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Till Human Voices Wake Us
In the empty days after her son's death, left alone in her grief by her husband, Isabelle Berendon falls in love with the unlikeliest person in the world: her sister-in-law.
Self-published by one of President Ronald Reagan's daughters, who does not identify as a lesbian.
Self-published by one of President Ronald Reagan's daughters, who does not identify as a lesbian.
261 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 18, 2013
6 people are currently reading
225 people want to read
About the author
Patti Davis
20 books54 followersMy new book, Dear Mom and Dad, is the end of a long journey toward understanding my family. My hope is that readers will be inspired to take a step back and look at their own families through a wider lens. Families are all complicated to some degree, certainly mine was, but in this book I also explore the times when there was just love there. That's part of our story too.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
June 1, 2013
In Patti's More Magazine interview by Laura Sinberg , Laura writes "At its heart, the book is really about an age-old dilemma: inconvenient love."
"Till Human Voices Wake Us" is more visceral. Patti writes with a tender perspicacity - interlacing the mutually prevalent threads woven throughout our human experience, regardless of our familial history or upbringing.
"There are moments that change everything - you know it when you are in one of them, you just don't always know how you got there. A whole life can be lived, or lost, or born in a matter of seconds."
"Till Human Voices Wakes Us" is about all classifications of love and family, it is about pain, "all the sadness, all that breaking apart inside," fear, loss, guilt, grief, anger, hopelessness, solitude, and the "challenges [in life that blindside us] that we don't think we'll ever get through."
It is about life "shattering us with tragedy so there's more room in us to be loving and vulnerable." It is about the "victories in life that seem small on the surface, but [that] those are often the huge ones." It is about innocence and truth, that "the only deliverance for a damaged heart is love." It is about hope.
Thank you for writing this Patti! I have been truly blessed by your ability to speak into my life experience, inspiring in me courage and strength to live my best life - regardless of my circumstances!
With great respect and reverence, Winde
"Till Human Voices Wake Us" is more visceral. Patti writes with a tender perspicacity - interlacing the mutually prevalent threads woven throughout our human experience, regardless of our familial history or upbringing.
"There are moments that change everything - you know it when you are in one of them, you just don't always know how you got there. A whole life can be lived, or lost, or born in a matter of seconds."
"Till Human Voices Wakes Us" is about all classifications of love and family, it is about pain, "all the sadness, all that breaking apart inside," fear, loss, guilt, grief, anger, hopelessness, solitude, and the "challenges [in life that blindside us] that we don't think we'll ever get through."
It is about life "shattering us with tragedy so there's more room in us to be loving and vulnerable." It is about the "victories in life that seem small on the surface, but [that] those are often the huge ones." It is about innocence and truth, that "the only deliverance for a damaged heart is love." It is about hope.
Thank you for writing this Patti! I have been truly blessed by your ability to speak into my life experience, inspiring in me courage and strength to live my best life - regardless of my circumstances!
With great respect and reverence, Winde
July 24, 2013
I felt as though the author may have attempted to tackle too many heavy subjects at once. The traumatic death of her child along with the predictable crumbling of her marriage leading to a love relationship with her sister-in-law would've sufficed for a novel with substance. Unfortunately, she felt it necessary to throw in the main character's depressing childhood along with her mother's incurable cancer, and people losing their homes to drought fires (really...); there was just too much to digest. With so much tragedy, one would assume the reader would feel some emotion, but aside from the pit in my stomach as the child's death was described, the rest of the novel did not move me at all.
Perhaps a reason for this detachment is the fact that their lives were so unrealistic. The women would spend their days in bed w/each other, & their evenings watching their daughter play in the ocean. Apparently once you marry into wealth, you never have to work again, even after a divorce and a subsequent commitment to someone else?! Call me ignorant, but I just don't see how one family member working at a women's shelter would afford the type of lifestyle they lived in Malibu.
I also became weary of the melodramatic scenes of these two maudlin lovers and had to roll my eyes more than once. It often read like a romance novel... which I just can't stomach. To boot, the plot line was flimsy at best, and I didn't connect with any of the under-developed characters.
Most annoying of all was the main character's countless rhetorical questions. Ugh! A true disappointment.
Perhaps a reason for this detachment is the fact that their lives were so unrealistic. The women would spend their days in bed w/each other, & their evenings watching their daughter play in the ocean. Apparently once you marry into wealth, you never have to work again, even after a divorce and a subsequent commitment to someone else?! Call me ignorant, but I just don't see how one family member working at a women's shelter would afford the type of lifestyle they lived in Malibu.
I also became weary of the melodramatic scenes of these two maudlin lovers and had to roll my eyes more than once. It often read like a romance novel... which I just can't stomach. To boot, the plot line was flimsy at best, and I didn't connect with any of the under-developed characters.
Most annoying of all was the main character's countless rhetorical questions. Ugh! A true disappointment.
April 11, 2013
Fabulous, compelling story of life's unexpected turns. A --must-- summer read, Ms. Davis tells a touching story in a well written and thought provoking manner. The characters in Till Human Voices Wake Us are multidimensional and make you examine how life's losses can change each us. Without being cliche, Davis shows that love can heal life's darkest moments. Great read.
