kjboldon's review against another edition
5.0
A great collection from a wide range of voices about many aspects of mothering--funny, sad, hard, weird. I do wish the author bios had appeared at the end of each essay, and that some of the essays would have left off their last paragraph, which pulled some of the punch of what went before.
koby's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not a fan of the cover, but the book is good. I'm torn between a three and a four, but I am going to round down since it's been a few weeks since I read it and it hasn't stuck with me as much as I thought it would. That being said, all of the essays are brief. Some are funny, some are somber. Several are absolutely beautiful.
beth_p_w's review against another edition
4.0
It made me cry too much, which I think was an issue of the pacing of the anthology: too many gut punches to truly absorb the stories, which ended up making it feel repetitive. But it did make me want to write, which is good!
theresidentbookworm's review against another edition
3.0
*Receieved through Goodreads' First Reads in exchange for an honest review.
I'm not really sure I was the target audience for this book. I'm pretty sure I entered this giveway at 2 or 3 in the morning half-asleep. I make it a goal to enter as many as possible. After all, how can you win if you don't enter? Still, I'm not always sure what I'm going to get, and I've gotten some interesting ones. Including Listen to Your Mother.
These essays were nice and short, perfect for skimming or reading all the way through if that's what you prefer, but I wish they had been a little more varied in content. I would have liked some more perspectives on mothers from people that are not mothers or men on mothers. The essays started to all feel the same after a while. I had never heard of the movement associated with it before reading this so maybe that was the point.
I did enjoy the honesty, sincerity, and humor shared throughout the essays and how truly genuine they all felt. Being a mother (from what I hear) is hard work, and no one here skirts around that. The essayists never fail to point out, however, how fulfilling it is too.
Overall, recommended for mothers or even just parents. Definitely a good gift for your mother next Mother's Day.
I'm not really sure I was the target audience for this book. I'm pretty sure I entered this giveway at 2 or 3 in the morning half-asleep. I make it a goal to enter as many as possible. After all, how can you win if you don't enter? Still, I'm not always sure what I'm going to get, and I've gotten some interesting ones. Including Listen to Your Mother.
These essays were nice and short, perfect for skimming or reading all the way through if that's what you prefer, but I wish they had been a little more varied in content. I would have liked some more perspectives on mothers from people that are not mothers or men on mothers. The essays started to all feel the same after a while. I had never heard of the movement associated with it before reading this so maybe that was the point.
I did enjoy the honesty, sincerity, and humor shared throughout the essays and how truly genuine they all felt. Being a mother (from what I hear) is hard work, and no one here skirts around that. The essayists never fail to point out, however, how fulfilling it is too.
Overall, recommended for mothers or even just parents. Definitely a good gift for your mother next Mother's Day.
aprileclecticbookworm's review against another edition
3.0
An eclectic collection of essays averaging about 3 pages each on the topic of mothers- some humorous and some more serious or sad. There were a few I’d have liked to have had longer passages but it did convey the essence of the topic.
jessicaesquire's review
4.0
I'm saving you a lot of time: this is what to get your mother, your wife, your friend, your sister, your daughter, your anyone for Mother's Day this year.
I'm a Listen To Your Mother director and cast member (2013 Providence, 2014 and 2015 Boston) so of course I love Listen To Your Mother and everything it's about, how it gives voice to the position that is often the quietest one. The book is a collection of some of my favorite essays from men and women around the country.
Putting together a Listen To Your Mother show is a tricky job and I have no doubt editing the book was as well. It's about balancing humor and sadness, finding stories that are unique and balancing them with stories that are universal, talking about the biggest things and the smallest. The anthology does that well, covering pretty much any topic you can possibly imagine. There is adoption, same-sex marriage, the death of a child, the death of a parent, step-parenting, infertility, divorce, deployment, poverty, and significant struggles with mental and physical health. But there is also much that happens every day, those moments where you stop to take in just what's happening around you. There is sending a child off to college. There is a search for a child's lost lovey. There is pretty much everything.
These stories are personal and they are short, so even someone who isn't much of a reader will enjoy themselves. It's a book best enjoyed in small pieces so you can enjoy each story and savor it a bit. These essays were all read aloud in Listen To Your Mother shows, and you can tell that the writing has been refined and perfected to be enjoyed by an audience. The translation to book form is well done.
Seriously. Your Mother's Day gift work is done.
I'm a Listen To Your Mother director and cast member (2013 Providence, 2014 and 2015 Boston) so of course I love Listen To Your Mother and everything it's about, how it gives voice to the position that is often the quietest one. The book is a collection of some of my favorite essays from men and women around the country.
Putting together a Listen To Your Mother show is a tricky job and I have no doubt editing the book was as well. It's about balancing humor and sadness, finding stories that are unique and balancing them with stories that are universal, talking about the biggest things and the smallest. The anthology does that well, covering pretty much any topic you can possibly imagine. There is adoption, same-sex marriage, the death of a child, the death of a parent, step-parenting, infertility, divorce, deployment, poverty, and significant struggles with mental and physical health. But there is also much that happens every day, those moments where you stop to take in just what's happening around you. There is sending a child off to college. There is a search for a child's lost lovey. There is pretty much everything.
These stories are personal and they are short, so even someone who isn't much of a reader will enjoy themselves. It's a book best enjoyed in small pieces so you can enjoy each story and savor it a bit. These essays were all read aloud in Listen To Your Mother shows, and you can tell that the writing has been refined and perfected to be enjoyed by an audience. The translation to book form is well done.
Seriously. Your Mother's Day gift work is done.
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