When the two grown daughters of Elizabeth Marshall discover an old diary of their mothers also the story of the unshakable bond between a mother an...
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reviews
Jun 05, 2010
Crystal
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I really enjoyed this book. It reminded me of 'The Wednesday Letters' and 'The Notebook.' When I finished it made me realize how important it is that we let our children know who we are, even if we can't face it when we are still walking on the earth.
This is PG-13 because there is a love scene smack in the middle of the book. It was written very technically, so I wasn't embarrased to read it. It wasn't trashy, just honest I think. However, if you were put off by 'Breaking Dawn' then I woul More...
This is PG-13 because there is a love scene smack in the middle of the book. It was written very technically, so I wasn't embarrased to read it. It wasn't trashy, just honest I think. However, if you were put off by 'Breaking Dawn' then I woul More...
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Oct 02, 2011
Melissa
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Well, I read this book, wasn't sure I liked it, decided I did when I loved the middle, kept reading, nailed the ending before it happened and was pleasantly happy about it. Then I thought about it more and realized how ridiculous it really was by the end. But I got suckered into it and realized that this would probably make a good film along the lines of any Nicholas Sparks book would. It is very clean and sweet - I kept thinking this is a book I could read to my grandmother and not be embarrass
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Sep 29, 2011
Margarida
rated it: 
Delicioso!! Uma autêntica ternura para os nossos corações enregelados por este frio invernal.
A capa só por si remete-nos para a terna história que nos espera nas páginas de O Diário. A simplicidade de umas folhas enlaçadas e das cores que adornam o rosto deste lindo romance vão em tudo de encontram à simplicidade dos sentimentos e emoções que nos são descritos ao longo de todo este pequeno livrinho.
Confesso que ao início as expectativas não eram elevadas. Não só desconhec More...
A capa só por si remete-nos para a terna história que nos espera nas páginas de O Diário. A simplicidade de umas folhas enlaçadas e das cores que adornam o rosto deste lindo romance vão em tudo de encontram à simplicidade dos sentimentos e emoções que nos são descritos ao longo de todo este pequeno livrinho.
Confesso que ao início as expectativas não eram elevadas. Não só desconhec More...
Aug 07, 2011
Tara
rated it: 
This was one of the best books I have ever read.The Diary by Eileen Goudge had me sobbing at 4 a.m. this morning as I finished it. I don't think I have ever sobbed while reading a book! The ending took me completely by surprise and that never happens. It was a truly beautiful and heartbreaking story... Two daughters are packing up their mother's belongings as she lay dying in a nursing facility from a stroke and is unable to communicate. They come across a diary written by their mother the year
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Jan 08, 2011
Jennifer
rated it:
What a great book this was! It was a little slow for me to get into, but I think that was mainly because I had too much going on in my own life at the time. Once I gave it a chance and really got into it, it was really great. I kept wanting to find the time to sit down and read it and see how it turned out. The ending was phenominal. I kind of saw it coming a little bit, but it was just kind of a "wishful thinking" kind of thing and so when it actually happened, I was stunned. Th
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Dec 15, 2009
Stacey
rated it:
INSIDE COVER BLURB: A bestselling author known for her storytelling prowess, "Goudge's characters leap from the page ready to engage readers" (The Denver Rocky Mountain News), and never more so than in The Diary, that begins when two sisters searching in their mother's attic are given the shock of their lives...
Elizabeth Marshall's grown daughters had no idea their mother's old diary would turn the image of their parent's happy marriage upside down. For upon reading the op More...
Elizabeth Marshall's grown daughters had no idea their mother's old diary would turn the image of their parent's happy marriage upside down. For upon reading the op More...
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Sep 20, 2009
Tara
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I read this in one day. It was a short and simple read but pleasurable. It is not a "buxom beauty ravished by Fabio" type love story either, but a clean, sweet telling of a romantic tale that takes place in the 1950s. The book opens with Emily and Sarah going thru their mother's things as their mother lies in the hospital suffering from stroke and old age. They find their mother's diary and upon reading a few pages, they cannot put it down. Thus, thru their mother's words, they enter t
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Sep 01, 2009
Cheryl
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Sisters, Emily and Sarah were sorting through old boxes. They were cleaning things up as their mother isn’t doing very well and doesn’t have much time to live. In one of the boxes, Emily comes upon an old diary. The diary belongs to their mother. Emily and Sarah start reading it; not knowing that hidden inside laid a secret that would shock them. They expected to read a love story about how their mother, Elizabeth met and fell in love with their father, Bob. What they discover instead is that th
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May 30, 2009
Andrea
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Apr 29, 2009
Laurel-Rain
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Two daughters, Sarah and Emily, are packing up their family home. Their father died the year before, and their mother, Elizabeth, is in an extended care facility following a stroke. Her death seems eminent.
Imagine their surprise, then, to find an old diary. They are somewhat reluctant to read it, to violate their parents’ privacy, but then delve into it. They find the story of their mother’s love for two men – one named A.J. and the other Bob – and how she was torn between them. More...
