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Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite
In her memoir This is a Love Song: Thoughts from the B Side of a Gen X Life, Dina Honour describes daily walks with her husband during the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to leave their apartment and maintain a routine, then proceeds to step back with vignettes and recollections of her life. Honour talks about friendships that span decades, tracing their role in the shaping of her memory and identity. She shares memories of early crushes and the evolution of admiration from childhood to adulthood, still questioning if she has done “enough.” Comparisons between contemporary experiences with those of her Generation X childhood are made, leaning into childhood freedoms, play, fashion choices, and media influences. These, and other pieces of the era, are situated alongside many of her experiences within the cultural touchstones of Generation X.
I was drawn to Dina Honour’s This is a Love Song because of the Memorex cassette tape on the cover, and my own recollections of trying to catch a song on the radio to record for future listening. Like the Memorex, Honour taps into the nostalgia of many through her beautiful recording of Gen X memories in this book. I love that Honour invites readers into her household, effectively contrasting the shared rhythms of her childhood with her contemporary routines, and how her practical, attentive approach to daily life comes from inherited, generational family habits. Always insightful and often humorous, the book is a mix tape of various types of hot flashes and a desire to indulge in skincare, chocolate, and perfume with abandon as she ages. Overall, Honour's work is a series of deliberate stylistic decisions, like her own life, that feels refreshing and empowering, and I am here for it. Very highly recommended.
