Wife and Mother

I could not agree more with the other two reviewers. I first encountered Ruth Doan MacDougall through the Snowy series, but as much as I adore reading about Snowy and Tom, this book is far and away my favorite. My life experiences are drastically different from Carolyn's, and I was born 30+ years later; however, I can really relate to her. It is fascinating to watch Carolyn grow up and grow into being a wife and a mother, and then to watch her discover who whe is apart from those two roles. I've re-read this book a few times a year for a number of years now, and I am absorbed into the story every time. Like the other reviewer, I, too, would love, love, love a sequel. I've always wondered what became of Carolyn and John, especially after reading about Snowy and Tom and the gang when they hit their sixties. BTW, if you can find it, you might want to try "Aunt Pleasantine" too -- it's another wonderful book of Ms. MacDougall's.

Ruth Doan MacDougall is perhaps best known these days for her "Snowy" books (all recently re-printed and expanded), which follow the lives of a group of friends from high school through middle age and now into their sixties. Her The Cheerleader has become a kind of contemporary classic of growing up in the fifties. I first read Wife and Mother back in the 70s while serving in the army in Germany, and loved it so much, I mailed it back to my folks to read. It's a well-told story of how love can begin on rather shaky ground and gradually evolve into something rich and lasting. This was true, I think, of many marriages that began back in the 60s. Real love takes some work - that's MacDougall's message. By turns bawdy and moving, this is a book that will make you look at love and marriage - and love as friendship - in a new way. I just re-read the book after more than thirty years. It's even better than I remembered it, possibly because I now have a different, more mature perspective, but mostly, I think, just because it's just one helluva good story that holds up. If you can find this book, read it! It deserves a re-print, and maybe a sequel too. How about it, Ruth? What's the rest of Carolyn and John Ash's story? - Tim Bazzett, author of ReedCityBoy and Pinhead: A Love Story

I discovered this book way back in the early 80's, when I was about 13, and have read it just about every two years since. The older I've gotten, the more relavent this book has become. Carolyn's story of getting pregnant the "first time," having to get married, and her life thereafter is poignant and precise. What I've gotten from this story is that despite having to marry someone she didn't even know, their relationship grows and develops, almost hidden from Carolyn. When her husband, John, turns her to him in the hospital and says "I love you babe," both Carolyn and the reader are stunned at this confession. If you can find a copy of this book, pick it up and read at once! It's an absorbing read, and doesn't take too long. But the words will leave a lasting impression, and you may find yourself turning to it every other year or so like I have.