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Millicent Glenn's Last Wish
Three generations of women—and the love, loss, sacrifice, and secrets that can bind them forever or tear them apart.
Millicent Glenn is self-sufficient and contentedly alone in the Cincinnati suburbs. As she nears her ninety-first birthday, her daughter Jane, with whom she’s weathered a shaky relationship, suddenly moves back home. Then Millie’s granddaughter shares the thrilling surprise that she’s pregnant. But for Millie, the news stirs heartbreaking memories of a past she’s kept hidden for too long. Maybe it’s time she shared something, too. Millie’s last wish? For Jane to forgive her.
Sixty years ago Millie was living a dream. She had a husband she adored, a job of her own, a precious baby girl, and another child on the way. They were the perfect family. All it took was one irreversible moment to shatter everything, reshaping Millie’s life and the lives of generations to come.
As Millie’s old wounds are exposed, so are the secrets she’s kept for so long. Finally revealing them to her daughter might be the greatest risk a mother could take in the name of love.
Millicent Glenn is self-sufficient and contentedly alone in the Cincinnati suburbs. As she nears her ninety-first birthday, her daughter Jane, with whom she’s weathered a shaky relationship, suddenly moves back home. Then Millie’s granddaughter shares the thrilling surprise that she’s pregnant. But for Millie, the news stirs heartbreaking memories of a past she’s kept hidden for too long. Maybe it’s time she shared something, too. Millie’s last wish? For Jane to forgive her.
Sixty years ago Millie was living a dream. She had a husband she adored, a job of her own, a precious baby girl, and another child on the way. They were the perfect family. All it took was one irreversible moment to shatter everything, reshaping Millie’s life and the lives of generations to come.
As Millie’s old wounds are exposed, so are the secrets she’s kept for so long. Finally revealing them to her daughter might be the greatest risk a mother could take in the name of love.
340 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2020
8406 people are currently reading
10865 people want to read
About the author
Tori Whitaker
2 books246 followersI'm a writer and love reading or listening to books, doing a little cooking, and playing in the sunshine. I am the bestselling author of MILLICENT GLENN'S LAST WISH--my first novel that debuted when I was in my 60s. My second work of historical fiction (that has a contemporary timeline too!) is A MATTER OF HAPPINESS that publishes on November 8, 2022.
I was born in the suburbs of Cincinnati, mostly grew up in Indiana, spent a decade in metro-Detroit with my husband’s career, and now we reside outside of Atlanta. We’ve been married for forty-five years, and we feel blessed to be near our two sons and their families.
I graduated from Indiana University, where I studied marketing and English. I am also retired from an executive role at a national law firm. I'm an alum of the Yale Writers’ Workshop; a member of the Historical Novel Society; and a member of the Bourbon Women Association.
I was born in the suburbs of Cincinnati, mostly grew up in Indiana, spent a decade in metro-Detroit with my husband’s career, and now we reside outside of Atlanta. We’ve been married for forty-five years, and we feel blessed to be near our two sons and their families.
I graduated from Indiana University, where I studied marketing and English. I am also retired from an executive role at a national law firm. I'm an alum of the Yale Writers’ Workshop; a member of the Historical Novel Society; and a member of the Bourbon Women Association.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 838 reviews
September 30, 2020
Quick thoughts for pub week:
Millicent Glenn’s Last Wish is such a good story. It’s about three generations of strong women and the secrets they keep.
I absolutely loved Millicent’s character. When the story begins, it’s much later in her life, but the book travels back to her beginnings in the 1940s and 50s, a time I LOVE to read about because it was my grandparents’s heyday during that time period.
Millicent Glenn’s Last Wish is a charming, thoughtful story with an engaging and memorable storyline.
I received a gifted copy. All opinions are my own.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
Millicent Glenn’s Last Wish is such a good story. It’s about three generations of strong women and the secrets they keep.
I absolutely loved Millicent’s character. When the story begins, it’s much later in her life, but the book travels back to her beginnings in the 1940s and 50s, a time I LOVE to read about because it was my grandparents’s heyday during that time period.
Millicent Glenn’s Last Wish is a charming, thoughtful story with an engaging and memorable storyline.
I received a gifted copy. All opinions are my own.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
September 12, 2020
3.5 stars
Millicent Glenn is a character worth getting to know. Early on in the story I felt invested in her life. I thought it was a great choice by the author to introduce the character when she is in her 90s and then go back to the 1940s and 1950s to show her at a younger age and everything that happened back then that had a lasting impact on her life. The transitions were smooth between the past and more present day story line.
At 90 years old, Millicent Glenn manages to get around pretty well and lives by herself in the Cincinnati suburbs. She's always had a bit of a rocky relationship with her daughter, Jane, but now that she has moved back to town, perhaps things will get better between the two of them. When Jane's adult daughter, Kelsey, announces her pregnancy, Millicent is thrilled for her granddaughter. However, it does bring up some painful memories in her past, things she has never revealed to either woman. Millicent will have to decide if it is worth the gamble to open up about her past to her daughter. While it might give Jane the opportunity to understand her mom better, it might also drive her away and further damage their relationship.
I absolutely adored Millicent's close relationship with her granddaughter. I was very fortunate to have that type of special bond with my late grandmother. So it was very easy for me to fall in love with Millicent and almost feel this sense of protectiveness when it came to her. I think there are many things readers can take away from this book regarding the characters and the different relationships they had with one another. The characters feel familiar, like they could be members of your own family. And most of us can probably identify with wanting to get things off our chests but having a hard time finding the courage to do so.
I appreciated the attention to detail with the different references to things that were popular in the 1940s and 1950s. When it came to society's opinions on gender roles during that time period, I thought it was a pretty spot on depiction.
This book is currently one of the First Reads selections for September and I do think it is one of the better picks from that program. Recommend if you enjoy family dramas.
I received a free advance copy and the thoughts expressed in my review are my honest opinion.
Millicent Glenn is a character worth getting to know. Early on in the story I felt invested in her life. I thought it was a great choice by the author to introduce the character when she is in her 90s and then go back to the 1940s and 1950s to show her at a younger age and everything that happened back then that had a lasting impact on her life. The transitions were smooth between the past and more present day story line.
At 90 years old, Millicent Glenn manages to get around pretty well and lives by herself in the Cincinnati suburbs. She's always had a bit of a rocky relationship with her daughter, Jane, but now that she has moved back to town, perhaps things will get better between the two of them. When Jane's adult daughter, Kelsey, announces her pregnancy, Millicent is thrilled for her granddaughter. However, it does bring up some painful memories in her past, things she has never revealed to either woman. Millicent will have to decide if it is worth the gamble to open up about her past to her daughter. While it might give Jane the opportunity to understand her mom better, it might also drive her away and further damage their relationship.
I absolutely adored Millicent's close relationship with her granddaughter. I was very fortunate to have that type of special bond with my late grandmother. So it was very easy for me to fall in love with Millicent and almost feel this sense of protectiveness when it came to her. I think there are many things readers can take away from this book regarding the characters and the different relationships they had with one another. The characters feel familiar, like they could be members of your own family. And most of us can probably identify with wanting to get things off our chests but having a hard time finding the courage to do so.
