CANBERRA WEEKLY COLUMN: MOTHER’S DAY 2021

This week in the Canberra Weekly I reviewed five books for Mother’s Day.

First up was Dear Mum. This collection of letters from nearly one hundred notable Australians, including Georgie Parker, John Howard and TV weatherman Sam Mac, to their mothers is a moving testament to the importance of mothers. Some of the letters are short and amusing, while others are deeply emotional. My favourite was the one by the editor, award winning actor and founder of Love Your Sister Samuel Johnson, to the mother he never really knew. A very powerful, insightful and profound letter, it is moving personal reflection and a great opener to the collection. 

I also included two novels by popular Australian authors Fiona McCallum (Trick Of The Light) and Sally Thorne (Second First Impressions). Fiona has a strong following and this book is sure to appeal to them. It has a good storyline and deals sensitively and amusingly with issues of loss, financial instability, family and friendship. I suspect that Second First Impressions will appeal to younger mums and regular readers of ‘chicklit’ and is a fun, enjoyable romance with some great secondary characters.

Off The Charts by comedian and nurse Georgie Carroll, is a really interesting and honest account of nursing, with plenty of humour and great stories.

Finally, Mother May I by Joshilyn Jackson is a suspenseful mix of domestic suspense and straight thriller. I did a longer review of it a couple of weeks ago here: https://murdermayhemandlongdogs.com/april-crime-reading-new-books-by-joshilyn-jackson-c-j-carver-and-david-mark/

Thanks to the publishers and the Canberra Weekly for the books.

A copy of this review and other reviews can be found on the Canberra Weekly site: https://canberraweekly.com.au/book-talk-5-books-for-mothers-day/