Guest Review: Letter to My Daughter by George Bishop (2010)

by Elizabeth Schlueter

 

After yet another terrible argument, fifteen year old Elizabeth slams the front door, having to get away from her mother who obviously has no clue what it’s like to be a teenager. Her mother, Laura, begins to pen a letter to her daughter, explaining that she does indeed know what it’s like to be fifteen years old. Laura’s letter details many of the questions that her daughter has quizzed her about over the years. Why did you get that tattoo? Was Daddy your first love?

As day fades to evening and evening well into the night, Laura focuses all her pent-up tension on writing an open and honest letter about being fifteen. She remembers her first time, being the outsider at school and losing her first love in an unpopular war. Paragraphs become pages and pages become chapters as Laura anxiously awaits and prays for Elizabeth’s safe return.

I enjoyed this novel. As a mom, our children pepper us with questions about our past, some we are hesitant to truthfully answer, and some questions that will remain secret. This novel made me reflect on my own child-rearing. How much should we really tell our children? Is it possible to be too open and honest about your own past? There are some moments and memories that we cling to and want to be just ours, not willing to share with anyone.

The author did a surprisingly good job of narrating from a mother’s point of view, but perhaps that is not all that difficult as a father. Raising children regardless of sex, the job itself is very similar, only the details may differ.

My rating: 4/5

You can find Letter to My Daughter here on Amazon or here on Book Depository.

Happy reading everyone!

 

Guest Review: All is Not Forgotten by Wendy Walker (2016)

by Elizabeth K. Schlueter

In the small, affluent town of Fairview, Connecticut everything seems picture perfect.

Until one night when young Jenny Kramer is attacked at a local party. In the hours immediately after, she is given a controversial drug to medically erase her memory of the violent assault. But, in the weeks and months that follow, as she heals from her physical wounds, and with no factual recall of the attack, Jenny struggles with her raging emotional memory. Her father, Tom, becomes obsessed with his inability to find her attacker and seek justice while her mother, Charlotte, prefers to pretend this horrific event did not touch her perfect country club world.

As they seek help for their daughter, the fault lines within their marriage and their close-knit community emerge from the shadows where they have been hidden for years, and the relentless quest to find the monster who invaded their town – or perhaps lives among them – drive this psychological thriller to a shocking and unexpected conclusion. [Source]

The concept of this novel was extremely interesting.  God forbid that you had experienced a terrible physical assault or were the lone survivor of an horrific attack while serving your country.  Doctors came to you or met with your loved one’s to inform you that they were able to erase those horrible memories.  Keep in mind that only the memories were erased, the physical scars remain.

That’s what Jenny’s family  decided to do, but the erasing of the memories only seemed to make things worse, the psychological trauma was with her, even to the point of wanting to commit suicide.

A therapist steps in to help Jenny go back and attempt to remember the memories of that horrible night, but while treating her finds that her memories may threaten his own family.

Should the therapist continue helping Jenny to remember the events of that fateful night, or could he plant false memories that would take the eye’s off of his own family.

I highly recommend the book!

My rating: 4.5/5

You can find All is Not Forgotten here on Amazon or here on Book Depository.

Happy reading everyone!