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Good Intentions Collection #6
The Days Before Us
A woman strives to overcome the traumas of her past to bring a new family together in an uplifting story about love, promise, and second chances by a Washington Post, USA Today, and Amazon Charts bestselling author.
Autumn, a mother-to-be, has an unsteady grip on the meaning of family. Her father abandoned her. She hasn’t seen her estranged mother in more than twelve years. And her marriage is crumbling. As Autumn struggles with painful memories of her childhood and fosters hopes for her own baby’s future, she must come to terms with the past to be the mother she and her child need her to be.
Sejal Badani’s The Days Before Us is part of Good Intentions, a riveting collection of stories about the instincts, fears, and fierce love inherent in motherhood from award-winning, bestselling authors. Read or listen to each in a single sitting.
Autumn, a mother-to-be, has an unsteady grip on the meaning of family. Her father abandoned her. She hasn’t seen her estranged mother in more than twelve years. And her marriage is crumbling. As Autumn struggles with painful memories of her childhood and fosters hopes for her own baby’s future, she must come to terms with the past to be the mother she and her child need her to be.
Sejal Badani’s The Days Before Us is part of Good Intentions, a riveting collection of stories about the instincts, fears, and fierce love inherent in motherhood from award-winning, bestselling authors. Read or listen to each in a single sitting.
34 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 27, 2023
171 people are currently reading
614 people want to read
About the author
Sejal Badani
7 books1,176 followersA former attorney, Sejal Badani is a Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, USA Today and Amazon bestselling author and Goodreads Fiction Award Finalist and ABC/DISNEY Writing Fellowship Finalist. Her novels have been translated into over 15 languages. When not writing, she loves reading and traveling. Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce, and Ed Sheeran are always playing in the background.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 149 reviews
July 11, 2024
In a Nutshell: A thought-provoking short story about how second chances work. A bit stretched out in content, but great introspection.
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Plot Preview:
This is the sixth standalone story in the 'Good Intentions’ series, described on Amazon as “a riveting collection of stories about the instincts, fears, and fierce love inherent in motherhood.”
(I usually go in series order, but this time, I decided to begin from the lowest-rated ones on GR and work my way upwards.)
There’s nothing bad per se about this story. It has some flawed humans. It sheds light on how childhood trauma can affect adult decisions. It describes the uncertainty of being the vulnerable one in a marriage. It shows the trauma of being forced to parent your parent. It highlights the emotional grief that can come after a loved one abandons you. It also shows how simple incidents in our day-to-day life can offer great learnings. This last point is depicted through Autumn’s work as a marine scientist. The past timeline serves to highlight the incidents that led to Autumn’s behaviour in the present timeline.
In other words, there are plenty of great arcs in this story. But when the page count is just 35 pages, it feels like a bit cluttered. There are too many subplots, and while the ending still handles the situation well, I felt like I couldn’t bond with any of the characters because of the hurried exploration of emotions. The writing was also needlessly poetic at times. While this is okay in long fiction, a short work with so many subplots doesn’t afford much leeway for metaphorical writing.
That said, the story fits the theme of the collection perfectly. Because of the introspective tone of the writing, the story offers an insight into Autumn’s journey of healing and forgiveness and also depicts the importance of communication. I even felt sorry for one character, but I totally understand where the other character was coming from – forgiveness isn’t always easy.
All in all, a decent introspective story. Not a must read but a good one when you need something to ponder over. Don’t pick it up if you prefer likeable leads.
3 stars.
This standalone story is a part of the ‘Good Intentions’ collection, and is currently available free to Amazon Prime subscribers.
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Connect with me through:
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Plot Preview:
Autumn isn’t in a great emotional place. After eight years of marriage, her relationship with her husband seems to be almost dead. Combine this with the emotional baggage from childhood when her father abandoned their family for another woman and her mother became an alcoholic to cope with her grief, and the bittersweet news that Autumn is finally pregnant. Autumn thus has a lot to deal with. Can she let go of the past in order to give her future a better chance?
The story comes to us in Autumn’s third person perspective across two timelines.
This is the sixth standalone story in the 'Good Intentions’ series, described on Amazon as “a riveting collection of stories about the instincts, fears, and fierce love inherent in motherhood.”
(I usually go in series order, but this time, I decided to begin from the lowest-rated ones on GR and work my way upwards.)
