Things I Want My Daughters to Know

In the month before I returned to work (I think...), I read Things I Want My Daughters to Know by Elizabeth Noble. This story centers on four sisters whose mother dies of cancer in the opening pages. Their mother left each daughter with something special, but most importantly, she leaves a package of letters she has written over the years to her daughters about all the things she wants them to know (hence the book's title). The mom describes how each was born, how she and their fathers met, how her parents met, information about each of their fathers, just information she felt it was important to pass on. As each daughter has her turn with the journal, the novel follows the first year after their mother's death--one daughter learns to commit to a relationship, another rededicates her marriage, one searches for a place to call home, and one, the youngest, navigates her first relationship in high school.

This book was awesome (which isn't a very dignified word for a book review, but whatever). It was so good, so encompassing, it drew me in completely and I hated for this book to end. I just hope that I get around to writing down all the things I want my girls to know (before I forget them).

Last year, I read Noble's Alphabet Weekends, and couldn't wait for her next book to come out. My friend Kim has recently read one of her older books and said it was excellent--I need to put The Friendship Test and The Reading Group on my to-read list!

K