Orange Mint and Honey: A Novel (edition 2008)

Shay Dixon is a burnt out grad student at the University of Iowa. Her advisor has convinced her to take a semester off to get some rest and get her head together. Shay has worked and gone to school to the exclusion of the rest of her life for so long that she doesn't know where to go or what to do. Nina Simone appears to Shay and tells her to go home to her mother. Shay doesn't like or respect her mother. But with nowhere else to go, she heads back to Denver.

Nona was a serious alcoholic for all of Shay's life. Shay raised herself while Nona partied, leaving her school-aged daughter home alone for a week at a time. The last time Shay saw Nona was four years ago when Nona began AA and was following the steps, apologizing to the people she had hurt. Nona had been pregnant at the time.

Shay moves in with her mother and 3-year-old sister Sunny. Despite evidence that Nona has changed - healthy food, positive quotes, a garden, prayer - Shay is determined to hold on to her anger.

Shay is a very immature 25-year-old, especially for someone who raised herself. But the way she holds on to her anger and blames Nona for her situation is believable. She made a lot of bad decisions and pissed me off, but her character was realistic. I didn't feel a whole lot towards Nona.

I thought the book was going to end up implying that the love of a good man could save a woman, and I was ready to roll my eyes. But Brice didn't go there. Nona and Shay's relationship developed in a realistic way and Shay did start to make her own decisions.

The recipes at the back of the book were a nice touch, and I loved the idea of the God box, planting your prayers in your garden. ( )

Loved this book!! I adore the idea for God Box- planting your prayers in your garden!! Just love it! This was a great mother/daughter story! It just had so much emotion and characters you just fell in love with! A wonderful ending it was just great beginning to end and I can't wait for Carleen Brice's next book!! ( )

This books would create a lot of discussion for book clubs. There are even recipes in the back. I found the mother's behavior puzzling throughout most of the book. The daughter's behavior was irritating, but more understandable. But she was pretty immature for someone who essentially raised herself. The audio version was well done. ( )

RATING: 5 out of 5

Why did I wait so long to read this book? I was lucky enough to snag a hard cover copy back in September of 2009 but somehow kept putting it further down on the pile. Must have truly been overrun with ARC’s. Finally, I decided I must devour it before the “made for TV” movie airs which just happens to be this Sunday on Lifetime. I never like to see the movie before I read the book. This was a simple feat because once I picked up the book; I could not put it down.

Don’t get me wrong. This is not light reading. The subject of conflict between mother and daughter is always raw and hurtful.

Shay Dixon had raised herself for all practical purposes as her mother, Nona was a stone alcoholic, and stayed drunk throughout all of Shay’s school years. Shay left the first chance she had, getting herself a scholarship, and as far away from her mother as possible. However, all the negative baggage that Shay left home with continued to haunt her throughout her college years. As she shied away from any kind a relationship, she had no support network, and that finally took it toll on her and she could not finish her thesis to graduate. Her advisor recommended that she take a semester or two off and gather her strength. Unfortunately, Shay had no place to go but home, which she did reluctantly because she was still packing all the baggage of her lost childhood.

However, Nona on the other hand, had found sobriety four years earlier, and another daughter, Sunshine, who she was just beginning to raise.

The story of Nona and Shay coming to terms about their earlier life is full of pain, blame, and a dawning of the damage that could not be forgotten but had to be forgiven for both of them to move on. The question is really can that happen.

No spoilers. I hope you will rush out and get a copy of the book. Record the movie and save until you finish the book. I promise you will not be sorry. ( )

Relationships whether good, bad or ugly, we all have them. These relationships, especially those with close friends and family shape our entire existence. The most unique relationship is the mother-daughter bond, even if that bond is broken; it still exists. In Orange Mint & Honey, author Carleen Brice takes us on an emotional roller coaster ride in the lives of Shay Dixon and her mother Nona. Although 25 years in age, Shay's soul personifies a character much older. While experiencing her mid-life crisis, Shay is advised to take a break from graduate school by her advisor. Later Shay would receive a visit from her banshee (spirit) Nina Simone and be advised to return home to her mother, a recovering alcoholic whom she had not spoken to in seven years.

A tale of love, hate, forgiveness, truth, and a large dose of heart-wrenching reality, Brice uses Orange Mint and Honey as an avenue to touch on very sensitive and sometimes taboo subjects, but with such eloquence and skill. While reading this novel I continuously found myself overwhelmed with emotion. At times I laughed, sometimes I cried and other times I had to put the book down and just think. Brice allowed me to use the character of Shay Dixon to deal with some of my own daughter-mother issues. Like Shay they are issues that started for me as a young girl and now in adulthood these same issues continue to affect me via the choices I make on a daily basis. However, I received a dose of hope that all relationships are mendable if we are willing to meet people where they are and if we receive what they have to give us as opposed to demanding what we want or what we think we deserve. Like Shay eventually did, I had to take into account that my mom has her own growing pains that she has to deal with on her terms and I must allow her to do that on her time, but not at the expense of my feelings.

This book is a must read and an eye-opener for anyone that is affected by or intrigued by the mother-daughter bond and the strengths and weaknesses that lie within it. In spite of the struggles, these women, Nona and Shay were determined to make it through allowing the reader to understand the sensitive yet strong bond that women possess. "Ain't I a woman?"

**Be sure to tune in Sunday, February 21, 2010 to Lifetime Movie Network to catch the premiere of "Sins of the Mother." This movie is based on Brice's novel Orange Mint & Honey and stars Grammy Award winning singer/actress Jill Scott. **

**Check out the Carleen Brice interview by BrownGirl by clicking here. ( )