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It. Goes. So. Fast.

The Year of No Do-Overs

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

Winner of the 2024 Audie Award for Narration by the Author!
This program is read by the author.
Operating Instructions
meets Glennon Doyle in this new book by famed NPR reporter Mary Louise Kelly that is destined to become a classic—about the year before her son goes to college—and the joys, losses and surprises that happen along the way.
The time for do-overs is over.
Ever since she became a parent, Mary Louise Kelly has said "next year." Next year will be the year she makes it to her son James's soccer games (which are on weekdays at 4 p.m., right when she is on the air on NPR's All Things Considered, talking to millions of listeners). Drive carpool for her son Alexander? Not if she wants to do that story about Ukraine and interview the secretary of state. Like millions of parents who wrestle with raising children while pursuing a career, she has never been cavalier about these decisions. The bargain she has always made with herself is this: this time I'll get on the plane, and next year I'll find a way to be there for the mom stuff.
Well, James and Alexander are now seventeen and fifteen, and a realization has overtaken Mary Louise: her older son will be leaving soon for college. There used to be years to make good on her promises; now, there are months, weeks, minutes. And with the devastating death of her beloved father, Mary Louise is facing act three of her life head-on.
Mary Louise is coming to grips with the reality every parent faces. Childhood has a definite expiration date. You have only so many years with your kids before they leave your house to build their own lives. It's what every parent is supposed to want, what they raise their children to do. But it is bittersweet. Mary Louise is also dealing with the realities of having aging parents. This pivotal time brings with it the enormous questions of what you did right and what you did wrong.
This chronicle of her eldest child's final year at home, of losing her father, as well as other curve balls thrown at her, is not a definitive answer―not for herself and certainly not for any other parent. But her questions, her issues, will resonate with every parent. And, yes, especially with mothers, who are judged more harshly by society and, more important, judge themselves more harshly. What would she do if she had to decide all over again?
Mary Louise's thoughts as she faces the coming year will speak to anyone who has ever cared about a child or a parent. It. Goes. So. Fast. is honest, funny, poignant, revelatory, and immensely relatable.
A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt & Company.

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    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from March 20, 2023
      In this touching memoir, Kelly (The Bullet), cohost of NPR’s All Things Considered, meditates on her complicated emotions during her oldest son’s senior year of high school. Lamenting the soccer games she missed because of her job, Kelly decided to record her reflections on the months leading up to the graduation of her son James in the hope that doing so would allow her to “show up and be present.” In addition to the expected accounts of going on college trips and preparing James for prom, Kelly describes juggling her reporting and parenting, recounting how she learned James had Covid while she was covering a speech from President Biden and how she turned down her editor’s request that she travel to Ukraine to report on the war so she could instead spend more time with her son before he left for college. This showcases Kelly’s knack for connecting with audiences through snappy prose and affecting candor, and she beautifully captures the chaos and pathos of parenting, as when she writes of her son, “Our bond has changed and stretched and been tested, sometimes sorely tested, over eighteen years. But perhaps the pain was the cracking of the walls as the room grew.” Parents will cherish this.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Mary Louise Kelly, anchor of NPR's nightly news program, "All Things Considered," delivers a captivating narration of her book about the challenging life of a working parent. Accustomed to crafting fact-filled, punchy radio stories, she writes tight vignettes full of eye-catching detail. Her warm, empathetic voice; personable delivery; and experienced pacing engage listeners with her examination of life on the front lines of news and parenting. While most parents haven't received an emergency call from their son's school while reporting from Iraq, everyone knows what it's like to feel pulled in many directions while trying to do everything well. Filled with anecdotes and reflections on life's necessary accommodations and trade-offs, Kelly's audiobook is like a conversation with a friend who's both kind and honest. A.C.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      Starred review from October 1, 2023

      NPR reporter Kelly (The Bullet) captures an all-too-brief moment in her life as her eldest son begins his senior year of high school, and she realizes this will be her last chance for so many things with him, including the soccer games she usually has to miss because they happen while she's on the air cohosting All Things Considered. She takes a sabbatical from NPR to be able to attend those soccer games and write this book, and reflects on being a mother, daughter, and wife while also being a globe-trotting journalist. Many will relate to her attempts to balance family and work--even if they haven't been called by the school nurse about a sick child while reporting in a war zone. Kelly contrasts the early days of motherhood with the independence of her growing children and offers behind-the-scenes stories of her work. She also grapples with aging, hearing loss, the death of her father, and a disintegrating marriage. Kelly captivatingly narrates her own book; her emotion often comes through, making her words that much more affecting. VERDICT A moving memoir with touching, humorous stories and expertly narrated insights on parenting and life.--Melissa DeWild

      Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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