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Pamela Ribon, a fellow former Television Without Pity recapper, is pretty much a rockstar these days. Not only does she pull some sweet television writing gigs, but she's got three books under her belt and is a bad-ass roller derby girl, and, coincidentally, so is the heroine of her newest book, Going in Circles.
From the book cover:
Charlotte Goodman has had enough surprises. In fact, she reached her life's quotient when her husband of five years walked out on her only to abruptly change his mind and move back in. Stung by a whiplash of grief, resentment, and confusion, Charlotte calls a time-out, taking a small apartment where she can figure out what she wants. Instead, the thought of making even the simplest choices triggers an anxiety attack. In order to get out of bed in the morning, she must concoct a to-do list for each day, The Plan, one with absolutely no surprises:
"Without The Plan, horrible things can happen. I'm likely to end up sitting on a curb beside a taco truck on Sunset Boulevard, crying over a carne asada burrito, wondering where my marriage went. I can't handle being the Weeping Burrito Girl."
Charlotte knows all this self-absorbed introspection isn't good for her, but she's running out of people to turn to, as seemingly everyone in her life is pressuring her to make an immediate decision about her future. Then her new friend Francesca -- an impulsive, smart-ass coworker -- offers Charlotte salvation in the unlikeliest of places: the fast-paced, super-tough, bump-and-bruise-filled world of roller derby.
Sure, it's dangerous. Yeah, she could get hurt, But what's a little physical pain when healing your soul is at stake? The question is: whether she's on or off the track, will Charlotte be strong enough to stand on her own two feet?
Photo: Marina del RAGE (aka Rachael House)
If Pam broke my heart with Why Girls Are Weird, she completely pulverized it with Going in Circles. This most recent book might be a work of fiction, but the writing is so unvarnished, so intimate that I had a really hard time keeping myself from cross-examining Pam about her personal life. Reading the book, you can tell that Pam knows exactly what she's writing about. Anyone who has been through a tough breakup will see themselves, their emotions and their thoughts in this book.
Going in Circles is not sappy or moony and, quite frankly, that's what I love most about it. It's honest about the ugliest sides of heartbreak, and it stares unflinchingly at the blind confusion and disorientation that comes with the separation from someone you thought you'd be connected to your entire life. However, through all the tears and therapy and brief experiments with antidepressants, Pam, true to form, still manages to bring the funny in a big way.
I'm not usually one to force people to read books, but seriously people, if you don't pick up Going in Circles this summer, you clearly don't love books enough. Buy it, read it, love it.
A Ten-Question Interview With Author Pamela Ribon
1. More so than your other books, Going in Circles feels extremely personal. Do you feel particularly close to this story more compared to Why Girls are Weird and Why Moms are Weird?
What's funny is that I'm asked this question with each of my books. I think that's probably a good sign. I feel close to all the stories I tell. If there's a distance, I didn't write it the right way.
2. At one point Charlotte calls someone she thinks Matthew might be dating a "Hot Pocket," which is just too hysterical a description to be a complete invention. Outside the book, have you actually ever referred to anyone as a "Hot Pocket" or any other sort of microwaveable treat? An Uncrustable, maybe?
I came up with the Hot Pocket joke at the time I was writing, I remember that. I mean, eating a Hot Pocket is something that seems like a good idea at the time, but then later you usually don't feel very good in your stomach or your mouth. Lots of regret. A temporary fix to a hunger situation that only makes things worse. For further (better) jokes about Hot Pockets, please see Jim Gaffigan.
3. One moment in the book that really hit home with me is when Charlotte wishes Matthew had actually hit her, because she would *know* that she had a
