The Widow Down by the Brook: A Memoir of a Time Gone by

Mary was delighted to hear your raving reviews of her book. I am sad to tell you that she passed away August 18, 2001 at the age of 96. She was in the process of completing a sequal to "The Widow Down By The Brook". Had her body not given out, believe me, her mind would have finished it. I was fortunate to have spent the past year trying to keep up with her. The immediate personal connection you feel reading the words in her book are the same feelings you had meeting her. She found humor in every day. She was a delightful woman, a precious one that got away. She will be truely missed.

Mary's book read like a conversation between friends as she reminisced about the challenge of making a barn into a home and then adjusting to life as a single woman upon the death of her husband. Although for me it was reminiscent of similar experiences as I was her neighbor, living just over the hill, everyone will enjoy her style. In her telling of the love and support she found among neighbors, she reminds us all of a life and time many of us knew but now has been lost.

This is one of the best reads I have expereinced. Must admit that I am partial because I live in CT and much of what she describes I have seen. It is a touching love story. A book about the value of women learing to be independent well before her time. It is richly written. Our book club will be reading this book next month. I'm looking forward to the second reading. A must read in my humble opinion!

I loved Mary's book. It is so good, it took me two nights to read it but that was because I had an accounting test to study for, or else I would have finished it in one night. As I read it I really felt like I knew her, like she was writing only to me and telling me what was going on in her life. When I did have to put the book down to study, my mind kept going back to her little town and I couldn't help but wonder how she was getting along. I wish people were as helpful and friendly now as in those days. My only complaint is that the book wasn't longer. I could have read about her and her neighbors for many more pages.I am not going to give my mom my book to read but I am going to get her a copy of her own.

This is a book for every reader - no one will be disappointed. The author's writing is absolutely wonderful, and the story is genuine with heartache balanced by humor. I could not stop reading this when I picked it up. I wish I could read it again for the first time.