I Love You All, Please Leave
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Product Details
Publisher: Victoria Carlisle Press
Release Date: September 12, 2023
Formats: Paperback, Ebook
ISBN: PB: 979-8-9874593-0-0; EB: 979-8-9874593-1-7
Trim: 5.5 x 8.5
Page Count: 200
Essays on COVID Lockdowns and Psych Lockups
Victoria Carlisle
Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award Finalist in the nonfiction humor category.
Candid, hilarious, and relatable, I Love You All, Please Leave is a whip-smart essay collection on motherhood and mayhem during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Victoria Carlisle, a British expat living in Oakland, California, is a zaftig housewife and unapologetically relaxed parent. More than a decade ago, Carlisle was psychiatrically committed six times after the birth of her third child. (They had to let her out eventually.) And in 2020, she and her family—one husband, two guinea pigs, and three kids—endured one of the longest COVID school shutdowns in America under the same roof. (They had to allow the children back at some point.)
With Carlisle’s irreverent humor, I Love You All, Please Leave is a provocative essay collection that revels in the hilarity of small moments during the coronavirus pandemic. Carlisle recounts her spectacular failures in mothering during lockdown—from an inability to “Zoom School” (What the fuck was that all about?) to including a Sexy Lady Santa outfit among Amazon purchases of hand sanitizer and cereal (“Mummy, you’ll look like a stripper!”).
Both COVID and psychiatric lockdowns shut Carlisle up in little rooms and left her with a mind like a trapped bird fluttering behind a window. Her long journey from insanity to health traversed the well-trodden Berkeley landscape of alternative medicine—with a pit stop at electromagnetic headbands and keto diets—eventually landing at lithium and self-acceptance.
About the Author
Victoria Carlisle grew up in England’s green and pleasant land and was one of the first girls at Charterhouse, a formerly boys-only boarding school. She graduated from Oxford with a degree in French and German and then attended law school. In addition to her work as board chair at a preschool for deaf kids in Berkeley, Carlisle lectures on married sex and intimacy. She lives in Oakland, California, with her husband, Todd, and their three children. When she is not lecturing, writing, or wiping down countertops, she can be found snogging her husband behind the kitchen door.
Visit the author’s website at victoriacarlisle.com
Reviews
“Carlisle’s style is the perfect fit for her subject matter. Her treatment of the COVID-19 lockdown may feel irreverent, but discerning readers will detect the glimmer of serious issues brewing just under the surface.” —BookLife Reviews
“[I Love You All, Please Leave] provides a refreshing spin on what has been one of the darkest times in recent history. . . . You’ll find yourself laughing out loud at Carlisle’s humorous anecdotes. I personally found myself wiping tears of joy from my eyes on multiple occasions. This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to see the lighter side of an otherwise challenging situation.” —Midwest Book Review