What do you think?
Rate this book
The Goodbye Quilt
Linda Davis's local fabric shop is a place where women gather to share their wedding quilts, baby quilts, memorial quilts, each bound tight with dreams, hopes and yearnings.
Now, as her only child readies for college, Linda is torn between excitement for Molly and heartache for herself. Who will she be when she is no longer needed in her role as mom?
As mother and daughter embark on a cross-country road trip to move Molly into her dorm, Linda pieces together the scraps that make up Molly's young life--the hem of a christening gown, a snippet from a Halloween costume. And in the stitching of each bit of fabric, Linda discovers that the memories of a shared journey can come together in a way that will keep them both warm in the years to come....
Now, as her only child readies for college, Linda is torn between excitement for Molly and heartache for herself. Who will she be when she is no longer needed in her role as mom?
As mother and daughter embark on a cross-country road trip to move Molly into her dorm, Linda pieces together the scraps that make up Molly's young life--the hem of a christening gown, a snippet from a Halloween costume. And in the stitching of each bit of fabric, Linda discovers that the memories of a shared journey can come together in a way that will keep them both warm in the years to come....
256 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2011
570 people are currently reading
2646 people want to read
About the author
Susan Wiggs
169 books7,418 followersSusan Wiggs's life is all about family, friends...and fiction. She lives at the water's edge on an island in Puget Sound, and she commutes to her writers' group in a 17-foot motorboat. She serves as author liaison for Field's End, a literary community on Bainbridge Island, Washington, bringing inspiration and instruction from the world's top authors to her seaside community. (See www.fieldsend.org) She's been featured in the national media, including NPR's "Talk of the Nation," and is a popular speaker locally and nationally.
According to Publishers Weekly, Wiggs writes with "refreshingly honest emotion," and the Salem Statesman Journal adds that she is "one of our best observers of stories of the heart [who] knows how to capture emotion on virtually every page of every book." Booklist characterizes her books as "real and true and unforgettable." She is the recipient of three RITA (sm) awards and four starred reviews from Publishers Weekly for her books. The Winter Lodge and Passing Through Paradise have appeared on PW’s annual "Best Of" lists. Several of her books have been listed as top Booksense picks and optioned as feature films. Her novels have been translated into more than two dozen languages and have made national bestseller lists, including the USA Today, Washington Post and New York Times lists.
The author is a former teacher, a Harvard graduate, an avid hiker, an amateur photographer, a good skier and terrible golfer, yet her favorite form of exercise is curling up with a good book. Readers can learn more on the web at www.susanwiggs.com and on her lively blog at www.susanwiggs.wordpress.com.
According to Publishers Weekly, Wiggs writes with "refreshingly honest emotion," and the Salem Statesman Journal adds that she is "one of our best observers of stories of the heart [who] knows how to capture emotion on virtually every page of every book." Booklist characterizes her books as "real and true and unforgettable." She is the recipient of three RITA (sm) awards and four starred reviews from Publishers Weekly for her books. The Winter Lodge and Passing Through Paradise have appeared on PW’s annual "Best Of" lists. Several of her books have been listed as top Booksense picks and optioned as feature films. Her novels have been translated into more than two dozen languages and have made national bestseller lists, including the USA Today, Washington Post and New York Times lists.
The author is a former teacher, a Harvard graduate, an avid hiker, an amateur photographer, a good skier and terrible golfer, yet her favorite form of exercise is curling up with a good book. Readers can learn more on the web at www.susanwiggs.com and on her lively blog at www.susanwiggs.wordpress.com.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 563 reviews
March 30, 2011
Granted, I have more than a little in common with Molly (okay, in case you don't recognize my name, Susan Wiggs is my mom and the daughter in the book was based on me - right down to being a snarky little a-hole to her mother sometimes). But even if my mom hadn't written this book, I would have been touched by it. Her tale of a mother and daughter parting ways rings so true, probably because she wrote her first draft when she was driving me to college. The emotions and conflicts faced by both Linda and Molly are universal in so many ways. I cried a LOT while I was reading, which is a pretty big deal for ol' Iron Heart Wiggs (that's what they call me) (in my dreams).
I've never actually read one of my mom's books because of the, ahem, love scenes (and you better believe I DIED reading even vague references to sex in The Goodbye Quilt), but this was a very, very special novel.
Love you Mommy!
