A Letter for My Mother

Title:  A Letter for My Mother

Author:  Nina Foxx (editor)

Publication Information:  Strebor Books. 2014. 240 pages.

ISBN:  1593095325 / 978-1593095321

Book Source:  I received this book as a publisher's galley through NetGalley free of cost in exchange for an honest review.

Favorite Quote:  "The relationship that was closest to us proved to be the hardest to be honest about and the hardest to resolve."

We all have things that we have never said to our mothers. This book is thirty-five female authors coming together to give voice to those things. They write letters to their mothers (by birth or by love) to express joy, heartache, gratitude and every emotion in between:

• "Some people never get to meet their heroes. Mine gave birth to me."
• "I don't write to be understood; I write in order to understand. I write to make sense of it all, to learn about myself and about where I come from, if only so I can understand where I am going and how I can get there."
• "What healing we need. I see the seed for a global transformation of women's relationships to one another. Women need to heal with one another. Mothers and daughters need to heal. Sisters need to heal. The world needs to heal. Let it start with mothers."

The letters are as diverse as the authors themselves. Each letter is preceded with a brief explanation of the relationship where needed. The relationships are diverse - from a mother and daughter who are best friends to a daughter still trying to overcome a childhood of abuse.

Yet, underlying each are common themes - love, forgiveness, understanding, and the fact that the bond between a mother and daughter is unbreakable no matter what.

I read this book from cover to cover, straight through. I would not recommend that. I would recommend keeping it and giving it as a gift and finding the portions that perhaps pertain to your life and your relationships. Perhaps, it can start a conversation. Perhaps, it can put into words what you are unable to say. If you yourself are a mother, perhaps it can be something to share with your own daughter.

I laughed with some. I cried with others. I felt the emotion of each and every one.

Please share your thoughts and leave a comment. I would love to "talk" to you.