There’s nothing bad per se about this story. It has some flawed humans. It sheds light on how childhood trauma can affect adult decisions. It describes the uncertainty of being the vulnerable one in a marriage. It shows the trauma of being forced to parent your parent. It highlights the emotional grief that can come after a loved one abandons you. It also shows how simple incidents in our day-to-day life can offer great learnings. This last point is depicted through Autumn’s work as a marine scientist. The past timeline serves to highlight the incidents that led to Autumn’s behaviour in the present timeline.
In other words, there are plenty of great arcs in this story. But when the page count is just 35 pages, it feels like a bit cluttered. There are too many subplots, and while the ending still handles the situation well, I felt like I couldn’t bond with any of the characters because of the hurried exploration of emotions. The writing was also needlessly poetic at times. While this is okay in long fiction, a short work with so many subplots doesn’t afford much leeway for metaphorical writing.
That said, the story fits the theme of the collection perfectly. Because of the introspective tone of the writing, the story offers an insight into Autumn’s journey of healing and forgiveness and also depicts the importance of communication. I even felt sorry for one character, but I totally understand where the other character was coming from – forgiveness isn’t always easy.
All in all, a decent introspective story. Not a must read but a good one when you need something to ponder over. Don’t pick it up if you prefer likeable leads.
3 stars.
This standalone story is a part of the ‘Good Intentions’ collection, and is currently available free to Amazon Prime subscribers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Connect with me through:
My Blog || The StoryGraph || Instagram || X/Twitter || Facebook ||
July 4, 2023
Amazon Originals Good Intentions Collection of short stories is a series of seven stories reflecting on motherhood. A woman’s past relationship with her mother makes her afraid of her future as a mother. I found that it moved too quickly to feel emotionally connected, but thought that the storyline fit well into the aim of the collection.
If you’re an Amazon prime member , these are free for kindle. If not they are $.99, a huge bargain. This is the fourth one I’ve read.
If you’re an Amazon prime member , these are free for kindle. If not they are $.99, a huge bargain. This is the fourth one I’ve read.
April 25, 2023
2.5~3★
“Despite her many years as a scientist, each time she dives, she feels like a stranger entering a home to which she yearns to belong.”
My lower rating is not for the storyline itself, which will appeal to many readers. It is the writing that distracted me. I understand this is the part of the Good Intentions series with a focus on motherhood, and it does that well.
Autumn is a young woman who has never forgiven her wayward father or her drunken mother, and now she’s feeling a strain on her relationship with her husband. He has tried to persuade her to make peace with her mother, but she refuses.
When the story opens, Autumn has just got out of bed, getting ready for her day working with her best friend, Callista, diving from a research boat in the Pacific off the coast of California. They became friends in graduate school, and it was one of Callista’s parties that Autumn met Jack.
She has just discovered she is pregnant and doesn’t know when to tell Jack, but the thought of motherhood certainly stirs up a lot of different feelings. There are flashbacks (helpfully in italics) to Autumn’s childhood, to help explain her determination to ignore her mother forever.
“ ‘Autumn stiffens upon her mother’s arrival. Christine set the stage with her moods and made Autumn the understudy in her one-person show. Autumn’s feelings were secondary to her mother’s.
Conditioned from habit, Autumn surreptitiously checks Christine for shaking hands or the smell of alcohol. Finding neither, she exhales.. . . ’
Her mother wants Autumn to take on extra work, says she doesn’t feel well. Autumn, who is studying hard, says her mother would feel better if she quit drinking
“ ‘Christine looks up. Well versed in this dance of advance and withdraw, Autumn retreats into herself in the face of her mom’s anger.’
We can understand Autumn’s attitude and concern. What I have trouble with is some of the language and the style. There were too many instances of poor phrasing that an editor should have picked up, such as these two: “her and Jack’s day trips” and “catches her and Callista’s attention.”
Some of the descriptive writing is lovely, and then some goes over the top for me.
“The moon’s light serves as a warning of impending darkness. Instead of being her salvation, the water could become her judgment.
. . .
But the water cares not for her thoughts or proclamations.”
Unfortunately, if awkward grammar or descriptive language irks me and takes me out of the story, it spoils the experience. I do know that’s personal, and I am certainly aware it’s just my opinion. Having been a potter, this bothered me, too.
“When clay becomes hardened from the fire, the only way to remold it is to break the original structure.”
Of course, I know what she meant, but if the clay has been fired, she can’t remold it. She could, however, shatter it and then use the Japanese art of Kintsugi to make it even better. (And I feel sure that is what she will do with her life. 😊)
https://www.lifegate.com/kintsugi
Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for the copy for review.
