A Young Lady's Miscellany

by Auriel Roe

'A magical transformation of memory's rags and patches into a coherent story: a wonderful account, perhaps the best I've ever read, of a female coming into her own.' Tony Connor, Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
What's a girl of fourteen to do when she finds herself alone in the world with no one to guide her? Why, follow the Victorian self-help guide, 'A Young Lady's Miscellany', of course! The trouble is, the advice it offers proves less than helpful in a contemporary context. Muddling through, often with disastrous results, she finds a friend in her recently widowed grandmother, the door to whose small house is always open. Inept at any job she is able to get and pursued by a slew of unsuitable suitors, she must instead spend a decade navigating her own miscellany in order to come of age.

280 pages, Paperback

Published June 15, 2021

About the author

Auriel Roe is an author and artist who spent the earlier part of her career teaching literature, drama and art in secondary schools in England and abroad. One of her short stories was shortlisted for a major UK writing competition. Her debut novel 'A Blindefellows Chronicle' was #1 for humour in Amazon US, Canada and UK. It has been saved by over 2,000 readers on Goodreads. Her memoir focuses on her fractured adolescence, her slew of unsuitable suitors and her total ineptness at any kind of gainful employment, 'A Young Lady's Miscellany', is is now available.
Auriel's second novel, 'Let The Swine Go Forth' follows the misadventures of a group of teachers in a new international school out in the desert of a totalitarian state. It is due to be republished with Dogberry Books in 2021.
Trivia: Auriel Roe is the fourth cousin of Margaret Atwood and direct descendant of Pendal "witch" Alice Nutter.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't read a lot of autobiography. It probably paints me in an unflattering light but, as much as I can lose myself in the lives of fictional characters for hours on end, endlessly fascinated, I'm just not that interested in the lives of real people. It probably goes some way as to explaining why I have absolutely no small talk, too, now I come to think of it.

As such, I don't really know how to rate or review an autobiography or memoir (I have no idea what the difference is, if any). I mean, you can't rate somebody's life, can you? 'Your life was tedious: 2 stars' just can't be a thing, right?

So, I'm left reviewing the quality of the writing, which, I'm happy to say, in this case, is really rather good. The only reason I read this particular autobiography was because I'd read and really enjoyed the author's two novels and I wasn't disappointed.

Auriel Roe writes well; she doesn't ramble, she doesn't play the 'woe-is-me' card, she doesn't slip into melodrama. She writes conversationally, in an authentic voice, and is often very funny. While this isn't normally my bag (man), I really enjoyed this volume, whipping through it in just four days.

The only concern I was left with was... well... Auriel, did you ever get around to naming your baby? (I kid, I kid...)

[Rosie Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Young Lady’s Miscellany is a book written in the style of a memoir about a young woman’s experiences of growing up. Instigated by the discovery of a Victorian self-help guide in her Grandmother’s belongings, the author loosely uses ‘advice’ in the book as she weaves her way through life.

I believe that this reflection is about the author’s life rather than a work of fiction which took me a while to work out and to settle into the narrative. The writing pace skips along— never letting up— as we gallop through a vast amount of past history from the narrator’s early teen years to her twenties. Most of the writing is linear in time but sometimes the author dots back to an earlier episode in life.

Memoirs can be an awkward genre to review as their content needs to appeal to enough readers; some are more suited to friends and family who already know the writer, while others have a subject matter within that is interesting to a wider audience. I found this story hard to warm to, although I did become more engaged with the characters the further I got into it and it was the last third which I found most interesting. My main disappointment, however, was that I thought that the book was going to be a Victorian story featuring the lady implied by the book title and part of me kept waiting for that story to begin.

[Madhulika Liddle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had only ever known Auriel Roe as the author of two humorous books set in somewhat eccentric schools. Her autobiography, which she sent me to read in exchange for an honest review, however made me see her in a different light. A Young Lady's Miscellany draws its name from one of the quaint old self-help books a young Roe found among the works on her grandmother's bookshelves, and it's a singularly appropriate name for this memoir. This one is a story of a life startlingly varied and rich, packed with people and experiences of a myriad hues.

