Publication Date: April 16, 2013
Mockingbird Lane Press
Formats: eBook, Paperback
Genre: Historical Fiction
Can we learn from our ancestral past? Do our relatives’ behaviors help mold our own? In “Unexpected Gifts,” that is precisely what happens to Sonia, a confused college student, heading for addictions and forever choosing the wrong man. Searching for answers, she begins to read her family’s diaries and journals from America’s past: the Vietnam War, Woodstock, and Timothy Leary era; Tupperware parties, McCarthyism, and Black Power; the Great Depression, dance marathons, and Eleanor Roosevelt; the immigrant experience and the Suffragists. Back and forth the book journeys, linking yesteryear with modern life until finally, by understanding her ancestors’ hardships and faults, she gains enough clarity to make some right choices.
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Praise for Unexpected Gifts
“S.R. Mallery has caught the defining moments in the lives of one working class, upward striving family, as each one of them benefits from and contributes to the growth and setbacks of America itself…A rich and involving book, the author has written a gem. –Dorothy Salisbury Davis, A Gentle Murderer, Lullaby of Murder, The Pale Betrayer, etc.
“S.R. Mallery, with her strong sense of history and deft narrative skills, shows us one American family’s fascinating journey through flashpoints of American history, as a modern day young woman discovers the spirited narratives of her forbears, and is inspired to take charge of her own life…. an impressive, wonderfully thought out and well-told first novel.” –Carla Davidson, former Senior Editor at American Heritage Magazine.
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About the Author
S.R. Mallery has worn various hats in her life.
First, a classical/pop singer/composer, she moved on to the professional world of production art and calligraphy. Next came a long career as an award winning quilt artist/teacher and an ESL/Reading instructor. Her short stories have been published in descant 2008, Snowy Egret, Transcendent Visions, The Storyteller, and Down In the Dirt.
“Unexpected Gifts”, her debut novel, is currently available on Amazon. “Sewing Can Be Dangerous and Other Small Threads”, her collection of short stories, Jan. 2014, both books by Mockingbird Lane Press.
For more information please visit S.R. Mallery’s website. You can also find her onFacebook, Twitter and Goodreads.
My Thoughts
I am sure everyone at one point in their lives has wondered about the lives of their ancestors. I know I have and have often thought about what my ancestors did in their lives, of course I will never know because my family was not known for sharing events to me as a child. But can you imagine having a whole trunk full of mementos and journals?? How awesome would that be? Sonia is a college student who is dating the wrong man, has a crippled angry father, a submissive mother and is very confused as to what the future holds for her. Her mother shares a trunk with her and there she learns about her ancestors through the journals. The journals take us to the Vietnam era and what it was like to be a soldier in that war, Woodstock, the drug culture. The journals go back even further to the the Depression era, and even further back to the Suffragette movement and what it was like to be an immigrant in a country that was supposed to be the land of opportunity.
As I am of an age for a lot of the scenarios in the story, I could relate to a lot. I grew up during the Vietnam era, very familiar with Woodstock, Timothy Leary and I even lived the hippie life for awhile. I found this story to be a remarkable in how it was written, to some it may seem like a lot of going back and forth with the different ancestors of Sonia's, but it is written is such a way that the different journal entries flow together seamlessly to tell a very poignant tale of a very normal family with hopes and dreams. A bit of nostalgia for me, loved it! I highly recommend this book.
A copy of this book was received for review and was not monetarily compensated for said review.
My Thoughts
I am sure everyone at one point in their lives has wondered about the lives of their ancestors. I know I have and have often thought about what my ancestors did in their lives, of course I will never know because my family was not known for sharing events to me as a child. But can you imagine having a whole trunk full of mementos and journals?? How awesome would that be? Sonia is a college student who is dating the wrong man, has a crippled angry father, a submissive mother and is very confused as to what the future holds for her. Her mother shares a trunk with her and there she learns about her ancestors through the journals. The journals take us to the Vietnam era and what it was like to be a soldier in that war, Woodstock, the drug culture. The journals go back even further to the the Depression era, and even further back to the Suffragette movement and what it was like to be an immigrant in a country that was supposed to be the land of opportunity.
As I am of an age for a lot of the scenarios in the story, I could relate to a lot. I grew up during the Vietnam era, very familiar with Woodstock, Timothy Leary and I even lived the hippie life for awhile. I found this story to be a remarkable in how it was written, to some it may seem like a lot of going back and forth with the different ancestors of Sonia's, but it is written is such a way that the different journal entries flow together seamlessly to tell a very poignant tale of a very normal family with hopes and dreams. A bit of nostalgia for me, loved it! I highly recommend this book.
A copy of this book was received for review and was not monetarily compensated for said review.
Unexpected Gifts Blog Tour Schedule.
Friday, September 12
Review at A Book Geek
Spotlight at From the TBR Pile
Spotlight & Giveaway at So Many Precious Books, So Little Time
Review at A Book Geek
Spotlight at From the TBR Pile
Spotlight & Giveaway at So Many Precious Books, So Little Time
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