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SYNOPSIS
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'Things I Want My Daughters To Know', is written by Elizabeth Noble, American author of The Reading Group, The Tenko Club and Alphabet Weekends. I have not read any of her previous novels.
The story begins with a 'letter' from Barbara to all her family, giving ... Read review
How do you cope in a world without your mother? When Barbara realizes time is running out, ... more
she writes letters to her four daughters, aware they'll be facing the trials and triumphs of life without her at their side. But how can she leave them when they still have so much growing up to do? Take Lisa, in her mid-thirties but incapable of making a commitment; or Jennifer, trapped in a stale marriage and buttoned up so tight she could burst. While twenty something Amanda is the traveler, always distanced from the rest of the family.
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My beautiful girls. If you've read this you'll know it contains some - not all but some ... more
- of the things I want my daughters to know. And the greatest of these is love ...' How would you say goodbye to those you love most in the world? Barbara must say a final farewell to her four daughters. But how can she find the words? And how can she leave them when they each have so much growing up to do? There's commitment-phobic Lisa. Brittle unhappily married Jennifer. Free-spirited traveller Amanda. And teenage Hannah stumbling her way towards adulthood. Barbara's answer is to write each daughter a letter finally expressing the hopes fears dreams and secrets she couldn't always voice. These words will touch the girls in different - sometimes shocking - ways unlocking emotions and passions to set them on their own journey of discovery through life.
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Barbara must say a final farewell to her four daughters. But how can she find the words? ... more
And how can she leave them when they each have so much growing up to do? Barbara's answer is to write each daughter a letter, finally expressing the hopes, fears, dreams and secrets she couldn't always voice.
Advantages: Well written, moving story Disadvantages: Some may find it too upsetting
...husband or can they work things out? Again, this is a believable character, and the author describes her feelings and emotions very well.
AMANDA - The other 'middle' daughter. Amanda spends most of her life travelling and has always been a little apart from her sisters who never see her very often. In fact, they are not sure if Amanda will turn up for the funeral! I initially took a bit of a dislike to Amanda, but found myself softening ... ...tale of love, loss and moving on. How do you say goodbye to those you love most in the world?
Things I Want My Daughters To Know is available from Amazon, priced at £4.19 new, and used from 1p.
I will begin by saying that this is not the sort of book I would normally read. However, having forgot to take my book to work with me recently when on a sleep-over shift, I came across this in the staff bedroom, where we leave books we have read, incase someone else would like to read them.
On reading the back of the book, I was reminded just a little of Cecelia Ahern's 'PS I Love You', and having enjoyed reading that book, I thought maybe I would like this one.
~~~~~~~~~ SYNOPSIS ~~~~~~~~~
'Things I Want My Daughters To Know', is written by Elizabeth Noble, American author of The Reading Group, The Tenko Club and Alphabet Weekends. I have not read any of her previous novels.
The story begins with a 'letter' from Barbara to all her family, giving instructions for her funeral. You realise right away that Barbara has lost her fight against cancer, leaving behind her four daughters and second husband, Mark. Before she died, Barbara penned a letter to each of her daughters expressing her love, hopes and dreams for each of them, as well as a few secrets which are revealed in a journal Barbara wrote for her daughters to read. The book follows the lives of her daughters and husband over the year following her death, and how these letters touch them in different ways, as they face up to life without their mum/wife, and also their own problems and hurdles in the months that follow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE CHARACTERS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~LISA - The eldest daughter, and the one that Barbara felt closest to. Lisa is in her thirties and terrified of commitment, despite having a lovely boyfriend, who wants to marry her. She came across as a strong woman on the outside, who is scared to let her feelings show. Lisa is both a likeable and believable character, who is easy to identify with.
JENNIFER - One of the 'middle' daughters. Unhappily married it seems to Stephen. Described by Barbara as brittle, fragile and hard to reach, Jennifer is quite a complex character, as she struggles with her feelings for her husband and what she wants from the rest of her life. Will she leave her husband or can they work things out? Again, this is a believable character, and the author describes her feelings and emotions very well.
AMANDA - The other 'middle' daughter. Amanda spends most of her life travelling and has always been a little apart from her sisters who never see her very often. In fact, they are not sure if Amanda will turn up for the funeral! I initially took a bit of a dislike to Amanda, but found myself softening towards her later in the book.
HANNAH - The youngest daughter at only 15 years old, and having to face up to life without her mum. Hannah was Barbara and Mark's 'miracle' , born after Barbara had met and married Mark, and Barbara was 45. Hannah finds it very difficult not having her mum around whilst she is still so young, but forms a stronger bond with her father and sisters.
MARK - Barbara's second husband, step-father to Lisa, Jennifer and Amanda, and father to Hannah. Mark is a rock to all of them, and a very likeable character.
~~~~~~~~~~ MY OPINION ~~~~~~~~~~
The book is written so that each chapter is mostly devoted to one of the characters, and despite being written this way, it does flow really well. Often when books are written this way, they can be hard to follow, with the reader having to go back to another chapter for reference, but this was not necessary here.
