What do you think?
Rate this book
Ida Mae Tutweiler and the Traveling Tea Party
This is a book about love, the abiding love between mothers and daughters, and the passionate love between a man and a woman.
But mostly, it's about the special love between best friends forever. Woven through the tapestry of a life-long friendship is the story of quiet, reserved Ida Mae Tutweiler and flamboyant daytime TV star Jane Tetley. It's about life, death, hope, and about the comfort to be found in a nice hot cup of tea. And the author has even included a selection of recipes for your own special tea-time.
But mostly, it's about the special love between best friends forever. Woven through the tapestry of a life-long friendship is the story of quiet, reserved Ida Mae Tutweiler and flamboyant daytime TV star Jane Tetley. It's about life, death, hope, and about the comfort to be found in a nice hot cup of tea. And the author has even included a selection of recipes for your own special tea-time.
Ginnie Siena Bivona is the mother of five grown children, and five grandchildren. She is the acquistions editor for regional publisher, Republic of Texas Press. She is also the Executive Director of Book Publishers of Texas. All of which, along with her writing, keeps her immersed in the world of books, her first love since she was six and discovered the joys of the Dick and Jan First Reader. She is the author of two cookbooks. This is her first novel.
- GenresFiction
144 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2000
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 6, 2011
This review was originally published at Girlebooks.com.
This is a captivating story about love and tea. It is told from the point of view of the titular character, Ida Mae, a divorcee grandmother living in Ohio. As the story opens she is waiting for her best friend since she was 10 years old, Jane, to arrive for tea. Jane and Ida Mae have always been complete opposites--Ida Mae being the quiet homebody and Jane the bustling actress. But their friendship works. They complete each other, perhaps more than the various lovers and spouses that entered the two women's lives over the decades. In this first scene we learn some devastating news: Jane has cancer and has only a few weeks left.
From there the narrative shifts between flashbacks in the form of Ida Mae's journal entries and the present during the last days Ida Mae and Jane have together. From Ida Mae's past journal entries we see the start of her friendship with Jane and her years in high school with her first boyfriend. Marriage and a daughter follow. In these life changing events both in past and present, one thing stays constant: the enduring connection between the two women and tea.
If you are a tea drinker, as interested in the ceremony as the drink, then you are in for a special treat--"Tea Party" isn't in the name of the book for nothing! The appendix includes several recipes for sweet treats for the tea table as featured in the book. Another treat is an introduction and epilogue in which author Ginnie Bivona chronicles her experiences from when the book was turned into a Hallmark movie, Bound By a Secret. The meta-story behind the story gives this book a personal touch, nicely enveloping the narrative into something you won't soon forget.
This is a captivating story about love and tea. It is told from the point of view of the titular character, Ida Mae, a divorcee grandmother living in Ohio. As the story opens she is waiting for her best friend since she was 10 years old, Jane, to arrive for tea. Jane and Ida Mae have always been complete opposites--Ida Mae being the quiet homebody and Jane the bustling actress. But their friendship works. They complete each other, perhaps more than the various lovers and spouses that entered the two women's lives over the decades. In this first scene we learn some devastating news: Jane has cancer and has only a few weeks left.
From there the narrative shifts between flashbacks in the form of Ida Mae's journal entries and the present during the last days Ida Mae and Jane have together. From Ida Mae's past journal entries we see the start of her friendship with Jane and her years in high school with her first boyfriend. Marriage and a daughter follow. In these life changing events both in past and present, one thing stays constant: the enduring connection between the two women and tea.
If you are a tea drinker, as interested in the ceremony as the drink, then you are in for a special treat--"Tea Party" isn't in the name of the book for nothing! The appendix includes several recipes for sweet treats for the tea table as featured in the book. Another treat is an introduction and epilogue in which author Ginnie Bivona chronicles her experiences from when the book was turned into a Hallmark movie, Bound By a Secret. The meta-story behind the story gives this book a personal touch, nicely enveloping the narrative into something you won't soon forget.
November 27, 2012
The story if a lifelong friendship between two women, one an actress who traveled and married often and the other who never left the town they grew up in and raised a family. My favorite quote was Jane saying, "Between the two of us we've done everything'l
November 13, 2011
excellent- moving book of relationships between women!
Thank You Lynne!!!
Thank You Lynne!!!
October 3, 2013
I've always just loved this book. Full disclosure--I did edit it. But a more beautiful story of friendship you'll never find . . .
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews