Sweet Surrender

by Mary Moody

Pan Macmillan has been on a long and very successful journey with Mary Moody. The trilogy of books describing her escape from mid-life crises – Au Revoir, Last Tango in Toulouse and The Long Hot Summer – has reached a generation of Australian women.

In her new book Sweet Surrender, after all of her escapades and adventures, Mary has come full circle and has embraced surrendering to the inevitable. Surrendering to ageing, to the pull of family, to the happiness derived from a life that is centred on others as well as herself, and to the undeniable influence of her parents and her family on the person she is. It's been a journey that has taught her a lot, but in the end the needs of her family – her four children and her grandchildren – turned out to be a lot more important than her French affairs.

At the heart of Sweet Surrender, Mary challenges the illusion of eternal youth that's attributed to the baby boomer generation and the idea that she can obtain complete happiness by living life putting her own needs first. Yet like in her other books, she does so in a very personal way, describing how she herself was drawn in by the notion of denying the ageing process and by living life without the burden of obligation to the needs of others. That was until events in her life conspired to make her realise that you can't just run away from the essence of who you are, and that the most deeply satisfying moment in life can be experienced when fulfilling the needs of those who you love.

237 pages, ebook

First published May 1, 2009

Reviews

[Dzintra aka Ingrid · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read...towards the end Mary said she surrendered to the beauty of the care of her Sister...this made me all teary and made me think about my caring role...Surrendering to the Beauty of the Care of JoJo...Had never thought of it that way...

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The fourth part of an ongoing autobiography-where Mary Moody describes her life discovering her own individual identity, now that the children have grown up. Mary continues to juggle a life lived across four continents, and gives us insights to the consrvative, shallow and sexist nature of Australian media culture very well (which she is trying to escape), while describing an increasing disengagement with ex pat shannanigans in the Lot (which she previously had been uncritically immersed in), walking tours in Nepal and a painstaking support role to her newly discovered sister in Canada who is suffering Alzheimers disease. There is a lot of self reflection on what sort of mother she has been, in the context of her childrens relationship breakdowns, her infedelity in her own marriage and her own 'happy at all costs-stable' approach to parenting as a reaction to her father's chaotic, hedonistic lifestyle that so negatively impacted on the emotional fabric of the family, resulting in some tragic consequences. In reflecting on some sad themes, Mary continues to find answers and support in these overseas quarters.

[Michael Burge · Rating 4 out of 5]

A courageous book considering it sits outside the writer's previous trilogy, yet is informed by and indelibly linked to those earlier works, proving that life never happens in neat trilogies and that courage leads to as much pain as happiness.

[Naomi]

Xmas in July 2009

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting continuation of Mary's life.

[Denise Covey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great. Part of a trilogy of books setting out an over 50s escape from Australia to France. Mid life crises extraordinaire!

[Magpie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chloe 2017

[Marijana Stojanovic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Onother great book by Mary Moody. I just love the way she writes and I appreciate everything she is sharing with us public. This book is a bit different from her previous.It concentrates more on her professional life,and a little bit on her immediate family,and lots on her long lost and than found sister.In this book she doesn't talk much about her tours as she was before.
While I was half though the book I had pleasure of meeting Mary as she visited our local library to promote her next book.I was a bit sad that the visit wasn't few weeks later,so I could ask her more questions,considering that I didn't finish reading this book.She is as lovely in person as she is in the books.I felt like I know her.Mary is exactly how I imagined her she would be and more.Her stole of writing is in such a way that I feel like she is in the same room and telling me the story in person her self.
Can't wait to start with her next book.

[Chris Avalon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 4th book in the series of the memoirs of Mary Moody. A bit repetitive if you've read the previous 3. I read them out of order, book 2 - Last Tango in Toulouse, then book 3 - The Long Hot Summer (juiciest) then finally found book 1 (Au Revior) which touched on events that occurred in books 2 and 3 and now book 4 - Sweet Surrender. I do really like the way Mary writes. It is very down to earth and really draws you in. In this book Mary mainly writes of taking care of her sister in Canada, who has alzheimer's. It's a very difficult time in her life where she is still flitting off all over the world. She has new adventures with being a television host and those parts of her story are really very funny. I seriously do not know how she manages so much in her life. I am exhausted just reading about her life. I am just a tad younger than Mary however I am about the age she is in the books, so although I really cannot relate to her life style or choices, I can empathise with her feelings.

[Lyn Ambrose · Rating 3 out of 5]

The publication of this book in 2009 follows Mary Moody's trilogy in which she deals with her mid-life crises. Her writing style is similar in each of her other books and I found this book too, easy to read. The content is not as personal as she shared in her first three books but there is a quiet acceptance from Mary of coming to terms with her love of family and home and being as supportive as she can be to all those she loves in her life. The poignancy of her words at the close of the book are beautiful and to me show she has successfully dealt with her mid-life crises.

[Pamela Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to order it from Oz and it took a while to arrive, but it was worth waiting for. I loved it just as much as the previous 3 books. On to the Accidental Tour Guide...