I found the book very easy to read, and having lost my own mum to cancer when I was younger, I could identify with many of the emotions of the characters, especially after Barbara's funeral, when facing up to coping with the empty void in their lives, and I found myself shedding a few tears at the beginning of this book!
This is worth bearing in mind, if you have lost a parent to cancer, you will probably find yourself easily identifying with the daughters, and this may make for an emotional read throughout. Having said that, I found it quite therapeutic in some ways.
There are also both happy and funny moments in the book which will make you smile, especially when reading some of the contents of the letters and Barbara's funeral 'instructions' which insisted that nobody cried, or wore black, oh and definitely no 'Abide With Me'!. After finishing the book, I did find myself wishing there had been a little bit more to it, as if something was missing, but this could just be down to the fact it is so different to the type of book I normally read.
Overall it is a moving tale of love, loss and moving on. How do you say goodbye to those you love most in the world?
Things I Want My Daughters To Know is available from Amazon, priced at £4.19 new, and used from 1p.
Advantages: Great story, well written, emotional Disadvantages: None
...settled at home, and shocking things are revealed to Amanda which makes her question everything she thought was true about herself. Finally, there is teenage Hannah, who is devastated to lose her mother just when she needs her most. Her father Mark is concerned about bringing up hus daughter and 3 step-daughters without Barbara but will his family make it easy for him?
This really is a wonderful book full of love and hope, and shows how important ... ...explores so many levels of relationships between people; mother and daughter, father and daughter, step-parenting, first loves, old loves and finding a new love - its all in this emotional roller-coaster of a book. The third person narrative from the author makes it easy for the reader to follow each girls story, as the book is divided not into chapters, but into a section about a person of the story (Lisa, Jen, Amanda, Hannah and Mark) and this ...
mummy2harry 19.05.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Things I Want My Daughter To Know - Elizabeth Noble
...bit about this book - Things I want my daughters to Know by Elizabeth Noble - but had actually shied away from reading it because I thought it would be just too sad. The reason why I thought this is because it is about the letters and journals a mother leaves her four daughters after she has died. However, recently I won a book on the Galaxy Book Club website and as this was one of the choices I thought I would give it a go and I am so glad that ... ...Barbara says some of the things that she wishes she had been able to say to them before she dies - how much she loves them, how she worries about Lisa'd inability to commit and she tells Jennifer how she can see just how unhappy her marriage is. She tells Hannah of all her hopes for her but for Amanda there is also a huge revelation that shakes her to the core! Barbara also leaves a journal for her daughters to read helping them to understand how ...
kingfisher111 13.08.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Things I Want My Daughter To Know - Elizabeth Noble
Advantages: A heartwarming read, anyone will enjoy Disadvantages: It will make you cry
Things I now want to tell my mum (Things I Want My Daughters To Know - Elizabeth Noble)
kellylouj
Name: kellylouj
Product: Things I Want My Daughters To Know - Elizabeth Noble
Date: 11/10/08 (103 review reads)
Rating: Advantages: A lovely warm read, wonderful characters, different.
Disadvantages: More a ladies book.
I have recently been making my way through a lot of books and when I arrived in work on Monday my colleague handed me this book ... ...behind she decides there are things she still needs to tell her daughters and give them advise for the future as she will no longer be at their site to guide them as mothers do so she begins to write personal letters to each of them and her husband, Mark is instructed to deliver the letters to the girls the day after her funeral.
*~*Lisa*~*
Lisa is the eldest daughter and in her mid thirties but is a commitment phobe, she has a wonderful partner ...
KELLYLOUJ 25.10.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Things I Want My Daughter To Know - Elizabeth Noble
Advantages: Fantastic read - loved the letters Disadvantages: Tearjerker... lots of tissues necessary
...list to borrow the book Things I Want My Daughters to Know. I must admit, when I collected the book I had enormously high expectations and I was a little disappointed by the time I had finished it. *About the Author* Elizabeth Noble, 39, resides with her husband and two daughters (Tallulah and Ottilie) in New York. Noble graduated from Oxford University after studying English and embarked on a career in writing. She has three other novels which are ... ...of the Storyline* Things I Want My Daughters to Know is a novel about four daughters who lose their mother. Before losing her life to cancer, Barbara writes 5 letters to help her family continue with their lives once she is no longer with them and Mark, her second husband gives them to the girls the day after the funeral. Each letter is unique to the daughter and extremely special and personal in its own way and is something that they can treasure. ...
lauren6299 31.01.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Things I Want My Daughter To Know - Elizabeth Noble
...set about reading it.
Things I want my daughter's to know straight away screams at you that the book will be a tear jerker. Reading the blurb you learn very quickly that the main character Barbara, who isn't in the book for very long, is suffering from terminal cancer, leaving behind her four daughters ranging from a teenager through to grown women, and a loving husband.
It's all very soap box and cliché in the first couple of chapters, but despite ... ...she may have done some things differently.
As a parent myself it was nice to read about childhood incidents and events that every parent has to face, but at the same time it does make you think about how lucky you are to have a happy healthy family when you read a novel, that whilst is a novel, could be so real for many people.
There are chapters in the book that will tear through your every emotion, and you might not want to read this in public ...
abbadabbado 15.07.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Things I Want My Daughter To Know - Elizabeth Noble
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