Follow Your Heart

This book grabbed me from the instant I glanced at its first page, unsure if it was worth the read. It is. Ignore the description on the back of the book and all the catchphrases used on it. They make the book seem worse and more cliched than it is. This book is straightforward -- a grandmother writing a letter to the granddaughter she raised.

I loved the format of the book, because it was so different from something I've read before. It seemed absolutely heartfelt, and despite the general sad topic of a grandmother growing more feeble with age, I found the book ultimately uplifting and encouraging.

Give the small time investment in reading this book, I think it's something many people would enjoy.

read this after recommendations from several friends who all raved about it. One said that, while reading "Follow Your Heart", she found herself questioning all of things she has found important in her life.

However, I found it self-indulgent. This sad old woman's reminiscences on how her daughter never forgave her for emotionally abandoning her as a tiny girl, and her 'realisation' that her daughter was not too bright, and had a flawed character, is not the sort of thing that you should ever write to your grand daughter as a parting gift...Not to mention her own misdemeanours-having a child outside her marriage and never being honest to anyone...I hated reading about how bright and special and sensitive she was as a child compared to show more her daughter and granddaughter. No wonder every one left her. show less

Review: Follow Your Heart by Susanna Tamaro. 08/21/2017

Follow Your Heart is a heartwarming special Novel that made me cry. It’s a story about an elderly Italian lady named Olga writing a letter to her estranged granddaughter that continues throughout the book. The reason I had moments of crying is because it hit close to home for me. There were quite a few triggers, some sad and some happy. The author creates a letter that I found so powerful that took me on a journey through generations of lessons of truth about life. Embedded in this letter reflects joys, regrets, sorrows, and the author bares all to her readers.

The letter also reflect unpleasant honesty of an elderly lady of eighty years who is close to death writing to the show more granddaughter she raised. The granddaughter became a determined young lady and moved to America leaving her grandmother in Trieste, Italy heartbroken, and alone. I think the author’s message to her readers in clear tactful rapport that patience and understanding should be a prominent action of our relationship with our families.

This is a painful side of life that many young and old people have to bare. The experiences, advice, and pearls of wisdom in this book could apply or help anyone and I wished the story wouldn’t have ended because I wanted more…. show less

I bought this book at a sale at least a year ago and only now got around to reading it. It's a very touching story about an older woman who feels she will not live for much longer, so she sits down to write a long letter to her granddaughter. She tells the family history and tries to explain the mistakes she made, hoping her granddaughter will forgive her, now that she knows the truth. It's a thin book but not easy or fun to read, so it took me a week to get through a bit over 150 pages. It was well worth my time though.

Een oude vrouw schrijft een dagboek voor haar kleindochter over vier generaties Italiaanse vrouwen.

Drei Generationen von Frauen in unserem Jahrhundert ziehen vor dem inneren Auge des Lesers vorbei, während er das Vermächtnis von Olga an die aus der Enge der Familienzwänge nach Amerika geflohene Enkelin liest: ein Brief-Tagebuch, das schöne und schmerzliche Erinnerungen enthält, Weisheit des Alters, vor allem aber das im Angesicht des Todes ausgesprochene Geständnis der tiefen Liebe zur Enkelin.

Lo que no supimos decir nos dolerá eternamente y sólo el valor de un corazón abierto podrá liberarnos de esta congoja. Nuestros encuentros en la vida son un momento fugaz que debemos aprovechar con la verdad de la palabra y la sutileza de los sentimientos.