Imagine their surprise, then, to find an old diary. They are somewhat reluctant to read it, to violate their parents’ privacy, but then delve into it. They find the story of their mother’s love for two men – one named A.J. and the other Bob – and how she was torn between them. More...
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Jul 07, 2010
Maggie
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So, at first, I didn't have high expectations for this book. It just seemed like a normal book. Nothing exdrordinary, but nothing bad, either. Neutral. Boy, was I wrong.
Two sisters find their comatose mother's diary in the attic, in The Diary. As they continue to read through their mother's past via diary entries, they come to discover that her mother in her past had two lovers: Bob, the man who's stable and very loyal. Who's safe, in a way. Then there's AJ, the man who's unpredicta More...
Two sisters find their comatose mother's diary in the attic, in The Diary. As they continue to read through their mother's past via diary entries, they come to discover that her mother in her past had two lovers: Bob, the man who's stable and very loyal. Who's safe, in a way. Then there's AJ, the man who's unpredicta More...
Jan 10, 2012
Natalia
rated it:
I enjoyed reading this novel about a young woman torn to choose between two wonderful but different men. It reminded me of "The Notebook", but with not as compelling of a story. The guy from the wrong side of the tracks, AJ, didn't have any "danger" to him other than he lit his uncle's car on fire and served time. But mostly he was a good, nice, decent fellow. And Bob, the handsome quarterback was just too nice as well. There was no jealousy at all. They practically fel
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Sep 02, 2011
Candace
rated it:
What a surprisingly good romance story! I had put it back on the shelf about half way through, unsure if I liked where the book was taking me. Which is a shame because if I had continued on a few more pages I would have seen that this book was going to turn out to be something amazing! I don't want to go into too much detail as it will spoil it, and had I read a review that had given me a full description I would have been very disappointed reading it. The most you need is to read the jacket, an
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May 02, 2010
Judy
rated it:
A friend brought me this book and said that I had to read it. She loved it, I didn't. Two sisters find a diary in their mother's attic written before their mother's marriage which indicated that her mother was in love with another man. They couldn't ask their mother about this information because she was in the hospital after suffering a life-threatening stroke which rendered her unable to communicate. So they are left reading the diary and trying to unravel the secrets it contained. The sto
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Jul 27, 2011
Barbara
rated it:
sweet enough story. Could kind of guess who the father was, but not how the story would get there.
A $5.00 caricature in 1951 would cost $41.50 in 2010. Seems like a high price for something from the fair.
Unfortunately, there were period problems and the life span timing doesn't work out correctly. This should have taken place during the Vietnam war. You would have had the same social issues and war story. But the girls would have been the right age for parents who were in More...
A $5.00 caricature in 1951 would cost $41.50 in 2010. Seems like a high price for something from the fair.
Unfortunately, there were period problems and the life span timing doesn't work out correctly. This should have taken place during the Vietnam war. You would have had the same social issues and war story. But the girls would have been the right age for parents who were in More...
Aug 21, 2009
Darlene
rated it:
When the two grown daughters of Elizabeth Marshall discover an old diary of their mother’s in her attic, it comes as a shock to learn that the true love of Elizabeth’s life was not their father. This is the mystery the two daughters must unravel as they stay up late reading the words penned by Elizabeth so long ago. Their mother can’t give them the answers: After a massive stroke, she lies mute and near death in a nursing home. Only the pages of her diary can provide clues to what really happene
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Jun 13, 2011
Flchen1
rated it:
Two sisters find their mother's diary as they are cleaning out the attic. Their mother is in a coma, and they aren't sure whether she will recover. The entries reveal a passionate woman that they have a hard time seeing as their mother. This woman is torn between two men who lay claim to her heart, and the daughters cannot imagine her loving another man who is not their father. They are torn between intruding on her privacy and finding out who she chose.
Initially this read a bit sl More...
Initially this read a bit sl More...
Jul 02, 2011
Kathryn
rated it:
3.5 stars would be a better rating. This is a quick read, and I did enjoy it. The format the author chose requires suspending disbelief a bit as the daughters get an incredible amount of detail from their mother's diary. It would be more believable if the book were written from the mother's memory, perhaps by telling the story to her daughters instead of a written diary. I was disappointed that the daughters do not have a chance to discuss the content of the diary with their mother. The "
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Nov 26, 2011
Christine
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As Elizabeth’s two grown daughters are clearing out her house they come upon a diary their mother kept as a young woman. Knowing they probably should not read it, curiosity gets the better of them and they delve into their mother’s past. Soon enough the work around them is forgotten as their mother’s words transport them (and the reader) back to 1951. Discovering that their mother had a “love of her life” that apparently was not their father comes as a shock. Who was this mystery man their m
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Jul 26, 2009
Katy
rated it:
Their mother is in a nursing home, dying. The daughters are at her house, trying to sort through and accept her imminent death. Emily finds an old diary in the attic, one her mother kept before marrying their father. As she reads the first few pages, she learns her mother's true love was not her father, but some mysterious man they've never heard of, an A. J. Just who is this man, and why did they not know about him?