Roe tells her story in chronological order, beginning with her grandmothers, May and Manda, with whom she appears to have spent a good bit of her childhood. Through childhood, school, the falling apart of her parents' marriage, and through her own at times troubled teen years, Roe talks of the people she knew, the often hilarious episodes that peppered their lives and her own. Given Roe's adeptness at humorous fiction, I had expected her autobiography to be primarily humorous, but while a good bit of it is very funny, there's also a lot that is not. There are poignant moments here, shocking ones, and many that offer an insight into the personality of the writer. She comes across as a self-confident person, a lover of adventure, and one with a lot of depth. It takes depth to be so brutally honest in a memoir.

The writing is good and very readable, though I do wish the book had had the benefit of a good proof reader: the typos can get quite distracting after a while.

Despite that, though, a book worth reading. I especially loved the sections where Roe writes about her grandmothers, their homes, and their lives: Manda and May come across very vividly as living, breathing women. If nothing else, A Young Lady's Miscellany is a fine tribute to these two ladies.

[Grace J Reviewerlady · Rating 4 out of 5]

An honest and touching memoir written in a very expressive manner!

This is the story of a young women who, without parental guidance turns to a book for help throughout her teenage years and beyond. The Victorian novel is often out of touch with the modern world, but she muddles on. With her grandmother’s door always open, she struggles desperately and defiantly to find her niche in life.

Auriel Roe writes beautifully; I’m not sure what I expected from this memoir but it is an enthralling book which grabs the reader and pulls them in. I was quite mesmerised throughout as Auriel tries to decide what the future holds for her and it is a delightful read – very different from my usual but no less entertaining. I was desperate to find out where the story was going and rooting for her all the way through. Truly enjoyable, this is one novel I’m happy to recommend. 4*

[David Tindall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shambling, awkward boys presume that girls – especially the attractive ones – know exactly what they’re doing when it comes to the birds and bees. That somehow the manual on ‘how to have good sex’ has been pre-installed. Refreshingly, in A Young Lady’s Miscellany, Auriel Roe confirms that it absolutely has not. Girls can make a giant horlicks of it too. But sexual bumbling is also a great source of humour and Auriel doesn’t miss a trick in finding comedy in the most uncomfortable and embarrassing moments. This not-cumming-of-age tale is a wonderfully funny read and a reminder that, actually, the journey to sexual satisfaction is far more interesting if it gets off to a slightly ridiculous start.

[Debs Miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poignant and humorous, Auriel Roe's autobiography is a fabulously evocative read. We follow her journey from her somewhat chaotic and unconventional family life in Cumbria, peopled with a variety of warm and eccentric characters, through her hilarious relationships and myriad jobs, to a comfortable family life with a partner and child. But there is so much in between; this highly readable memoir will have you laughing and feeling tearful in equal measure. Read and enjoy.

[Pamela López · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was particularly interested to read this as my sister lived in that area for a brief time. I only visited it once and am disappointed to realise I didn’t appreciate the town at all at the time . It must be worth a revisit . Auriel appears to have been a young lady who knew her own mind and having come through a hard upbringing emerges as the butterfly. Not afraid to uncover the pain and grief in her family she constructs a narrative worthy of telling .

[Yasmin Marsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully written! Roe transported me back, with such insightful detail, to so many of the times and traditions of my childhood! Her ironic tone runs throughout and for me, this added to both the humour and the poignancy that she so cleverly invokes.