“Despite her many years as a scientist, each time she dives, she feels like a stranger entering a home to which she yearns to belong.”
My lower rating is not for the storyline itself, which will appeal to many readers. It is the writing that distracted me. I understand this is the part of the Good Intentions series with a focus on motherhood, and it does that well.
Autumn is a young woman who has never forgiven her wayward father or her drunken mother, and now she’s feeling a strain on her relationship with her husband. He has tried to persuade her to make peace with her mother, but she refuses.
When the story opens, Autumn has just got out of bed, getting ready for her day working with her best friend, Callista, diving from a research boat in the Pacific off the coast of California. They became friends in graduate school, and it was one of Callista’s parties that Autumn met Jack.
She has just discovered she is pregnant and doesn’t know when to tell Jack, but the thought of motherhood certainly stirs up a lot of different feelings. There are flashbacks (helpfully in italics) to Autumn’s childhood, to help explain her determination to ignore her mother forever.
“ ‘Autumn stiffens upon her mother’s arrival. Christine set the stage with her moods and made Autumn the understudy in her one-person show. Autumn’s feelings were secondary to her mother’s.
Conditioned from habit, Autumn surreptitiously checks Christine for shaking hands or the smell of alcohol. Finding neither, she exhales.. . . ’
Her mother wants Autumn to take on extra work, says she doesn’t feel well. Autumn, who is studying hard, says her mother would feel better if she quit drinking
“ ‘Christine looks up. Well versed in this dance of advance and withdraw, Autumn retreats into herself in the face of her mom’s anger.’
We can understand Autumn’s attitude and concern. What I have trouble with is some of the language and the style. There were too many instances of poor phrasing that an editor should have picked up, such as these two: “her and Jack’s day trips” and “catches her and Callista’s attention.”
Some of the descriptive writing is lovely, and then some goes over the top for me.
“The moon’s light serves as a warning of impending darkness. Instead of being her salvation, the water could become her judgment.
. . .
But the water cares not for her thoughts or proclamations.”
Unfortunately, if awkward grammar or descriptive language irks me and takes me out of the story, it spoils the experience. I do know that’s personal, and I am certainly aware it’s just my opinion. Having been a potter, this bothered me, too.
“When clay becomes hardened from the fire, the only way to remold it is to break the original structure.”
Of course, I know what she meant, but if the clay has been fired, she can’t remold it. She could, however, shatter it and then use the Japanese art of Kintsugi to make it even better. (And I feel sure that is what she will do with her life. 😊)
https://www.lifegate.com/kintsugi
Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for the copy for review.
May 5, 2023
An Amazon Original short story.
Autumn has had a poor experience of family in her past and is struggling now to adjust to her own marriage and the baby she is expecting. We watch her as she realises she needs to see her estranged mother again in order to move on with her own life. Will she be able to come to terms with all this in time to save her own marriage?
This was an enjoyable story, well written and well rounded. I liked the character of Autumn while still feeling sorry for her husband, Jack. Four stars.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.
Autumn has had a poor experience of family in her past and is struggling now to adjust to her own marriage and the baby she is expecting. We watch her as she realises she needs to see her estranged mother again in order to move on with her own life. Will she be able to come to terms with all this in time to save her own marriage?
This was an enjoyable story, well written and well rounded. I liked the character of Autumn while still feeling sorry for her husband, Jack. Four stars.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.
December 10, 2023
3.5
I could understand the point it was trying to make but I found the central character hard work.
I could understand the point it was trying to make but I found the central character hard work.
November 21, 2023
This Audible original wasn't horrible, but I'm sure I won't remember this in a week or two.
October 23, 2023
For such a short story it was surprisingly too long and repetitive, and the main character was really annoying.
April 16, 2024
Unfortunately, I found the main character rather irritating!
March 13, 2024
Part of a series of short stories. Read this because I loved her other two novels. Books were better, but I don't read short stories as a general rule.
April 16, 2023
The Days Before Us is a short story in the Good Intentions collection. Marine researcher Autumn wonders if her marriage will survive: six months of bickering that she knows is hurting Jack. How much more will he endure?
Then, just as he’s stepping away, two blue lines on a stick push her to confront what has been festering for all of her adult life: her estrangement from her mother, letters ignored despite Jack’s urging. Because now, without any decent example, she has to become a mother herself.
