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Book Review of The Gift of an Ordinary Day: A Mother's Memoir

The Gift of an Ordinary Day: A Mother's Memoir
reviewed on + 330 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 8


What began as a book that I had looked forward to reading, quickly turned into a book that I thought would never end.

Like Kenison, I too was having a child go off to college and another starting high school, a job in transition, financial instability, the prospect of selling a home and moving into a new area. I felt that finally, a here is a woman's book that I could relate too. But, unfortunately, this memoir has shown me that no two people live the same life. There was no learning or empathy for what she had gone through. Her bemoaning grew tiresome and quite irritating when she put more pages into a friend with shingles that needed her , which I still question, then into a friends child that was killed. The balance just wasn't in this book.

Though memoirs can be a bit self indulgent, this one rattled on a little too long . What exactly was Kenison trying to convey to the reader. That you too, while living under someone else's roof can send your children to private schools and build the home of your dreams. Sorry, but the oh poor me attitude was totally lost on me.