[Karen Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been a while since I've read a memoir although I have read several in the past. However, I really enjoyed Auriel Roe's previous novels, A Blindefellows Chronicle and Let The Swine Go Forth and so was intrigued by the singular title of this non-fiction book.
I wasn't surprised by the affectionate, descriptive wit but this is also a more candid book which follows the author's memories from her childhood, through her more challenging years into adulthood and the start of her career as a teacher. The book opens with a description of her two grandmothers, May and Manda and it is they who are arguably the most significant figures in her earlier life. I must be a similar age to Auriel Roe and enjoyed her recollections of her grandparents' houses; though known as the front room rather than parlour, my own maternal grandparents also kept a room for Christmas and special occasions only. I spent many hours at the houses of both sets of my grandparents, fascinated by their ornaments and knick-knacks, so I loved this nostalgic reminder of my childhood.
Manda was the more gregarious of Auriel's grandmothers and her house later becomes a refuge and a place of solace during a particularly troubling time in her teenage years. However, as a younger child she spends a lot of time at the stricter, more rigid May's house and it's here that she finds a copy of A Young Lady's Miscellany, a book 'chock-full of cautionary tales concerning young ladies facing dire situations who triumph when they kept their moral wits about them' and while there is never the sense that this tome became a guide for the young Auriel, it does provide a loose framework of sorts for her flowing, loosely chronological memories.
It's perhaps not surprising that an author of two school-based novels should explore her own years in various educational institutions in such detail. However, unlike the public schools in her fictional work, her own schooling was in comprehensives and of varying quality. It quickly becomes apparent that her childhood was rather disjointed, due in part to her father frequently changing jobs, resulting in the family moving house several times. A little later her parents split which leads to her moving away again. Her account of her school years is by turns amusing and quite poignant; from her initially disastrous efforts in her cookery class to the bullying she endures at a different school, this is an honest, self-aware coming-of-age chronicling which includes her most difficult period when she effectively dropped out of school altogether and as mentioned above, came to rely on the loving presence of her grandmother, Manda.
Nevertheless, despite going through this troubled phase, it's abundantly clear throughout that she values education and knowledge even though she is unsure where she wants it to lead. Her memories of her later teenage years and time at university recall a young woman trying to discover who she is and it's noticeable that others seem to view her differently than she sees herself. As she experiments with her appearance, often inspired by her various literary leanings, she describes her tentative forays into dating and sexual encounters with self-deprecating candour.
In a world where celebrity memoirs focus on scandal and achievement, it's refreshing to read of a more ordinary life. From her year as a student in the Netherlands. to an uncomfortable trip to New York, her observations of other countries are as interesting as her recounting of her assorted jobs. Her recollections of her role supporting a woman with cerebral palsy and later of working with women prisoners on remand are told in a straightforward, unassuming manner which nonetheless indicate her curious, empathic nature which undoubtedly comes through in both her fictional and non-fiction works.
A Young Lady's Miscellany is a thoroughly enjoyable, introspective collection of memories told with an immersive sense of time and place. I recommend it to anybody with an interest in social histories, especially the latter part of the twentieth century.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of a young woman’s life is an interesting topic for a book, especially when it is as honest and thoughtful as this book. It is a comprehensive vivid book of reminiscence, subtly referring to a Victorian book of manners and conduct which was discovered in the house of a grandmother. Auriel’s life has been unconventional, partly as a result of her parent's separation and her being the only child left at home. This book features her experiences at a variety of schools and educational establishments, her attempts to find a relationship, her experiments with clothes and image. It introduces a range of characters who are lovingly described, chiefly her two grandmothers, May Fielding and Manda Mossop. They are as unlike as possible in terms of physical appearance, and there are other differences. There is a point at which Manda provides a refuge for Auriel, and she is a vital part of her life.

This is a story of a girl who grows up in various places in various ways, but she is always blessed with a clear insight into the lives of others and most particularly herself. Thus her adventures, the male friends, her ambitions are all described in a flowing and largely unstructured way, apart from simple chronology. Not that it is purely linear; as things in her adult life trigger memories she will revert to a childhood scenario. This book can be described as a miscellany of thoughts and reactions to what was happening around her which was very context bound. I was pleased to have the opportunity to read and review this unusual book.

The book opens with a vivid description of May and Manda and the town where they lived and the author’s parents grew up, Whitehaven in West Cumbria. The use of the various rooms in the house, childish incidents, the differences between the attitudes of the grandmothers are all remembered carefully and expanded. She appears to have a very clear memory of conversations many years before, which is not so remarkable as they are the sort of situations which stick in the mind, as well as a bit of fictional tidying up perhaps being added. She is good at finding descriptions for people which are memorable, such as one grandmother being as having an “ample bosom” and the other having a “rail thin torso”. One young man is summed up as Percy Bysshe Shelley for his appearance and choice of clothes, which was in contrast to Auriel’s chosen clothes of bright colours at the time. She largely gave up on school at one point, although she had good memories of a particular cookery teacher whose helpful comments echo in her mind over the years. Her ambitions range from a temporary obsession with feet through to being a professional actor, and she takes some interesting part time and temporary jobs which she writes about with care. They produce some touching moments, especially as a volunteer when a student.