I've never actually read one of my mom's books because of the, ahem, love scenes (and you better believe I DIED reading even vague references to sex in The Goodbye Quilt), but this was a very, very special novel.
Love you Mommy!
March 27, 2011
Sometimes I will say about a book "It was exactly what I expected when I picked it up" and when I picked up this Susan Wiggs novel, I pretty much figured that even if I didn't say that in this review, I would be able to. I was wrong. Instead of a book that was a sweet pleasant afternoon diversion I got a book that touched my heart. Maybe it is because like Linda, I have a child on the cusp of adulthood (though unlike her, I have a six year old, and many more years of motherhood to go).
I loved everything about the book. It is a love story--but the love is the love of a mother for her daughter. There is romance--the romance between the daughter headed for a selective university across the country and the sweet hometown boy who will never be anything but a hometown boy and the romance between Mom and Dad, a love that Linda cherishes and is a little afraid of losing now that parenting is done. As Linda stitches on the memory quilt (a quilt made of fabric from clothes significant to certain times and events of Molly's childhood) she shares the stories with Molly, who can't remember most of them.
The story is told in the first person by Linda and I loved hearing her tell her story. She's a woman who had dreams of going to college but her family didn't support those dreams and when Mr. Wonderful asked her to marry him, college soon fell by the wayside. She's spent the last eighteen years caring for her family, and is now wondering what the future will hold. She muses about her past and her future and over the course of their cross country trip learns to accept that her daughter is now an adult and does not need (or want) her to fix things that go wrong.
The Goodbye Quilt is a beautifully written book I'd highly recommend to any woman facing an empty nest. Grade: A
I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley. I was not obligated to write any review, much less a positive one.
I loved everything about the book. It is a love story--but the love is the love of a mother for her daughter. There is romance--the romance between the daughter headed for a selective university across the country and the sweet hometown boy who will never be anything but a hometown boy and the romance between Mom and Dad, a love that Linda cherishes and is a little afraid of losing now that parenting is done. As Linda stitches on the memory quilt (a quilt made of fabric from clothes significant to certain times and events of Molly's childhood) she shares the stories with Molly, who can't remember most of them.
The story is told in the first person by Linda and I loved hearing her tell her story. She's a woman who had dreams of going to college but her family didn't support those dreams and when Mr. Wonderful asked her to marry him, college soon fell by the wayside. She's spent the last eighteen years caring for her family, and is now wondering what the future will hold. She muses about her past and her future and over the course of their cross country trip learns to accept that her daughter is now an adult and does not need (or want) her to fix things that go wrong.
The Goodbye Quilt is a beautifully written book I'd highly recommend to any woman facing an empty nest. Grade: A
I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley. I was not obligated to write any review, much less a positive one.
August 16, 2015
This is a sweet story about a mother driving her daughter across the US to attend a college on the East coast. molly, the daughter is having second thoughts about leaving her boyfriend behind and her mother Linda is wondering what on earth she is going to do with her life now that her only child is leaving the nest. What will her husband and she talk about now that Molly will no longer be the focus of their lives? Will they be able to reconnect and move into the next phase of their lives together? As they drive across the US Linda works on a memory quilt she is making for Molly, full of fabrics and momentos saved as Molly has grown up, it helps them share stories from Molly's life with her parents.
March 28, 2011
Linda Davis and her daughter, Molly, are driving across the country on their way to drop Molly off at college. Their road trip is supposed to be a final mother/daughter bonding before the break that will launch Molly into a new world and new experiences. While on the trip, in order to pass the hours, Linda works on a quilt for Molly. It is made up of scraps from her life; pieces of material that encapsulate every important-and not-so-important-time in Molly's past. What Linda doesn't count on is the way the trip turns into one of discovery of herself.
This is a book every mother should read. Having sent each of my four children off to college, I felt every bit of angst Linda does (and no, it doesn't get easier with each one). Susan Wiggs does an excellent job of evoking the emotions that come to the forefront when you children leave home. It is a time of discovery for the child, but also for the parents as they try to rediscover themselves sans kids and Miss Wiggs brings this out. I highly recommend this for anyone who has gone through this, may be going through it, or will eventually go through it. I also recommend it to those who enjoy a strong, emotional read that tugs at the heartstrings, but leaves you with a sense of contentment at the end.
