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A Kind of Mad Courage
Nineteen authors from around the world were given six weeks or less to produce “a story involving a mother somehow.” The result is a gorgeously eclectic collection of tales that will make you laugh, cry, and truly appreciate the “mad courage” of motherhood.
Laura Chapman, Francine LaSala, Nikki Mahood, Heather McCoubrey, and Karen E. Martin each present unique takes on impending motherhood, while Sheryn MacMunn, kc wilder, and Julie Valerie portray the end of the journey. Samantha Stroh Bailey, Louise Wise, and Maria Schulz show the pride and peril of dealing with teenage daughters, while Elke Feuer, Diana Shafter Gliedman, and Donna Valenti demonstrate that a mother’s work is never done, even under the craziest of circumstances. Regina-Cash Clark, Wendy Janes, and Monique McDonell explore the impact on lives in which mothers go “missing,” while Carey Heywood and Jen Tucker warm your heart and tear it out, respectively.
Samantha Stroh Bailey - “Hide and Seek”
Regina Cash-Clark - “Autumn's Eyes”
Laura Chapman - “Oh Baby”
Elke Feuer - “The Sacrifice”
Diana Gliedman - “Love in the Time of Cannibals”
Carey Heywood - “A Poem for Mommy”
Wendy Janes - “Verity”
Francine LaSala - “Monkey Bread”
Sheryn MacMunn - “Last Words”
Nikki Mahood - “This Year's Love”
Karen E. Martin - “Two Thousand Steps”
Heather McCoubrey - “Emily's Promise”
Monique McDonell - “A Tale of Two Mothers”
Maria Schulz - “Like a Boomerang”
Jen Tucker - “Heartstrings”
Donna Valenti - “In the Nick of Time”
Julie Valerie - “LLL”
k.c. wilder - “Lady in Red”
Louise Wise - “Becky's Mum”
**All proceeds benefit The Guthy-Jackson Charitable Foundation.**
Laura Chapman, Francine LaSala, Nikki Mahood, Heather McCoubrey, and Karen E. Martin each present unique takes on impending motherhood, while Sheryn MacMunn, kc wilder, and Julie Valerie portray the end of the journey. Samantha Stroh Bailey, Louise Wise, and Maria Schulz show the pride and peril of dealing with teenage daughters, while Elke Feuer, Diana Shafter Gliedman, and Donna Valenti demonstrate that a mother’s work is never done, even under the craziest of circumstances. Regina-Cash Clark, Wendy Janes, and Monique McDonell explore the impact on lives in which mothers go “missing,” while Carey Heywood and Jen Tucker warm your heart and tear it out, respectively.
Samantha Stroh Bailey - “Hide and Seek”
Regina Cash-Clark - “Autumn's Eyes”
Laura Chapman - “Oh Baby”
Elke Feuer - “The Sacrifice”
Diana Gliedman - “Love in the Time of Cannibals”
Carey Heywood - “A Poem for Mommy”
Wendy Janes - “Verity”
Francine LaSala - “Monkey Bread”
Sheryn MacMunn - “Last Words”
Nikki Mahood - “This Year's Love”
Karen E. Martin - “Two Thousand Steps”
Heather McCoubrey - “Emily's Promise”
Monique McDonell - “A Tale of Two Mothers”
Maria Schulz - “Like a Boomerang”
Jen Tucker - “Heartstrings”
Donna Valenti - “In the Nick of Time”
Julie Valerie - “LLL”
k.c. wilder - “Lady in Red”
Louise Wise - “Becky's Mum”
**All proceeds benefit The Guthy-Jackson Charitable Foundation.**
347 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 30, 2014
4 people are currently reading
29 people want to read
About the author
Francine LaSala
9 books64 followersFRANCINE LASALA has written nonfiction on every topic imaginable, from circus freaks to sex, and edited bestselling authors of all genres through her company, Francine LaSala Productions. She is now actively taking on indie clients for manuscript evaluations, editing services, copywriting (covers, blurbs, taglines, queries, and more), website and blog creation, and developing kickass social media campaigns.
The author of novels Rita Hayworth’s Shoes and The Girl, The Gold Tooth & Everything, and the creator of The “Joy Jar” Project, she lives with her husband and two daughters in New York.
Drop me a note: francine@francinelasala.com.
The author of novels Rita Hayworth’s Shoes and The Girl, The Gold Tooth & Everything, and the creator of The “Joy Jar” Project, she lives with her husband and two daughters in New York.
