Disclaimer:
Okay, It’s true that Sandra Moran and I write for the same publisher. (Bedazzled Ink) That’s the limit of our similarities. She’s tall; I’m short. She’s young, I’m…not. You get the picture.
Anyway, I have met her, and she’s incredibly nice…and smart! If you recognize the name from FB, you’ll smile remembering Spencer, long runs, and more than a few injuries. And unless you’ve been under a rock, you know she had her first book released Aug 8th.
I’m not qualified to be a “Book Reviewer” but as a friend, fellow author, and a supporter of women’s fiction I wanted to share a few thoughts. (Partly because I feel a little guilty since I’ve had the manuscript since May.) In my own defense, I was treading water trying to get my own book finished, and juggle a dozen other things. Ergo, I was not able to focus on, what I consider a richly woven story, with intricate characterizations, and historical depth. This is NOT a beach read. It’s a story you’ll want to crawl into and savor.
It’s a well constructed, with complex story lines that weave from the present to the past. The characters will draw you into tragedy of time and place. It is laced with courage and determination. They are women with whom you will become very familiar.
Through discussions about her research, I discovered lost memories of my own mother and probably hundreds like her. They migrated to the big cities in search of an undefinable dream for something more. Any of the women in this story could have been telling my mother’s story.
Sadly, I was too self-absorbed as a teen-twenty year old to ask–and then I lost her too soon, so I’ll never know. Through Sandra’s story, however, I believe I got a glimpse of what it was like for her in Chicago during the 1930’s. For that I’m very grateful to the author.
Don’t take my word for it, get your own copy or at least, check out a sample from Amazon.
I’m grateful to Sandra and so many women writers who are moving writing forward by telling new stories that push our boundaries and tell our stories to a new generation.
Words of Barrett 
Love the pic of your mom. Congrats on Defying Gravity.
Thanks, Sallyb!
Your recommendations help. there are so many different styles of writing out there. It helps to have someone that you know give some suggestions. I love when authors do that. Carsen Taite and D. Jackson do this often. I will read this book, it does sound like a good read, thank your for the suggestion.
Hi Tina, thanks for stopping by to comment. (Writers like that 🙂 I don’t review every book I read. And I don’t write a long synopsis or detail. Pretty much just books that have touched me in some way. I think there’s a tab on the home page for the few I’ve written about.
Barrett
It does sound interesting, and I love the title.
Shelly, it’s great read! Thanks for stopping by!
I think the thing that makes me happiest about this entire process (aside from the friends I’ve made and am yet to make) has been the fact that I’ve gotten so many wonderful stories from women about their mothers. Your mother was beautiful, Jeanne. What a great picture! I would have liked to have met her.
Thanks, Sandra. You’re right, it’s one of the perks of being a writer, touching lives. Peggy would have loved you!
Great thoughts, JBM. My road with my mom was somewhat the same. There are a few quips I remember of her youth, but she passed far too early for me to know much more of the time she grew up in. Though my mom did not migrate, she grew up in Chicago in the 30’s and 40’s. Curiousity makes me ask if you are from the Chicago area originally, then?
Yes, Lori, born and raised in Wilmette. My mom came down from Rockford after graduation.