I appreciated the attention to detail with the different references to things that were popular in the 1940s and 1950s. When it came to society's opinions on gender roles during that time period, I thought it was a pretty spot on depiction.
This book is currently one of the First Reads selections for September and I do think it is one of the better picks from that program. Recommend if you enjoy family dramas.
I received a free advance copy and the thoughts expressed in my review are my honest opinion.
September 10, 2020
This is the story of Millicent Glenn, told over two timelines. One when she’s in her 90’s in 2015 and one as a young wife and mother in the 40s and 50s. In the later timeline, she had a secret, one she is finally determined to tell her daughter and grand daughter.
Through the earlier timeline we learn what that secret is. Although it’s something terrible and horrific, it should never have been a secret. I couldn’t help but think “that’s it? This is a secret because...?” It was underwhelming and wasn’t really that much of a secret as most people in Millie’s life knew all about it.
This book is over descriptive and very over dramatic. It also felt quite repetitive which made the story labourious to get through.
There are two different types of feminism through the book. Millie was a pioneer feminist who really had a lot to fight for, and fight she did. Kelsey, her grand daughter, was the modern over indulged type, who’d actions and comments about certain things could actually be quite dangerous. I just wanted to slap her every time she said anything.
I get why some people like this book, maybe their experiences mirrored those of the characters. But it just did not resonate with me. For me it was a lot of noise about nothing.
Through the earlier timeline we learn what that secret is. Although it’s something terrible and horrific, it should never have been a secret. I couldn’t help but think “that’s it? This is a secret because...?” It was underwhelming and wasn’t really that much of a secret as most people in Millie’s life knew all about it.
This book is over descriptive and very over dramatic. It also felt quite repetitive which made the story labourious to get through.
There are two different types of feminism through the book. Millie was a pioneer feminist who really had a lot to fight for, and fight she did. Kelsey, her grand daughter, was the modern over indulged type, who’d actions and comments about certain things could actually be quite dangerous. I just wanted to slap her every time she said anything.
I get why some people like this book, maybe their experiences mirrored those of the characters. But it just did not resonate with me. For me it was a lot of noise about nothing.
September 7, 2020
Where was the editor?
Somewhere in this book there’s a good story. I felt as if I were slogging through unnecessary words and explanations in order to get to the gist of it.
Somewhere in this book there’s a good story. I felt as if I were slogging through unnecessary words and explanations in order to get to the gist of it.
July 13, 2020
“There are secrets corroding us inside, truths that affect others we love but that can only come out when our hearts are ready to release them.”
Those words are uttered by Kelsey, the granddaughter in this profound and deeply moving story about three generations of women that includes Kelsey’s mother Jane and her grandmother Millie. When the three are reunited, Millie is 91, and she realizes she is running out of time to reveal her deeply-buried secrets, with the hope that she will be forgiven—her final wish.
Millie’s story is remarkable, told in flashbacks that take us back to the 40s and 50s, when Millie was a young wife and then a young mother. Millie lives in a time when women are expected to adhere to the norms and standards of the time; being a perfect wife, a devoted mother, with little to no thought of a woman’s own desires and dreams outside of the home; but Millie isn’t like most women, and the choices she makes lead to her own regrets, pushing her secrets deeper inside her heart.
The characters in this book are imperfect, complex, and endearing. They are characters you will long remember.
This nostalgic story is joyful, sorrowful, sincere and poignant, as it explores the relationships between mothers and daughters, wives and husbands, friends and foes. Love and loss, betrayal and heartache, forgiveness and healing—these are the emotions that fill the pages of this compelling book.
This is a debut novel not to be missed, and I look forward to reading more books by Tori Whitaker.
Those words are uttered by Kelsey, the granddaughter in this profound and deeply moving story about three generations of women that includes Kelsey’s mother Jane and her grandmother Millie. When the three are reunited, Millie is 91, and she realizes she is running out of time to reveal her deeply-buried secrets, with the hope that she will be forgiven—her final wish.
Millie’s story is remarkable, told in flashbacks that take us back to the 40s and 50s, when Millie was a young wife and then a young mother. Millie lives in a time when women are expected to adhere to the norms and standards of the time; being a perfect wife, a devoted mother, with little to no thought of a woman’s own desires and dreams outside of the home; but Millie isn’t like most women, and the choices she makes lead to her own regrets, pushing her secrets deeper inside her heart.
The characters in this book are imperfect, complex, and endearing. They are characters you will long remember.
This nostalgic story is joyful, sorrowful, sincere and poignant, as it explores the relationships between mothers and daughters, wives and husbands, friends and foes. Love and loss, betrayal and heartache, forgiveness and healing—these are the emotions that fill the pages of this compelling book.
This is a debut novel not to be missed, and I look forward to reading more books by Tori Whitaker.
October 2, 2020
Oh to be a 1950’s housewife. Really? Maybe.
Millicent lets us in on what it was like to be a housewife in the 1950’s.
Husbands not really liking their wives to work, having to have your husband sign at the bank if you wanted to open an account in your own name, being dressed up when your husband came home, and wishing you could do more than stay at home with the babies.
We meet 91-year-old Millicent, her daughter, Jane, and her granddaughter, Kelsey, as we move from the 1950’s to 2015.
Three generations of strong women and a secret Millicent kept for all of these years.
We get to experience these women’s joys as well as their sorrows.
I enjoyed the way the author weaved past situations into the present-day happenings as she looked back.
MILLICENT GLENN’S LAST WISH was a trip back to the time when my mother would have been a wife. It had me wondering if my mother felt as if she were trapped since she was required by the company she worked for to quit when she got married.
Even more than learning about Millicent’s life of sorrow and secrets, this sweet book focuses on the love between a mother and her child and a mother and her daughter.
Warning: Tissues needed for happy events as well as sad and oh so good. 5/5
This book was given to me by the author and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Millicent lets us in on what it was like to be a housewife in the 1950’s.
Husbands not really liking their wives to work, having to have your husband sign at the bank if you wanted to open an account in your own name, being dressed up when your husband came home, and wishing you could do more than stay at home with the babies.
We meet 91-year-old Millicent, her daughter, Jane, and her granddaughter, Kelsey, as we move from the 1950’s to 2015.
Three generations of strong women and a secret Millicent kept for all of these years.
We get to experience these women’s joys as well as their sorrows.
I enjoyed the way the author weaved past situations into the present-day happenings as she looked back.
MILLICENT GLENN’S LAST WISH was a trip back to the time when my mother would have been a wife. It had me wondering if my mother felt as if she were trapped since she was required by the company she worked for to quit when she got married.
Even more than learning about Millicent’s life of sorrow and secrets, this sweet book focuses on the love between a mother and her child and a mother and her daughter.
