Slight read about a divorced mom who runs away to a hotel for Mother's Day. A few parts did make me laugh out loud.

Brief and cheesy, but did give some realistic insights into the real issues people have during different phases of relationships and why it can be hard to be authentic.

While I am glad this book exists and I enjoyed its content, I was saddened (but not surprised) to see no mention that for nearly 100 years faithful LDS women offered blessings of healing to each other and their families, including the anointing and blessing of women (by other women) before childbirth.

There are many stories and quotes in here to inspire, but you can absolutely see the way that the culture and practices of the Church changed in the post-WWII era as the Relief Society lost its autonomy and was made to shift its focus from community-building to home-making.

This is great stuff, and it's definitely one I would recommend to read as a companion to Daughters in my Kingdom. Go Eliza R. Snow for taking such notes and carrying them to Utah with her! The accompanying essays by Virginia Hinckley Pierce and Sheri Dew are wonderful and do acknowledge and try to tackle some of the honest questions many LDS women have about their history and their relationship with priesthood power.

I'm a sucker for stuff like this and read it all in one go--was thrilled to finally be reading something this summer that I enjoyed! There is some bawdy talk among the women and a bit of spousal abuse, so be warned if that's off-putting to you.

Holy geez, but this is heart-breaking stuff. Brilliant Harvard professor Alice is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease at 50, and the book follows the next few years as she continues to decline while trying to prepare her family (and herself) for the future. I couldn't put it down, and mercifully for us the author leaves things at a relatively good moment rather than taking us further down the road.

Wish it were longer, but what's there is great. There was so much I didn't know about her and how remarkable she was. Bonus: the book just looks like art on the inside, with beautiful photographs and illustrations.