Customer Reviews

Motherless Daughters: The Legacy Of Loss

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I read this book some years back per the suggestion of a therapist. At the time my mother was still alive yet for so long it was as though she were not. Hope's book not only includes information on the emotions of someone who has to deal with the death of a mother but for people who have lost their mother's due to Mental Illness. My mother was BiPolar and was never medicated. She was never able to function in the role of a mother and the one that I had so longed for. As a matter of fact, I felt like I was the mother always providing that emotional support to her. The book was an eye opener and helped me to understand more as to who I react in this world. I identified espeically with feeling out of place around other women who partake in small talk. It is my intention to pick up the book again and read it since my mother has now passed from this world. For me.....her death was the finality of not having that mother and knowing that I never would. The book helped me to realized that my feelings and emotions were appropriate, that I was not alone and that there was a reason for some of my behaviors. I will say that at the time I read it that it was a very difficult and painful book for me to read. However, it was most definitely beneficial.

I bought this book a few days after my mother unexpectedly died. It was really important, and helpful, to read about others' experiences, when I was too shocked to fathom this abrupt change in my life. I think there is something here for every woman who has lost their mother, and I have since recommended it to the many women (all strangers, no less) who have shared their own stories of loss with me.

I lost my mother to cancer when I was twelve. A year or so later, amidst a fit of tears, I came upon a copy of this book in my father's room. He had meant to give it to me when I was older, but even as a young teen, I understood everything that Edelman writes about and could relate as well. I call it the "Handbook" because, besides being wonderfully emotional and personal in anecdotes and quotations, Edelman provides many scenarios (e.g., what happens if one if the youngest child, what happens if the father has a hard time, etc, etc). There is bound to be something that ANY motherless daughter will find meaningful. I know that I was able to finally come to the realization that I was not alone in my situation. She does a fine job in presenting the motherless daughter as NOT a victim, but rather as a survivor who can leave some special mark on the world. There are examples of well-known motherless daughters (Madonna, Patricia Heaton, Meg Ryan, and others). We are finally not alone as motherless daughters!
The book is broken down into coherent sections narrating what happens right after the loss through years later when the motherless daughter is a mother herself and still feels the pain (which is, thankfully, "normal!"). There's a helpful index if one wants to locate specific information too-- I used this book as a reference when preparing a presentation on the topic for a class. I keep this book beside my bed, not because I'm so overcome with grief, but just as a "security book"-- reading it when I need some sort of affirmation that what I'm feeling is "okay." I have re-read it many times in the past 7 years. Amazing and beautifully written.

I read this book 20 years after my mother died. At last here was a book that explained some of my feelings and actions over the past 20 years. It is very easy to read and easy to just read a small part at a time.

I thought this book was ok, but definitely geared towards women who lost their mothers at a young age - I am 33 and lost my mom 3 weeks ago. None of the content really helped me.

I recently lost my mother in April of 2002, I was 26. My mother lost her mother when she was 11 years old. This book helped me to understand how my mom losing her mom affected her and it has also helped me in the grieving process I am going through now and will go through for the rest of my life...and understanding that it is okay!

I highly recommend this book. It helps me when I am having a hard time. I open it and read and it seems that I read exactly what I need to get me through it.

Motherless Daughters is a must have book for any woman who has lost her mother (and even for those who've never really had one). I lost my mother 4 years ago, and this book (which I bought 2 years ago) has helped me to understand that my feeling after her death were not unusual. I truly am not alone, and neither are you. I believe that one woman put it correctly when she said "I feel as though sometimes I just want to shout "I lost my mother when I was 17 years old" to explain why I do some things the way I do. I feel like it is who I am..." That is true for me as I'm sure it is for many others out there. You will find in this book something for everyone: Women whose mothers died suddenly, Women whose mothers died after many years of long painful suffering, Women whose mothers were their best friend, and some whose mothers were there worst enemies. No one is ignored, even the ones whose mothers perhaps did not die, but abandoned them. This is the only book I've ever seen that targets the specific problems (and strengths) of motherless daughters, and if you are one, or you love one, you really need to read this book.

I have read many books on this subject and this is the only one that truly touched me. By this i simply mean that i really identified with this book and the women who helped to construct it. I am currently nineteen years of age and my mother passed away six months ago. I can honestly say that this book helped me through an exteremly difficult time and it has also helped me to look into the future to see what problems i may face. I stongly recommend this book to anyone who has a lost their mother, whether it is a recent loss or one which occured many years ago. While this book is directed towards women who have lost their mothers in childhood or early adulthood; I feel others not fitting in this age range will still find this book influencial. This book is must read--you won't want to put it down until you finish it--and then you'll want to pick it up and read it again.

My father died when I was 12 years old, six weeks after he suffered a massive heart attack. Last month, my mother died suddenly four days before my 34th birthday. I am quite a bit younger than my siblings. They have their families. I have my career. That isn't a lot of comfort sometimes.

This is a must have -- it helped me to understand feelings I've been having and why. Although I am at peace with my losses due to my religious beliefs, there is still a sadness.

Although this book primarily focuses on female adolescent loss of mother, I, in my forties, recently lost my mother and walked away from this book with solid insight and understanding as to why I feel the way I feel...or don't feel. Well worth the read for "older" daughters grieving the loss of their mothers.