Warning: Tissues needed for happy events as well as sad and oh so good. 5/5
This book was given to me by the author and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
June 19, 2021
Millicent Glenn is almost ninety one; she still lives in her house her late husband Dennis custom built for her in the Cincinnati suburbs and she’s doing really well for her age. Jane her distant daughter suddenly retires and moves back to her home town, Millicent discovers why and her granddaughter Kelsey is having a baby. This news should create excitement, Jane is extremely happy and you notice Millicent finds talking about babies and childbirth difficult?
America during the early 1950’s, like most couples at the time Millie and Dennis Glenn wanted to have a big family, due to a series of tragic events this didn’t happened and the couple was devastated. The anticipated arrival of the new great-grand baby brings back all the distressing memories for Millicent, she has a secret, she’s always wanted to tell Jane, the time never seemed right, will her daughter forgive her and grant her last wish?
Millicent Glenn’s Last Wish is a story about marriage, love, friendship, relationships, pregnancy, loss, grief and tragedy. While reading the book you will feel a mixture of emotions, exactly what a great story should do, you care about the characters, what happens to them, and become engrossed in the plot and five stars from me.
America during the early 1950’s, like most couples at the time Millie and Dennis Glenn wanted to have a big family, due to a series of tragic events this didn’t happened and the couple was devastated. The anticipated arrival of the new great-grand baby brings back all the distressing memories for Millicent, she has a secret, she’s always wanted to tell Jane, the time never seemed right, will her daughter forgive her and grant her last wish?
Millicent Glenn’s Last Wish is a story about marriage, love, friendship, relationships, pregnancy, loss, grief and tragedy. While reading the book you will feel a mixture of emotions, exactly what a great story should do, you care about the characters, what happens to them, and become engrossed in the plot and five stars from me.
September 30, 2020
Really 3.5 and close to 4 but I had some issues with the overall storyline.
The story revolves around three generations of women: mother, daughter, granddaughter. The mother, Millicent, has been estranged from her daughter for years. Suddenly she shows up and is back in Millicent's life due to multiple reasons but primarily because the granddaughter is pregnant. There are MANY emotions running throughout this book from love and loss to anger and resentment and, ultimately joy. What boggled my mind, however, was the "secret" that Millicent never told and the problems it created with her daughter. I understand and empathize with mothers/daughters who are estranged but, good god, there are far too many domestic dramas whirling around "secrets" that allegedly changed lives forever when they never should have been secrets in the first place. While I really liked Millicent and, trust me, I can empathize with what she went through, to keep it a secret from your child, to allow the wound to fester like this, was beyond my comprehension.
The story revolves around three generations of women: mother, daughter, granddaughter. The mother, Millicent, has been estranged from her daughter for years. Suddenly she shows up and is back in Millicent's life due to multiple reasons but primarily because the granddaughter is pregnant. There are MANY emotions running throughout this book from love and loss to anger and resentment and, ultimately joy. What boggled my mind, however, was the "secret" that Millicent never told and the problems it created with her daughter. I understand and empathize with mothers/daughters who are estranged but, good god, there are far too many domestic dramas whirling around "secrets" that allegedly changed lives forever when they never should have been secrets in the first place. While I really liked Millicent and, trust me, I can empathize with what she went through, to keep it a secret from your child, to allow the wound to fester like this, was beyond my comprehension.
February 14, 2021
SPOILER WARNING
Seriously? The big secret was that she lost a baby? As big secrets go, that was a HUGE letdown! And the daughter's reaction to hearing about it was laughable. If my mother had told me she'd had another child before I was born and it died, I would have been interested in knowing more but I certainly wouldn't have stomped out of the house and not spoken to her for a length of time. It should have only been an "aha" moment for the daughter as it answered why her mother was so overprotective. And, the fact that she'd never told her about it ... Why would she choose to dig up all those terrible feelings? That's completely understandable. I have things I never told my mother about; things that are too painful to share with anyone. Good grief, people!
I also found the writing overly descriptive with way too many dated references that supposedly lent an air of authenticity to the place in time. More than half of those could have been deleted as they did absolutely nothing to move the story forward.
I'm really sorry I chose this book as my free Amazon Prime read for the month - it was a big waste as far as I was concerned ... sorry!
Seriously? The big secret was that she lost a baby? As big secrets go, that was a HUGE letdown! And the daughter's reaction to hearing about it was laughable. If my mother had told me she'd had another child before I was born and it died, I would have been interested in knowing more but I certainly wouldn't have stomped out of the house and not spoken to her for a length of time. It should have only been an "aha" moment for the daughter as it answered why her mother was so overprotective. And, the fact that she'd never told her about it ... Why would she choose to dig up all those terrible feelings? That's completely understandable. I have things I never told my mother about; things that are too painful to share with anyone. Good grief, people!
I also found the writing overly descriptive with way too many dated references that supposedly lent an air of authenticity to the place in time. More than half of those could have been deleted as they did absolutely nothing to move the story forward.
I'm really sorry I chose this book as my free Amazon Prime read for the month - it was a big waste as far as I was concerned ... sorry!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 9, 2020
For me, this book was tedious and boring, with too many secrets and too much angst around them. I could not finish it as I was completely disengaged.
October 4, 2020
Millicent Glenn’s Last Wish is a strong debut novel about three generations of women - Millie who lives alone in the suburbs of Cincinnati, her daughter Jane who suddenly is moving back home and grand-daughter Kelsey who just announced her thrilling news about her pregnancy! All these changes and news along with an upcoming 91st birthday, Millie feels that this is her chance to come clean about some secrets from her past.
Whitaker’s brilliance is the weaving of two stories from different time periods into one amazing poignant and heartfelt story. The characters are imperfect and complex, while also relatable and endearing. Whitaker brings us back to the not so distant past, during the 1940-50’s through a well researched time line and the role of women and those that defied gender norms. Millie is a heroine whose story as a working wife and mother along with the secrets she kept, and what she suffered through loss and pain, is a character to be remembered.
Whitaker delivered a strong and deftly written debut that I loved, and one I highly recommend!
Whitaker’s brilliance is the weaving of two stories from different time periods into one amazing poignant and heartfelt story. The characters are imperfect and complex, while also relatable and endearing. Whitaker brings us back to the not so distant past, during the 1940-50’s through a well researched time line and the role of women and those that defied gender norms. Millie is a heroine whose story as a working wife and mother along with the secrets she kept, and what she suffered through loss and pain, is a character to be remembered.
Whitaker delivered a strong and deftly written debut that I loved, and one I highly recommend!
October 20, 2020
This book has several elements that I love: a historical view into a time period of which I know little, and a completely unique story for which I can't come up with a comparison. A tale of forgiveness and family and misunderstandings and secrets, it is woven together in a way that encompasses the reader in a 1950s time capsule and reenforces the need to appreciate how far we've come.
August 6, 2020
Tori Whitaker’s stunning debut novel takes us through five generations of women (great-grandmothers, grandmothers, mothers, daughters and grandchildren) weaving their stories and legacies around the central themes: the consequences of keeping family secrets; the yearning to find one’s purpose both aligned with and apart from the social norms of the times; and the need for approval.
