Series
Status
Available
Call number
Publication
New York : Delta Trade Paperbacks, [1995].
Physical description
xxvii, 324 p.; 25 cm
User reviews
LibraryThing member whimsyblue
I was deeply grieving the loss of my mother as I read this book, published just one year after her death. I found it very helpful in finding a place for my feelings and it helped me to feel less alone in the world, to know that in some way the feelings I had, others had experienced, too. I
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recommend it for other daughters and often lend out my copy. All kinds of losses and relationships are acknowledged and respected. Show Less
LibraryThing member julie2112
I was originally given this book shortly after its publication, less than a year after losing my Mom to breast cancer. I just finished rereading it about 13 years later, and found it even more comforting and informative than the first time around. Written by a motherless daughter, the book focuses
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specifically on a daughter's grief for the early death of her mother. Although it can inform you about grief in general, if this specific scenario does not apply to you, the scope may seem limited unless you are interested in the psychology of bereavement. I found it to be very insightful, touching on an area that is not only rarely discussed in literature, but rarely discussed in life. This book helped me understand that I am not crazy for the magnitude and duration of my grief, nor am I alone in my experience. I also highly recommend the follow up book Hope Edelman wrote, consisting of letters she received after the publication of this work. I'll review that one as soon as I can find it! Show Less
LibraryThing member lauriebrown54
I started reading this book nearly ten years ago, when the grief counselor recommended it to me after my mother died. I read most of it then, and put it down with only a few pages to go, until an hour ago.
The book is mainly geared to women who lost their mothers when they were very young. I was 47
But near the end is a section devoted to how the motherless daughter raises her own children, and suddenly I related to the book: my mother lost her own mother when she was only nine. And my mother fit almost exactly the character of the motherless daughter as a mother herself. Suddenly, I understood a lot of things about her- and about myself. I might not have been the intended audience for the book, but it still struck a chord.
The book is a combination of autobiography and psychological analysis. The author did her own survey of women who had lost their mothers; it was a small sample (154 respondents) but she gathered a lot of information from other people’s research as well. I think the book is well done and well worth reading by any woman who lost her mother young or whose mother lost hers young.
The book is mainly geared to women who lost their mothers when they were very young. I was 47
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when my 87 year old mother died, so a lot of the book didn’t seem to fit my circumstances. That’s why I put it down and never finished it; it enlightened me to some things, like how one will always miss their mother (unless the relationship is very bad) even when they are adults. I had been told by a number of people “Well, you know your parents will die before you; it’s the way life works”; while that is true in most cases, it doesn’t take the pain away. But near the end is a section devoted to how the motherless daughter raises her own children, and suddenly I related to the book: my mother lost her own mother when she was only nine. And my mother fit almost exactly the character of the motherless daughter as a mother herself. Suddenly, I understood a lot of things about her- and about myself. I might not have been the intended audience for the book, but it still struck a chord.
The book is a combination of autobiography and psychological analysis. The author did her own survey of women who had lost their mothers; it was a small sample (154 respondents) but she gathered a lot of information from other people’s research as well. I think the book is well done and well worth reading by any woman who lost her mother young or whose mother lost hers young.
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Original publication date
1994