Hillbilly Gothic by Adrienne Martini

It is my own fault, I realize, but when I chose the book “Hillbilly Gothic”, I was thinking it would be something other than what it was. I love memoirs and when the words “Hillbilly Gothic” were followed by “A Memoir of Madness and Motherhood”, I was intrigued. I don’t know what I actually was expecting, but what I got was a memoir of a nice normal woman who suffered depression and postpartum syndrome. She came from a family that seemed plagued with mental illness, but the author’s style really seemed to downplay that. Her style seemed to downplay all of it, truth be told, even her own illness. Additionally, I am guessing that perhaps she didn’t explain well enough why she considers herself a hillbilly ... I didn’t get that. She seemed like any woman from any neighborhood in any town in the world. And while this author seems like a funny, interesting woman that I would really want as a friend, I can’t honestly say I enjoyed her book. Her humor is sly and I am sure she is hilarious to talk to over a glass of wine, the book was disappointing to me.