When we first get to meet the protagonist–Millie–she is in the final moments before she will marry Dennis Glenn, vowing “to love, to cherish, and obey, until death do us part.” Whitaker artfully portrays the beauty of the wedding moments, contrasted with tensions already ensuing between her and her soon-to-be sister in law, Abbie. Whitkaker’s portrayal of Millie’s mother and mother-in-law are pitch perfect. Dennis’ Mother Glenn is the consummate mid-Western farmer’s wife: hard-working, kind, resilient mother, and wife. Millie’s mother, whose family heralded from German immigrants, lost their brewery fortunes during Prohibition, leaving Millie a resident of Cincinnati’s immigrant slums. Her wedding advice to her daughter is “you have to have a means of earning . . . lest you find yourself without a bed or soup bone.” Millie registers her mother’s admonition, remembering at places throughout the novel her poverty against the backdrop of her family’s pride, a family unwilling to accept the simplest of charitable gifts at Christmas, a pride which seems to influence Millie’s decisions, especially one with devastating outcomes. Nonetheless, Millie’s greatest desire on her wedding day, is to bear Dennis a passel of children, enough to fill a birthday party, a desire which reflects the social norms of having large family’s in the late 40’s and 50’s, and the hope to counter her experiences as an only child.
The novel then navigates time in a past/present format where we learn about Millie as a ninety-year old mother, who’s tortured by past regrets about a decision she made early in her marriage that changed the trajectory of her life experiences as well as her relationship with her only daughter, Jane, the daughter she so desperately wanted to have siblings. Shrouding her regret is her belief that she is fully responsible for the consequences of the decision that costed her, her daughter and her marriage so dearly. She bears the secret surrounding this decision for her lifetime, holding to the belief that some secrets shield us as well as those we love.
When her daughter returns to Cincinnati after an adulthood of virtual estrangement from her mother, Millie feels at once thrilled, confused and threatened in that she, Millie, has forged a close bond with Jane’s daughter, Kelsey, who now works in Cincinnati. Ultimately, the test of forgiveness of oneself and others is the gift necessary to reconcile with oneself and others. For the family to be whole again, the secret must be acknowledged and forgiven.
Whitaker did extensive research to transport her readers to the forties and fifties: her attention to details of time, place, music, home décor, T.V. shows and events like Tupperware parties where treats of the times were celery sticks stuffed with Cheez Whiz, is flawless. She captures the moments in time where a marriage is adrift, where husband and wife are struggling to communicate when the tension between them is so thick you could cut it with a knife. Similarly, the novel seamlessly travels from the present to past times both between and within chapters through flashbacks. Her deft word-craft is no surprise since Whitaker has spent the last 20 years soaking up historical fiction that moves between past and present times. She has published an article, ”Multi-Period Novels: The Keys to Weaving Together Two Stories from Different Time Periods,” appeared in the Historical Fiction Review
The novel gives an accurate portrayal of how doctors and men of the 50’s acted like gods before the publication of Betty’s Friedan’s game-changing book, The Feminine Mystique. It was a time when women were more often than not forced to choose between motherhood and their professional aspirations. It presents the all too familiar choices women face again today in this unchartered era of COVID.
I’d strongly recommend this book to book clubs for its robust themes worthy of understanding and deep discussions. And I’d recommend you keep an eye on Tori Whitaker. I can’t wait to read her next novel! Sign up for her newsletter by going to her website at www.ToriWhitaker.com .
When we first get to meet the protagonist–Millie–she is in the final moments before she will marry Dennis Glenn, vowing “to love, to cherish, and obey, until death do us part.” Whitaker artfully portrays the beauty of the wedding moments, contrasted with tensions already ensuing between her and her soon-to-be sister in law, Abbie. Whitkaker’s portrayal of Millie’s mother and mother-in-law are pitch perfect. Dennis’ Mother Glenn is the consummate mid-Western farmer’s wife: hard-working, kind, resilient mother, and wife. Millie’s mother, whose family heralded from German immigrants, lost their brewery fortunes during Prohibition, leaving Millie a resident of Cincinnati’s immigrant slums. Her wedding advice to her daughter is “you have to have a means of earning . . . lest you find yourself without a bed or soup bone.” Millie registers her mother’s admonition, remembering at places throughout the novel her poverty against the backdrop of her family’s pride, a family unwilling to accept the simplest of charitable gifts at Christmas, a pride which seems to influence Millie’s decisions, especially one with devastating outcomes. Nonetheless, Millie’s greatest desire on her wedding day, is to bear Dennis a passel of children, enough to fill a birthday party, a desire which reflects the social norms of having large family’s in the late 40’s and 50’s, and the hope to counter her experiences as an only child.
The novel then navigates time in a past/present format where we learn about Millie as a ninety-year old mother, who’s tortured by past regrets about a decision she made early in her marriage that changed the trajectory of her life experiences as well as her relationship with her only daughter, Jane, the daughter she so desperately wanted to have siblings. Shrouding her regret is her belief that she is fully responsible for the consequences of the decision that costed her, her daughter and her marriage so dearly. She bears the secret surrounding this decision for her lifetime, holding to the belief that some secrets shield us as well as those we love.
When her daughter returns to Cincinnati after an adulthood of virtual estrangement from her mother, Millie feels at once thrilled, confused and threatened in that she, Millie, has forged a close bond with Jane’s daughter, Kelsey, who now works in Cincinnati. Ultimately, the test of forgiveness of oneself and others is the gift necessary to reconcile with oneself and others. For the family to be whole again, the secret must be acknowledged and forgiven.
Whitaker did extensive research to transport her readers to the forties and fifties: her attention to details of time, place, music, home décor, T.V. shows and events like Tupperware parties where treats of the times were celery sticks stuffed with Cheez Whiz, is flawless. She captures the moments in time where a marriage is adrift, where husband and wife are struggling to communicate when the tension between them is so thick you could cut it with a knife. Similarly, the novel seamlessly travels from the present to past times both between and within chapters through flashbacks. Her deft word-craft is no surprise since Whitaker has spent the last 20 years soaking up historical fiction that moves between past and present times. She has published an article, ”Multi-Period Novels: The Keys to Weaving Together Two Stories from Different Time Periods,” appeared in the Historical Fiction Review
The novel gives an accurate portrayal of how doctors and men of the 50’s acted like gods before the publication of Betty’s Friedan’s game-changing book, The Feminine Mystique. It was a time when women were more often than not forced to choose between motherhood and their professional aspirations. It presents the all too familiar choices women face again today in this unchartered era of COVID.
I’d strongly recommend this book to book clubs for its robust themes worthy of understanding and deep discussions. And I’d recommend you keep an eye on Tori Whitaker. I can’t wait to read her next novel! Sign up for her newsletter by going to her website at www.ToriWhitaker.com .
September 7, 2020
You don't have to read this. My reviews are pretty much for myself to remember the book.
The first 100 pages was ok. It didn't feel smooth to read and I felt like the storyline pushed more towards how crappy women were treated back then which took away from the story itself. It didn't feel subtle. It felt like a forced pushing.
