Wish You Were Here by Sheridan Jobbins (2017)

Review by CJ

Page count:
330

Format:
ARC eBook

ISBN:
9781925475609

 

When Sheridan Jobbins’ marriage is a rug that her then-husband pulls out from under her, she takes the opportunity to destroy all of their china then run away to America to find herself. Along the way she finds a companionable car, a little bit of kindness and a lot of self-discovery.

To be honest, dear reader, Wish You Were Here isn’t what I would call my usual literary fare. It caught my eye because the cover is vibrant and lovely and oozing with travel adventures. Once I read the blurb, there was something that piqued my interest though I couldn’t tell you what it was. I downloaded it, I read it and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Jobbins’ story of self-discovery and reclamation.

Jobbins tells her story with heart, nerve and a generous helping of Aussie humour. From comparing life in America and life in Australia to anecdotes filled with “take the piss” style humour, Wish You Were Here takes the reader along on an often laugh out loud funny ride.

Between, and sometimes alongside, the humour is a story filled with raw human emotions. Vulnerability walks hand in hand with anger with grief and pain the clouds that block their sunlight. Robbins has intwined all of the emotions she experienced during this time beautifully. The story also paints a picture of the America many people don’t get to experience because they’re not wounded and travelling alone through a strange country.

I did not go into Wish You Were Here knowing Jobbins, the child-star, actress, producer and writer, but I came out of it admiring Jobbins, the lioness who fiercely reclaimed herself in a strange land surrounded by even stranger, and sometimes gun-toting, people.

Rating: