Paradise Imperfect: An American Family Moves to the Costa Rican Mountains
Delightful and immensely readable. Margot Page's memoir reminds me of Anne Lamott and Barbara Kingsolver-the power, the beauty, and the accessibility of its prose-yet Page's brash charm and dark humor are her own.Feeling out of step with the super-vigilant parenting culture of the metropolis, Page felt suddenly done with it all. Paradise Imperfect is the story of the year she moved her family to Central America, and its insights into the nature of family, faith, friendship, do-gooderism, poverty, and materialism are both morally complex and surprisingly, poignantly hilarious.- Bob Shacochis, winner of the of the National Book Award, author of The Woman Who Lost Her SoulParadise Imperfect is a travel story, but it's also a love letter to the tangled and beautiful mess that comes from taking big chances. A truly refreshing voice in the landscape of shiny travel writing.- travel website Nerd's Eye ViewMargot Page's writing brings together three elements all too rarely found in combination: fierce intelligence; genuine, irresistible funniness; and authentic sweetness. In Paradise Imperfect, Page-an overextended, oft-frustrated working mom-spirits her husband and three children away to the misty forests of Costa Rica. In the year she and her family spend there, Page learns about slowing down, about being a less-than-perfect mom, and about the possibilities that arise from having and doing a lot less.All this she does in prose that is hilarious, heartfelt, and never less than gorgeous.- Claire Dederer, author of Poser: My Life in 23 Yoga PosesMargot Page's intelligent and witty prose style is at its best; every word seems uniquely chosen. The pages of Paradise Imperfect brim with possibility, inspiration, and even a bit of hilarious how-to. An ordinary family lived an extraordinary adventure. In their eating, praying, and loving, it becomes clear that readers can, too.- Marcelle Soviero, Editor-in-Chief, Brain, Child: The Magazine for Thinking MothersHilarious and heartfelt. With keen observation and dry wit, Page puts to words the things the rest of us have only suspected and half-thought.- Theo Nestor, author of Writing is my Drink