Published by: Ingrid King. Last Updated on: February 9, 2023 by Crystal Uys
While not technically a cat book, with a cover like this, how could I not review this book! Add to that the fact that Lisa Scottoline is one of my favorite authors, and that I loved the previous two books in this series compiled from her wildly popular columns for the The Philadelphia Inquirer. I previously reviewed Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog– The Amazing Adventures of an Ordinary Woman and I also enjoyed My Nest Isn’t Empty, It Just Has More Closet Space.
Best Friends, Occasional Enemies: The Lighter Side of Life as a Mother and Daughter was like visiting with a good friend who shares your views on a lot of things, only she’s much funnier than you are. Whether you’re a mother or a daughter, you’re going to recognize yourself in this book. You’ll find yourself chuckling, nodding in agreement, and laughing out loud at some of Lisa’s and Francesca’s revelations.
Lisa on Being a Mom – Motherhood has no expiration date. Francesca lives in the city, and I worry about her all the time. My daughter moved out, so why am I still lactating?
Francesca on Being a Daughter – My mother is always right. Just ask her.
Lisa on Aging Gracefully – My sex drive is in reverse, I have more whiskers than my cat, and my estrogen replacement is tequila.
Francesca on Apartment Living – When I saw a mouse, the first person I called was Mom. She told me to call my super, but I felt bad bothering him. I hate to bother people. But I love to bother my mother.
Both of the authors are huge animal lovers, and their animals appear frequently throughout the book. Scottoline lives with multiple dogs, cats and other assorted pets, and Serritella shares her Manhattan apartment with Pip, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.
The one chapter in the book that isn’t funny at all (nor is it intended to be) is the one Lisa wrote about losing their Golden Retriever Angie to cancer. Lisa’s love for her assorted furry family members comes through whenever she mentions them in the book, but never more so than in this chapter. It also contains one of the most beautiful lines I’ve come across when it comes to describing how these beloved pets take a piece of our hearts with them when they die:
“I don’t think we get past any of these losses, whether they’re dogs or people. We just tuck a little ache into a heart that gets softer and warmer with time, like dough kneaded by skilled and loving hands.”
Like some of our female readers, I’m not a mother of human children, but we’re all daughters. This funny, uplifting, heart-touching and amusing collection of essays will appeal to women of all ages. And for our male readers, it may just provide a unique glimpse into the female mystique.
Best Friends, Occasional Enemies is also available as an audio book, read by the authors. Click on the link below to listen to an excerpt.
Lisa Scottoline and Francesca Serritella read from Best Friends Occasional Enemies
Lisa Scottoline is the New York Times bestselling and Edgar-Award winning author of eighteen novels. She has 25 million copies of her books in print in the United States, and she has been published in twenty-five countries. She is currently serving as the President of the Mystery Writers of America. She lives in Philadelphia with an array of disobedient pets. For more information about Lisa Scottoline, please visit her website.
Francesca Serritella graduated cum laude from Harvard University, where she won the Thomas Temple Hoopes Prize, the Le Baron Russell Briggs Fiction Prize, and the Charles Edmund Horman Prize for her creative writing. She is working on a novel, and she lives in New York with only one dog, so far. For more information about Lisa Scottoline, please visit her website.
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About the author
Ingrid King is an award-winning author, former veterinary hospital manager, and veterinary journalist who is passionate about cats.
