Marsha R. (HomeschoolMama) reviewed on 8/22/2006 + 68 more book reviews

This book really drew me in. There is pathos in realizing that the author never knew his mother; she died days after he and his twin brother were born. And he never "knew" her memory, as his father, indeed all family members, never spoke of her. Imagine doing "geneology research" to learn about your own mother, not your great-great-grandmother! Luckily, although he was in his fifties, he found people alive who still remembered his mother and is able to give you a real feeling for the mother he "came to know". Traveling around, the author talkes to his mother's high school friends, teachers, bridesmaids, neighbors. Bit by bit, he pieced together the story of her last year of life; her love for her husband and her love for her unborn baby (she didn't know it was twins until the delivery), which compelled her to carry those babies to full-term. Whether or not she knew that was her death sentence is unclear, but this 19 year old girl was determined to birth a son to keep her darling husband from having to go off to war again. Well worth reading. I'm going to get the rest of his books, too!

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