With wrenching precision, 79 women recall their mothers in original letters, essays, poems, and stories, evoking basic truths about the inescapability of mother-daughter similarities, the lifelong rapture of mother for child, and the daughter's unquenchable longing for mother after her death. Contributors range from established literary figures (Joyce Carol Oates, Rosellen Brown) to less well known writers and artists. Some of these pieces reveal anger at a mother's abandonment or at failure to protect a child from violence. All of them seek to relive the past, especially those moments when (as Lynne Sharon Schwartz says of her mother's singing) ``life becomes more than itself, so intense and fulfilled that we wish it could be that way always.'' Most also express need—``how much I need to reach out and touch your hand,'' Carol Shields says of her long-deceased mother—and the realization that querying the source of one's predilections is often unnecessary. As Ellen Gilchrist tells her mother: ``Every morning you think the world is beginning all over and all will be well with the world. I think so too. Where do you think I got an idea like that?'' Edited by novelist Warloe (The Legend of Olivia Cosmos Montevideo, 1994), the pieces are well-chosen, with every type of revelation expressed. But the mass of memories raises the question: How many truths can one take in a book? Maybe not as many as are presented here. The problem is that the letters are addictive: Like listening to a top-40 station, you hang on to hear what's next. What will Rita Dove say? Andrea Barrett? Barbara Kingsolver? Whether exhausted or delighted by the book, be warned: Memories of one's own mother may arise and wilt the page with tears. Best to punctuate the readings with a viewing of Albert Brooks's Mother. (b&w photos, not seen)
Pub Date: May 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-671-56324-6
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Pocket
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1997
BOOK REVIEW
A generally clear-minded, empowering book by a sympathetic professional who might well cause readers to wish he were their...
A physician shares anecdotes—some sentimental, some dry-eyed—about his youthful patients and their parents.
Rao, trained as a physician in both India and the U.S., settled 26 years ago in Porterville, Calif., where in addition to treating patients, he writes a medical advice column for the local newspaper—many of the brief chapters in the book appeared previously in the Porterville Recorder as columns. Arranged more or less by topic, the chapters cut across a wide swath of medical practice: the stages of child development, the freedom needed to grow up healthy, preventive medicine, curing illnesses when prevention has failed, good nutrition practices, the impacts of drugs on patients, the conundrums of heredity, medical wonders, the evolution of medical practice, the role of curiosity in medical treatment, medical detective work, curing patients facing daunting odds, the importance of family support, and the role of prayer. Rao's first-person narration addresses parents in a chatty, reassuring manner. He eschews alarmism in favor of optimism, setting parents at ease about rearing children who are healthy emotionally, physically and spiritually. He is sincere when he advocates laughter as a potent medicine, noting that an effective doctor not only laughs with his patients, but listens well, exudes compassion, expresses empathy and is highly trained in his field. At times, he seems overly rosy in his outlook, as when he suggests that state medical boards assist parents in determining a specific physician's complaint record—many state medical boards refuse to discuss complaints against physicians with patients. Such questionable advice is rare, however, as Rao presents positive and helpful advice for healthy parenting.
A generally clear-minded, empowering book by a sympathetic professional who might well cause readers to wish he were their family doctor.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 0-9749761-0-5
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 27, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Romance feels deeply liberating in Zalmanek’s hands.
Stories and guidance designed to keep the fires burning in your relationship.
This book is about adventures, unusual and exciting experiences in love–particularly with established couples–that speak of abiding affection. And they speak loudly, because you have to work to keep these adventures moving. They range from daily, loving gestures–the little threads that sew you together–to grand celebrations. Zalmanek, a self-proclaimed “Romantic Adventurer,” begins with the baby steps needed to get started. Fearless where she treads, Zalmanek is happy to give tips on everything from marriage proposals to divorce ceremonies. Each chapter is filled with episodes of romantic adventure intended to jump-start the imagination in the form of illustrative stories from people who have taken one of her workshops. She stresses the importance of being an attentive and aware mate–to understand your lover’s surprise quotient, for example–to explore the sensual acts that please the two of you, to learn how to give (and receive) unexpected gifts and to develop your own romantic traditions. She wants you to cherish the act of intimacy, to step back for a moment, regain some perspective and realize how important it is to keep adding fuel to the fire that drives your romance. Best of all, she makes it sound like an awful lot of fun.
Romance feels deeply liberating in Zalmanek’s hands.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-9766879-0-9
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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