June 24, 2013
A deep soul searching story of Isabelle accepting her son's death, coming to terms with her newly found lesbianism and dealing with what life has in stall for her. A poignantly moving story which inspires and opens up hearts.
March 26, 2013
I absolutely loved this book from beginning to end. The storyline was touching and truthful without being over-dramatic. Simply excellent. Well worth your time to read it.
April 9, 2013
Very interesting book about loss and love. It arrived in my life just when I needed it.
April 8, 2013
Brilliant! Patti is a wordsmith, I can't praise this book enough.
January 27, 2018
In TILL HUMAN VOICES WAKE US, we are provided a scope to examine the complexities of human nature: the very fabric of our existence, the frailties and vulnerabilities of the heart. The way life can and will change as swiftly as the snap of the fingers.
Davis has an innate talent for detail and description. Her prose feels effortless. Real and close enough to reach out and touch. I remained captivated and awestruck at the flurry of scenes she unfolded which stirred all five senses and set the imagination aflame.
Only an authentic and seasoned novelist can transport the readers from reality and plunge them into her story world. Davis reminds us of the rainbow of emotions one must endure in a lifetime as she covers the gamut of relationships and themes: From unexpected and unconventional love to the marital dance to the bitterness of divorce to the ever-complicated and elusive mother-daughter/father-daughter pairings to the cruelty of losing a child and the agony of watching a parent slowly perish.
As with any great literary work, these characters and their stories will remain with you long after you turn the last page.
***Also highly recommend by Patti Davis:
THE EARTH BREAKS IN COLORS
THE LONG GOODBYE
July 1, 2017
This books is honestly the most beautiful thing I have read in a while. Its very sad, but the sadness comes from the how relatable everything the main character is going through is. I would definitely read it again and recommend it.
November 19, 2017
In her grief, following the devastating loss of her only child, Isabelle slowly but surely falls in love with her sister-in-law. While the nature of this story might be taboo to some readers, I urge you to set aside all preconceptions and read this with an open heart. This is one of the very rare occasions when it was the book which found me.
At the crux of the story is an unspeakable pain -- whether that of the death of a child, a spouse, a parent, or any other loved one. That pain is uniquely yours, and there is a part of it that resides in a very deep place, a place that you, for some reason or another, keep out of bounds, sometimes even to yourself. If you have ever been in such a despairing situation, you'd know that you want someone to come hold you, hold your hand, keep your head above water so you don't drown. This book is such a story.
Some of my favorite segments from the book:
"...who we love is unpredictable. It just claims us and we have nothing to say about it."
"Belonging isn't a decision, it's a condition of the heart."
"People think they're running away from something, but really they're being pulled toward an unexpected meeting with the one other person who will see past the running, the desperation...straight into their soul."
"We find our homes with other people -- in the architecture of relationships, in the spaces of moments and years."
"There are caves in the world of grief, some sealed off from tears."
"There are all kinds of drowning. And all kinds of rescues. I need them to lift me to the surface and help me float there."
"The only deliverance for a damaged heart is love."
"Life is strange and unpredictable, but if (you) can find someone who will meet (your) soul with theirs -- if (you) can wake up in the morning and go to sleep at night knowing that love is right there next to (you) -- then (you'll) be living the best life (you) can."
At the crux of the story is an unspeakable pain -- whether that of the death of a child, a spouse, a parent, or any other loved one. That pain is uniquely yours, and there is a part of it that resides in a very deep place, a place that you, for some reason or another, keep out of bounds, sometimes even to yourself. If you have ever been in such a despairing situation, you'd know that you want someone to come hold you, hold your hand, keep your head above water so you don't drown. This book is such a story.
Some of my favorite segments from the book:
"...who we love is unpredictable. It just claims us and we have nothing to say about it."
"Belonging isn't a decision, it's a condition of the heart."
"People think they're running away from something, but really they're being pulled toward an unexpected meeting with the one other person who will see past the running, the desperation...straight into their soul."
"We find our homes with other people -- in the architecture of relationships, in the spaces of moments and years."
"There are caves in the world of grief, some sealed off from tears."
"There are all kinds of drowning. And all kinds of rescues. I need them to lift me to the surface and help me float there."
"The only deliverance for a damaged heart is love."
"Life is strange and unpredictable, but if (you) can find someone who will meet (your) soul with theirs -- if (you) can wake up in the morning and go to sleep at night knowing that love is right there next to (you) -- then (you'll) be living the best life (you) can."
August 2, 2013
Patti Davis tackles many issues in this small Kindle story, that's for sure. Along with the challenges that her characters have faced (death, neglect, divorce, betrayal), there lies within a beautiful story of love, friendship, forgiveness, and acceptance.
The storyline starts with the death of a child, leading to the crumbling and divorce of the parents. That, in itself is unfortunately not unusual. What is, is that the mother and sister in law are now in love and with that, comes another series of challenges.
