STARRED REVIEW
July 2022

Bomb Shelter

By Mary Laura Philpott
Review by
Author Mary Laura Philpott reads her own audiobook with a Southern lilt, at times laughing or on the verge of tears.
Share this Article:

In her new book of autobiographical essays, Bomb Shelter: Love, Time, and Other Explosives (7 hours), Mary Laura Philpott writes with gusto and pathos about navigating two extremes: practicing for what will never happen and postponing the inevitable. From removing turtles from her doorstep to dealing with middle-of-the-night emergencies, from controlling cholesterol to shopping for cashmere, Philpott assembles a trustworthy menagerie of lessons for daily life.

Philpott reads her own audiobook with a Southern lilt, at times laughing or on the verge of tears, and she builds an easy connection with her reader as she details a variety of struggles and triumphs. When she describes coming to terms with being identified as “mom” in public, she is as real and reassuring as the best kind of parent.

Written as the author’s oldest child was getting ready to venture off to college, Bomb Shelter offers hope for a better future.

Read more: Mary Laura Philpott discusses her favorite bookstores, real or imagined.

Trending Reviews

Get the Book

Bomb Shelter

Bomb Shelter

By Mary Laura Philpott
Simon & Schuster Audio
ISBN 9781797136172

Sign Up

Stay on top of new releases: Sign up for our newsletter to receive reading recommendations in your favorite genres.