Anyway, at this point I struggled but I'm not one to give up on books and every Lake Union book I've ever read I've loved so I kept reading. The rest of the book felt like someone else wrote it. It flowed very well. The story took on a new depth and I became engaged. I don't know that I'd recommend the book to friends but it did end up being better than just ok. I feel like I could have loved it so much more if the beginning didn't turn me off the way it did. I also struggled with the way the daughter treated her elderly mother.
The first 100 pages was ok. It didn't feel smooth to read and I felt like the storyline pushed more towards how crappy women were treated back then which took away from the story itself. It didn't feel subtle. It felt like a forced pushing.
Anyway, at this point I struggled but I'm not one to give up on books and every Lake Union book I've ever read I've loved so I kept reading. The rest of the book felt like someone else wrote it. It flowed very well. The story took on a new depth and I became engaged. I don't know that I'd recommend the book to friends but it did end up being better than just ok. I feel like I could have loved it so much more if the beginning didn't turn me off the way it did. I also struggled with the way the daughter treated her elderly mother.
September 24, 2020
09/20/2020 September First Read from Amazon. I haven't had much luck with First Reads, but I selected this because it's set in my town of Cincinnati.
09/24/2020
Well, my streak of disappointments with Amazon First Reads continues. I'm always reluctant to give an unfavorable or lukewarm review to a debut novel because I very much respect the discipline required by authors to write and then plunge into the difficult process of getting edited and published.
The bones of a good story are present, and I generally enjoy the storytelling structural technique of dual or multiple timelines. I liked the examination of feminism and gender/parental roles and how their meaning and societal perception develops and changes through several generations. However, the final product here was unsatisfying for me. The book seems overwritten, too long, repetitive, and begging for rigorous editing. Many of the characters are flat and predictable; The only ones I really liked were the Millicent, a smart, determined fighter; her mother-in-law, Mama Glenn, a tough, realistic farmer's wife; and her best friend, Pauline, who was fiercely and unsentimentally loving and loyal.
Lastly, the portrayal of Cincinnati, which I know so intimately, lacks both knowledge and authenticity. It could be any Midwestern city. I only learned after I had finished that, although the author was born here, she grew up in Indiana and elsewhere. She clearly had little, if any, experiential familiarity with the city's distinctive and diverse neighborhoods and suburbs other than some place names or names of businesses and a nod toward its German heritage.
09/24/2020
Well, my streak of disappointments with Amazon First Reads continues. I'm always reluctant to give an unfavorable or lukewarm review to a debut novel because I very much respect the discipline required by authors to write and then plunge into the difficult process of getting edited and published.
The bones of a good story are present, and I generally enjoy the storytelling structural technique of dual or multiple timelines. I liked the examination of feminism and gender/parental roles and how their meaning and societal perception develops and changes through several generations. However, the final product here was unsatisfying for me. The book seems overwritten, too long, repetitive, and begging for rigorous editing. Many of the characters are flat and predictable; The only ones I really liked were the Millicent, a smart, determined fighter; her mother-in-law, Mama Glenn, a tough, realistic farmer's wife; and her best friend, Pauline, who was fiercely and unsentimentally loving and loyal.
Lastly, the portrayal of Cincinnati, which I know so intimately, lacks both knowledge and authenticity. It could be any Midwestern city. I only learned after I had finished that, although the author was born here, she grew up in Indiana and elsewhere. She clearly had little, if any, experiential familiarity with the city's distinctive and diverse neighborhoods and suburbs other than some place names or names of businesses and a nod toward its German heritage.
August 27, 2020
I love historical fiction, especially dual timeline books, and this book delivered. I enjoyed how Millicent Glenn’s Last Wish deftly navigated between today and the mid century, tying together generations of women. My favorite aspect of the novel was one of the “background” characters: Cincinnati. The sense of place was so well crafted that I could clearly see the former brewery-filled streets of German Town and hear the chatter of people waiting at the old Union Station. It made me want to make a travel itinerary for the Ohio River valley, just tracing Millie’s life there.
September 1, 2020
Stunning Debut Novel
I read a lot of books, fiction and nonfiction, and I've rarely read such a well-done debut novel. Clearly, this author is a reader—I would imagine of both women's literature and dual-timeline stories. This book focuses on three generations of women alive in 2015 as well as those further up the family tree, and there are two timelines followed: the three women in 2015 and the 1940s and 1950s when Millie, the protagonist, was a young wife and mother. The author has given Millie such heart-breaking and heart-warming complexity. This befits a nonagenarian but is not seen often enough in elderly characters in contemporary literature. I particularly liked that in the past timeline, the author didn't make her a stereotype. Rather, in her past, she was conflicted with dual desires that were at cross-purposes because of when she lived. The author did an excellent job showing us the 1940s and 1950s world that Millie lived in. She must have done a lot of research to get the details right. I loved that she had them but kept them in balance. They didn't overwhelm the story, as has happened with a few novels I’ve read lately. Rather, they added authenticity that put you there. This book explores the intricacies of the lifelong relationships between mothers and daughters. If we are lucky enough that such a relationship is long, it isn't always easy, but it is often the foundational relationship that impacts our lives in so many ways—well, poorly, and oftentimes both at turns. This book touches on so many themes that resonate on a universally understandable level: loss, love, betrayal, hard choices, finding our own way in a world that doesn't support us, and, of course, forgiveness and ultimately healing. I find it difficult to believe that this is the author's debut novel. It is that well written with nuanced, believable characters and a poignant, very real storyline.
My book blog: https://www.readingfanaticreviews.com
I read a lot of books, fiction and nonfiction, and I've rarely read such a well-done debut novel. Clearly, this author is a reader—I would imagine of both women's literature and dual-timeline stories. This book focuses on three generations of women alive in 2015 as well as those further up the family tree, and there are two timelines followed: the three women in 2015 and the 1940s and 1950s when Millie, the protagonist, was a young wife and mother. The author has given Millie such heart-breaking and heart-warming complexity. This befits a nonagenarian but is not seen often enough in elderly characters in contemporary literature. I particularly liked that in the past timeline, the author didn't make her a stereotype. Rather, in her past, she was conflicted with dual desires that were at cross-purposes because of when she lived. The author did an excellent job showing us the 1940s and 1950s world that Millie lived in. She must have done a lot of research to get the details right. I loved that she had them but kept them in balance. They didn't overwhelm the story, as has happened with a few novels I’ve read lately. Rather, they added authenticity that put you there. This book explores the intricacies of the lifelong relationships between mothers and daughters. If we are lucky enough that such a relationship is long, it isn't always easy, but it is often the foundational relationship that impacts our lives in so many ways—well, poorly, and oftentimes both at turns. This book touches on so many themes that resonate on a universally understandable level: loss, love, betrayal, hard choices, finding our own way in a world that doesn't support us, and, of course, forgiveness and ultimately healing. I find it difficult to believe that this is the author's debut novel. It is that well written with nuanced, believable characters and a poignant, very real storyline.
