Review: Secrets of Worry Dolls, by Amy Impellizzeri

About the book, Secrets of Worry Dolls

Paperback: 312 pages
Publisher: Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing (December 1, 2016)

According to Mayan tradition, if you whisper your troubles to the Worry Dolls, they will do the worrying instead of you–therefore, it follows that Worry Dolls are the keepers of a great many secrets . . .

On the eve of the end of the world–according to the Mayan calendar–Mari Guarez Roselli’s secrets are being unraveled by her daughter, Lu.

Lu’s worry dolls are at-capacity as she tries to outrun the ghosts from her past–including loved ones stolen on 9/11–by traveling through her mother’s homeland of Guatemala, to discover the painful reasons behind her own dysfunctional childhood, and why she must trust in the magic of the legend.

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About the author, Amy Impellizzeri

Amy is a reformed corporate litigator, founder of SHORTCUTS Magazine, and award-winning author. Her first novel, Lemongrass Hope (Wyatt-MacKenzie 2014) , was a 2014 INDIEFAB Book of the Year Bronze Winner and a National Indie Excellence Awards Finalist. A favorite with bloggers and book clubs, Lemongrass Hope was named the #1 reviewed book in 2014 by blogger, The Literary Connoisseur, and topped several bloggers’ “Best of” Lists in 2015. Amy’s second novel, Secrets of Worry Dolls is releasing December 1, 2016 by Wyatt-MacKenzie.

Amy is also the author of the non-fiction book, Lawyer Interrupted (ABA Publishing 2015). She is a proud member of the Tall Poppy Writers and President of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. Amy currently lives in rural Pennsylvania with her husband, three kids, and one energetic weimaraner, where she keeps up on all of the latest research confirming that caffeine is, in fact, good for you.

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My Thoughts

I was a bit leery when I was asked to review this book. I’m not a fan of continually revisiting national disasters in general, or 9/11 specifically, but I was assured this story really wasn’t ‘about’ 9/11, so I gave it a chance.

I’m glad I did.

In this novel, author Amy Impellizzeri is really giving us two stories, that of Lu, feeling somewhat adrift in her life, and, having come home to find a plane crashed on her block, in need of a new place to stay. Guatemala – her mother’s country of birth – calls to her and she undertakes a journey to make sense of the past, yes, but also to redefine her present.

At the same time, we are given the story of Mari before she was Lu’s mother. Told in flashback, these chapters evoke a sudden attraction, a tumultuous romance, and the settling of passion into comfortable love. It’s a rich and earthy peek at the near-past, colored by the lens of memory, and I found Mari’s chapters to be incredibly lyrical.

The real artistry, I feel, comes from Amy’s ability to weave this mother-daughter story into a cohesive whole. At times the alternating chapters feel like a dialogue, at other times melody and countermelody, but the entire novel was compelling and ultimately satisfying, full of truthful emotional moments that ran the gamut from hurt, anger, and fear, to self-deprecation, humor, and enlightenment.

I want to make special note of two of the unifying elements of this book. First the worry dolls of the title. I’ve had such a box (mine was pink, I think) of tiny dolls, but when I didn’t I told my troubles to the dog, or my stuffed animals. The practice is a nearly universal one, I think, and its one of the touches that made this story so special. I also liked the use of the end of the Mayan calendar – remember how so many people panicked about that a few years ago? In this author’s hands, it wasn’t just a clever plot device, but an apt metaphor for childhood and parenthood.

One cycle ends, another begins, and the Great Wheel spins ever onward.

Goes well with Quesadillas with sauteed rosa de Jamaica (hibiscus), and a cold beer.