About the Book:
Dear Elizabeth,
It’s early morning and I’m sitting here wondering where you are, hoping you’re all right.
A fight, ended by a slap, sends Elizabeth out the door of her Baton Rouge home on the eve of her fifteenth birthday. Her mother, Laura, is left to fret and worry—and remember. Wracked with guilt as she awaits Liz’s return, Laura begins a letter to her daughter, hoping to convey “everything I’ve always meant to tell you but never have.”
In her painfully candid confession, Laura shares memories of her own troubled adolescence in rural Louisiana, growing up in an intensely conservative household. She recounts her relationship with a boy she loved despite her parents’ disapproval, the fateful events that led to her being sent away to a strict Catholic boarding school, the personal tragedy brought upon her by the Vietnam War, and, finally, the meaning of the enigmatic tattoo below her right hip.
Absorbing and affirming, George Bishop’s magnificent debut brilliantly captures a sense of time and place with a distinct and inviting voice. Letter to My Daughter is a heartwrenching novel of mothers, daughters, and the lessons we all learn when we come of age.
About the Author:
George Bishop holds an MFA from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, where he won the department’s Award of Excellence for a collection of stories. He has spent most of the past decade living and teaching overseas in Slovakia, Turkey, Indonesia, Azerbaijan, India, and Japan. He now lives in New Orleans.
Find out more about George and this book at Random House’s website.
My Review:
My review of this book is going to be short, sweet and to point,much like the book itself. I really liked this book. I started this book in the morning and had it finished by the afternoon, so it’s a perfect, easy and quick read. In addition to this book being a quick, easy read, the talent the author shows through this book is wonderful. It’s written by a male author and I will be honest with you. My first thought after learning about this book was:”it’s written about a mother and daughter by a MAN”. What could a man know about a relationship between a mother and a daughter? But as I sat reading this book, I was in awe. George Bishop really captured a mother and daughter’s relationship in an amazing way. Being a daughter myself, and having gone through teenage attitudes I could relate to Laura’s daughter, Liz. But as a mother (thought I don’t have a daughter, only sons) I can feel relate to some of Laura’s feelings. It brought me back to my own teen years and had me truly thinking “was I like that when I was Liz’s age?”. I truly have a new perspective of my mother and what she went through. The way George Bishop created this book using the style of being written as a letter, was truly captivating. This is a book that I recommend with 4 stars for all mothers and daughters out there. I will be sharing this with my mom,too!
You can purchase your copy of Letter To My Daughter by clicking here.
*This book was provided for review by Pump Up Your Book Promotions/Random House*