My book blog: https://www.readingfanaticreviews.com
August 2, 2020
Millicent Glenn’s Last Wish
By: Tori Whitaker
5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This debut novel by Whitaker is about three generations of strong women. Grandmother Millicent or Millie, daughter Jane and granddaughter Kelsey. Millie and her granddaughter have always been close, but Millie’s relationship with her daughter Jane has been estranged for many years.
👧 👧 👧
Jane grew up with a bohemian past and was very strong-willed. She had two parents that loved her dearly, but as sometimes with mothers and daughters life can be complicated.
👧👧👧
Millie and her husband came from different backgrounds but loved each other fiercely and her husband always supported her. Millie was not your typical 1950’s housewife and wanted to work outside the home. She helped her husband grow his business and it thrived. They were a team!
👧👧👧
Decades later Jane is reunited with her mom and old wounds surface. Can they repair their relationship? As the title of this book suggest Millie has one last wish. This novel is heartwarming and deals with real-life situations that are not always easy.
👧👧👧
This book comes out In October and I highly recommend it. Thank you Tori for the ARC. Your debut book is phenomenal and I cannot wait to read your next novel.#millicentglennslastwish, #toriwhitaker, #lakeunion, #stamperlady50, #booksconnectus
By: Tori Whitaker
5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This debut novel by Whitaker is about three generations of strong women. Grandmother Millicent or Millie, daughter Jane and granddaughter Kelsey. Millie and her granddaughter have always been close, but Millie’s relationship with her daughter Jane has been estranged for many years.
👧 👧 👧
Jane grew up with a bohemian past and was very strong-willed. She had two parents that loved her dearly, but as sometimes with mothers and daughters life can be complicated.
👧👧👧
Millie and her husband came from different backgrounds but loved each other fiercely and her husband always supported her. Millie was not your typical 1950’s housewife and wanted to work outside the home. She helped her husband grow his business and it thrived. They were a team!
👧👧👧
Decades later Jane is reunited with her mom and old wounds surface. Can they repair their relationship? As the title of this book suggest Millie has one last wish. This novel is heartwarming and deals with real-life situations that are not always easy.
👧👧👧
This book comes out In October and I highly recommend it. Thank you Tori for the ARC. Your debut book is phenomenal and I cannot wait to read your next novel.#millicentglennslastwish, #toriwhitaker, #lakeunion, #stamperlady50, #booksconnectus
August 15, 2020
A tender story of motherhood, love and forgiveness that spans multiple generations. Told through dual timelines, one is present day where Millicent in her nineties navigating her relationship with her daughter and granddaughter. The second timeline starts with Millicent's meeting of her husband and early years of her marriage. Whitaker examines the frustrating historical notion that "good mothers" were expected to be home. And also looks at an era where medical standards led to a tragic event that shaped much of Millicent's life. Powerful and well told.
September 7, 2020
I loved everything about this book! Excellent read!
December 14, 2020
A good reminder of how far women’s rights have come in less than a century and how easily they can slip away. “[T]he whole of one’s life need not be defined on the grounds of one decision. While good may come when other support you and affirm you and even forgive you, you will never be complete unless these things you provide for yourself.” The author did a good job of unspooling the narrative. I just felt like she was a bit repetitive and threw out too many red herrings. I received this book as a free giveaway in exchange for my honest review. Worth reading! 4 stars
October 1, 2020
3.5
Great story and characters. Definitely keeps you reading with the family secrets. I thought the end was a bit drawn out. I loved Millicent Glenn!
Great story and characters. Definitely keeps you reading with the family secrets. I thought the end was a bit drawn out. I loved Millicent Glenn!
October 21, 2020
A deeply moving and heartwarming story about 3 generations of women in one family. And a beautiful tribute to mother, daughter relationship.
Millie's 91st birthday is approaching, her daughter Jamie and her granddaughter Kelsey are back home. Millie thinks it's about time to come clean about some of her past secrets. Secrets that are keeping them apart and her last wish is, to be forgiven.
The story shifts between past and future( 1950_2015 ) When Millie tells her story in flashbacks. Its characters are very well defined, the secondary characters enhance the story.
The novel portrays life challenges for women in 1950s. It made me emotional, and heartbroken wondering if my mother had to choose between her motherhood and career aspirations.
I enjoyed the storyline, the plot is perfectly written and the details are vividly described. Tori Whitaker mastered describing motherly love, loss, relationship, and family.
Many Thanks to the Author and Suzanne Leopold for the gifted copy.
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Amazon
Millie's 91st birthday is approaching, her daughter Jamie and her granddaughter Kelsey are back home. Millie thinks it's about time to come clean about some of her past secrets. Secrets that are keeping them apart and her last wish is, to be forgiven.
The story shifts between past and future( 1950_2015 ) When Millie tells her story in flashbacks. Its characters are very well defined, the secondary characters enhance the story.
The novel portrays life challenges for women in 1950s. It made me emotional, and heartbroken wondering if my mother had to choose between her motherhood and career aspirations.
I enjoyed the storyline, the plot is perfectly written and the details are vividly described. Tori Whitaker mastered describing motherly love, loss, relationship, and family.
Many Thanks to the Author and Suzanne Leopold for the gifted copy.
Amazon
September 3, 2020
Millicent Glenn is about to turn 91. She is delighted that her daughter is moving to her town and her granddaughter is expecting. However, she knows it’s time to come clean with the truth of her past.
I’m not too much into multiple time lines, but this one worked well. The back and forth was perfectly done, with a reveal occurring during both time lines. Many times it would end with a cliff hanger, which left excitement and anticipation for the next chapter. This book showed how family dynamics are constantly evolving and how misconceptions and secrets affect how we see our loved ones. Overall, a wonderful debut, difficult to read at times but very important topics to address. TW: infant death, birth trauma.
Millicent Glenn’s Last Wish comes out 10/1.
I’m not too much into multiple time lines, but this one worked well. The back and forth was perfectly done, with a reveal occurring during both time lines. Many times it would end with a cliff hanger, which left excitement and anticipation for the next chapter. This book showed how family dynamics are constantly evolving and how misconceptions and secrets affect how we see our loved ones. Overall, a wonderful debut, difficult to read at times but very important topics to address. TW: infant death, birth trauma.
Millicent Glenn’s Last Wish comes out 10/1.
October 30, 2020
Thanks to Kristy Barrett/A Novel Bee and author Tori Whitaker for a gifted copy of this book. All comments and opinions are my own.
Three generations of women: mothers and daughters, love and legacies. And of course there are issues and relationships and hurts and misunderstandings. Secrets and forgiveness. These all play out against the story of Millicent's life as a young wife and mother in the 1940s and 50s. The novel does an excellent job of portraying the expectations and limitations of women just after WWII (Tupperware parties, women's roles, fashions, pregnancies, and child-rearing), and then juxtaposing that with the corresponding freedom women have today demonstrated by Millicent's granddaughter. The well-researched novel uses a dual timeline to tell the story, always from Millicent's point of view as she tries to reconcile with her now-adult daughter and share the tragic experiences of her past.