This is an impressive book of memories with a strong sense of place and time. Auriel is a clever writer who has transformed her memories of growing up into an interesting and entertaining book. It is a fascinating story of the coming to adulthood in the late twentieth century of a thoughtful and able writer, and I recommend this book as an enjoyable read.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Auriel Roe’s memoir, A Young Lady’s Miscellany, we follow the author from her teens to her early twenties as she tries to navigate life and love with very little parental support. The book is a chronological patchwork of memories from school, college, university, work, travel, and family life, stuffed full of entertaining episodes and anecdotes but also more serious material.

Roe has a real gift for observing and describing people. Over the course of the book, we meet a huge number of classmates, friends, bullies, teachers, family members, colleagues, potential love interests, and more, and the little details she includes really bring them to life and distinguish them. This is especially true of some of her teachers, as well as the many rather strange and disappointing boys she seems cursed to meet. Many people come and go within a chapter or two throughout this book, but because she often finds something funny or astute to say about them, they stick in your memory.

Two constants, though, are Roe’s two very different grandmothers, austere Victorian May and jolly Edwardian Manda. She starts the book with their stories, and descriptions of their personalities and homes as she experienced them as a child - which as a lapsed historian of childhood I naturally enjoyed - then uses them as touchstones throughout the book. This book takes its title from one owned by May, and it’s Manda’s death that brings Roe’s memoir to a close.

While this book is mainly funny, there are some serious bits too. The bullying Roe experiences and witnesses at the school she goes to in Whitehaven after her parents split up is shocking - I didn’t blame her for becoming a school refuser and was pleased that she could take refuge at Manda’s every day instead - as are the experiences she has when she tries moving in with her dad for a while. I was also moved by her descriptions of working her holiday job working at a detention centre for women with young children awaiting trial.

A Young Lady’s Miscellany is entertaining, moving, and brilliantly observed.

[Timothy Dallman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Until a few years ago I had read very few auto/biographical works. Then I started reading those of some people I admired, mainly actors, musicians and the like. I found the books interesting, but none as fascinating or amusing as A Young Lady’s Miscellany by Auriel Roe.

In this wonderful telling of her early life, and the crucial roles her two very different grandmothers played in it, Auriel paints a vivid picture of an upbringing in working class northern England and her eventual encounter with another entirely different world on the other side of an ocean.
She falls a victim of the state administered 11 plus exam, which effectively decided her educational fate. However, despite a very fragmented school career, she triumphs and makes it through to higher education. Watch out for calamitous cookery classes from scotched eggs to victorious sponge cake. The picturesque portraits of her teachers and their traits will ring true for many readers.

On the way she tries to fathom the mystery of boys and recounts her most amusing encounters on the way to finding true love. Twins dates and non-goings on in graveyards and under pianos are among the confusing incidents Auriel experienced. Always amusing and sometimes heart-rending, her love life is revealed in all its confusion.

Auriel asserts her fiery independence by getting a number of part time jobs during her adolescence. These are another source of enlightening stories, she is willing to try just about anything and learns many lessons the hard way.

We are privy to the metamorphosis of a denim armoured pupa into dazzling harlequin imago and the consequent change of personality from wall flower to centre stage actor.

Auriel Roe reveals herself fully and bravely, yet never boastfully. This is a laugh out loud and occasional sniffle book. I loved it and, now that I have sped through the story, will be re-reading it to further enjoy the beautiful way Auriel uses language.

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed Auriel Roe's memoir. I had already read A Blindefellows Chronicle, and so I was prepared for a humorous account of the writer's early years into young adulthood, motherhood, teaching. But I found Roe's memoir more compelling and engaging than Blindefellows. The unifying thread, her grandmothers and their histories, succeeded quite well in shaping the memoir. Her facility for detail and recall is extraordinary. Her word choice was a delight to navigate, exotic and rich to my stiff and dull American sensibilities. Indeed, I made a list of the terms and phrases that were foreign to me. References to Parkin, spliff, snicket, Mills and Boon, vaunted tarragon, she-yahoos (I did think Gulliver's Travels, but I was never sure...), upped sticks, battledore, and tiffin, all had me doing quick look-ups on the net. That's just a sampling.

