Christine Lemmon

Lovely read. Lydia in 1953 reading the diary of Ava of the 1800's. This book should be read by Moms and daughters and even sons.Lydia learns alot from Ave's journal entries-even used as a guide in her own life. Nice "ancestral" read. Good character development. The very end of the books is almost rushed and almost anti-climatic.So much time building the story and then abruptly concluded. There was a "jump' in the story line was was disruptive for me. I also had issue with some 21st century slang used by people in the 1800's. But all in all a good,enjoyable read.I bought my book for 50 cents at a sale.My copy was autographed by the author. It was given by a daughter to her Mom in 2007,yet this book never had the spine cracked,never read. Just as Lydia wonders abt Ave and her life, I wonder why "MOM" never read the book given by her own daughter. Perfect read for Mother's Day.Also if you are a beach bum,you will like this book too.… (plus d'informations)

Sand in My Eyes is a story about difficulties and stress of motherhood, and how personal dreams get placed on hold when children come into a marriage. I love how the author interweaved the meanings of flowers into stories of everyday life. I will never look at an orchid the same: " there are more varities of orchids than any other flower in the world., and you've got to know what type of variety you are dealing with in order to care for it properly..and like orchids,one must be aware of whom she is before she can flourish". So women are like orchids, not Venus! But I think the best quote was at the end: "not everyone can have a green thumb, that's why God invented wildflowers". It is a perfect cross-generational inspirational book for all women. It is the perfect book to give your daughter when she gets married- there are so many truths in the letters from Fedelina's mother, that I know I want to write down for my daughter, with additional stories from our family. Read this book with your mother and make a family album of stories of motherhood/womanhood/love- it will inspire you and your mother!… (plus d'informations)

My thoughts: Have you heard the phrase about friendships that each one serves a particular purpose and that a friend comes into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. I think the same can be said for books. I kept thinking this phrase over and over as I was reading this book. Fedelina and Anna needed one another at this particular point in their lives. Fedelina was able to provide wisdom and insight to the younger woman. Anna was able to ease the loneliness of the older woman. There was so much that I liked about this story. I think my absolute favorite parts were the life lessons learned in the garden. I remembered to write down a few, but I'm sure that I missed some.

Life Lessons learned in the Garden
1. The Roses tell us to take time to recharge, you will bloom more if you do.
2. The Daisies tell us to appreciate the simple things
3. Sunflowers remind us that spirituality is your stem. Nurture it and you will stand tall.
4. Just like us, Orchids need kind words and love in order to bloom.
5. (I can't remember the flower) flowers only have so many petals. Keep your priorities to a minimum.

Another lesson that I found noteworthy had to do with what others thought of you. In the passage, Fedelina's mother is out "playing" in the dirt. Some might think that trying to grow roses was a waste of time, but she didn't. "But you will know the difference between playing and toiling in that toiling brings forth changes in your life-even if that change is in your state of mind". pg 145

If you've read the book, did you find any life lessons in the garden that I haven't included?

This book provided me with some much needed insight and taught me lessons that I hope I don't forget. I enjoyed the story within a story. Unlike some, I found it easy to follow the change from past to present as they were broken out into chapters. I was very happy with how the story turned out.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good "escape to the beach and sort out life" kind of story. It wasn't quite as light as Beachcombers by Nancy Thayer but still falls into the same category.… (plus d'informations)

This book is kind of hard to describe. It is a "story within a story". Anna Hott is a woman in her mid-fifties who is reflecting back on her life twenty years prior, of the week she had all to herself, where she began writing her novel. When life intruded upon her again, the novel got tossed in a drawer, never to be seen again. At the opening of this book, Anna is on her way to see her old neighbor, Fedelina, who inspired Anna to write that story so many years ago. Anna is looking for an ending to her story, and to reconnect with the woman who changed her life.

Fedelina is living in a nursing home in Indiana and when the two women reconnect, Anna begins reading her story to Fedelina, looking for approval from the woman on whom this story is based. The reader is taken back in time, twenty years earlier, to when Anna is an overwhelmed mother of three, caring for her three young children, taking care of a household, and stumbling through the after-effects of her husband's affair. She is on the verge of a complete breakdown when her husband heads out of town on a business trip and sends the children to stay with his parents for a week, giving Anna some much needed time and space to confront her emotions and figure out who she is and who she wants to be.

With a quiet house, Anna begins pursuing one of her lifelong dreams - writing a novel. When she meets her elderly neighbor, Fedelina, Anna's outlook on life changes completely. Fedelina gives Anna sage wisdom on life from raising her own seven children, with gardening metaphors that carry throughout the novel.

The story is broken out in sections. "Belvedere" is the present in which Anna and Fedelina are in the nursing home; most of the story is the reading of Anna's manuscript to Fedelina; and there are several sections from the early 1900s with Cora, Fedelina's mother, sharing her life's wisdom with her own daughter (these are also part of Anna's manuscript).

These characters are rich, complex, and deeply formed. You can feel their emotions leaping off the page. I was instantly drawn into their story, taking meaning from their lives and applying it to my own. There is much to think about in reading this novel and it can easily be transferred to your own life. Are you doing what makes you truly happy?

A few things that bothered me: although this book is 355 pages, I felt that the ending wrapped up too quickly and I didn't like it! I kind of felt cheated as a reader. Also, the story seemed to move very slowly at times and I had to force myself to keep reading, because I just wanted to get through it. Finally, there were so many editing errors that it drove me a bit crazy! (i.e. lashlight instead of flashlight; loose instead of lose). I hate finding errors like these in a book because it really detracts from my enjoyment of it. There were also many hyphenated words that I didn't get - i.e. sup-posed. I'm not sure if the completed novel just didn't translate correctly into a printed, bound copy, but this was all through the novel and really bugged me.

Overall, this is a wonderful story and gave me lots to think about. The characters are rich and deep and I'm sure many of you could find a little bit of yourself in Anna. (Review from my blog)… (plus d'informations)