Drop me a note: francine@francinelasala.com.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 1, 2014
Originally reviewed at Novel Escapes
An anthology is always intriguing because of the different writing styles but it was the simple directive given to the authors “just write a story involving a mother somehow” that possibly made A Kind Of Mad Courage most compelling.
I was expecting more tales of toddler trials and glorious newborns and was surprised by the number of stories that reflected and delved into the relationships between mothers and teens and with women and their own mother figures. I actually found myself analysing my own family’s relationships (triumphs and short-comings) while reading each author’s contribution. I’m afraid I found a few of them too hard to get through and had to go back and try again another day- those were the ones that tore at my heart so much it hurts still, just writing my review. Others foreshadowed the upcoming teen years with own daughter and made me look at my now five year old with a new love and also some good healthy fear- I think healthy fear?
The one though that stuck with me the most was Julie Valerie’s LLL because it had everything in it- humour, depth of emotion, elements of frustration I could relate too and a bit of quirkiness with the scrabble words inter-mingled with the story. It made me want to play scrabble of course and at the same time made me think hard about a parent with dementia. I lost my dad two years ago and since that time I've been purposefully pushing all thoughts of losing my mother out of my mind. For me opening up to that eventuality was a good thing because it made me more aware of the now we still have.
I was impressed with all the short stories in this compilation and related to each one in some way. A Kind Of Mad Courage is definitely not only for those who are mothers but for everyone who has a close woman in their lives that they cherish- daughter, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt or friend.
Thank you to the authors for our review copy. All opinions are our own.
An anthology is always intriguing because of the different writing styles but it was the simple directive given to the authors “just write a story involving a mother somehow” that possibly made A Kind Of Mad Courage most compelling.
I was expecting more tales of toddler trials and glorious newborns and was surprised by the number of stories that reflected and delved into the relationships between mothers and teens and with women and their own mother figures. I actually found myself analysing my own family’s relationships (triumphs and short-comings) while reading each author’s contribution. I’m afraid I found a few of them too hard to get through and had to go back and try again another day- those were the ones that tore at my heart so much it hurts still, just writing my review. Others foreshadowed the upcoming teen years with own daughter and made me look at my now five year old with a new love and also some good healthy fear- I think healthy fear?
The one though that stuck with me the most was Julie Valerie’s LLL because it had everything in it- humour, depth of emotion, elements of frustration I could relate too and a bit of quirkiness with the scrabble words inter-mingled with the story. It made me want to play scrabble of course and at the same time made me think hard about a parent with dementia. I lost my dad two years ago and since that time I've been purposefully pushing all thoughts of losing my mother out of my mind. For me opening up to that eventuality was a good thing because it made me more aware of the now we still have.
I was impressed with all the short stories in this compilation and related to each one in some way. A Kind Of Mad Courage is definitely not only for those who are mothers but for everyone who has a close woman in their lives that they cherish- daughter, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt or friend.
Thank you to the authors for our review copy. All opinions are our own.
June 15, 2014
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Aside from the fact that it benefits a charity, and is terrific value - NINETEEN short stories, and they're all a very decent length - it's one of the best short story collections I've come across.
It starts off with a perfect choice for the opening act - HIDE AND SEEK by Samantha Stroh Bailey is an interesting look at the mother-daughter relationship from two angles, as the mother discovers much about herself as a daughter, as well as a mum, when the three generations spend some leisure time together... (no spoilers here!)
Hide and Seek was one of my favourites ~ the other highlights for me were:
AUTUMN'S EYES by Regina Cash-Clark ~ the tale of a reluctant mother; I think this was my tie for first place!
THE SACRIFICE by Elke Feuer ~ a jolly tale about domestic violence.....
VERITY by Wendy Janes ~ my other joint favourite! So touching, really moving, I loved it.
LADY IN RED by k c wilder ~ just something about this one. Very atmospheric, and stayed with me for a while afterwards
BECKY'S MUM by Louise Wise ~ A first person tale from the point of view of a rebellious teenager, very clever because the reader can see immediately that what's really going on is, like, SO not how Becky tells it (addition of teen speak there for extra effect!)
They are all very good, though, with not one single weak one, and I think your favourites will depend on which aspects of the mother-daughter relationship interest you, and your own experiences, I imagine.
Well done, ladies, highly recommended!
Aside from the fact that it benefits a charity, and is terrific value - NINETEEN short stories, and they're all a very decent length - it's one of the best short story collections I've come across.
