Maude

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.
-Ian Maclaren

The quote by Maclaren kept ringing in my mind as I was reading Maude, and days later, she is still on my mind.

Maude is a heartbreakingly beautiful story about a young woman's life. Married at 14, a widow at 16, and willing to do anything necessary for her family. Her story had me going through an emotional rollercoaster wondering, "What could possibly happen next?"

Donna Mabry artistically tells the story of her grandmother's life in a way that had me on the edge of my seat and reading late into the night. We always understand how difficult it was to be a woman in the 1900s, but "hearing" the story of one woman's life makes it all the more realistic and relatable. show more

Maude left me with the book hangover I love to hate and hate to love.

For more of my thoughts on Maude visit: Under Literary Construction: Maude: A Review. show less

Maude, an only slightly fictionalized biography, according to author Donna Foley Mabry, is a compelling read. It is the biography of the author's grandmother, written as though she, grandmother Maude, were telling it. It covers Maude's childhood at the turn of the 19th century in western Tennessee, and follows her life through marriage, raising children, the depression, and many tragedies.

Mabry's style of writing is conversational, as though the reader is sitting with the narrator having a conversation over a cup of coffee. I was quickly drawn in and eager to learn what would come next. Mabry did an excellent job of rounding out the story's characters and presenting them as relatable and easily imagined. I quite enjoyed following the show more lives of Maude and her friends and relatives.

Unfortunately, the book has considerable formatting, grammatical and typographical errors, as well as inconsistencies with things like dates and ages. It's difficult for me to take a book seriously when having to wade through these kinds of distractions. Fortunately, the story of Maude was more interesting than the errors were distracting. Also, overall, Mabry writes well and this goes a long way toward canceling out errors. It's unfortunate that she did not (or was unable to) have a commercial house publish her story. I suspect it would have been a more satisfying read with the editing and polishing a professional house could offer. show less

I do not dole out 5 stars very often. This isn't an eloquent literary crafted book but the main characters voice is so interesting i was engaged from beginning to end. The voice you imagine comes from the past before cars, washing machines, electricity, maternity wards, indoor plumbing. When you buried your babies before you and when women didn't have the vote and were basically at the mercy of their husbands. Maude was born in a small rural hamlet of western Tennessee. She was married at 14 and so began her adult life.

It is a non fiction book with some literary license. It was authored by Maude's granddaughter but written in Maude's voice from stories she told her growing up.

It reminded me a lot of Little House on the Prairie but with show more an adult viewpoint. show less

3.5 Stars

Some books are just grounding. Maude was quite the reality check that life just ain’t that hard and we have so much to be grateful for compared to the women folk going back through the years.

Either these women were made of stronger stuff or I am just a total wuss but what a heartbreaking and tough life women like Maud endured, rarely having a say from the beginning of their lives to the end one the biggest monuments for me in this book was Maud’s conversation with her husband when in her 70s. After a long life of hardship she asks “ When do I get to retire” that above everything else alter all she endured really brought a tear to my eye. Some women never had/have the opportunity to retire from work.

This is the show more inspiring true story Of Maude and her life. It’s the history of a lot of our ancestors and their hardships and struggles just to provide the basics for their families. The story is set in the early part of the 20th century in rural America.

I enjoyed the story and the way it was written. I listened to this one on audible and I wasn't a fan of the narration but did enjoy the story. show less

99 cents on Kindle - so I didn't expect much but it was surprisingly good. Donna Mabry writes with her grandmother's voice, the story of a woman who was born in the late 19th century, married at 14, lived through good and bad times, including World War I and the Depression. It's not a fairy tale - just life. The author admits to perhaps being biased in her view. Her grandmother told her stories of her life when she was young and she presents things as her young self remembered them. I am fond of genealogy and I often wonder how my ancestors felt during significant events in the world or during every day moments. This record of such thoughts is priceless.

A remarkable story of one woman's life, from the early half of the 20th century. I was pleasantly surprised with the vivid writing, and drawn into the story from start to finish. What a remarkable woman, what a heartbreaking life, and how wonderful that the author was able to capture her grandmother's voice in such a way! Definitely recommend.

One a side note, I was fascinated by how women gave birth a hundred years ago, that women--neighbours and family--just helped each other and called the doctor in only when there was an emergency. It's great for healthy births, but I must say thank goodness women (at least in the more industrialized countries) can have access to emergency medical care (and epidurals :p). And also thank goodness for show more stricter driving and drinking laws... show less

I enjoyed reading this book as I found it to echo the lives of my grandparents. Although, they did not have the meanness nor the drinking involved. It was not an easy book to read, as it evoked emotion and heartfelt sorrow for Maude, who struggled so much to be a good person, a good wife, a good mother/grandmother. I adored Maude when I finished the book. Nothing in this time could be as horrific as some of the things she faced, and this was apparently based on the facts of her life.