Marcia Monbleau's Right, We Are "All in the Same Boat"

A Book Review of "All in the Same Boat: Notes from a Mind That Wanders" by Marcia Monbleau

By Maggie Kulbokas

We've had a taste of spring the last few days with warm breezes and bright sunshine. Not true for the next few days with cool rain and overcast skies in our future. As you sit in front of your monitor on days like this, your mind may drift back home to your favorite comfortable chair. Perhaps a cup of tea and a warm throw. And, of course, a good book.

"All in the Same Boat: Notes from a Mind That Wanders" by Marcia J. Monbleau is just such a book. The author may be best known for "the Inevitable Guest" (reviewed previously here), a poignant and witty "how to" for handling those, well, inevitable guests,  that come a callin' at your Cape Cod home.

Monbleau employs the same wit in "Same Boat", a compilation of observations and reflections from a life chocked full of experience. In the foreword, Monbleau refers to "Same Boat" as a "travel diary" and then a "hash" or mish-mosh of  old and new pieces and ingredients mixed together--both are very fitting descriptions for this collection.

From her chapter "It Never Snows on Cape Cod" about shoveling the white stuff to the annual, Hitchcockian invasion of summer zucchini, in "Feeling Squashed", there is a comfortable, clever familiarity in her words.

Perhaps it is human nature to feel we are all in the same boat--sharing experiences, feelings and emotions. Monbleau has lived the life of a real Yankee and her daily experiences will ring true with many of us who are tethered to this  sandbar.  Her vibrant observations lead us through the seasons and different phases of her life--our lives, really.  

The scenes Monbleau paints are equally vivid whether she is commenting on mundane household chores, varmints, footwear or the passing of legends.  Also pleasing are Lucretia Romey's whimiscal illustrations peppered throughout the pages.

Perhaps a "hash", but always entertaining, the stories in "Same Boat" run the gamut of emotion from funny and frustrating to poignant and heartfelt. You'll find yourself chuckling and in my case, tearing up after reading "Why".

So here we all are in the "same boat". Maybe we aren't as different as we think we are.

Marcia Monbleau has called the Cape home for most of her life. She worked in the newspaper industry for well over a decade as a feature editor and reporter and as the publicity director at the Cape Playhouse for seven years. Her first play, "oldfriends.com" was produced in 2002 at the Cape Playhouse and at Queens Theatre in the Park in New York. She currently resides in Harwich Port. "All in the Same Boat" (ISBN 0-9676220-2-6) and Monbleau's other books are available on her website at www.marciamonbleau.com.