As a child born in the 50s, I also enjoyed mapping her memories along with my own. Some of her more painful accounts which, after all, involved a form of abuse, compelled me to put one of my own memories into writing. I marveled at Roe's tenacity, with little to go on in the way of resources or parental support, carving her own way. The voice she established was inclusive, inviting the reader, particularly a female one, to also look back to her mother and grandmothers and their rich, uncelebrated and unsung histories. The humor was ever-present, wry, witty, absurd, (I cannot forget the image of the child-chucking at school) outrageous, sometimes dark.

When this memoir is readied for hardcover publication, chapter titles would help to unify the work and provide a kind of anchor for the reader, moving from one chapter of her life to the next. Each of her chapters could stand as a complete short story, in the spirit of Alice Munro, for instance.

[Staceywh_17 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, beautifully written in memoir format, this is Auriel's journey into young adulthood, becoming a mother & her chosen career.

I loved the references to Southampton & have been a patron of The Red Lion (the oldest public house in Southampton) myself.

Many thanks to @randomthingstours for allowing me to take part in the tour 😊

𝗜 𝗴𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮 4 ⭐ 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC free from BookSirens and this is my voluntary honest review.
A autobiography memoir style read.
Well written.
Sucks the reader in.
A warm journey.
Interesting characters.
Insightful!
Poignant!
Expressive!
Honest and touching!
Delightful!
Humorous!
Read and enjoy!

[J. A. Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A memoir of Ms. Roe's childhood, adolescence and adulthood starting with memories of her two grandmothers. I can't say I loved this read, but at times it was interesting, particularly the part where she managed to skip school a good deal of the time. There are portions about boyfriends and schooling, her first sexual encounters and eventual baby with the man I assume she is still with. She experienced a great deal of hardships and lack of funds but her attitude always seemed to be one of endurance and getting on with it. I found it quite shocking when her boyfriend's mother invited them to New York only to be shuttled soon after to his father's where the stepmother basically threw them out. My heart went out to all 3 of them.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delightful book. Auriel's childhood means she spends a lot of time with her grandmothers, one of whom has the original Young Lady's Miscellany. Packed with useful - and not so useful - information, it is a guide to Auriel when she goes into the world. I enjoyed the tales of her childhood growing up in the north west of England, and learning about some of the customs. I was engaged by the chapter headings, which could've come straight out of the eponymous book. Well-written and entertaining, I definitely recommend this book.

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is clear from this memoir that one can easily lose track of what passes for normal life when family life id so disrupted. So many mistakes made but fortunately grandmothers can provide some refuge. I might say this is a survivor's story

[Gill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though this reads like fiction, this is in fact a memoir. The story of the young life and coming of age of Auriel Roe. I love memoirs and this one is both funny and fascinating, not least because parts of it cover places in much the same neck of the woods as where I have lived all my life. Much further on into the book Auriel tells us that when she finally found ‘the one’, she lived for a short time in Marsden which sits in the Pennine Hills. Here she mentions the almost permanent cold and damp which I can thoroughly attest to, it is till the same to this day, cold and wet and oh so cloudy!

So I’m going to be completely honest now, I started this book in August last year after reading a review of the book on a Facebook Group I was a member of. The review sold me the book, it sounded so good. However I bought it at a time when I already had a fair few books to read from Netgalley and it wasn’t really feasible to fit it in, but I started it and have dipped into it from time to time until I finished the last 35% just recently.

Not the best way to read any book and when, and if I ever manage to find a spare week, I would definitely read it again properly, right through at one go because it really is an engrossing story. By the time I picked it up again towards the end of May this year to finish it, I’d forgotten who some members of Auriel’s family were as well as her time living with them when she was younger.

Despite my somewhat erratic reading of this book, I have thoroughly enjoyed it, often picking it up for a quick read when something else I’ve been reading has all got a bit much and a little heavy. Her book always made me smile with her vivid descriptions of the schools she went to, the friends she meets along the way and the odd dalliance with potential partners of the romantic kind. If you want to know a bit more, might I suggest you pop over to Amazon and read the reviews on there, everyone who has read this book has enjoyed it.

[Scuffed Granny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It might have been the nostalgia for my own childhood that has tempered my view of it or the very Britishness of it but Auriel Roe's memoir is a read that will stay with me long after I have finished it.

The book is the author's recollections from her own life, starting with her very different grandmothers, and growing up in northern England, through her school years, college days, boyfriends, first jobs and finally, to motherhood. It is an amalgamation of experiences and musings which have been grouped in a similar manner to a book that she found at her grandmother's house called A Young Lady's Miscellany.

