3.5
What My Mother Gave Me
ByPublisher Description
Each of these thirty-one "beautifully crafted" essays (
) is a story about a mother's gift to a daughter—one that touched her, taught her something, or symbolized a unique bond. Whether a gift was meant to keep a daughter warm, instruct her in the ways of womanhood, encourage her talents, or just remind her of a mother's love, each story gets to the heart of a relationship.
recalls the box of polish that inspired her to paint her nails in the stripes and polka dots she wears to this day.
writes about the gift of writing from her mother, Carolyn See.
remembers the wok her mother gave her and a lifetime of family meals.
revisits the year of sobriety her mother bequeathed to her when Paterson was nine, the year before her mother died of alcoholism.
describes her middle-aged bat mitzvah, for which her mother provided flowers after a lifetime of guilt for skipping her daughter's religious education.
writes about her mother's gold dress from the posh department store where they could finally shop as black women.
Collectively, the pieces have a force that feels as elemental as the tides: outpourings of lightness and darkness; love and rage; joy and grief. From literary prize winners, bestselling authors, and other celebrated women, they are "as varied and unexpected and eloquent and moving as mother love itself" (Cathleen Schine,
-bestselling author of
).
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About Elizabeth Benedict
Elizabeth Benedict is the author of Almost, which was selected as a New York Times Notable Book, a Washington Post Book World Book of the Year, a Newsweek Best Fiction Book of the Year, and a Best Book of the Year by National Public Radio’s Fresh Air. She is also the author of three other novels, as well as The Joy of Writing Sex: A Guide for Fiction Writers. She lives in New York City.
Other books by Elizabeth Benedict
Elizabeth Benedict
Elizabeth Benedict is the author of Almost, which was selected as a New York Times Notable Book, a Washington Post Book World Book of the Year, a Newsweek Best Fiction Book of the Year, and a Best Book of the Year by National Public Radio’s Fresh Air. She is also the author of three other novels, as well as The Joy of Writing Sex: A Guide for Fiction Writers. She lives in New York City.
Other books by Elizabeth Benedict
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