This is a book every mother should read. Having sent each of my four children off to college, I felt every bit of angst Linda does (and no, it doesn't get easier with each one). Susan Wiggs does an excellent job of evoking the emotions that come to the forefront when you children leave home. It is a time of discovery for the child, but also for the parents as they try to rediscover themselves sans kids and Miss Wiggs brings this out. I highly recommend this for anyone who has gone through this, may be going through it, or will eventually go through it. I also recommend it to those who enjoy a strong, emotional read that tugs at the heartstrings, but leaves you with a sense of contentment at the end.
August 11, 2011
I absolutely loved this little book! The Goodbye Quilt is a heartwarming story that also makes you think about yourself, as a wife and mother, and as a person. What is especially wonderful is that it does so without being preachy or pedantic.
Since I have started blogging about each book I read, I have found myself reading with a part of my mind on my review. I will notice particular things that strike me as especially good or bad, and will find myself stopping at particularly quotable sentences or thought-provoking ideas. This has not been too much of a problem up until now, but with this book, I found myself stopping too much. :)
I loved her often poetic language, with phrases such as “supported by the unseen infrastructure of husbands and homeowners’ associations” and “the car inhales the belt as she jumps out.”
And the way she uses the physical journey as a backdrop to the emotional journey of remembering the past in preparation for moving on to the next phase of each of their lives is effective both as a literary device and as a way to emphasize the opportunities we all have for personal growth in our own lives and in our relationships.
You can really tell that Ms. Wiggs has poured out her heart in this book, and it definitely has touched mine. Highly recommended read!
Since I have started blogging about each book I read, I have found myself reading with a part of my mind on my review. I will notice particular things that strike me as especially good or bad, and will find myself stopping at particularly quotable sentences or thought-provoking ideas. This has not been too much of a problem up until now, but with this book, I found myself stopping too much. :)
I loved her often poetic language, with phrases such as “supported by the unseen infrastructure of husbands and homeowners’ associations” and “the car inhales the belt as she jumps out.”
And the way she uses the physical journey as a backdrop to the emotional journey of remembering the past in preparation for moving on to the next phase of each of their lives is effective both as a literary device and as a way to emphasize the opportunities we all have for personal growth in our own lives and in our relationships.
You can really tell that Ms. Wiggs has poured out her heart in this book, and it definitely has touched mine. Highly recommended read!
March 4, 2019
A bittersweet story of saying goodbye to a daughter going off to college and a mother saying - "now what!"
April 22, 2011
I'm hovering between a 1 & a 2 on this thing.
On the one hand it has a nice little commonplace experience -- only child leaving the nest/mother freaking out. I liked that. The story was "everyday boring", but touching too.
The typos bugged me (okay there were only two but still - I spent a good hour puzzling over "silver thumbring"). BUT the biggest jarring problem for me reading this book is that I grew up in Southwestern Wyoming. I know all about the area and I know that the author doesn't.
She puts the home town of this mother and daughter near the interstate. The only interstate in Wyoming is I-80 and it is in the southern part of the state, so Pinedale, which I might have accepted as the setting is out. She also makes log home manufacturing and tile making the big industries. There are no trees in southwestern Wyoming. There are a some in the Uinta mountain range and you would pull them out through the Bridger Valley if you were going to bring them out. But the big industry of the area is extraction of mineral or mining. They don't log ( not enough to call it an industry of the area) or build log houses (one showroom in Rock Springs does not a log home manufacturing plant make.) But fine I'll pretend that the logging in that happens in the Bridger Valley could be a log home manufacturing plant.
I'll pretend that the lake she says freezes over is a lake not a reservoir. (This is the high desert people, not much water that isn't stopped by a dam is around.) I'll suspend disbelief and accept there might actually be a tricky intersection near the interstate on ramp. I'll pretend like it is really going to be a possible thing for someone to commute home from college every week from Laramie to Lyman/Ft Bridger. People do, it is only 4 hours after all and who thinks about the blowing snow and ice on I-80? But really a true quilter who knows anything about Wyoming, knows that you are not going to find specialty quilting thread in Rock Springs!
Yesterday I finished another book with a ficticious setting (Pecan Springs) in a real place (Texas), but that author, Susan Albert Wittig, has told people from the beginning of her series that Pecan Springs is not a real place. Yet she does bring in actual places to surround Pecan Springs. New Braunfuls and San Marcos are as I remember from living in Texas. I wish the same was true about no name town in Wyoming.
