Prepare for Departure – Mark Chesnut

Mark Chesnut’s “Prepare for Departure” is part memoir and part how-to guide. It’s full of colorful anecdotes about growing up as a travel-obsessed child in the 1970s and is infused with “tips” for proper decorum in social settings from his Southern-raised mother.

While entertaining, outside of two chapters — one dedicated to his failed “cruising” attempts at a hotel in Columbus, Ohio, and another about a shoplifting spree at the local airport — these sections felt unremarkable and blasé.

There are numerous references to people and events most readers under 40-years-old won’t understand and sometimes it felt like he talked around a memory before deciding how to present it.

However, what makes “Prepare for Departure” — a reference to his love of flying and his mother’s impending death — worth a read is the other 50 percent of the story, how Chesnut navigated the care of an aging parent, helped her craft a legacy and healed old wounds.

Both Dustin Lance Black’s “Mama’s Boy” and Steve Rushin’s “Sting-Ray Afternoons,” are more effective at infusing slice of life nostalgia with an exploration of heavier topics, but Chesnut’s recounting of the final months with his mother was honest, clear-eyed and, at times, raw.

He doesn’t sugar coat the stress and frustration that comes with navigating long-term care and end of life planning, but he didn’t dwell on them either. This isn’t a treatise by any means, but it’s the sketches of a playbook for others in a similar situation — especially queer people that may still have baggage from less than positive coming out experiences.

In the acknowledgments, he admits that his training as a travel writer did not necessarily lend itself to creative nonfiction. While there are shortcomings in the storytelling (as noted above), the most engaging chapters were when he provided the historical context of a situation and punctuated it with a current view.

The chapter, “The Flight of the Blue Heron,” where he recounts the family history of a sculpture and his mother’s last viewing of it in his home gutted me. It was the perfect balance of family lore mixed with the experience of letting go, both mentally and physically.

Throughout, Chesnut is likable and real. I kept thinking he would be a fun guest at a dinner party. If you’re the type of reader that enjoys memoirs exploring the lighter side of life with some heavier elements, this would be a good read for you.

Thank you to Vine Leaves Press and the author for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review. Visit the publisher’s website for information on where to obtain your copy.  

Rating (story): 3.5/5 stars

Rating (narration): N/A

Formats: ARC (personal library)

Dates read: August 6 – August 28, 2022

Multi-tasking: N/A