Mothers and Daughters, by Rae Meadows (Review and Giveaway!)

DONE

 Mothers and Daughters, by Rae Meadows

4 STARS

About the book - A rich and luminous novel about three generations of women in one family: the love they share, the dreams they refuse to surrender, and the secrets they hold.
Samantha is lost in the joys of new motherhood—the softness of her eight-month-old daughter's skin, the lovely weight of her child in her arms—but in trading her artistic dreams to care for her child, Sam worries she's lost something of herself. And she is still mourning another loss: her mother, Iris, died just one year ago. When a box of Iris's belongings arrives on Sam's doorstep, she discovers links to pieces of her family history but is puzzled by much of the information the box contains. She learns that her grandmother Violet left New York City as an eleven-year-old girl, traveling by herself to the Midwest in search of a better life. But what was Violet's real reason for leaving? And how could she have made that trip alone at such a tender age? In confronting secrets from her family's past, Sam comes to terms with deep secrets from her own. Moving back and forth in time between the stories of Sam, Violet, and Iris, Mothers and Daughters is the spellbinding tale of three remarkable women connected across a century by the complex wonder of motherhood.

***SPOILERS***

My Review - Wow, what an incredible story. This is basically about three women, three generations (Grandmother, Mother, and Daughter) all grown women, three different time periods.
Violet - I believe early 1900's (there are no dates in this book, that would have been helpful).basically raising herself on the streets of NY city due to a druggie, vagabond mother who will do anything for money. At eleven yrs old her mother puts her on the "Orphan Train" headed for the west.
Iris - (Violet's daughter) Iris has cancer that starts out as breast cancer. She has decided to take matters into her own hands and asks for her daughters help.
Samantha - (Iris' daughter) This goes back and forth between past (before her mother's death) and present (after her death). Sam's brother sends her a box that their father has found in the basement. It is a box of their mother's belongings. What will Sam find in the box, maybe a past she didn't know about?

The only problems I had with this book was - The time line is all out of whack and it takes you a few minutes to figure out when you are. It doesn't say if you are in the present or past or how far in the past, so I got confused several times. It doesn't really take away from the story though, once you figure it out. Dates would have been helpful.
And - I would have liked to have known more about what Sam finds out. It kind of leaves you lingering.

I was very connected to this book and to the characters almost like I never have been before. Almost 3 yrs ago I lost a friend to what started out as Breast Cancer. I have been avoiding books on this subject like the plague! So... I did not know that was what this book was about! Surprise, surprise! Needless to say I had to put the book down several times because I could not see the pages through the tears. I made it through, I am proud of myself. OH! Also - I read this book in one day!
This is a very good book about Mother - daughter relationships.
I really recommend it to anyone Female.

Thank you "Librarything Early Reviewers" for sending me this book to review!!!

Giveaway - I am giving away my copy of this beautiful book (the cover is gorgeous!).
*Please comment here with your email address!!! Or email me at forevereading at gmail dot com
*Please only US and Canada
*Winner will be chose via random.org and announced on - March 18th.