On the one hand it has a nice little commonplace experience -- only child leaving the nest/mother freaking out. I liked that. The story was "everyday boring", but touching too.
The typos bugged me (okay there were only two but still - I spent a good hour puzzling over "silver thumbring"). BUT the biggest jarring problem for me reading this book is that I grew up in Southwestern Wyoming. I know all about the area and I know that the author doesn't.
She puts the home town of this mother and daughter near the interstate. The only interstate in Wyoming is I-80 and it is in the southern part of the state, so Pinedale, which I might have accepted as the setting is out. She also makes log home manufacturing and tile making the big industries. There are no trees in southwestern Wyoming. There are a some in the Uinta mountain range and you would pull them out through the Bridger Valley if you were going to bring them out. But the big industry of the area is extraction of mineral or mining. They don't log ( not enough to call it an industry of the area) or build log houses (one showroom in Rock Springs does not a log home manufacturing plant make.) But fine I'll pretend that the logging in that happens in the Bridger Valley could be a log home manufacturing plant.
I'll pretend that the lake she says freezes over is a lake not a reservoir. (This is the high desert people, not much water that isn't stopped by a dam is around.) I'll suspend disbelief and accept there might actually be a tricky intersection near the interstate on ramp. I'll pretend like it is really going to be a possible thing for someone to commute home from college every week from Laramie to Lyman/Ft Bridger. People do, it is only 4 hours after all and who thinks about the blowing snow and ice on I-80? But really a true quilter who knows anything about Wyoming, knows that you are not going to find specialty quilting thread in Rock Springs!
Yesterday I finished another book with a ficticious setting (Pecan Springs) in a real place (Texas), but that author, Susan Albert Wittig, has told people from the beginning of her series that Pecan Springs is not a real place. Yet she does bring in actual places to surround Pecan Springs. New Braunfuls and San Marcos are as I remember from living in Texas. I wish the same was true about no name town in Wyoming.
June 23, 2018
I enjoyed this story for what it was, but it was nothing great. This is the story of a mom and daughter driving cross country to drop the daughter off at college. The mom works at a quilt shop and is making the daughter a quilt with a bunch of mementos from her childhood. Basically this whole story is the Mom telling the reader all about her daughter. The daughter is begging for some autonomy and the mom is wanting to keep her as a child. Truthfully the mom is scared of being an empty nester, alone again with her husband, as she realizes she’s spent the last 18 years completely focused on her daughter.
When they were young, the mom chose love and got married instead of following her dreams. It seems like the daughter is going to do that with her HS boyfriend (he even surprises her and flies to a halfway point on their road trip), but in the end she chooses to go to college and Be independent.
The quilt was intended to be a comforting memory blanket for the daughter but we realize that it’s really a cathartic way of saying goodbye for the mother.
I enjoyed this because I have a daughter who I’m also a little too obsessed with, but if you didn’t have that relatability factor, I could see how this mother would be super annoying.
Cute, heartwarming story. Would recommend, just don’t get your hopes up too high.
When they were young, the mom chose love and got married instead of following her dreams. It seems like the daughter is going to do that with her HS boyfriend (he even surprises her and flies to a halfway point on their road trip), but in the end she chooses to go to college and Be independent.
The quilt was intended to be a comforting memory blanket for the daughter but we realize that it’s really a cathartic way of saying goodbye for the mother.
I enjoyed this because I have a daughter who I’m also a little too obsessed with, but if you didn’t have that relatability factor, I could see how this mother would be super annoying.
Cute, heartwarming story. Would recommend, just don’t get your hopes up too high.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 5, 2011
The Goodbye Quilt details the meaning of motherhood for one woman; of what it means to love, to sacrifice, to let go and to believe. A scrap of fabric here -memories, a thread there -wisdom, each knot -hope and dreams, make up the tangible pieces of the quilt. For Linda Davis, making the quilt is as much a therapeutic process, as it is a piecing together of her life.
Linda is about to see her only daughter off to college, in another town, another time zone even. As she readies for this momentous occasion, she is also facing uncertainties about the future. Who is she without the role of mother? What will become of her marriage? What are her hopes and dreams? Plagued with doubts and insecurities and armed with scraps of fabric and needles she sets out on a road trip with her daughter, Molly to find the answers.
