Jennifer D. (daysleeper) - , reviewed Personal stories by daughters on 3/24/2009 + 5 more book reviews

I lost my mother to breast cancer nearly five years ago, when she was only 56 and I was 30. It was the most difficult event in my life, but it was also a relief. That might sound cold and horrible to those who've never gone through it. This book was the first time I had been able to connect with others who have felt this way -- not because they wanted to lose their mothers, but because they had been so helpless, no matter what they tried to do to help over the years -- and in the end, it came down to watching my mother suffer and long for her own passing. So yes, it was terrible and sad, and it was also a relief. This book was an emotional roller coaster for me because I felt the sadness and the relief all over again, reading these personal accounts of daughters. Some mothers are survivors; some lost their battles. But there is no one emotion that's prevalent in this book: From sadness and anger to bitterness and feelings of betrayal -- to no feelings at all, it's really a wide array of responses, and an excellent way to show that humans deal with sickness, recovery, and death in a variety of ways -- all of which are equally valid, even if some of those responses might not make us proud. Definitely worth reading and contemplating if you are in or have been in such a situation yourself.

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