While the events are one series of challenges after another, my only concern with the book is that the reader doesn't have a chance to just live within the life of the characters. Rather, it's a matter of what else seems to come their way almost immediately. I would have liked to linger for a while and enjoy the relationships that are strong and wonderful in themselves.
Fabulous wisdom is given throughout the book about what makes a family special. It's a quick read with a good message.
The storyline starts with the death of a child, leading to the crumbling and divorce of the parents. That, in itself is unfortunately not unusual. What is, is that the mother and sister in law are now in love and with that, comes another series of challenges.
While the events are one series of challenges after another, my only concern with the book is that the reader doesn't have a chance to just live within the life of the characters. Rather, it's a matter of what else seems to come their way almost immediately. I would have liked to linger for a while and enjoy the relationships that are strong and wonderful in themselves.
Fabulous wisdom is given throughout the book about what makes a family special. It's a quick read with a good message.
July 25, 2013
Based on the very brief book description a reader could be lead to believe that this is a romance between two women. Although that is an important aspect of the story the reality is that Isabelle could have fallen in love with anyone. It just happened that Iris is the one who supports her and helps her through the trauma of the death of her son.
This is really a story of grief and loss and how that rips people apart. How through that pain people are sometimes afforded a miracle that allows them to rebuild their lives and find the capacity to love and be loved. I was really impressed with how well Patti Davis writes although there were moments where I felt that the story was disjointed. I also found myself wishing that there was a greater focus on Iris, whose relationship with her parents is incredibly dysfunctional.
This is really a story of grief and loss and how that rips people apart. How through that pain people are sometimes afforded a miracle that allows them to rebuild their lives and find the capacity to love and be loved. I was really impressed with how well Patti Davis writes although there were moments where I felt that the story was disjointed. I also found myself wishing that there was a greater focus on Iris, whose relationship with her parents is incredibly dysfunctional.
March 7, 2015
This really isn't a story I 'enjoyed' reading, only because the topic is difficult, but I was glad I stayed with it. The synopsis doesn't really do it justice, and it's also a bit misleading, this story isn't really about the relationship between Isabel and Iris, it's about Isabel's relationships with all of the other characters, equally about her partner Iris, her ex-husband, her step-daughter and her mother.
I found this to be a fascinating character study, and Davis has a wonderful touch with both words and situations. I thought it ended a bit abruptly, perhaps an epilogue would have helped, but it didn't detract from the overall experience.
This is a book that stays with you and I found myself still thinking about it days after I'd finished it. Worth the read, but don't read it unless you're in a good mood!
I found this to be a fascinating character study, and Davis has a wonderful touch with both words and situations. I thought it ended a bit abruptly, perhaps an epilogue would have helped, but it didn't detract from the overall experience.
This is a book that stays with you and I found myself still thinking about it days after I'd finished it. Worth the read, but don't read it unless you're in a good mood!
July 28, 2015
the story wasn't badly written, but the main character, especially her reaction to her young son's death, is flat and unbelievable. she is intended to be a sympathetic character, but instead she comes of as self-centered, vapid, and one dimensional. honestly, having known real loss moms, the character's actions don't ring true...so much so that in real life, they'd probably be cause for investigation. real grief is all-consuming; while the author's narrative claimed that the character feels sadness, it isn't demonstrated by the character's actions. she spends so much real estate feeling smug about her relationship with her sister in law, her son comes across as an afterthought. the first time in a long time I've considered putting a book down without finishing it. don't waste your time.
January 3, 2014
The loss of a child, the end of a marriage, the beginning of new love , the loss of a parent. The dissection of two lives as they are creating a new one. How wealth and privilege given without love can leave a hole in someone that nothing can fill even though they move on to create a life for themselves. How despite an alcoholic and often absent father a child with the unconditional love of her mother can survive other losses as she grows. A tale of normality and rejection, of loss and of comfort. Characters who entwined themselves in your heart and consciousness
March 18, 2014
The only way I can think to describe this book is soap opera meets inspirational quotes. I felt the entire time like the author way trying so hard to make 'lines you want to underline to inspire your life' and plots, that the actual story just didn't develop for me at all. Too many plots dropped into this book and none of them did it for me.
October 22, 2013
Till Human Voices Wake Us is a compelling read. Davis tackles such sensitive subjects as death, divorce and same-sex relationships. Her writing style is fluid and full of emotional depth.
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http://dsmcknight.blogspot.com/2013/0...
October 28, 2013
Super easy to read..Good vocabulary. Many nice quotes.
September 8, 2014
When you pick up this book get ready to cry ! It was an amazing story and I literally cried from start to finish! Very good read!
May 7, 2013
Amazing!!
June 28, 2013
This was a beautiful book. I highlighted so many passages. Will remember this story for a long, long time.
April 16, 2014
Beautiful story about a woman who loses her 3yr old son. Wonderfully written tale of grief, love, friendships, mother-daughter relationships. One of my new favorites.
July 2, 2013
Utterly fabulous!
October 2, 2013
This book was ok. There were many typos, words left out etc so that bothered me. I wanted to mark them with a pen and make them go back and fix the errors.
November 19, 2013
I'll give it a 3.5. I liked parts of it and others were a bit much.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews