Review: Becoming My Mother's Daughter:: A Story of Survival and Renewal by Erika Gottlieb

Becoming My Mother's Daughter: A Story of Survival and Renewal by Erika Gottlieb

Book Description:
Becoming My Mother’s Daughter: A Story of Survival and Renewal tells the story of three generations of a Jewish Hungarian family whose fate has been inextricably bound up with the turbulent history of Europe, from the First World War through the Holocaust and the communist takeover after World War II, to the family’s dramatic escape and emmigration to Canada.


This is a moving and touching memoir of three generations of Jewish women originally from Budapest, Hungary. The main focus of the book is on the ties between mothers and daughters and how they survive, grow and change during times of trauma and stress. Erica, the narrator of the book (the author) tells most of her story from the viewpoint of herself as a young child during the Nazi Invasion of Hungary. She writes of events that shape and form relationships and experiences of her grandmother, mother and sisters. The family is able to emigrate to Canada safely and their lives change in many other ways. As her mother ages and deals with illness, Eva goes through a cathartic process of looking back in the past through mementos and photos that her mother saved. These items were treasured and protected in an old purse that her mother carried with them as a child as they were in hiding. This purse was a saving grace during difficult times as it may have held a piece of bread,or some chocolate. Eva was able to assemble these mementos in albums and in the process gleam a better understanding and connection to her mother and herself . She is able to reconcile her love and understanding for her mother and to find answers to many unanswered questions. This book is one that any mother and/or daughter can relate to as the bond between mother and daughter is universal. This book did make me stop and think about my own mother and grandmothers and how what they experienced in life had a great effect on their own lives and our relationships. Eva is also a visual artist and there are sketch drawings interspersed throughout the book that often accompany the telling of a story or experience that she shares.


Thanks to Mini Book Expo and WLU Press for sending me this book to read and review.

Becoming My Mother's Daughter, released in March 2008, is part of the Life Writing Series at Wilfrid Laurier University Press which: "publishes life writing and new life-writing criticism in order to promote autobiographical accounts, diaries, letters and testimonials written and/or told by women and men whose political, literary or philosophical purposes are central to their lives." (Quote from the WLU Press website)

Review: Raising A Successful Child:: Discover and Nurture Your Child's Talents

Raising a Successful Child:Discover and Nurture Your Child's Talents by Sandra Burt and Linda Perlis

(Hosts of Parents' Perspective Radio Show)

Description: This book is based on the belief that all children have talent and potential — and so do all parents. To the familiar four talents that most parents try to bring out in their children — artistic, musical, athletic, and academic — Raising a Successful Child adds six more: empathic listening, idea generation, natural leadership, natural comic ability, spatial aptitude, and negotiation skills.

The authors teach parents how children function so the parents themselves can identify their children's strengths. The activities and exercises guide parents on a journey that leads to discovering each child's many innate talents. Raising a Successful Child shows parents how to support their children's interests and nurture their strengths while opening them to new experiences and avoiding unhealthy parental pressure.

This is a book that I received from Mini Book Expo and Ulysses Press . I was interested in reading this book as a parent of a 10 year old child and was hoping to learn a thing or two. Raising a Successful Child is a book that is presented in a simple format that is parent friendly and filled with good advice and suggestions. To get the most out of the book, the authors explain in the introduction that the first 3 chapters give a foundation for the rest of the book. It is a good idea to read those chapters first. Then the other chapters are arranged by subjects and can be read in any order as the subject applies to your needs at the time. Each chapter then has an "In Short" section that gives helpful ideas that apply to that subject. Some of the subjects the authors address are: Alone time and Creativity, Learning Tools, Teamwork, Partnership between Parent and School, Overscheduling Activities, Teamwork, Value of Family and More. There is also an appendix of resources and a significant Bibliography to reference at the end of the book. This book would be a good resource to new parents and parents of young school aged children. For me, I didn't find that much new information in this book. It could be that because my child is older I have already dealt with some of the issues addressed. Also, I found that some things didn't apply to my family. The nice thing about this book is that it does have chapters on different subjects that you can refer to as they apply to your child and family situation. I did like the positive attitude and ideas that it reminded parents to think about. The authors encourage being a nurturing parent and that this would empower your child to be successful. They remind parents that we grow and learn from our mistakes and should try to enjoy the adventure of parenting!

The authors, Sandra Burt and Linda Perlis are the producers and hosts of the award-winning weekly radio program, Parents’ Perspective, interviewing guest experts on a different child rearing issue each week. You can find more information about the authors and their radio program at their website Parents' Perspective.