No Biking in the House Without a Helmet

"We so loved raising our four children by birth, we didn’t want to stop. When the clock started to run down on the home team, we brought in ringers."
-Melissa Fay Greene, No Biking in the House Without a Helmet

No Biking in the House Without a Helmet by Melissa Fay Greene

Have I mentioned lately how much I love memoirs?

I passed this book in the Book Club section of my library several times before finally picking it up and giving it a go; I am so glad I did!  I pride myself on finding enjoyable nonfiction (it's not where I most comfortably reside) and this one absolutely did the trick for me. 

No Biking in the House is an autobiography of sorts about Melissa and her family.  She and her husband, Don, have four children of their own that they loved to pieces; aside from two busy careers they both love parenting best.  She describes parenting with genuine humor and I found myself laughing as I flipped through the pages as quickly as possible.  Such funny kids!  What a humorous husband!  It was enjoyable to just get a glimpse into their home.

When their four start growing older, threatening to start leaving the house for college (just as parents hope they'll do) Melissa and her husband start looking seriously at adoption.  They don't go about it lightly, but rather work tirelessly to find the right child, one that's healthy, that will be able to love and be loved and will fit into their family.  Melissa finds him in Bulgaria, and as a reader my heart ached with hers as she worked for years to make him feel comfortable (when she takes him to preschool he panics, thinking she's leaving him in another orphanage).  Eventually, she and Don adopt four more children, each one brought in with great love and described with great pride and humor.

The nine Greene kids become quite an adventure: their English is nothing short of hilarious, their antics entertaining (hence the title of the book) and their struggles heartfelt as they work to become a true family.  The author describes situations so adeptly it wasn't difficult to imagine being there myself and witnessing an epic adventure.

As fair warning, the "f" word does come up a few times in this book (maybe 3-5).  I typically put a book down at the first encounter but overlooked it this time and still found a great read.