A very quick and heart-warming read that somehow manages to include gorgeous prose like: “Fragments from her past and their energy shadow every step she takes. An eternal present that refuses her entry into a future. When clay becomes hardened from the fire, the only way to remold it is to break the original structure. But Autumn fears if she does so, she won’t be strong enough to put all the pieces of herself back together for her child.”
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories.
Then, just as he’s stepping away, two blue lines on a stick push her to confront what has been festering for all of her adult life: her estrangement from her mother, letters ignored despite Jack’s urging. Because now, without any decent example, she has to become a mother herself.
A very quick and heart-warming read that somehow manages to include gorgeous prose like: “Fragments from her past and their energy shadow every step she takes. An eternal present that refuses her entry into a future. When clay becomes hardened from the fire, the only way to remold it is to break the original structure. But Autumn fears if she does so, she won’t be strong enough to put all the pieces of herself back together for her child.”
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories.
February 11, 2024
Was für ein Quatsch war das denn
April 28, 2023
Grrat story
I enjoyed this tale. The issue I had with it was that I could not seem to care what happened to the characters. I just couldn't connect with them. Understand I am not blaming the story, it was well written.
I would say my favorite part was the snippet about the dolphin.
I enjoyed this tale. The issue I had with it was that I could not seem to care what happened to the characters. I just couldn't connect with them. Understand I am not blaming the story, it was well written.
I would say my favorite part was the snippet about the dolphin.
March 9, 2025
Didn’t love this as much, but still a powerful story and I loved the message of being able to say no, this is too much for me right now
May 20, 2025
A short story exploring the relationship between a young woman, who recently finds out she is pregnant at the same time her marriage is crumbling, and her Mother, attempting to heal old wounds in an effort to reconcile her marital strife.
December 1, 2023
Will she be enough for her child, she wonders, or will she fail as her mother failed her?
Inside her empty home, she realizes with sudden clarity how alike she and her mother actually are—both completely alone.
All Autumn knows when growing up was unhappy parents, divorced, mom turning an alcoholic and not caring or remembering she had a daughter to take care off. Autumn was forced to turn into an adult to care for her mother while she was an adolescent still learning to navigate through life.
Everything that happened is haunting Autumn and her marriage. While they both each other, her fears are pushing her away from her husband and now that she is pregnant... things are now scarier. Would resuming communication with her mom is going to help? Is she doing everything to make sure she won't be the same as how she remembers her mother?
I'm not convinced Autumn was doing enough to make things better, besides been annoying.
Inside her empty home, she realizes with sudden clarity how alike she and her mother actually are—both completely alone.
All Autumn knows when growing up was unhappy parents, divorced, mom turning an alcoholic and not caring or remembering she had a daughter to take care off. Autumn was forced to turn into an adult to care for her mother while she was an adolescent still learning to navigate through life.
Everything that happened is haunting Autumn and her marriage. While they both each other, her fears are pushing her away from her husband and now that she is pregnant... things are now scarier. Would resuming communication with her mom is going to help? Is she doing everything to make sure she won't be the same as how she remembers her mother?
I'm not convinced Autumn was doing enough to make things better, besides been annoying.
April 30, 2023
It's not great. Despite a small cast of four, everyone feels shallow and underdeveloped. The writing is rough - filled to bursting with cliches. And the emotional climax is painfully overexplained, as if this was less a short story and more an essay.
May 12, 2023
Trying to figure out how to deal with life's traumatic experiences.
June 5, 2023
Autumn's story is not a pleasant one, her father abandoned her, she hasn't seen her mother in years and her marriage is not the best, she doesn't see the light at the end of the tunnel is like everything seems so far away especially happiness.
Autumns is pregnant and she really doesn't know how to feel about this as she has never had a maternal experience or familiar experience in her own childhood with her parents.
Autumn is struggling now to accommodate her past and her present, she feels at a loss
This was a short story, I really enjoy Sejals writing, this is my third book written by her and I do enjoy her stories so much.
Thank you, NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories, for the advanced copy of The Days Before Us in exchange for my honest review.
Autumns is pregnant and she really doesn't know how to feel about this as she has never had a maternal experience or familiar experience in her own childhood with her parents.
Autumn is struggling now to accommodate her past and her present, she feels at a loss
This was a short story, I really enjoy Sejals writing, this is my third book written by her and I do enjoy her stories so much.
Thank you, NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories, for the advanced copy of The Days Before Us in exchange for my honest review.
