Portobello Book Blog

Places I Stopped on the Way Home by Meg Fee is a collection of essays covering her ten years in New York from when arriving as a fresh faced student at Julliard age 18. It is a deeply personal and honest account of the highs and lows of her time living in the city.

The author describes first loves, first heartbreak, her first taste of independence beautifully, almost lyrically. She recounts memories associated with buildings or places or times in her life and includes her thoughts about just what is home.

She is very honest about her struggles with body image, food related disorders and mental health. Her self image and lack of confidence affected her decision making. She wanted to be loved, but often knew she was not with the right person.  As she comes to terms with her feelings, she includes the wise words – “The body changes, it adjusts. But added or lost weight does not change a person.”

One essay in particular – On Home II –  was a short but very beautiful piece on what matters in a relationship and really spoke to me. She talks of wanting a partner to “sit next to me on the doorstep on the front stoop and with your hand cupping my neck promise me quiet Sunday mornings with coffee and the paper and unfinished crossword puzzles. Promise me that arm that reaches out when I step off the curb a minute too soon. An extra set of hands to pull my zipper or put the groceries away. Flowers for no reason at all. The coffee brewed before I wake. Passed art sections and shared looks and your hand on my knee for as long as we both shall live. Dancing in the kitchen, bare feet and no music except for that song wetting your lips.”

New York is brought vividly to life in the book along with the author’s mixed feelings for this great city.  As she lived and wrote her way through all the places, she was finding herself, her place in the world, her way home.

My thanks to Ruth Killick Publicity for my copy of the book. It is available now in hardback and as an e-book. You can order a copy online here: Places I Stopped on the Way Home

From the back of the book

Meg Fee is a Texas-born writer who spent her formative adult years in NYC. In 2017 she said goodbye to New York to pursue a Master of Public Policy at Duke University.