Many audiobook reads to start the new year. Please read on for The Mother's reads this winter month.
Of note, The Daughter will not be posting all of her January reads this month as she is busy packing for a big move!
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
The Lost Apothecary is a decent read but not one that I would consider a page-turner. It’s a story that takes place in London; flowing from the 1700s to present day, revealing the heartaches and lost dreams of three main characters - Nella, Eliza, and Caroline. It is a work of mystery, murder, trust, and betrayal that holds a few surprises right up until the final paragraph.
Summary: Hidden in the depths of eighteenth-century London is a secret apothecary shop. Women across the city whisper about the mysterious shop owner, Nella, who sells well-disguised poisons for women to use against the oppressive men in their lives. But the apothecary's fate is jeopardized when a new patron—precocious, twelve-year-old, Eliza—makes a devastating mistake.
Meanwhile, in present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her wedding anniversary running from her own demons. All is suddenly changed when she happens upon a two-hundred-year-old clue to the unsolved London apothecary murders.
Look at You Now: My Journey from Shame to Strength by Liz Pryor
Look at You Now is an absolutely authentic, engrossing, and unforgettable memoir. It is impossible not to be immediately drawn into the author’s compassionate retelling of her teen pregnancy - her fear, shame, regret, joy, and even her forgiveness of her parents for sending her away.
Summary: In 1979, Liz Pryor—a girl from a good family in the ritzy Chicago suburbs—became pregnant during senior year of high school. Her parents made what they thought to be the right decision: to keep the pregnancy a secret. For six months, Liz lived in a dismal government facility for impoverished pregnant teenagers, hiding from everyone she knew.
“Liz’s refusal to bury the truth of her experiences is the greatest strength of her book. Her honesty about a youthful error and desire to let that honesty define the rest of her life are both uplifting and inspiring. An unsentimental yet moving coming-of-age memoir.”