This debut novel is skillfully written, taking the reader up to a specific plot point of Millicent's past and then switching to the present. Repeating this format made the book engrossing. It gave me just enough clues to tantalize me and keep me guessing. The memories Millicent wants to share with her daughter and granddaughter were revealed layer by layer, with the author providing vivid and moving descriptions.
I was impressed by this poignant and memorable story of motherhood, love, loss, and forgiveness.
Three generations of women: mothers and daughters, love and legacies. And of course there are issues and relationships and hurts and misunderstandings. Secrets and forgiveness. These all play out against the story of Millicent's life as a young wife and mother in the 1940s and 50s. The novel does an excellent job of portraying the expectations and limitations of women just after WWII (Tupperware parties, women's roles, fashions, pregnancies, and child-rearing), and then juxtaposing that with the corresponding freedom women have today demonstrated by Millicent's granddaughter. The well-researched novel uses a dual timeline to tell the story, always from Millicent's point of view as she tries to reconcile with her now-adult daughter and share the tragic experiences of her past.
This debut novel is skillfully written, taking the reader up to a specific plot point of Millicent's past and then switching to the present. Repeating this format made the book engrossing. It gave me just enough clues to tantalize me and keep me guessing. The memories Millicent wants to share with her daughter and granddaughter were revealed layer by layer, with the author providing vivid and moving descriptions.
I was impressed by this poignant and memorable story of motherhood, love, loss, and forgiveness.
October 25, 2020
One generous star...
I’m finding it hard to articulate just what I hated about this book. The narrator was self indulgent, Jane overdramatic, and Kelsey sort of stupid. The dialogue is sub-After School Special: pedantic, unrealistic, and stilted.
Interesting that half of the book takes place in the 50s- the whole endeavor is like a bad 50s melodrama. Or maybe that’s the point. I guess it’s possible that the novel is satire, but it doesn’t really work that way, either. And it’s too self-important.
TL/DR: no
I’m finding it hard to articulate just what I hated about this book. The narrator was self indulgent, Jane overdramatic, and Kelsey sort of stupid. The dialogue is sub-After School Special: pedantic, unrealistic, and stilted.
Interesting that half of the book takes place in the 50s- the whole endeavor is like a bad 50s melodrama. Or maybe that’s the point. I guess it’s possible that the novel is satire, but it doesn’t really work that way, either. And it’s too self-important.
TL/DR: no
wishlist
July 22, 2020Not a review, however a plea, which may or may not be appropriate. For the love of a mother who hasn’t seen her daughters in 4 years, for the love of those daughters who are with our abuser and the mother who has zero idea where they are or if they’re safe and happy or not and for the women who stopped reading the day her heart (a.k.a. Her daughters) were taken from her by the sociopath, whose most devastating form of abuse was “taking my house and my girls” after a threat I could not thwart. I’m broken, wrecked, devastated, alone, living out of a storage unit, my car and a garage with nowhere else to turn.....I entered for this book in the giveaways, however if I don’t win it, I’m hoping anyone who sees this may have an ARC (print) I could please have the gift of receiving.
I stoped reading and stopped smiling the day I last saw my girls. Over four years I’ve trained myself how to numb the pain so deeply that I often can’t feel a damn thing. To have to numb a loss like this means having to forgo even feeling joy. It’s a battle. It’s a horrible, cruel, rotten, heart wrenching, unbearable and indescribable battle, but I have turned my pain and lack of joy for myself into doing for others. My new ways are “if I cannot have joy in my own life, I’m going to do everything I can to make sure I put joy into the lives of everyone I can”. It’s amazing to be able to give my heart for others. At the end of every day I am still alone, disabled, broke, homeless and broken, but to empathize so immensely with others, I feel, is a gift in my heart to share the best way I can. During a pandemic, all this is far far worse and far more frightening without a permanent place to live.
I’m returning to books because I’ve had to stop working (was an essential worker, but health issues made me have to stop), so now I find I just go out and drive all day or go aimlessly to my storage unit every day because I cannot sit home and still missing my girls having zero idea where they are and when I lose my only place to stay and living in my car, will they know where to find me? Will they ever try to find me. A sociopath/abuser/parental alienator is a very powerful person and that’s not a compliment. I cannot continue to drive around every day because my arrhythmia is becoming very frequent every day so I need to turn to books again and reading the synopsis to this story prompted me to spill my life and my losses out here to the public.
Please, if anyone has an ARC, I’d would love to read this asap. It may crush me in ways, but it may help me in others. This synopsis screams that it’s a must read for me. I’ve nearly perfected my ability to numb myself, however as I type this I’m pouring tears. Family, love, loss, brokenness, poor health, homeless, mothers and daughters and abuse........this book is one I’m asking for. Thank you and please don’t judge that I just shared all that. Sometimes a miracle comes out of sharing your truths and devastations. Although, any god who can put two beautiful and precious girls into the hands of their abuser completely brainwashed, for me.......there is no god. Not anymore. I don’t want pity......’ever’, but a book, the miracle of a place to call home and reunited with my daughters would be all I would ever ever want and need. I probably won’t ever have a home (being realistic) or my daughters (being too broken to hope anymore), but a (this) book maybe.......an ARC would be doable
Please be safe and be well everyone
I stoped reading and stopped smiling the day I last saw my girls. Over four years I’ve trained myself how to numb the pain so deeply that I often can’t feel a damn thing. To have to numb a loss like this means having to forgo even feeling joy. It’s a battle. It’s a horrible, cruel, rotten, heart wrenching, unbearable and indescribable battle, but I have turned my pain and lack of joy for myself into doing for others. My new ways are “if I cannot have joy in my own life, I’m going to do everything I can to make sure I put joy into the lives of everyone I can”. It’s amazing to be able to give my heart for others. At the end of every day I am still alone, disabled, broke, homeless and broken, but to empathize so immensely with others, I feel, is a gift in my heart to share the best way I can. During a pandemic, all this is far far worse and far more frightening without a permanent place to live.
I’m returning to books because I’ve had to stop working (was an essential worker, but health issues made me have to stop), so now I find I just go out and drive all day or go aimlessly to my storage unit every day because I cannot sit home and still missing my girls having zero idea where they are and when I lose my only place to stay and living in my car, will they know where to find me? Will they ever try to find me. A sociopath/abuser/parental alienator is a very powerful person and that’s not a compliment. I cannot continue to drive around every day because my arrhythmia is becoming very frequent every day so I need to turn to books again and reading the synopsis to this story prompted me to spill my life and my losses out here to the public.
