The Summer of the Great-Grandmother (Crosswicks Journal)

Madeleine L'Engle was publishing memoir before most writers had mastered how to pronounce the word; The Crosswicks Journal--Book 1 (A Circle of Quiet) was first published in 1972. I have to honestly say that Book 1 saved my life, coming at a time when I, like L'engle at one point in her life, had just about given up on my writing career. L'engle's honesty about her own broken heart gave me the courage to continue going forward. In the same way, Book 2 (The Summer of the Great-Grandmother) has given me courage in dealing with the decline of my own mother, who turns 90 this summer. I have always viewed Madeleine L'engle as a writer's writer; her honest words are meant to encourage us to keep believing in ourselves, in working to perfect our craft. But this book is more about the stuff of life that can oppress us, and how to find triumph in daily tribulation. Those who love Madeleine as an authentic individual will love this book.

This book spoke to me years ago.... when I read it a few months after the loss of my mother. I've bought another copy to give a good friend who lost her mother several weeks ago. I think it will be a comfort to her, as it was to me. It was great, reminding me to celebrate the life of the person without actually saying that.

Many middle aged women are the sandwich generation, caught in between caring for their children and their elderly mothers. L'Engle has written about being a mother and the meaning of family in her Crosswick Journal series. This one, however, is about the roots of the family, with its memories, and the passing of the generations. It is also about the heartbreaking labor and burden of caring for the elderly. But this memoir, which combines the stories of her ancestors' strengths in struggles, places these stories as a context in which one contemplates the problems of age, the struggles of feeding and caring for one at the end of life. The result is a satisfying string of essays into the eternal meaning of Family.

L'Engle confronts issues of death and dying in her experience of the death of her mother. But she also confronts issues of family history and the strength that the women in her family's history have exhibited. With each page I gained a greater respect for the trials that my ancestors have endured, and a greater curiosity to discover who my ancestors really were. The importance of story and passing on wisdom shines through L'Engle's account of her family experience. It explains why we should all feel compelled to pass on our history; to give our children deep roots so that they can understand themselves