Rating: 
Summary: A good parental primer
Review: In this moving memoir of a particularly bad adolescence, popular San Francisco columnist Adair Lara honestly -- and sometimes brutally -- tells the story of her daughter Morgan's path from angry teenager to responsible adult. I think books like these should be required reading for parents for two reasons: (1) they tell us what to expect and (2) they let us know we are not alone in our struggle to raise our children with some sense of responsiblity and maturity. Three cheers for Adair Lara...she's shed light on a subject that needs more discussion. And also, kudos to Morgan, who made it through.
Rating: 
Summary: Where is the Mom in this girls life?
Review: A daugther spirals out of control. Yet mom is busy with her new husband (what a gem he is), shuts her daughter out of her home office and generally puts her head in the sand--thinking that simply worrying about her daughter means she is being a mother. A mother stands up and tries to do what is right-takes action and does something.
It is very annoying to read how this mother excuses her own (and her daughters behavior) without EVER learning a thing. Whatever Morgan does, mom grounds her, sends her packing to another relative-does everything but mothers this girl. I would be VERY interested in a book by Morgan--"How I pulled myself out of a terrible time in spite of my mother"
Rating: 
Summary: Honesty and Compassion in the Face of Adversity
Review: Adair Lara brings a refreshingly honest voice to the frustrations of raising a teenager. She wonders how she went wrong while at the same time struggling to do whatever the "right" thing is that will turn her daughter's behavior around. Lara is a witty observer of her own circumstances, even the most dire.
Rating:
Summary: A Warm, Witty Book
Review: Adair Lara's honest and touching account of her rebellious daughter's adolescence is both heartfelt and funny. She lets us know what it's like to live with - and love - a complex and often difficult child. And she shows us how that love can redeem them both. I loved every page of this warm, witty book that proves that love is stronger than even adolescence.
Rating:
Summary: you find yourself curious to read about their life story
Review: Adair,the middle aged proffessional columnist ,obssesed with the fear of failure for her duaghter, writes her own biography of her duaghter's teenage years.
The author unconsiously compares her daughter with her own father-the man who has abondoned his wife and 7 children to get to know himself and now at the age of 70 has made no use of his life.
She finds herself scared of the idea of her daughter having the same future as his father's and thus picks on her teenage kid_as she knows her so-with unpredictable groundings and decisions.
Reading this book could be suggested to all obssesed and overcaring mothers or parents who doubt about their parenting ways.I also offer this book to all teenage girls who would like to know why their mothers sometime sound too illogical and vicious.
Rating:
Summary: Tell Lara I Love Her....
Review: Hold Me Close, Let Me Go by Adair Lara is a wonderful, terrible, funny, devastating book that took me by surprise and held me in thrall from the first page. I didn't mean to read it. As a 63 year old childless gay man, I had little investment in a book (regretfully) being marketed as a mother-daughter self-help manual. But since I read only nonfiction, when browsing I'll pick up books on any subject, just to see how well the author writes, and so it was with Lara's book. Also, I was struck by the photo on the cover. Anyway I picked it up, began to read, then found I had to buy it. Gay, straight, childless, parent, this book is a staggering read for anyone who loves stories and admires those who can get out of the way and tell them true, even when artful lies are used. Though teenage/family dysfunction is at the center of Hold Me Close, Lara writes of universal experience--one of family, friends, and wrestling demons to the ground to find grace. Suddenly, I am in love with Adair Lara, though my partner of 26 years is not threatened. Read this book. You will be better for it.
Rating:
Summary: I am so sad that I ended this book this morning
Review: I absolutely loved this book. I bought it a few days ago and haven't been able to put it down. I loved Adair Lara's honesty. I felt that she and Morgan had become my friends. I have two teenage sons and this book touched me. I loved Morgan's spirit and felt Adair's love and fear for her. I love the final message that through it all, the consistent love that Morgan felt from her mom pulled her through. Basically we all make mistakes but if we keep on trying, our kids will feel our love for them. I am so sad that I am through with this book, I miss Morgan and Adair.
Rating:
Summary: I'm Not Alone!
Review: I am a parent of a pre-teen. I have been purchasing all kinds of parenting books on how to handle all sorts of situations from back talking to drugs to talking about sex. While some of the books have been pretty good, I was amazed with Hold Me Close Let Me Go. Most of the parenting books tell you what your child may do. Some even offer possible solutions to try. But NONE of them actually tell you how you will "feel" when your child does the things he or she does. Adair describes her feelings in detail. I was amazed how similar her feelings were to mine. I realized that I was not alone! I could totally relate to everything she said in her book. While I have not had the "opportunity" to experience all the things she discussed in this book (because my daughter is still a preteen), I at least know that what I may feel when she does (or hopefully does not), is not unusual. I recommend this book to all mothers with pre-teen or teenage daughters!
Rating:
Summary: this was one you could learn from
Review: I don't think I have ever read a memoir that read more like a novel. I kept checking the cover to make sure. It's honest and very stirring, especially if you have ever raised a child to reach these years. I hated to see it end but I known the mom was grateful for some closure. This is well worth your time. I laughed and nodded my head many times. Sometimes in simple amazement and sometimes in agreement.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful read!
Review: I loved this book. I felt as if the author and I were close friends. Lara tells the truth--the funny, sad, scarey, touching truth--about what she went through raising a teenager. It's a gem!
| 
