NURSE NELLIE KNOWS

If I had to choose my two favorite books from the last five years or so, it would probably be The Help, by Kathryn Stockett, and The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd.  I chose those off the top of my head, because they were the only ones I remembered not being able to put down until I had finished them.    Funny, then, that they should have so much in common, both being set in the deep south during the race riots, both centering around a young white female's search for her voice and place in the world, and both about the strong black women who helped them find it.

A couple of years ago, Sue Monk Kidd co-wrote another book -- a memoir -- along with her daughter, Ann Kidd Taylor.  It's called Traveling with Pomegranates.  I came close to buying it several times, but always ended up putting it back on the shelf after reminding myself that I only made it half-way through Kidd's second novel, The Mermaid's Chair.  Not long ago, however, my friend Nellie brought me a big box full of books she wanted to pass on.  I guess Nellie isn't much into fiction, since most all the books were of the self-help/inspirational variety.  Poo.  But then she grabbed one out of the box, asking "Have you read Traveling with Pomegranates yet? You are just gonna love, love, love it!  And you're gonna love me for bringing it to you!"

I wasn't sure I agreed with her at first.  It's definitely not the page-turner that Secret Life of Bees was, but, with each page I've turned, I've loved it even more.  Actually, it's two sides of the same story -- the story of what led up to Kidd writing the book she was meant to write, which, though she had been a writer most her life, was her very first novel, and not written until she was in her 50's.  It's also the story of her daughter's struggle with depression and finding the work she was meant to do -- about being able to step out from under her mother's shadow, and overcoming her fear of failure.  It's about learning to parent an adult child, and it's about the two of them traveling through Greece and France, learning about and from the strongest women of history, religion and mythology.  It's about following our passions, and about finding the place that speaks to your heart, feeds your passion, and pulls forth your creativity.

I guess it's pretty much about all the same things I sit here musing about every morning, and sometimes talk about on this blog, only they do it in a much deeper, more insightful way!  I will definitely be passing this one on to Miss Alexis when I am finished.  Could there be a more perfect book for mothers and daughters to share?  And, oh yeah, thank you Nellie!  I do indeed love you for sharing this with Lex and me!