Not as good as her other three memoirs. This book is actually about Ruth Reichl's mother, Miriam - a well-educated woman who had hoped to become a medical doctor, but whose strong-willed mother dictated other directions. ( )

This homage to the author's mother turned out to be a delightful little book. I was dubious at the beginning because of the talk of thwarted lives of the stay-at-home-mom generation. However, I soon warmed up to the book after the accumulation of a life well lived began to unravel.

Reichl discovered the mother she never knew through an old box containing letters and scraps of paper that recorded the thoughts and desires of a misunderstood woman. Although her mother didn't realize her dreams, she created an atmosphere in which her daughter could accomplish hers. As I said above...a life well lived. ( )

Recommended by UA librarians

Audiobook. A good book. Reichl goes back and uncovers her mother's life from her letters. Comes to know a woman she didn't really know when she was alive. Well done and compelling. An interesting mother/ daughter point. Her mother taught her, did everything she could do, to ensure that she didn't become her mother. I had a mother who invented herself (went to college and became a school teacher when no one in her time and place really did) because she didn't want to be her mother. The variations on this theme are endless. A book I'd recommend. ( )

A slim book, in both senses of the word. She's a wonderful writer, and it was interesting to learn more about her mother, but the book was more a short story than a book and so slightly unsatisfying. ( )