I liked the sentimental value of The Goodbye Quilt. There was heart and a quiet appreciation for life's random moments. Yet, I could not connect with Linda and Molly. Or more, specifically, Linda. From the start I had a hard time getting into the story. It was too random, too tedious for me. There was no structure, no story, rather it was a re-counting of one woman's life. As the story progressed, it become too "Linda". Everything was about her, her self-doubt, her insecurities and her flaws. Her relationship with her daughter took a backseat to all this. The story is told in the first-person, which although should have connected me more to Linda, in this case it felt very one-dimensional. The story would have had more substance with Molly's insights and Linda's husband.
Overall a well-meaning story, despite a lack of.
Linda is about to see her only daughter off to college, in another town, another time zone even. As she readies for this momentous occasion, she is also facing uncertainties about the future. Who is she without the role of mother? What will become of her marriage? What are her hopes and dreams? Plagued with doubts and insecurities and armed with scraps of fabric and needles she sets out on a road trip with her daughter, Molly to find the answers.
I liked the sentimental value of The Goodbye Quilt. There was heart and a quiet appreciation for life's random moments. Yet, I could not connect with Linda and Molly. Or more, specifically, Linda. From the start I had a hard time getting into the story. It was too random, too tedious for me. There was no structure, no story, rather it was a re-counting of one woman's life. As the story progressed, it become too "Linda". Everything was about her, her self-doubt, her insecurities and her flaws. Her relationship with her daughter took a backseat to all this. The story is told in the first-person, which although should have connected me more to Linda, in this case it felt very one-dimensional. The story would have had more substance with Molly's insights and Linda's husband.
Overall a well-meaning story, despite a lack of.
June 16, 2011
If you are in the process of sending a child off to college, absolutely, do not read The Goodbye Quiltby Susan Wiggs. You will drown in tears. This story is from the mother’s point of view as she takes her only child across the country, to college. Linda relinquished her dream of college after marrying Dan and giving birth to Molly, focusing her life on Molly. Still, through the years, she picks up many hobbies, settling on quilting as her favorite. Now the quilt shop appears to be closing, and Molly is going to college across the country. A quick read at less than 150 pages, Linda deals with the challenge of letting go, along with the uncertainty of her own life ahead. Seeing her life in terms of the parameters set up by motherhood, Linda wonders what remains for her, both as an individual and in her marriage. The journey across the country allows Linda to manage her process of letting go and moving on. This is a beautiful story, especially for those of us who sometimes forget that motherhood is not our sole purpose.
April 17, 2011
As a fan of Susan Wiggs, she did not disappoint me with The Goodbye Quilt. I loved this heartwarming sentimental story of a mother and daughter journey ... it brought many memories of times I spent with my mom over the years. This was a quick read, I read the book in one day, it was so good I just couldn't put it down. :)
April 19, 2011
I loved this book! Being a quilter I understood what the mother was doing with her quilting. I saw my daugher and myself in about every page when I drove her from our home in Illinois and left her at the freshman dorm at the University of Tennessee where she knew no one. This book is about mother/daugher relationship and the letting go that happens when they grow up. I give it★★★★★’s.
April 23, 2011
This book was so filled with heartfelt emotion it was almost as hard to read as it was to put down. Everyone who has ever raised a child and sent them out into the world will resonate with every word on these pages. Be prepared to cry at the end--but in a good way. This books is a supurb addition to an already supurb author's collection.
May 2, 2018
I like the cover; it's the best thing about this book. The story was slow, and I didn't like the end of the quilt. I was hoping for a different outcome. I'm glad I was right about the shop, but that wasn't a surprise. The characters were okay, but I didn't connect with any of them. There was a happy ending for the characters, and it was a quick read. Two more positives.
April 9, 2017
What a sweet, charming and heart warming story....... anyone with a daughter no matter the age should read this.
February 10, 2019
What a nice gentle reminder of my loving, gentle, creative Expert Quilter.... my mom.... she would have ❤️d this book💔
April 2, 2020
It was a very fast read. Quite disappointed with content. Too boring for Carly.
January 21, 2021
My Mom suggested I read this book because she liked the mother daughter relationship. It was a simple read. I liked it because it made me think of how much more I began to love my Mom when I moved away for school.
September 30, 2021
For me it was boring. The beginning was good as well as the ending but the middle was just ok.
