A Review of Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner

This is a "ripped from the headlines" type story about a Senator's wife who finds out her husband has cheated on her by hearing it on the news. Sylvie, a lawyer herself, has given up her entire life, even given up taking much of an interest in her two girls, for her husband and his career.
The story is told from the perspective of these three women, Sylvie and her two daughters. Diana, an emergency room physician who can't stand her own husband, and is having a torrid affair herself with a younger man. Her son, Miles, is really what she cares about, and on whom she would prefer to focus. The third daughter, Lizzie, is the mess-up. Newly out of rehab, she is making the best of her wasted life by caring for Miles and trying to become a "normal" person.
While this story was an interesting one, it was largely forgettable. The characters were well-developed, as was the story, but it didn't hold my interest past the last page. Unlike other books I've read and reviewed here, Fly Away Home, flew right out of my head as soon as I finished it. It was a decent story, but not one I enjoyed all that much. I would still recommend it to others, as it was well-written and the characters were not one-demensional or cliched, which they could have been. But I was not wowed.

Are Celebrities Entitled to Private Lives?

This is an article for my writing class:

We see the pictures every day: a female celebrity getting out of a chauffeured car flashing a body part best left to the imagination; a male celebrity casually running shirtless on the beach; a celebrity couple leaving the most current trendy L.A. restaurant, not holding hands, protesting the idea that they were on a date, and then driving away together in a large, black sedan.
It begs the question, are celebrities entitled to be left alone when they are not working? But this is not the first question we should ask. Why are we as a culture so obsessed with celebrities? This question is one that has been bounced around by many writers in recent years, its importance rising exponentially in direct proportion to how many tabloid magazines there are in circulation. Celebrities have become the de facto representation of the American dream. So it is only natural that we would want to know what their “real lives” are like outside of movies and television.
But are we entitled to know? Many would argue that when a person chooses to live this sort of life, they should accept giving up their privacy in exchange for money, fame and the perks they receive.
I find this to be a strong case of sour grapes. Just because someone else has money, beauty, fame and ostensibly everything that Americans want in life, does not mean that everyone else is entitled to know their business, or that they are required to “give up” their privacy to have these things.
As a teacher, I could argue that in many ways I am also not afforded a “private life”. If I choose to go to the supermarket in my gym clothes without makeup (something I am sure a celebrity would never do), it is likely I will run into at least one student with his or her family, who will then pin me down for a 20 minute conversation. If I go out to a restaurant or bar and order an alcoholic drink, I am always aware if a student’s parent is around, and limit myself accordingly. There are situations in which I could get into trouble, or even fired, if it is witnessed that I have engaged in a certain behavior publicly. Alas, I am also not compensated monetarily for the loss of this privacy, nor do I get many perks, other than those intrinsic inspiring moments I have from day to day and the fulfillment I get from my career.
So, as for the celebrities private lives? I think they should be left alone. However, it seems that the rest of the country doesn’t necessarily agree. Now, where’s my People Magazine?

Coming Soon!