It starts off with a perfect choice for the opening act - HIDE AND SEEK by Samantha Stroh Bailey is an interesting look at the mother-daughter relationship from two angles, as the mother discovers much about herself as a daughter, as well as a mum, when the three generations spend some leisure time together... (no spoilers here!)
Hide and Seek was one of my favourites ~ the other highlights for me were:
AUTUMN'S EYES by Regina Cash-Clark ~ the tale of a reluctant mother; I think this was my tie for first place!
THE SACRIFICE by Elke Feuer ~ a jolly tale about domestic violence.....
VERITY by Wendy Janes ~ my other joint favourite! So touching, really moving, I loved it.
LADY IN RED by k c wilder ~ just something about this one. Very atmospheric, and stayed with me for a while afterwards
BECKY'S MUM by Louise Wise ~ A first person tale from the point of view of a rebellious teenager, very clever because the reader can see immediately that what's really going on is, like, SO not how Becky tells it (addition of teen speak there for extra effect!)
They are all very good, though, with not one single weak one, and I think your favourites will depend on which aspects of the mother-daughter relationship interest you, and your own experiences, I imagine.
Well done, ladies, highly recommended!
July 3, 2020
Good book
Nice mix of stories. Some were better than others, but all together it was enjoyable. A couple had some grammatical errors, but nothing too bad. I liked it.
Nice mix of stories. Some were better than others, but all together it was enjoyable. A couple had some grammatical errors, but nothing too bad. I liked it.
January 27, 2015
I downloaded this anthology the day it was released, yet I only finished it today. I don’t typically read short stories, but I’ve read the work of many of these authors before and know how talented they are. Furthermore, all proceeds go to charity. Now that I’ve finally read all of the stories, I cannot believe it took me so long. Wow. The talent is off the hook. These stories made me cry and made me laugh, but mostly made me cry – something about that mother/daughter bond gets me every time.
Like a Boomerang by Maria Schulz, Becky’s Mum by Louise Wise, and Hide and Seek by Samantha Stroh Bailey skillfully described the love/hate relationship between mother and teenage daughter. I thoroughly enjoyed Love in the Time of Cannibals by Diana Shafter Gliedman and it paved the way to my obsession to The Walking Dead. Oh Baby by Laura Chapman was fabulous. I enjoyed reuniting with the “cast” of Rita Hayworth’s Shoes in Monkey Bread by Francine LaSala. I nodded my head in understanding of the bond of sisterhood in Two Thousand Steps by Karen Martin. And my heart was torn into a million pieces by Heartstrings by Jen Tucker, Lady in Red by K.C. Wilder, A Poem for Mommy by Carey Heywood, Last Words by Sheryn MacNunn, and LLL by Julie Valerie (this was brilliantly crafted and I look forward to the first full-length novel by Julie Valerie).
I can’t single out each and every story, but I can say that there was not one in this collection that did not touch me.
Like a Boomerang by Maria Schulz, Becky’s Mum by Louise Wise, and Hide and Seek by Samantha Stroh Bailey skillfully described the love/hate relationship between mother and teenage daughter. I thoroughly enjoyed Love in the Time of Cannibals by Diana Shafter Gliedman and it paved the way to my obsession to The Walking Dead. Oh Baby by Laura Chapman was fabulous. I enjoyed reuniting with the “cast” of Rita Hayworth’s Shoes in Monkey Bread by Francine LaSala. I nodded my head in understanding of the bond of sisterhood in Two Thousand Steps by Karen Martin. And my heart was torn into a million pieces by Heartstrings by Jen Tucker, Lady in Red by K.C. Wilder, A Poem for Mommy by Carey Heywood, Last Words by Sheryn MacNunn, and LLL by Julie Valerie (this was brilliantly crafted and I look forward to the first full-length novel by Julie Valerie).
I can’t single out each and every story, but I can say that there was not one in this collection that did not touch me.
July 5, 2014
This is such an incredible compilation of short stories. As a mother and a daughter who has lost her mother, I identified with so many of the tales woven into this beautiful work of fiction. The range of emotions that I experienced as I savored these tales was rather extensive, but worth every page that I read. The tales run the gamut of sentimental, lighthearted, dramatic and even horrifying. I admire this very talented group of authors for the superior quality of the work they have produced as well as the very worthy cause they have supported with their efforts. Very impressive!
July 1, 2014
This is a collection of short stories by authors from this group.
If you have children this little gem will touch your heart, make you laugh, shock, and cry.
If you have children this little gem will touch your heart, make you laugh, shock, and cry.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews