Mother’s Day Recommendations

from Simple Pleasures Books & Gifts

by Brenda Seward

Mother’s Day is this Sunday and I am sure all the mothers out there will fondly remember the past gifts of flowers, candy, perfume or maybe just breakfast in bed with a homemade card lovingly delivered by your child( or children, as the case may be). As a mother of five, I have received all of the above, in addition to a few other items that I treasure, but my favorite Mother’s Day gift is a book. While almost every gift listed above is consumable, or short-lived, a book is something that can be devoured over and over again. If it becomes a favorite, it can be passed on to the giver when the time is right as a shared treasure and bond. With that in mind, I have included a few recommendations below. The following titles have touched me in one way or another, but mostly they are books that focus on motherhood - in all its varying forms. I hope you will find inspiration among my suggestions, and pass on a gift that can be treasured and shared long past the day it is given.

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt, by Beth Hoffman:

While this is the story of a young girl dealing with a mentally unstable mother and a distant father, it is not a sad story. CeeCee, while dealing with her share of problems, is a smart and observant child. She seems quite precocious at times, mostly due to her caring for her mother (a woman becoming increasingly detached from reality) and her escape into the world of books. When CeeCee’s mother dies, the child is “saved” by her Aunt Tootie (her mother’s sister) whom CeeCee has never met. Tootie takes CeeCee back to home to Savannah with her, and it is there that CeeCee learns what how to truly be a child for the first time in her life. Her aunt, aided by many others, wraps CeeCee in the warm and comforting cocoon of a mother’s love and encouragement, allowing her to blossom and grow as never before. While the book has many uplifting and inspirational themes, the foundation of the book is about the importance of mothering - in all its forms.

Little Girls in Matching Dresses, by Faith Andrews Bedford

This slim volume of collected stories previously published in Country Living Magazine by Virginia author Faith Bedford is a font of nostalgia and a lovely look back to simpler times. The stories contain a wealth of remembrance from the author regarding the traditions and special moments shared by her, her mother and their family. Perhaps this lovely collection of stories will remind you of your own special moments or help you to start your own enduring traditions.

Saving Cicadas, by Nicole Seitz

Saving Cicadas is the story of a single mother in crisis and how her current turmoil and the decision she must take affects her daughters (an eight year old and a seventeen-year-old special needs child) and her grandparents. In a quandary about how to resolve the problem before her, Priscilla decides she needs to take a road trip to her childhood home in the hope that the journey will give her insight and provide a solution to her problem. In this beautifully written novel, the journey that Priscilla and her family take is both literal and metaphoric. Each character in this story has their own special and individual journey to make, each helping the other to achieve their own separate peace. This is a wonderful novel, chronicling all the pain and joy of motherhood.

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Reviews by Brenda Seward, Simple Pleasures Books & Gifts

www.simplepleasuresbooksandgifts.com

All titles available through our website and online store: http://spbooks1.alibrisstore.com/