October 22, 2023
Beautiful mother daughter story about the trouble of letting adult children go. Made me laugh, cry but most of all miss my own mom.
April 5, 2017
Quick easy read but a sweet story!
June 30, 2018
A lovely, heart-tugging story of life, love, quilting, and sending one’s only child off to college across the country.
December 19, 2020
Pretty good book,I’ve been a Susan Wiggs fan forever
March 13, 2013
Any mother of a daughter will find something to relate to in this sweet, introspective novel. The primary setting is the ancient family Suburban station wagon as mother and daughter travel from western Wyoming to some undisclosed top-notch university near Norman Rockefeller’s home in Massachusetts. Linda Davis’s daughter Molly, an only child, was awarded a full scholarship to this august institution, but is torn at having to leave Trevor, her first true love, who is a union worker in the log home factory in their small community.
Half the book consists of Linda’s internal narrative. She alternates debating the wisdom of speaking to Molly or telling her personal stories versus biting her tongue. with reflecting back on memories, hopes and dreams, most of which are not shared, to avoid making Molly feel pressured about her own situation (or giving her further ammunition for debating her cause). When she isn’t fretting about Molly’s future and her relationship with Trevor, Linda grapples with the issue of how she will build a new life for herself now that Molly has left, how she will connect in new ways with her husband Dan and the fate of her favorite quilting shop.
Most of the reflections are prompted by pieces of the “Goodbye” memory quilt Linda works on as Molly drives. It is intended as a memento of Molly’s girlhood, and Linda has resolved to finish the quilting and final embellishments during the six days of travel.
Wiggs did a masterful job of writing Linda real. Real women do obsess that way. They do make decisions to hide or reveal personal stories. They do feel knives turn in their souls when, for example, they must tell the rest of the story behind why they didn’t have more children. They do bite their tongues off to avoid setting off a young and arrogant daughter who knows absolutely everything at age 18. And they don’t generally talk about all these things. I loved that aspect of the book.
What Wiggs did not do at all well was write the trip real. Things simply do not square with the actual route they had to have taken. On one page she may describe changing lanes and moving along Interstate ramps, but a few pages later they’ll be in a situation that could only take place on country lanes. Then they are seamlessly, without explanation, back on the Interstate. She speaks of it being “a hundred miles to the next city” when they are driving through a mid-western state. They made a lunch stop at a state park on the shore of Lake Ontario. That would be at least fifty miles each direction out of their way.
Wiggs is obviously not a serious quilter. Neither am I, but I do know that you don’t casually stitch several word thoughts onto a quilt in about the time it would take to write them with a pen, and I do know that you don’t constantly pick up and put down a twin bed-sized quilt. It would be filthy if it were dragged around as she did, clumsy to work on in the car and park benches, and hard to control tiny stitches in a moving car.
I’m disappointed when popular, high-volume authors are cavalier with facts. At least the book was well edited, with no typos or layout errors. In spite of her disregard for the factual aspect of her craft, I love the heart of her story, and people who either know nothing about geography or easily grant creative license to heartwarming authors will love this book without hesitation.
This review was originally published at StoryCircleBookReviews
Half the book consists of Linda’s internal narrative. She alternates debating the wisdom of speaking to Molly or telling her personal stories versus biting her tongue. with reflecting back on memories, hopes and dreams, most of which are not shared, to avoid making Molly feel pressured about her own situation (or giving her further ammunition for debating her cause). When she isn’t fretting about Molly’s future and her relationship with Trevor, Linda grapples with the issue of how she will build a new life for herself now that Molly has left, how she will connect in new ways with her husband Dan and the fate of her favorite quilting shop.
Most of the reflections are prompted by pieces of the “Goodbye” memory quilt Linda works on as Molly drives. It is intended as a memento of Molly’s girlhood, and Linda has resolved to finish the quilting and final embellishments during the six days of travel.
Wiggs did a masterful job of writing Linda real. Real women do obsess that way. They do make decisions to hide or reveal personal stories. They do feel knives turn in their souls when, for example, they must tell the rest of the story behind why they didn’t have more children. They do bite their tongues off to avoid setting off a young and arrogant daughter who knows absolutely everything at age 18. And they don’t generally talk about all these things. I loved that aspect of the book.
