this is just lovely. memory and relationship and grief and love love love.i feel lucky to have been witness, through this book, the connection between this grandmother and granddaughter. really beautiful. i especially loved (and cried through) the last bit. ( )

I loved this book. This isn't the relationship I had with my grandmothers, but it reminded me of all the things I loved about them and how much I miss having them in my life. I was concerned that the POV from the deceased grandmother would make it harder to connect, but it was the exact opposite. Highly recommended. Only wish I hadn't read the end in a public waiting room, trying and failing to hide my tears. ( )

I loved this so much. As someone who also has a strong matriarchal narrative tradition in my family, Bobbie's voice through Bess felt familiar.
Our matriarch died several years ago and while we don't have voicemail recordings I can still hear her Jersey accent in my head, "How yah doin'? You good? You gotta a man yet?"
Bess Kalb's family story is fascinating and fun, even with all the challenging parts and the heartache we know is coming.
I finished it and immediately handed it off to my mother who I knew would recognize the stories and the voice very much like the women in our family.
The ending is especially powerful as we collectively grapple with how much is truth? How much do we really know what someone wanted? How much do we really know those we love? High recommend. ( )

I feel like I know these people - felt their joy, pain, successes, grief. ( )

What a gem of a book. Told in emails, voice mails, and memories, this book is a wonderful remembrance of her grandmother Bobby, her mom Robin, and generations past. She was very close to her and her grandmother would drop everything for her. She was closer to her grandmother than most mothers were with their daughters. Robin (Bess' mother) was not very close to Bobby growing up so I can understand why Bobby would want a close relationship with Bess.

One particular time was when Bobby was at her other home in FL and her Robin called and couldn't handle that Bess wouldn't go to school. Bobby actually went to the airport and flew to New York and then stayed outside the classroom the whole day to ensure that Bess was okay. This reminds me of when I was in kindergarten when I was scared and I would tell my mom you're going to be outside the door right? As if she would be there.

I was crying at the same time as I was laughing throughout the whole book. ( )