Like Waldman’s online writing, the book veers between too much information and a refreshingly brutal honesty about things like being mad at children. It’s sometimes irritating, sometimes engaging.

My belief was often strained. The main character, Emilia, eschewed group therapy in the wake of her daughter’s death, but this didn’t adequately explain why she, her doctor, or others didn’t railroad her into individual therapy, which she clearly needed. Her husband Jack’s ex-wife was too cruel to be believable; I would have welcomed some complexity. Her stepson William is presented as a precocious five-year old, but more than once it notes Phillip Pullman’s Amber Spyglass as his favorite book. Amber Spyglass is a YA book for 12 and up. I’ll allow that a real-life adult MIGHT read this violent, complex, sexual book to a 5yo, but for a fictional preschooler, however precocious, to claim it? No way.

And yet, I enjoyed parts of this book, too. Waldman’s crisp writing kept me reading at a quick clip. Emilia is immature and narcissistic, but she’s also smart and interesting. William, the stepson, was a great character, though I was horrified by many of the things he was subjected to, not just the ones his mother complained that Emilia put him through. The details of Central Park were lovingly drawn, and her ethnography of the NYC mommy/kid/nanny culture was fascinating. ( )

This book seriously grabbed me and did not let me go. With Love and Other Impossible Pursuits, Waldman took me on an emotional rollercoaster and I could have read about this family for days and days and never get tired of their story – truly. First of all, Waldman wrote Emilia so amazingly well, I cannot even explain it properly. I could literally feel her pain as I was reading about her. Even when she made some horrible choices I couldn’t help but feel for her and I continuously forgave her all of her errors. I couldn’t help it, she was just that real to me, so honest, flawed, but deep down just filled with pain.

One of my best friends married a man with a four-year-old son, making her an instant stepmom, and it’s not been the easiest transition for their family. Not nearly as rough as the book, really, but I absolutely thought of her as I was reading this novel. The transition this family was going through was so similar to what my friend is dealing with that I couldn’t help putting her in some of Emilia’s situations (which probably made me identify with Emilia even more). Because of this, I loved reading about Emilia and William’s relationship. Not even close to a smooth transition, or even an okay relationship – it really was pure chaos. But it was so real, so honest, so much like how life is, that I loved reading about them sloooowly forming a bond.

The ending to this novel is one of the best endings I have read in awhile. I was bawling my eyes out, in a good way, and it was just so beautiful. So heartbreakingly hopeful, all at once. I really did love this book. Highly recommended. ( )

- Emilia Greenleaf hates her stepson. She doesn’t really mean to – she wanted to love him, but he’s incredible precocious, and when her suggests things life selling the “baby’s things on EBay”, Emilia cannot stand him. The book follows Emilia as she navigates step-motherhood in the wake of her baby’s early death. Emilia is hard to like – she’s incredibly selfish and self-absorbed, and she basically stole her husband out from underneath his ex-wife, but her grief and difficulty with motherhood rings true. William (the stepson) is heartbreaking, as it’s obvious that his father (who very rarely is around, it seems) is the only stable influence in his life, as the ex-wife is nearly certifiable (though can ya blame her? Emilia friggin’ stole her husband, simply because she decided he was her soul mate, despite the fact that he was already married…). ( )

I quickly picked this book up from the library and was not familiar with the title nor author. So I was really listening blind. Emelia has an aversion to babies, children and pregnant women. She is irresponsible, sad and angry. We later find out that she has lost a baby to SIDS and is struggling to keep her relationships alive with her husband, her father, and her mom. She struggles most with her husband, Jack's son William, a boy of 5 years.
While throughout much of the book I found myself getting tired of Emelia and her profound negativity, I also found myself looking forward to driving so I could see what happened next. My only criticism was the way the author wrapped everything up very quick and neat in the final pages. I think this should have evolved more carefully and fully. ( )

I enjoyed this book and thought it was very well written. The pain Emilia was feeling seemed very real .William was such an interesting little boy. He was so spoiled and yet so vulnerable . ( )