What Wiggs did not do at all well was write the trip real. Things simply do not square with the actual route they had to have taken. On one page she may describe changing lanes and moving along Interstate ramps, but a few pages later they’ll be in a situation that could only take place on country lanes. Then they are seamlessly, without explanation, back on the Interstate. She speaks of it being “a hundred miles to the next city” when they are driving through a mid-western state. They made a lunch stop at a state park on the shore of Lake Ontario. That would be at least fifty miles each direction out of their way.
Wiggs is obviously not a serious quilter. Neither am I, but I do know that you don’t casually stitch several word thoughts onto a quilt in about the time it would take to write them with a pen, and I do know that you don’t constantly pick up and put down a twin bed-sized quilt. It would be filthy if it were dragged around as she did, clumsy to work on in the car and park benches, and hard to control tiny stitches in a moving car.
I’m disappointed when popular, high-volume authors are cavalier with facts. At least the book was well edited, with no typos or layout errors. In spite of her disregard for the factual aspect of her craft, I love the heart of her story, and people who either know nothing about geography or easily grant creative license to heartwarming authors will love this book without hesitation.
This review was originally published at StoryCircleBookReviews
May 4, 2011
"Linda Davis’ local fabric shop is a place where women gather to share their creations: quilts commemorating important events in their lives. Wedding quilts, baby quilts, memorial quilts each is bound tight with dreams, hopes and yearnings.
Now, as her only child readies for college, Linda is torn between excitement for Molly, and heartache for herself. Who will she be when she is no longer needed in her role as mom? What will become of her days? Of her marriage?
Mother and daughter decide to share one last adventure together a cross-country road trip to move Molly into her dorm. As they wend their way through the heart of the country, Linda pieces together the scraps that make up Molly’s young life. And in the stitching of each bit of fabric the hem of a christening gown, a snippet from a Halloween costume Linda discovers that the memories of a shared journey can come together in a way that will keep them both warm in the years to come…"
An interesting mother-daughter story which touches on the end of one point in each of their lives and how they try to bridge the gap to accommodate their next roles without totally diminishing their earlier roles in each others lives. Susan Wiggs tied up this story beautifully and gave us hope for the future in ways that we would like, but do't expect.
Now, as her only child readies for college, Linda is torn between excitement for Molly, and heartache for herself. Who will she be when she is no longer needed in her role as mom? What will become of her days? Of her marriage?
Mother and daughter decide to share one last adventure together a cross-country road trip to move Molly into her dorm. As they wend their way through the heart of the country, Linda pieces together the scraps that make up Molly’s young life. And in the stitching of each bit of fabric the hem of a christening gown, a snippet from a Halloween costume Linda discovers that the memories of a shared journey can come together in a way that will keep them both warm in the years to come…"
An interesting mother-daughter story which touches on the end of one point in each of their lives and how they try to bridge the gap to accommodate their next roles without totally diminishing their earlier roles in each others lives. Susan Wiggs tied up this story beautifully and gave us hope for the future in ways that we would like, but do't expect.
April 10, 2011
Linda Davis can not believe her grown daughter; Molly is heading off to college. Linda does not want Molly to leave. Linda is not ready to say goodbye to Molly, so instead she decides to drop Molly off at college. Linda also comes up with the idea of making a heritage quilt for Molly as a keepsake. Linda and Molly head off for an adventure that they will never forget.
The Goodbye Quilt is a heart-warming, sweet, fun, quick read. This book is the perfect weekend read. Mothers and Daughters can relate to this book. It was funny as Linda thought she still had a lot to teach Molly but it was really Molly who had something to teach her mother. The act of loving and letting go. I really felt like I got to know Molly and Linda on a personal level through the memories. It was nice getting to know Molly as a little girl. The freak out moment Linda had about wanting to adopt a child from Haiti was funny. Her husband is the rock and he calmed Linda down. This book made me interested in wanting to learn how to quilt. This book is worth your money.
The Goodbye Quilt is a heart-warming, sweet, fun, quick read. This book is the perfect weekend read. Mothers and Daughters can relate to this book. It was funny as Linda thought she still had a lot to teach Molly but it was really Molly who had something to teach her mother. The act of loving and letting go. I really felt like I got to know Molly and Linda on a personal level through the memories. It was nice getting to know Molly as a little girl. The freak out moment Linda had about wanting to adopt a child from Haiti was funny. Her husband is the rock and he calmed Linda down. This book made me interested in wanting to learn how to quilt. This book is worth your money.
