'Mater Biscuit: A Homegrown Novel

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Unusual and intriguing title. Thoroly enjoyed this. A fun read and couldn't wait to find out why the title was named 'Mater Biscuits.

In this sequel to True Love and Homegrown Tomatoes, Imogene and her 2 children Jeanette, her teenage daughter, and Loutishie, her younger child are living a peaceful life. Until Imogene gets notice from Mr. Dilly at the old folks home that someone must step in and take Imo's mother off of his hands. She is an 83-year-old woman with senile dementia, and no one knows what she is going to do next. So reluctantly, Imogene does what she must, and her mom comes to live with them. This is not a fun scenario. Imogene has a lot against her mother, who treated her so terribly in her childhood, that she simply cannot get past it. Mama Jewell as she is called, is not only a burden to bear for Imo, but she automatically hates Jeanette. The two of them fight constantly, and poor Loutishie has to take on extra responsibility watching Mama Jewell. Mama Jewell having Alzheimer's of course, lives way back there in the past. She is back in the time when her husband Burton was still living, and that makes things harder as she is always asking to go and see her Burton. So to make things easier for everyone, they have to play along with Mama; at least it makes the household livable up to a point. When Imogene can bear it no longer, she confides in her minister Lemuel Pettigrew for spiritual counsel with Mama. Imogene hardly has time for her precious garden anymore which she dearly loves. Finally within the book, she throws her back out miserably and has to take to her bed, enlisting her dear friend Martha's help. This gives Imogene a much needed rest until she recovers. A tragedy happens later in this story, and the unexpected happens. This is the time when Imogene once again is there for Martha this time, and her husband Reverend Pettigrew. A wonderful relaxing read. The next sequel, Those Pearly Gates continues from where this one left off.

Reading about Imo and her relatives is just like being there. I love the way it is written. Keep up the good work.

This is a human and humane story of three generations of women struggling with the riddles of life. Imogene Lavender is a widow attempting to rear her adopted daughter, a wild child and single mother named Jeanette, as well as her teenaged, orphaned niece, a right-minded girl named Lou. Imogene has lost her father, Burton, her husband, Silas, and most recently her fiance, Fenton. If life were not complicated enough for Imogene, she must now take in her cantankerous mother, Jewell, for whom she has a deep-seated animosity stemming from a long-standing, deeply troubled mother-daughter relationship. The return of Imogene's "Mater" to the house coincides with the return of her 'maters to the garden, and the world of 'MATER BISCUITS grows ripe and lush with renewed love and ultimate understanding. Well worth the reading.

Julie Cannon has accurately depicted the "sandwich generation" in her novel. Her portrayal of a daughter caring for a difficult and often hurtful mother is sharply drawn. Many baby boomers will recognize themselves in this realistic and descriptive work.