How do you cope in a world without your mother?
When Barbara realizes time is running out, she writes letters to her four daughters, aware ... read full description
reviews
Jul 09, 2008
Kathy
rated it: 
I would like to have given this 3.5 stars. THe premise of the book, "How do you cope in a world without your mother"? I truly enjoyed 3/4 of the book and found it to be wonderfully written. The characters came alive for me and the true-to-life problems were realistic. But at the end- everything was wrapped up with a big, "happily-ever-after" bow. I am all for happy endings, but in this case too many issues were simply erased or glossed over to make everyone' lives sunshi
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Jun 20, 2008
[g].[i].[n].[a]
rated it:
Didn't love it but didn't hate it.
Taken place somewhere in the UK, it's a story about a mother name Barbara who passed away due to cancer and the life lessons she left behind in letters and journals to her 4 daughters, Lisa, Jennifer, Amanda, and Hannah. Mark, the man that she loved and married (2nd marriage)has to deal with all the drama the daughters go thru and unfotunately without his wife he struggles to juggle all the emotions and being a great father figure.
Throug More...
Taken place somewhere in the UK, it's a story about a mother name Barbara who passed away due to cancer and the life lessons she left behind in letters and journals to her 4 daughters, Lisa, Jennifer, Amanda, and Hannah. Mark, the man that she loved and married (2nd marriage)has to deal with all the drama the daughters go thru and unfotunately without his wife he struggles to juggle all the emotions and being a great father figure.
Throug More...
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Jan 19, 2009
Kelly
rated it: 
I had trouble getting into this story. It had so many different "main" characters that I didn't feel a real connection with any of them. The book switches point of view among the 4 daughters and the husband. (Unless you count all the letters and diary entries from the mom—that would make 6 points of view.) Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if you had a little more time to spend with each character before being switched to the next one, but the switches were too frequent for me to sett
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Jan 12, 2009
Olivia
rated it: 
On my latest desperate attempt going hunting for the rest of the Twilight Saga, I stumble upon this book...
My first thought was "okay, i'm experiencing mom syndrom"...
But after reading the few lines written on the back cover, i tought "hell, this sounds interesting, why not give it a go"... afterall, all bookstores seem to run out of Twilight stock...
Back at home, I started reading this right away, and it's been in my mind ever since...
Not such a More...
My first thought was "okay, i'm experiencing mom syndrom"...
But after reading the few lines written on the back cover, i tought "hell, this sounds interesting, why not give it a go"... afterall, all bookstores seem to run out of Twilight stock...
Back at home, I started reading this right away, and it's been in my mind ever since...
Not such a More...
Sep 20, 2010
April
rated it:
After learning she has cancer, Barbara starts writing letters to each of her four girls. Letters to be opened following her death. She also begins a journal that she fills with her favorite stories, confessions, and important things she wants her daughters to know. Things that she couldn't seem to articulate or voice while alive...for some reason or another.
Told from five different points-of-view: each of the four daughters and her second husband, the book is hard to follow and sligh More...
Told from five different points-of-view: each of the four daughters and her second husband, the book is hard to follow and sligh More...
Jul 14, 2011
rameau
rated it:
This is something I walked by in the library and though "why the hell not." I could have saved a day or two of my life.
Normally I run away at the sight of first abrupt point of view change between first and third person story telling. Here, I knew it was going to happen and I still read it. The letters and diary entries made it okay somehow. Unfortunately that's about it.
It took me longer than it should have to remember all the names of the girls and how to tell t More...
Normally I run away at the sight of first abrupt point of view change between first and third person story telling. Here, I knew it was going to happen and I still read it. The letters and diary entries made it okay somehow. Unfortunately that's about it.
It took me longer than it should have to remember all the names of the girls and how to tell t More...
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Jun 18, 2010
Grace
rated it:
Elizabeth Noble's "Things I Want My Daughters to Know" is a solid story about four sisters learning to cope, live, and survive after their mother's death from cancer. With the help of each other, Mark (step father to three, father to one), and the letters and a journal their mother left behind, sisters Lisa, Jennifer, Amanda, and Hannah along with their father Mark come to terms with their new reality, their love lives, and their futures.
All in all, it is a captivating rea More...
All in all, it is a captivating rea More...
Dec 06, 2009
Chloe
rated it: 
Barbara has been diagnosed with cancer, and realises she isn’t going to be around for her family much longer. So she decides to write her four daughters a series of letters, each personal and individual for them, so that they have a little bit of their mother left after she has gone.
Her daughters are devastated at their loss, but will they manage to draw any comfort from their mothers letters?? Will they be able to come together as a family to miss their mother properly, and will the More...
Her daughters are devastated at their loss, but will they manage to draw any comfort from their mothers letters?? Will they be able to come together as a family to miss their mother properly, and will the More...