June 13, 2024
3.5 stars
this was almost as heartbreaking as the previous short story.
I really enjoyed Autumn's perspective and felt with her the uncertainty and the role she wanted for herself in life and how to love oneself. this was really moving.
this was almost as heartbreaking as the previous short story.
I really enjoyed Autumn's perspective and felt with her the uncertainty and the role she wanted for herself in life and how to love oneself. this was really moving.
May 15, 2023
2.5 ⭐️
October 29, 2024
I'm not crying... you're crying.
December 31, 2024
Makes no sense to me.
RTC
RTC
April 6, 2025
Another short piece in the Good Intentions series examining mother/daughter relationship but with a twist and a realization.
January 1, 2024
A personal growth story and reconnecting love. I think all of these short stories are doing a great job of capturing unique perspectives. Another good one.
April 14, 2024
What a remarkable story about learning to heal and love yourself. Choosing to take all the bad and turn it into something good. Realizing you’re not your mothers mistakes and that you’re the only one who can decide where you’re going in life. This story was heartbreaking but also so healing.
June 30, 2023
I was totally drawn into this story. The pain, love, sorrow, happiness and ultimate forgiveness that motherhood brings. Deeply touching.
April 13, 2024
I came across Sejal Badani’s work during my initial days of reading novels, back in 2015, almost a decade ago.
Her novel 𝘛𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 was a hard-hitting and emotional family saga of three sisters, filled with disturbing (family) secrets that are shocking and aching yet portrayed in a nuanced and mature manner.
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘉𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘜𝘴, part of the ‘Good Intentions’ short-story anthology collection, again deals with some relevant issues in human relationships, traumas, failing marriage, and a lot more.
Autumn and Jack have been married for eight years, and they are childless. Autumn is a marine scientist, while Jack is a businessman. Both are career-driven, yet they were in love in those initial days until something or many things led to their current situation—almost on the cusp of parting ways.
The childhood days of Autumn were not colourful; rather, they were dark, to say the least. A father abandoned his family and went for a younger woman, and a mother (Christine) was saddened by her life coming to a standstill, taking to alcoholism to escape the hurt and dejection, leaving Autumn almost an orphan.
Meanwhile, being a successful scientist, Autumn and her coworker and close friend Callista deal with underwater species and come across a lone dolphin, which never happens. What the dolphin symbolises in the story and how the author relates it to human relationships are well thought out.
During one of their marine expeditions, Autumn falls sick and later finds that she is pregnant, which is good news, as Jack wanted this to happen all these years for them.
However, as Autumn and Jack's relationship falters to the abyss, the dilemma of letting Jack know about her pregnancy and the self-doubt of how good a mother Autumn can be all lead to an overpowering emotional journey.
These confusions and conundrums have more to do with ghosts of the past haunting Autumn and her ego not forgiving her mother for 12 years, the time she has been away from her, with Christine’s letters reaching her only to be unopened and stacked up in a pile.
What happened to mother-daughter and husband-wife relationships? Did she opened her mother's letters finally?
With Autumn being in the centre to decide upon forgiving and accepting both her closed ones, did she redeem her (collective) faults? Read it to know!
I felt this sad story (mostly, at least to me), even though it was short, took quite a bit of time to register its primary plot and then branch out to other characters and past occurrences. For me, it is a bit of a drag and a slow start with a good narration.
Overall, a decent weekend quick-read recommendation for literary fiction lovers.
Her novel 𝘛𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 was a hard-hitting and emotional family saga of three sisters, filled with disturbing (family) secrets that are shocking and aching yet portrayed in a nuanced and mature manner.
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘉𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘜𝘴, part of the ‘Good Intentions’ short-story anthology collection, again deals with some relevant issues in human relationships, traumas, failing marriage, and a lot more.
Autumn and Jack have been married for eight years, and they are childless. Autumn is a marine scientist, while Jack is a businessman. Both are career-driven, yet they were in love in those initial days until something or many things led to their current situation—almost on the cusp of parting ways.
The childhood days of Autumn were not colourful; rather, they were dark, to say the least. A father abandoned his family and went for a younger woman, and a mother (Christine) was saddened by her life coming to a standstill, taking to alcoholism to escape the hurt and dejection, leaving Autumn almost an orphan.
Meanwhile, being a successful scientist, Autumn and her coworker and close friend Callista deal with underwater species and come across a lone dolphin, which never happens. What the dolphin symbolises in the story and how the author relates it to human relationships are well thought out.
