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Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite
All Skate by Lori Jakiela is a series of biographical essays taken from her life. They range in length, tone, and tenor. Le Petite Butt has Lori and her friend discussing body image and beauty standards while trying on swimsuits, with her friend offering a refreshing perspective, helping Lori appreciate the fleeting nature of beauty. Love Saves the Day captures a moment in a store where Lori’s daughter, Phelan, spreads joy by loudly proclaiming love, prompting Lori to embrace joy despite her worries about her son. In the postscript titled P.S., Lori recounts a meaningful gesture of giving her own holographic roller skates to a student, which she later sees on the student when they skate over to receive their diploma. All the stories lean into personal connections and deeper thoughts of combining life’s playful moments with its more solemn milestones.
Lori Jakiela’s All Skate: True Stories From Middle Life is a spectacularly candid collection of essays that showcase a true knack for mixing humor, self-deprecation, and authenticity. Her writing is conversational in style and wholly relatable, and I felt like I connected with her on a personal level just a couple of stories in. I love that she finds something to mull over in the everyday moments, which is the thread that holds it all together. The standout essay is Enlightenment in Blue, which has Lori thinking on the toll of virtual teaching during the pandemic, drawing a parallel between her physical discomfort and the isolation of the mind-body disconnect. She contemplates Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, feeling trapped in a virtual world, disconnected from meaningful, tangible work, much like the prisoners in the cave mistake shadows for reality. Full of grace, wisdom, and humility, and very highly recommended.
