Author: Anna Quindlen
Enjoyment Rating: ****
Source: Hardback copy
Books I've read this year: 68
I think I mentioned in an earlier post that Eddie gave me this book for Mother's Day. He had a cake theme going (no actual cake included), and he gave me this book and a book written by the guy who does the Cake Boss show on TLC. However, I don't think he actually looked at the book jacket, since a quick glance reveals that this is a memoir dedicated to growing older. Quindlen, long known for her writings about books, her children, and liberal causes (maybe that's why I've always liked her so much), no longer has children living at home. In a couple of years, she'll be sixty, so in Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, she writes about becoming a mature woman-- about chasing her dreams and growing into becoming someone she's proud of.
The book is pretty interesting, even for someone who is a couple of decades younger than Quindlen. The second to last chapter (the one on grief) is probably the most beautiful thing she's ever written. And there's a quote from one of the chapters on parenting adult children that is phenomenal. She says, "Being a parent is not transactional. We do not get what we give. It is the ultimate pay-it-forward endeavor: We are good parents not so they will be loving enough to stay with us but so they will be strong enough to leave us." Knowing Quindlen as I now do from reading this book, I'm pretty sure that if she came across this quote in a book she liked, she'd needlepoint it on a pillow. Maybe I should do the same.
2 comments:
I'm reading this right now!
Hi Shelah, I've been a longtime Anna Quindlen fan and couldn't resist this book when I saw it at B&N. She writes so well and it really resonated with me since we're (ahem) contemporaries. Also, I loved her references to reporting. Great book!
Love, Annie
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