This book stood out to me because it proved, no matter who you k More...
This book stood out to me because it proved, no matter who you k More...
Feb 05, 2011
Allison
rated it:
This was such a cute, sweet book. It was about a woman, Elizabeth, whose two daughters, Emily & Sarah, come across their dying mother's old diary. Elizabeth was in love with two men, Bob & AJ. Bob & AJ loved her very much, too. They both wanted to marry her. She wasn't sure how she would/if she could choose between them. So the two daughter's read the diary to find out secrets of their mother's past and her loves. It wasn't a book i'd read more than once but it's good if you have nothing else to
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Apr 15, 2011
Kristina
rated it:
This was a fun, fairly short, and entertaining read complete with a twist at the end. I stumbled across this book at the library because the cover caught my eye and the reviews on the dust jacket about the book were from several authors I have also enjoyed (Debbie Macomber, Kristin Hannah, etc). I am always on the lookout for new authors so I thought I'd give this one a try and was glad that I did!
The story is about two adult daughters who find their mothers diary from when she her More...
The story is about two adult daughters who find their mothers diary from when she her More...
Jun 23, 2010
Tiffany
rated it:
From the first page of this book I was hooked. I liked the detail of the main characters surroundings and way of life. The details shared supported the events that came later on in the story. What I really liked was the romance and mystery set in the story. As I read, all I could think about was what was going to happen next and if the main character would make a decision based from her heart or her mind. This is my first time reading a book from Eileen GoudgeThe Diary/Eileen Goudge and I have t
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Apr 17, 2011
Jodi
rated it:
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good love story. I listened to this on audio. I normally have a book I am reading and one in the car I listen to at the same time.
Two sisters find a diary belonging to their mother, who is on her death bed, and begin a journey into the lives of their parents. They learn so much that they did not know and certainly didn't expect.
I absolutely loved this book and don't want to say much more because I don't want to g More...
Two sisters find a diary belonging to their mother, who is on her death bed, and begin a journey into the lives of their parents. They learn so much that they did not know and certainly didn't expect.
I absolutely loved this book and don't want to say much more because I don't want to g More...
Dec 27, 2010
Kimberly
rated it: 
The most boring, corniest book I've read. Scenario is simple enough - mom is on deathbed, 2 grown daughters find mom's diary while cleaning out mom's attic. Daughters read diary and find out maybe mom had another love of her life before she married their dad. Handful of pages of daughters' commentary on poor mom who let the love of her life get away.
Circa 1950 - The man who mom loved in the pages of her diary was a rogue, a ner-do-well, he even had a leather jacket. Gasp! Mom is semi-engag More...
Circa 1950 - The man who mom loved in the pages of her diary was a rogue, a ner-do-well, he even had a leather jacket. Gasp! Mom is semi-engag More...
Apr 29, 2009
Diana
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Aug 27, 2009
Mary
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This is a quick enjoyable read with a surprise ending. Two grown sisters find their mother's diary in the attic while cleaning the house before it is sold. They are stunned to learn that their father was not the only man in their mother's life back in the 1950's. The author subtly shows us that people are quick to make judgements but sometimes you need to look beyond the surface to really understand. In fact, as you near the end of this book you will find that things aren't always as they seem.
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Sep 20, 2010
Maureen
rated it:
I listened to this book on audio and enjoyed it - basically it's about two sisters who find the diary belonging to their mother and learn she might have been in love with another man right about the same time she married their father. An interesting scenario as two younger women get to see their mother as a woman rather than just their mother. The writing was sometimes clever, sometimes cliche, but the characters were well drawn and I was genuinely interested in learning how this author was goin
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Jun 16, 2009
Jen
rated it:
I'd give 4.5 starts if I could but since I can't I'll go with 5 for the simple, sweet, and yet aching love story. It's the story of perfect love vs true love. The author has you guessing til the end as to what happens to Elizabeth and AJ and when I found out how it all played out my heart broke in two.
This is a quick read, perfect for the summer, the beach, vacation, or sitting on the back patio.
If you love The Notebook from Nicholas Sparks definitely try this one!
This is a quick read, perfect for the summer, the beach, vacation, or sitting on the back patio.
If you love The Notebook from Nicholas Sparks definitely try this one!
Nov 13, 2009
Allison
rated it:
I liked this story so much. A year after their elderly father's death, Emily and Sarah's mother, Elizabeth, is in a nursing home and does not have much time to live. As her daughters clean out her house, they discover a diary that Elizabeth kept the year she married their father. The daughers are surprised to discover that in the year of their parents' marriage, Elizabeth had been in love with another. Who was this other man? It's a mystery the sisters are determined to solve.
