend "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett -- one of my fave books and the movie comes out this summer. Could be because I was raised south of the Mason-Dixon though!
I have been wanting to read this book for awhile as i have been reading Matt's blog from the beginning. I got to meet him at the first 5k he hosted here in Mpls.

Right now i am reading "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand" which is a light easy read. After that I will probably read Black Swans - it's not like the movie, it's a non-fiction book that I told my boss I would read for work. Should be interesting!

You should be proud of me - I used a nice ride bike today to go to happy hour!! It's so cool, there are stations where you can rent a bike and if you return it to another station within 30 minutes it's free! Biking in a shortish dress = interesting!! :)
TayLor said…
Thanks to you, Lauren, I have been following Matt on his blog for years. I checked his book out at the library (I was first on the waiting list for it as soon as they purchased it for the library!) and read it within a couple days. I cried my eyeballs out a couple times and although it was tough to read in parts, it was an amazing book! Thanks for linking to his blog on your blog! I probalby wouldn't have found this book without you!

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