Auriel Roe's younger life, as is to be expected, was shaped somewhat by her family and the relationships that she has with members of it. Her discussion of her grandmothers, especially Manda is full of warm remembrances and humorous stories as well as contemplation of how she has been influenced by them. However, there is also regret at how she could have gained more from them, especially with her maternal grandmother, May. Her father has importance too but not necessarily positive and there is a sense of disappointment in the way that he conducted himself throughout the book.

I think what I liked most was the candid nature in which it was related. Roe has a dry wit which permeates the retelling of her life's experiences and had me laughing out loud. There is one story in particular of her time in school in Caerleon, Wales which, even after finishing it, when remembered, makes me chuckle to myself and probably will far into the future.

In some respects, as lives go, Roe's is not particularly remarkable. There are no lurid stories really, just the normal rites of passage and milestones which chart the progression from child to adult: finding out who you are in terms of your role models; making friends at school; interest in the opposite sex and the world that opens up as a result; deciding what you want to do with your life or not, as the case may be; lovers; employment; and children. But its frank examination is what makes it stand out.

This book's strength lies in its candour and its humour and I cannot express enough how much I enjoyed it nor how the line "They're chucking Oscar!" will never fail to make me smile.

This review was first published on Reedsy Discovery where I was privileged to read it as an ARC.

[Carrie Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Auriel Roe's subversive intellect, wit and humour shines through this amusing romp through a range of misadventures, as a young girl struggles to find her own way in the world. Spritely and resourceful and rich in engaging characters - it has moments of considerable pathos and poignancy too. Of particular interest to me was the way in which the author framed the text in relation to her two very different grandmothers. These women clearly played a significant and formative part in her life - even when far removed from her in time and distance. Whilst her own parents were engrossed in carving out their own new relationship territories, she was left to find her own way through her young life as best she could. Whilst she seems to have managed this with great stoicism and mirth, it became clear that the stability, love and value systems that her divergent grandmothers had bestowed on her, would prove invaluable in helping her to shape the person she was to become.

In these day of increasingly ageist attitudes towards the elderly - too often we hear of old and vulnerable people with no effective advocate to speak up for them. In such circumstances, they can so easily find themselves marginalised, silenced and systematically asset stripped by ruthless, unscrupulous people - frequently in clandestine familial settings, shrouded with secrecy and shame.

Well done Auriel Roe - you have effectively highlighted and amplified the benefits of an elder's role and influence on a young person's life in a refreshingly fast paced, inventive and amusing way.

[Joanne]

I enjoyed the writing style of the author and to a lesser degree the story itself. There is nothing wrong with the story except to my way of thinking there was no one remarkable aspect that might have pointed to a moral or the inspiration for the writing of the book. The reason I bring up my way of thinking is because when I finished the book I wondered why I wasn't impressed. I'm a person who's motivated and driven. The main character of this book has neither of these qualities. If I had met her at a cocktail party we wouldn't have become friends. I'm not so narrow minded to think there aren't plenty of people in the world just like her. I wouldn't expect them to understand me the same way I don't understand her.

Please let me be clear about the book itself. The writing style is clear and a story is told. It's a contemporary tale that some might enjoy, it just wasn't strong enough for me.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a digital copy of this for free.

I have to say, the blurb doesn't really describe this book very well.
It's a memoir, where the author not only writes about her life, but also her family. The book starts off by her telling us about her grandmothers, and the book ends with the funeral of one of them. The middle bit is the author's youth / adolescence, from childhood until she becomes a mother herself.
Personally I didn't find this book very interesting. There wasn't anything remarkable that happened, it was just a relatively normal coming of age. Some might like that though, but I'd like a bit more excitement, detailed (unique) experiences, maybe lessons, at least something more from memoirs / autobiographies I read.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and her views of life. The descriptions of her two grandmothers and what they were like reminded me of mine. This was a page turner and took me back to my growing up years, doesn’t matter where you live we are basically all the same. I would recommend this book to all. I received a free book and the views and opinions are my own.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was an ideal gift for my 14 year old granddaughter. It heightens the differences between the generations. About the importance of certain decisions one makes and is a right of passage book. She loved it and the book opened up many conversations between us.