A Mother's Story

Rating:
Summary: A Mother's Story
Review: Anyone who does not cry upon reading this book cannot possibly have a beating heart. Ms. Vanderbilt's account of her son's life (and death) is honest and heartfelt. In reading about the love she has for her family, one grows to love them along with her, and ultimately feels a measure of her pain with her narration of the loss of her husband, Wyatt Cooper, and later of her son Carter's suicide.

At one time or another, all of us have felt isolation from our loved ones, an inability to allow them to touch our lives for whatever reasons. We employ many different mechanisms to shut ourselves off from the rest of the world, whether we are conscious of it or not. Gloria Vanderbilt's "glass bubble" imagery certainly gives voice to those feelings, and the way she escapes from the bubble is simultaneously (yet paradoxically) heartbreaking and inspiring. One's own "glass bubble" becomes weaker when reading about the great losses in her life- losses that are uniquely tragic, yet echo the experiences of anyone who's ever lost a loved one.

This book, in addition to Ms. Vanderbilt's recollections of Carter's life and death, includes diary entries describing the innocence and love surrounding Carter Cooper's early life as well as contributions from close friends and from his younger brother, Anderson. The book indirectly assumes a rudimentary prior knowledge of Gloria Vanderbilt's life; reading _Once Upon a Time_, her autobiography, before this book will provide a great deal of necessary background. _A Mother's Story_, although it is painfully personal, is a clear picture of the common emotions- love, grief, and empathy- that bind the human race together.

Rating:
Summary: Definitely one of the most touching books I've read
Review: Anyone who does not cry upon reading this book cannot possibly have a beating heart. Ms. Vanderbilt's account of her son's life (and death) is honest and heartfelt. In reading about the love she has for her family, one grows to love them along with her, and ultimately feels a measure of her pain with her narration of the loss of her husband, Wyatt Cooper, and later of her son Carter's suicide.

At one time or another, all of us have felt isolation from our loved ones, an inability to allow them to touch our lives for whatever reasons. We employ many different mechanisms to shut ourselves off from the rest of the world, whether we are conscious of it or not. Gloria Vanderbilt's "glass bubble" imagery certainly gives voice to those feelings, and the way she escapes from the bubble is simultaneously (yet paradoxically) heartbreaking and inspiring. One's own "glass bubble" becomes weaker when reading about the great losses in her life- losses that are uniquely tragic, yet echo the experiences of anyone who's ever lost a loved one.

This book, in addition to Ms. Vanderbilt's recollections of Carter's life and death, includes diary entries describing the innocence and love surrounding Carter Cooper's early life as well as contributions from close friends and from his younger brother, Anderson. The book indirectly assumes a rudimentary prior knowledge of Gloria Vanderbilt's life; reading _Once Upon a Time_, her autobiography, before this book will provide a great deal of necessary background. _A Mother's Story_, although it is painfully personal, is a clear picture of the common emotions- love, grief, and empathy- that bind the human race together.

Rating:
Summary: A book by a sensitive, intelligent woman.
Review: I bought the book because the cover looked nice and I usually like to read female writers. The story is about loss and pain - I'm not experiencing neither, but I kept on reading it until the end. I was sitting on the bus,caught in a bad traffic jam in Rio - the final pages came and suddenly my eyes filled with tears. The ending brings a beautiful message of optimism. This woman has delicate feelings and an intelligent mind. Funny to think I read her story two years after I bought the book

Rating:
Summary: A book by a sensitive, intelligent woman.
Review: I bought the book because the cover looked nice and I usually like to read female writers. The story is about loss and pain - I'm not experiencing neither, but I kept on reading it until the end. I was sitting on the bus,caught in a bad traffic jam in Rio - the final pages came and suddenly my eyes filled with tears. The ending brings a beautiful message of optimism. This woman has delicate feelings and an intelligent mind. Funny to think I read her story two years after I bought the book

Rating:
Summary: A Mother's Story
Review: This book is an unexpected jewel that was given to me by a friend during a time in my life where I was struggling with myself and my path in life. Everyone can associate with the events and emotions conveyed in this touching account of a mother losing her son. Honest, personal, and moving, the author invites us into a sacred place and shares her tragedy with the world with loving care. At times I felt embarassed, as if I were trespassing into a private and personal memory. It is more than a book about loss and heart ache, it is a book about life.