May 12, 2012
Linda, a quilter, bemoans the closing of her local quilt store, which coincides with her only child going away to college. During the four-day drive across the country to her daughter's prestigious east coast university, she works on the finishing touches to her "goodbye quilt," lovingly crafted from scraps of fabric salvaged from many years worth of cast-off family clothing and other memorabilia. While Linda has planned the quilt as a patchwork of events mapping her daughter's life thus far, ultimately it's evolved into a metaphor for her own treasured memories.
Plagued with uncertainty about what to now do with her life, Linda's reflections on the meaning of each fragment of the quilt inspire flashes of wisdom and insight. She gradually learns what to embrace and what to let go. THE GOODBYE QUILT is a lovely story, quiet and reflective, yet rich with glimpses into the invevitable "growing pains," the agony of loss and fear about the future, that haunt a woman as she transitions from from one stage of life to the next.
Plagued with uncertainty about what to now do with her life, Linda's reflections on the meaning of each fragment of the quilt inspire flashes of wisdom and insight. She gradually learns what to embrace and what to let go. THE GOODBYE QUILT is a lovely story, quiet and reflective, yet rich with glimpses into the invevitable "growing pains," the agony of loss and fear about the future, that haunt a woman as she transitions from from one stage of life to the next.
July 23, 2011
Linda is bringing her only child Molly to college on the East Coast from Wyoming. Along the trip she is trying to finish a quilt for Molly’s dorm. It’s like a crazy quilt (which I have done and enjoyed!) with material pieces and embellishments taken from articles that represent something of Molly’s life. As Linda is working on the quilt she flashes back to fond family memories and sentimental times. The story also follows their adventures driving cross country and deals with Molly’s decision about a high school boyfriend and her college future. Linda has to be quiet about advice giving as she realizes her daughter is growing up and leaving home. Themes of mother-daughter relationships and also Linda’s fear of her life with an empty nest as she give up her motherhood role are detailed. Nice wrap up at the end when it fast-forwards 25 years in the epilogue.
Enjoyable read. Nice touch with high quality quilted paper inside the book too!
May 25, 2011
Linda & Dan Davis's only child, and daughter at that, Molly, is ready to head off to college - clean on the East Coast. Linda has been been piecing together a lovely quilt of Molly's life - articles of clothing, badges, ribbon, and whatnot. When Linda decides to drive Molly to college, from their MidWestern home across all those miles, she decides to take the quilt with them and hopes to finish it along the way. Many memories and emotions are tied into the quilt and the trip becomes quite a journey. As the odometer climbs, so does Linda's emotions and she tries to find a way to let go and let Molly find her own way.
Thrown in between chapters are wonderful little tidbits - quotes by quilters, poets, and writers. This book is so well written and Susan Wiggs explains every up and down emotion Moms go through while letting their children grow up and leave.
Thrown in between chapters are wonderful little tidbits - quotes by quilters, poets, and writers. This book is so well written and Susan Wiggs explains every up and down emotion Moms go through while letting their children grow up and leave.
July 16, 2011
I started this book yesterday and finished it today, between screaming deadlines, so that explains how much I enjoyed it.
I don't cry with books. Movies, yes, books no.
Linda Howard and Barbara O'Neal are the only other authors to ever make me cry and I can now add the talented Susan Wiggs to the group.
I bawled.
She has an amazing gift for tapping into a reader's emotions, by giving her characters realistic motivations and situations we can all identify with.
Even though my kids are young, I could empathise with the heroine (who's escorting her daughter to college and saying goodbye) because every milestone in a child's life and their growing independence is a little goodbye in its own right.
Thoroughly enjoyed this and still thinking about it many hours after closing the book.
I don't cry with books. Movies, yes, books no.
Linda Howard and Barbara O'Neal are the only other authors to ever make me cry and I can now add the talented Susan Wiggs to the group.
I bawled.
She has an amazing gift for tapping into a reader's emotions, by giving her characters realistic motivations and situations we can all identify with.
Even though my kids are young, I could empathise with the heroine (who's escorting her daughter to college and saying goodbye) because every milestone in a child's life and their growing independence is a little goodbye in its own right.
Thoroughly enjoyed this and still thinking about it many hours after closing the book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 563 reviews