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Grabbing at Water: A Mother–Daughter Memoir
The relationship between mother and daughter is an incomparable blend of affection, comfort, rebellion, pain, frustration, and joy. In Grabbing at Water , mother and daughter Joan and Maddy Lambur explore their extraordinary bond as they recount the events of Maddy's youth and young adulthood -- the successes and struggles, clashes and reconciliations -- telling each story from their very different and equally hilarious points of view.
As Joan evolves from a broke, newly single mother living in a Toronto fixer-upper to a high-flying executive, she watches Maddy change too, from a gregarious little girl who struggles in school to a free-spirited, confident teen. Together, they navigate academic crises and health scares, wayward pets and romantic missteps. Joan watches with pride and terror as her daughter asserts her independence for the first time -- and then reasserts it again and again. Maddy, bright and willful, strives to live by her own rules -- even if that means joyriding in her mother's fancy company car, or getting her picture on the front page of the local newspaper at a protest to legalize marijuana. Yet every challenge seemingly designed to test the limits of her mother's love only serves to prove that there are no limits.
Honest, heartfelt, and witty, the stories in this unique memoir illuminate and celebrate perhaps the most defining relationship we will ever know -- one that, even at its most difficult, is deeply rewarding and utterly irreplaceable.
As Joan evolves from a broke, newly single mother living in a Toronto fixer-upper to a high-flying executive, she watches Maddy change too, from a gregarious little girl who struggles in school to a free-spirited, confident teen. Together, they navigate academic crises and health scares, wayward pets and romantic missteps. Joan watches with pride and terror as her daughter asserts her independence for the first time -- and then reasserts it again and again. Maddy, bright and willful, strives to live by her own rules -- even if that means joyriding in her mother's fancy company car, or getting her picture on the front page of the local newspaper at a protest to legalize marijuana. Yet every challenge seemingly designed to test the limits of her mother's love only serves to prove that there are no limits.
Honest, heartfelt, and witty, the stories in this unique memoir illuminate and celebrate perhaps the most defining relationship we will ever know -- one that, even at its most difficult, is deeply rewarding and utterly irreplaceable.
211 pages, Paperback
First published April 8, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 22, 2011
meh..boring...honestly it was the cover that got me
July 16, 2025
At least it was short.
What a trash book about trash people. I’m usually not a harsh critic, I swear, but these two idiots clearly think that they’re amazing and philosophical, while in fact they are both selfish, bad people. By the looks of it, Joan was a terrible mother and Maddy an absolutely uncontrollable brat. The feeble attempt at some sort of lesson at the end was truly pathetic. Perhaps if she had been given rules and boundaries, Maddy wouldn’t have become such a wild child - honestly, I hope she has grown up since writing this memoir.
What a trash book about trash people. I’m usually not a harsh critic, I swear, but these two idiots clearly think that they’re amazing and philosophical, while in fact they are both selfish, bad people. By the looks of it, Joan was a terrible mother and Maddy an absolutely uncontrollable brat. The feeble attempt at some sort of lesson at the end was truly pathetic. Perhaps if she had been given rules and boundaries, Maddy wouldn’t have become such a wild child - honestly, I hope she has grown up since writing this memoir.
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August 25, 2008Rare for me to stop reading a book once I start, even if I don't like it. Only read 12 pages of this and was so annoyed by "the voice" and a glaring inconsistency "I was eight...Lauren was a couple of years older than me." then one page later references them as "two eight year olds". Get an editor for goodness sakes!!! No stars for you.
February 7, 2011
This book is a very real account of a mother and daughter's relationship. I like how it was formatted with the mother, Joan telling her version of a story followed by the daughter, Maddy's point of view on the same story. It is an easy read, but it wasn't really anything special. Its kind of a bland story with pointless stories that don't make for a interesting story...
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews