All God's Critters Got a Place in the Choir

Rating:
Summary: All the "Choir" Will Enjoy This Book
Review: I wholeheartedly enjoyed reading this book and I feel that mostLDS women will also. It is not a heavy doctrinal treatise or a how-totype book, but rather a collection of reflections of life as an LDS woman.

The book is divided into six sections of widely varied themes. For example,"Progenitors and Pancakes" includes seven works about families and "Inner Music" contains six essays and one poem about personal identity.

The individual essays and poems have a wide variety of topics such as recipes, jet lag, visiting teaching, and snoring. I particularly enjoyed Thayne's essay "On the Side of Life".

As a fellow quilter, I loved Ulrich's essay "Patchwork" which discusses her mania for old things, and explains the way in which she collected the bits and pieces of her education as she raised her family. She recalls that it took her five years to complete a one-year M.A., and nine to finish her Ph.D!

An interesting feature of this collection are four "dialogues by fax" which are actual off-the-cuff faxed conversations between the two authors. At first I thought that the inclusion of these conversations was somewhat strange, but as I read each of them, I was delighted with their spontaneity. Ulrich and Thayne discuss weather, children, writing and more without the formal strictures of an essay or poem. Thayne writes, "I love conversing with you this way about whatever moves or amuses, chafes, or captivates us." These dialogues contribute a great deal to the warm and personal tone of this book. The result is a cohesive and entertaining collection that all in the "choir" will enjoy.