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Jan 08, 2011
Ruth
rated it:
This is the story of Barbara, who was divorced and raising three daughters on her own while running a little gift shop. One day, Mark walked in and her life changed. He was 10 years younger and truly the love of her life. They decided to marry and shortly afterwards, Barbara, who by now had two grown daughters who were away at university was pregnant. When her baby was about 13 Barbara discovered that she had cancer and although she was determined to beat it, she had reached the point where
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Dec 07, 2009
Emily
rated it:
Elizabeth Noble has once again weaved a wonderful tale using the viewpoints of four sisters, their stepfather and excerpts from their late mother's journal. When I saw this book cover and was intrigued I had no idea that I had already read one of her novels, The Reading Group, before. (Another good read, if you were wondering.)
The book follows the girls and their stepfather in the year following their mothers death to the dreaded 'C' word. One would think that it would be messy and More...
The book follows the girls and their stepfather in the year following their mothers death to the dreaded 'C' word. One would think that it would be messy and More...
Mar 09, 2009
Jennifer
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jul 19, 2011
Kristi
rated it:
The writing was easy and smooth to read, and the story was slightly predictable but all the same I found myself aching for the pains and filling with excitement for the triumphs.
I found that for the better half of the book I struggled with keeping track of the characters, almost as if there were too many main characters ... you could connect with each but keeping track of who was who, and what they were doing was frustrating at times. Another bit I didn't enjoy was the long conversatio More...
I found that for the better half of the book I struggled with keeping track of the characters, almost as if there were too many main characters ... you could connect with each but keeping track of who was who, and what they were doing was frustrating at times. Another bit I didn't enjoy was the long conversatio More...
Sep 10, 2011
Barbra
rated it:
OMG - this book was a real tearjerker. I cried from the beginning and didn't stop until the end. A powerful, emotional read which I loved.
Back Cover Blurb:
Barbara must say a final farewell to her four daughters. But how can she find the words? And how can she leave them when they each have so much growing up still to do?
Take Lisa, in her thirties but terrified of commitment - or brittle, unhappily married Jennifer. Amanda, the traveller, is always a little apart from her More...
Back Cover Blurb:
Barbara must say a final farewell to her four daughters. But how can she find the words? And how can she leave them when they each have so much growing up still to do?
Take Lisa, in her thirties but terrified of commitment - or brittle, unhappily married Jennifer. Amanda, the traveller, is always a little apart from her More...
Apr 16, 2010
Angela
rated it:
I marked a few things I really liked in the book -- for various reasons...
page 25
"his arms had no squeeze in them"
page 27
"a subdued chorus of Waltonesque goodnights"
page 56
"Why was it that, sometimes, you needed to see people closet to you as others saw them to remember how fantastic they were? Why couldn't you always remember that?"
page 330
"The air was pure - you could really taste the not More...
page 25
"his arms had no squeeze in them"
page 27
"a subdued chorus of Waltonesque goodnights"
page 56
"Why was it that, sometimes, you needed to see people closet to you as others saw them to remember how fantastic they were? Why couldn't you always remember that?"
page 330
"The air was pure - you could really taste the not More...
Jun 24, 2011
Yasmin
rated it:
I really adored this book. The characters were so real, it's like I could resist their behaviors. An the situations reminded me of the humour of Jonathan Trooper with the constant continuity of Anna Morando. I will admit some parts got me a bit bored like irrelevant letter or two from the mother, but everything else wasn't a page or more long skipped. Emotionally, I don't feel moved except for the scenarios at times made me a bit shocked. But unlike in the Love Letter by Cathleen Schine I just r
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Nov 12, 2011
Melanie
rated it:
This book begins with the death of a mother of four, Barbara, who passes away due to cancer. She leaves her daughters each a letter and a journal, which she wrote during her fight with cancer. With these, they learn their mothers secrets, heartaches and loves. Each daughter is also dealing with her own struggles. They use their mothers words of advicec from her journal, and also each other, to get through their first year without their mother.
There was nothing wrong with this book, More...
There was nothing wrong with this book, More...
Sep 16, 2009
Leah
rated it:
Things I Want My Daughters To Know is Elizabeth Noble’s fourth novel. It tells the story of a mother (Barbara) who has to say goodbye to those she loves most in the world. She does this via letters expressing her hopes and fears for each daughters as well as a journal. Things I Want My Daughters To Know is quite like Cecelia Ahern’s PS I Love You and Lola Jaye’s By The Time You Read This in the way that we never get to meet the people writing the letters. I enjoyed the previous two I read and al
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May 29, 2009
Athene_who
rated it:
A thought-provoking book which made me consider how I would feel if my Mum died and also made me re-evaluate my relationship with my sister. However, it suffered from basic typing errors and some character errors, such as a sister grabbing hold of another sister's hand who in the previous sentence had been described as holding her other two sister's hands. Moreover, the details did not all follow on and the ages of the oldest two sisters kept changing, that is the information the reader is giv
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Aug 05, 2010
Kathy
rated it:
"things I want my daughters to know" focuses on four sisters (shades of LITTLE WOMEN) who exemplify the intimate joys and rivalries of an (almost) all-female household. Each struggles differently with the conundrum of how to carry on after Barbara's death, yearning for love but also apt to run away from it. I really enjoyed this book. It was a little hard to catch on in the beginning (slow start and the British tongue can be hard to follow). But as I continued, I could't put it down. I
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Sep 08, 2009
Becca
rated it: 
This book spends way too much time talking about sexual encounters. It distracted from the plot of the book. There were some interesting characters and relationships, Amanda being my favorite person in the book, but overall I didn't feel it was a compelling work. The writing wasn't really great. I understand what the message of the book was meant to be, but it seemed kind of weak and cheesy.
