Hope Edelman

I lost my mom when I was 14 & I can’t believe it took me this long to find this book. Full of wisdom about how grief stays with you and grows in different seasons of life, this book helped me so much. If you’ve lost your mom, no matter how old you are, I would highly recommend this. There were so many moments that made me realize I was not alone.

“For the motherless daughter, depending on independence is not nearly as contradictory as it sounds.”

From the very beginning of this beautifully written memoir, the reader is allowed entrance into the struggles of the Edelman family. Not only does it delve into issues of balancing family life and work, it also deals with the struggle to make a marriage work. At the same time, the author seeks to make sense of her belief systems and how they are different from those of her husband. By her decision to vacation in Belize despite her daughter's physical and mental health issues, Edelman show more investigates and comes to terms with a number of issues that are sure to change her families lives. A wonderfully written book that not only shares a part of her family's healing, but also allows the reader to discover some of the wonders of South America without needing to leave the country (or the couch for that matter). show less

I was not thrilled at the prospect of reading this book, in fact, if I hadn't received it as an early reviewer, I probably wouldn't have read it. I was very pleasantly surprised. Edelman not only wove a beautiful image of her travels to Belize but she forced me to examine my beliefs in what is truly possible in the world. I felt very connected to Edelman, we are both type A personalities with laid back husbands and an overall practical (and borderline cynical) view of the world. I show more appreciated the lengths she would go to help her daughter, tapping into a world that she ordinarily would shun. I also appreciated her willingness to share her story in such amazing detail. It isn't often that I read a novel that forces me to reexamine my own belief system. I read Edelman's book in two days and haven't stopped thinking about it since. show less

The letter from the publisher that was enclosed with this advanced reader copy entreated me to suspend my disbelief for a while. It also should have told me to stop thinking how I would've handled the situation, and just go with it.

I truly enjoyed the parts of the story that were focused on their sometimes difficult but always loving family dynamic, their interactions with the other travelers and the beautiful people of Belize, and I sometimes felt voyeuristic reading what felt like the show more pages of a personal journal. The interspersed historic details about the Maya calendar, the stars, the Maya kings, etc. were sometimes very dry and I would skim over them. I know the author was trying to make a bridge between her story of her family's struggle and the culture they were traveling within.

Hope Edelman is a complicated, introspective and firmly grounded woman trying her best to juggle the roles of loving wife, mother, and working author. That was clear. Her own struggle accepting and having faith in the shaman's recommendations to "cure" her daughter made it an easier, more believable read for me. Instead of attributing faith to something specific, she expounded upon her belief in the "possibility of everything." I actually appreciated and enjoyed reading her viewpoint on that and also her understanding of herself as a mother who "does" things to insure the success of her child instead of being one who can "trust" their child will naturally be a success.

Ultimately, I enjoyed this book enough to actively find time to read it. I wanted to know what happened next whether or not I bought into the premise. I also am drawn to read the author's earlier memoirs about losing her mother at an early age. Even in this memoir, being a motherless daughter is something that clearly haunts her every single day, and I wonder how much that loss contributed to her exploration of any avenue -- spiritual or otherwise -- to ensure she is being the best mother to her own daughter. show less