Please, if anyone has an ARC, I’d would love to read this asap. It may crush me in ways, but it may help me in others. This synopsis screams that it’s a must read for me. I’ve nearly perfected my ability to numb myself, however as I type this I’m pouring tears. Family, love, loss, brokenness, poor health, homeless, mothers and daughters and abuse........this book is one I’m asking for. Thank you and please don’t judge that I just shared all that. Sometimes a miracle comes out of sharing your truths and devastations. Although, any god who can put two beautiful and precious girls into the hands of their abuser completely brainwashed, for me.......there is no god. Not anymore. I don’t want pity......’ever’, but a book, the miracle of a place to call home and reunited with my daughters would be all I would ever ever want and need. I probably won’t ever have a home (being realistic) or my daughters (being too broken to hope anymore), but a (this) book maybe.......an ARC would be doable
Please be safe and be well everyone
September 6, 2020
A good story for any woman, or anyone who has ever loved a woman
First, I want to say that during the first quarter of this book I had thoughts of not finishing because of its slow start. However, something kept telling me not to give up. . . I think there's more here. . . give it a chance. So I did some skimming here and there through the first half and found there really was a lot, making this a very worthwhile read. This was a story that had to develop in its own time, with all the secrets, loss, forgiveness, and love, as well as the complexity of the characters and their relationships. Once I really got into it, though, I didn't want to put it down. I had to find out the secrets and the surrounding circumstances. While this isn't one of those sweet, fuzzy, feel-good novels, it is a heart-felt story about being a woman. . . a good story for any woman or anyone who has ever loved a woman.
It's a story of three generations of women in the Glenn Family and deals with their secrets and resulting fallout that could test even the most solid relationship, whether it be between spouses or mothers and daughters. It's about being a woman during the 1950's, 60's, 70's and right up to the present, and touches on the roadblocks independent women face in a man's world. But don't worry, there isn't any men-bashing here.
The author did a great job with her research. Having grown up in the 1950's myself, I can say she was spot on with her descriptions of what it was like then. In her story she included real products, songs, movies, and events, some of which are long gone or long forgotten now. One thing is for sure: this story is
real.
Sometimes one life-changing experience can affect generations, but "the whole of one’s life need not be defined on the grounds of one decision."
I recommend giving this a try.
First, I want to say that during the first quarter of this book I had thoughts of not finishing because of its slow start. However, something kept telling me not to give up. . . I think there's more here. . . give it a chance. So I did some skimming here and there through the first half and found there really was a lot, making this a very worthwhile read. This was a story that had to develop in its own time, with all the secrets, loss, forgiveness, and love, as well as the complexity of the characters and their relationships. Once I really got into it, though, I didn't want to put it down. I had to find out the secrets and the surrounding circumstances. While this isn't one of those sweet, fuzzy, feel-good novels, it is a heart-felt story about being a woman. . . a good story for any woman or anyone who has ever loved a woman.
It's a story of three generations of women in the Glenn Family and deals with their secrets and resulting fallout that could test even the most solid relationship, whether it be between spouses or mothers and daughters. It's about being a woman during the 1950's, 60's, 70's and right up to the present, and touches on the roadblocks independent women face in a man's world. But don't worry, there isn't any men-bashing here.
The author did a great job with her research. Having grown up in the 1950's myself, I can say she was spot on with her descriptions of what it was like then. In her story she included real products, songs, movies, and events, some of which are long gone or long forgotten now. One thing is for sure: this story is
real.
Sometimes one life-changing experience can affect generations, but "the whole of one’s life need not be defined on the grounds of one decision."
I recommend giving this a try.
September 25, 2020
Thank you, Lake Union Publishing for gifting me a copy of MILLICENT GLENN’S LAST WISH by Tori Whitaker.
What a heartfelt story this was! It was a beautiful tribute to the relationships between mothers and daughters and the secrets that we often keep hidden from others. From the first page, I knew that I would feel a connection to the storyline and the characters - it was just the book that I needed to read.
Because the storyline was set in Cincinnati, I felt a stronger connection to the book - I grew up visiting family in that area, as well as running around with friends in Over-the-Rhine and tagging along to Red’s games with my husband. I could feel the pull of the city while reading Millicent Glenn’s story.
Just like with any story focusing on someone’s past, there are always difficult memories to remember. Some pages were hard for me to read as I know that there are likely people in my family who had those same experiences. It's hard for me to believe that just sixty years ago some medical practices were allowed and that women’s voices were often silenced by society.
MILLICENT GLENN’S LAST WISH was a beautiful read, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a book about family.
This book will be published on October 1, 2020, and is available for pre-order now.
What a heartfelt story this was! It was a beautiful tribute to the relationships between mothers and daughters and the secrets that we often keep hidden from others. From the first page, I knew that I would feel a connection to the storyline and the characters - it was just the book that I needed to read.
Because the storyline was set in Cincinnati, I felt a stronger connection to the book - I grew up visiting family in that area, as well as running around with friends in Over-the-Rhine and tagging along to Red’s games with my husband. I could feel the pull of the city while reading Millicent Glenn’s story.
Just like with any story focusing on someone’s past, there are always difficult memories to remember. Some pages were hard for me to read as I know that there are likely people in my family who had those same experiences. It's hard for me to believe that just sixty years ago some medical practices were allowed and that women’s voices were often silenced by society.
MILLICENT GLENN’S LAST WISH was a beautiful read, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a book about family.
This book will be published on October 1, 2020, and is available for pre-order now.
October 20, 2020
Millicent Glenn came of age at the end of WW2. She was a woman who was way ahead of her time. Her mother had instilled in her, as a young girl, that a woman should never be completely dependent on a man. That a woman must take care of her own destiny. Millie took that advice to heart.
Millie married a young enterprising man and because of her strong beliefs wanted to take part in the business he started. She wanted her say in major decisions. Some devastating events occurred, Millie blamed her strong will, causing her much guilt for the rest of her life. It also caused tense feelings between herself and her daughter.
This book swings between the post war years and 2015. In 2015,
Millie's “last wish” (she is in her 90s) is to purge her long standing grief and guilt with her daughter and grand daughter. I believe Millie wanted to unburden herself so she could die in peace. She had carried her guilt for much too long.
I love reading books from 20th century, especially the 1950s. I find it fascinating to read about the male and female rolls in the household and other outdated mores. Even the home decorating and fashions are interesting. Kudos to the author on her research.
This is a book about many things. Women, mothers, daughters and grand daughters. The strong female bond and the wish for this bond. Also husbands and wives and their roles in a marriage. And the difficulties in relationships.
It is a book that is well put together. A pleasure to read.
Millie married a young enterprising man and because of her strong beliefs wanted to take part in the business he started. She wanted her say in major decisions. Some devastating events occurred, Millie blamed her strong will, causing her much guilt for the rest of her life. It also caused tense feelings between herself and her daughter.
This book swings between the post war years and 2015. In 2015,
Millie's “last wish” (she is in her 90s) is to purge her long standing grief and guilt with her daughter and grand daughter. I believe Millie wanted to unburden herself so she could die in peace. She had carried her guilt for much too long.
I love reading books from 20th century, especially the 1950s. I find it fascinating to read about the male and female rolls in the household and other outdated mores. Even the home decorating and fashions are interesting. Kudos to the author on her research.
This is a book about many things. Women, mothers, daughters and grand daughters. The strong female bond and the wish for this bond. Also husbands and wives and their roles in a marriage. And the difficulties in relationships.
It is a book that is well put together. A pleasure to read.
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