Mothers & Daughters by Rae Meadows
…beach read book club…
Hosted by the Liberty Hill Public Library
Discussion date: Sunday, July 17 3 pm – 5 pm
Your mission, should you choose to accept it:
First, sign up to join our discussion. There is no purpose for signing up other than letting us know how many to expect, how much chocolate to buy, and how hard we need to push to get this book moving through the readers. Actually, buying your own copy might be easier, but we do have a copy in the library. All I can ask is that if you borrow our copy, please be conscientious that there is a whole crew of book lovers waiting for it, so read it expediently and bring it back for the next bibliophile.
Second, read the book. Make notes. Read summaries and reviews. Ok, so that was said on the assumption you are planning ahead and reading the LHPL copy of the book in advance. If you have your own copy, write in it. I know, I know sacrilegious right? NO WAY! I write in all my books that I own….how they affected me, thoughts and revelations I have while reading, definitions if I had to look a word up.
Third, show up. We all plan ahead and have things come up. If it’s important to you to forge these new bonds with other book lovers, write it on your calendar and make it a priority. We all need time for us, and (assuming here) many of us are busy moms. Say yes to yourself. You ARE worth it. Come and let us pamper you with some good company, drinks and chocolate…and who knows what else. Taking care of you will only help you in taking care of others and make you better equipped to do that….and sometimes just a little piece of time that is just for your own indulgence is what it takes. Let this be your indulgence.
A rich and luminous novel about three generations of women in one family: the love they share, the dreams they refuse to surrender, and the secrets they hold.
Samantha is lost in the joys of new motherhood --- the softness of her 8-month-old daughter's skin, the lovely weight of her child in her arms --- but in trading her artistic dreams to care for her child, Sam worries she's lost something of herself. And she is still mourning another loss: her mother, Iris, died just one year ago.
When a box of Iris's belongings arrives on Sam's doorstep, she discovers links to pieces of her family history but is puzzled by much of the information the box contains. She learns that her grandmother Violet left New York City as an eleven-year-old girl, traveling by herself to the Midwest in search of a better life. But what was Violet's real reason for leaving? And how could she have made that trip alone at such a tender age?
In confronting secrets from her family's past, Sam comes to terms with deep secrets from her own. Moving back and forth in time between the stories of Sam, Violet, and Iris, Mothers and Daughters is the spellbinding tale of three remarkable women connected across a century by the complex wonder of motherhood.
It has been so busy at the library lately, lots of that self-imposed. We're gearing up for summer and not only does that mean Summer Reading, but many opportunities for the library to help fill your summer with activities.