Also, the story was set in England and just chock full of references to stores, people, More...
Also, the story was set in England and just chock full of references to stores, people, More...
Jul 24, 2011
Michelle
rated it:
I lucked into this book by accident. I had just a few minutes to run into the library while my little one was at soccer, so I grabbed this off the "librarian's choice" shelf out of convenience and timeliness. My own mom died of cancer, so I wasn't sure that it was a wise choice for me. We "meet" Barbara at her funeral and get to know her through her letters to her four daughters and I loved her. She was human, honest and revealing. A couple of the daughters annoyed me with th
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Jul 16, 2011
Barbara
rated it:
I enjoyed the story line of a mother who, knowing she was going to die, was able to journal her thoughts for her 4 daughters and write individual letters to each of them. You are able to see the struggles and triumphs each of them go through dealing with their mother's death and their lives beyond. There were times that it was hard to keep up with who the story line was about since their were 4 daughters, the step-dad, and the significant others of 3 of the daughters. Also, at times, I felt like
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Dec 15, 2011
Dale
rated it:
This is another book about letters and relationships. Barbara, aware she is dying on cancer, writes to her four daughters. If it sounds morbid, it isn’t. It is beautifully done and told with humour as well as being one that made me shed a few tears. I have read a couple of Elizabeth Noble’s other books, The Alphabet Weekends and The Reading Group and enjoyed them, but this is my favourite. It’s a beautiful and realistic picture of the differences that exist in families and the way sisters can vi
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Jun 08, 2008
Carmela
rated it:
This was a great story, but it was set in Britain and I found that distracting. It was as though an American wrote a book and tried to make it British. Sort of odd. But if you can read around that, it's a really good story.
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Nov 27, 2011
Maria
rated it:
This book was an absolute surpreise and I LOVED it! Call corny if you will, but the fact is that I found it absolutely honest and authentic in the way it told a story of love, deception, desillusionment turned into new hope and the everlasting ties that true love weaves into our lives... I absolutely "tuned" into the atmosphere until the characters become part of a sort of "family" that I could relate to very easily.
Even if it is a romantic story, it leaves out no exple More...
Even if it is a romantic story, it leaves out no exple More...
Sep 24, 2010
Paula
rated it:
Dying from cancer, Barbara, writes a letter to each of her four daughters, expressing the hopes, fears and dreams for them she couldn't voice while alive.
Lisa, in a loving relationship but terrified of commitment. Unhappily married Jennifer. Amanda the traveller who is never in one place long enough and teenager Hannah, who now has to grow up without her mother at her side.
I left this book to one side for quite a while, thinking it would be depressing, but it isn't, it' More...
Lisa, in a loving relationship but terrified of commitment. Unhappily married Jennifer. Amanda the traveller who is never in one place long enough and teenager Hannah, who now has to grow up without her mother at her side.
I left this book to one side for quite a while, thinking it would be depressing, but it isn't, it' More...
Aug 17, 2010
Georgina
rated it:
Just finished this book and thought it was quite good. It's about four daughters, and a husband, and their stories after the mother (and wife) passes away. It's interesting and realistic and you feel you get to know the characters really well. Amanda and her free spirit, Lisa with her commitment issues, Jennifer with her relationship problems and Hannah and her typically teenager-nish.
I wouldn't say it's that emotional, it didn't make me laugh or cry in the slightest. But it made me More...
I wouldn't say it's that emotional, it didn't make me laugh or cry in the slightest. But it made me More...
Aug 18, 2010
Cynthia
rated it:
To me this book was light reading. You can pick it up or put it down any time. You see a family of grown daughters that lost their mother, fall apart, then patch it up. It is very british in language, and refers to namebrands and stores and slang that I am unfamiliar with. Didnt fall in love with any of the characters and got tired of reading about all the men they slept with over the years. There are a few very descriptive sexual encounters that were completely unnecessary, and took away f
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Jun 01, 2009
Diane
rated it:
Barbara is the mother in this book to four daughters. There is Lisa, the oldest, who is afraid of commitment and sabotages most relationships that she is in. There is Jennifer who is fighting to keep her marriage alive, Amanda who is the wanderlust of the family and the youngest, Hannah, who is the teenager and is struggling to find her place in the family and in the world.
We only learn about Barbara and her relationships with her girls through letters that she writes to each one of More...
We only learn about Barbara and her relationships with her girls through letters that she writes to each one of More...
Jul 31, 2011
Holly
rated it:
In all fairness, this was a little but cheesy, but it didn't stop me from filling up at various points. Really well written, with so much emotion, the love the girls felt for their mother and each other was excellently portrayed and the development of their relationships with each other and their stepdad was well shown, in memories and stories from their pasts. My only criticism would be (and look away if you can't guess what happens at the end) that most of the characters end their story in bli
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