Review: The Little Love That Could by Pamela Capone

Autobiographical anecdotes, humorous afterthoughts and messages of faith entertain and inspire in The Little Love That Could: Stories of Tenacious Love, Underdogs, and Ragamuffins by Pamela Capone.

As a self-professed “professional unpaid people watcher and evidence gatherer” by day and “an insomniac dot connector” by night, Capone shares her insights into life and living through a series of autobiographical anecdotes that are candid and humorous. Her tone is conversational, upbeat and quirky, but always heartfelt.

Capone shares her vulnerabilities and fears through her adoption as a child and the uneasy relationship she had with her “bio-illogical” birth parents in “The Bio-illogicals,” the visceral love between a mother and her children in “Confliction,” and speaks of the special forgiving relationship between a husband and wife of long standing in “Hallmark.”

However, Capone gives us more than mere humorous autobiographical anecdotes. She also gives us keen insights, observations and introspections that are inspirational and uplifting. She shows us what it means to appreciate and understand human frailty through her frequent visits to the nursing home to spend time with her friend, Inez, and some of the other residents in the nursing home in “Table Talk,” while letting us us experience first hand the bond of friendship and the gut-wrenching pain of loss in “I Know She Happened,” and through the personal satisfaction that comes from impulsively and selflessly offering a random act of kindness in “Can I Help You?”

Capone describes her book in the following manner: “This book is about teensy-weensy firecracker love that, when activated, produces a burst of fireworks. It’s about feet-on-the-ground love. Sky’s-the-limit love. Life-changing, world engaging, mustard-seed love that grows from an idea, an epiphany, a hunch, a nudging from above…” That gives a sense of Capone’s boundless energy in both her prose and her life, which eggs the reader on to feel what she’s feeling and take her initiative as a direction.

Capone’s humorous and faith-laced autobiographical anecdotes arguably cast a wider net than variants on the theme of love, as the book imparts sage messages of wisdom that come from age and having experienced the highs, the lows, the anguish and all the happiness that life has to offer; simple messages like a smile goes a long way, making amends and saying you’re sorry should be on one’s daily to-do list, not on one’s bucket list, children have a voice, one is never too old to learn something new, and there are ample rewards in random acts of kindness.

While some of these may sound like bromides, Capone offers a fresh take on some standard insights, while offering unique advice along the way. Some of these moments do veer to the cliché, but they are given new life when seen through Capone’s witty and energetic perspective. The engine behind her advice is her spirited prose, which has the power to change one’s own point of view, as well as transcend demographics.

Whether in need of entertainment, inspiration or merely a different perspective on life in general, The Little Love That Could has something that will fit each bill, for a recommended blend of memoir and self-help.