During one of their marine expeditions, Autumn falls sick and later finds that she is pregnant, which is good news, as Jack wanted this to happen all these years for them.
However, as Autumn and Jack's relationship falters to the abyss, the dilemma of letting Jack know about her pregnancy and the self-doubt of how good a mother Autumn can be all lead to an overpowering emotional journey.
These confusions and conundrums have more to do with ghosts of the past haunting Autumn and her ego not forgiving her mother for 12 years, the time she has been away from her, with Christine’s letters reaching her only to be unopened and stacked up in a pile.
What happened to mother-daughter and husband-wife relationships? Did she opened her mother's letters finally?
With Autumn being in the centre to decide upon forgiving and accepting both her closed ones, did she redeem her (collective) faults? Read it to know!
I felt this sad story (mostly, at least to me), even though it was short, took quite a bit of time to register its primary plot and then branch out to other characters and past occurrences. For me, it is a bit of a drag and a slow start with a good narration.
Overall, a decent weekend quick-read recommendation for literary fiction lovers.
June 20, 2023
Autumn, once again, ignores trouble at home to go on an early morning research dive with her best friend and coworker Callista. After struggling with some nausea and light headedness Autumn puts together the clues her body has been sending and confirms her pregnancy. She resolves to tell her husband, but Jack announces he took a job project in New York for three weeks and will be staying at a hotel until he leaves. Left at home Autumn stares at the pile of unopened letters from the mother she walked away from and debates if she can do any better with her own child. Adrift in painful memories and confusion about the future she drives back to her childhood home and confronts her mother. While she is not ready to accept this new sober version, Autumn takes it as a sign that she is not doomed to repeat old mistakes and starts the journey to save her own marriage.
* * * * *-------------* * * * *-------------* * * * *
This is another in the “Good Intentions” collections that manages to capture and portray emotions well. The protective behaviors and adaptations young Autumn had to make to manage her drunken mother and the wall of resentment that stemmed from having to do so are clear and specific. While the parallel that humans are social creatures doomed to die when they lose their pod—like a young dolphin—might be a bit blatant, but it works for this story. All of that is good, but the story lacks support. Autumn is traumatized and has yet to do any of the work required to rebuild herself, thank her supporters, or apologize for the damage she is doing to others. Still, she is rewarded with a hopeful happy ending which feels a bit unearned. Perhaps it is some of the cliché phrases or the short length, but the smooth resolve was awkward given the timeline.
* * * * *-------------* * * * *-------------* * * * *
This is another in the “Good Intentions” collections that manages to capture and portray emotions well. The protective behaviors and adaptations young Autumn had to make to manage her drunken mother and the wall of resentment that stemmed from having to do so are clear and specific. While the parallel that humans are social creatures doomed to die when they lose their pod—like a young dolphin—might be a bit blatant, but it works for this story. All of that is good, but the story lacks support. Autumn is traumatized and has yet to do any of the work required to rebuild herself, thank her supporters, or apologize for the damage she is doing to others. Still, she is rewarded with a hopeful happy ending which feels a bit unearned. Perhaps it is some of the cliché phrases or the short length, but the smooth resolve was awkward given the timeline.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 27, 2023
I read all seven of the shorts in the series Good Intentions. The premise of the series is the relationship between a mother and child. The blurb provided is "authors probe the growing pains that can change the lives of both mother and child in ways they never imagined." The Magician is the story of a magician mother and her pregnant daughter. The daughter is going to become a mother and her mother announces her planned change. Poppy's Story is a good read, set during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Poppy is a teacher who was adopted as a child. She is now pregnant and wondering. I'm adding The Ways We Hide to my want to read list. Deluge was an excellent short story by the author of Black Cake, I recommend reading both. Deluge might make you question everything you know about your relationship with your mother. The Road Home is another excellent short story that had me in tears several times. It is set at the end of WWII when parents came back from concentration camps hoping to reunite with children that were staying with others. Mother Country was well written, but it was so far away from my experience as a daughter that it didn't connect with me. If you didn't feel like your mother loved you, this book might hit too close to home. The Days Before Us was another interesting story, but it was so far away from my experience as a daughter that it didn't connect with me. It is a story of a daughter looking for a second chance. A Planned Occasion is an excellent story about a woman dealing with the death of her husband, the long life they had together, and leaving the home they lived in for most of their marriage. I'm adding Miracle Creek to my want to read list.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 149 reviews