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The Gift of an Ordinary Day: A Mother's Memoir

by Katrina Kenison

The Gift of an Ordinary Day: A Mother's Memoir Cover

ISBN13: 9780446409483
ISBN10: 0446409480
Condition: Standard
Dustjacket: Standard
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Synopses & Reviews

Review:

"In her second affecting memoir about motherhood and nurturing (after Mitten Strings for God), Kenison, here at middle age with two sons in their teens, pursues with graceful serenity a time of enormous upheaval and transformation in her family's life. As her sons grew out of babyhood and into the 'new, unknown territory' of adolescence, she no longer felt clear about what her life's purpose was supposed to be; their comfortable suburban Boston house of 13 years grew restraining, and Kenison longed for a simpler, more nature-connected lifestyle. Since neither she nor her husband, a publishing executive, was tied to a workplace (indeed, she was suddenly let go as the series editor of The Best American Short Stories after 16 years), they were content to be rootless for over three years, living mostly with Kenison's parents until the building of their new home on bucolic hilltop land purchased in New Hampshire was completed. Meanwhile, Kenison's youngest, Jack, began a new high school, while the older boy, Henry, a musician, applied to colleges, and the family had to adjust both to the move and to the startling, delightful pleasures of country life. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Synopsis:

The Gift of an Ordinary Day is an intimate memoir of a family in transition-boys becoming teenagers, careers ending and new ones opening up, an attempt to find a deeper sense of place, and a slower pace, in a small New England town. It is a story of mid-life longings and discoveries, of lessons learned in the search for home and a new sense of purpose, and the bittersweet intensity of life with teenagers--holding on, letting go.

Poised on the threshold between family life as she's always known it and her older son's departure for college, Kenison is surprised to find that the times she treasures most are the ordinary, unremarkable moments of everyday life, the very moments that she once took for granted, or rushed right through without noticing at all.

The relationships, hopes, and dreams that Kenison illuminates will touch women's hearts, and her words will inspire mothers everywhere as they try to make peace with the inevitable changes in store.

Synopsis:

In an intimate memoir of a family in transition, Kenison tells how she comes to realize that the times she treasures most are the ordinary, unremarkable moments of everyday life.

Synopsis:

Poised on the threshold between family life as she's always known it and her older son's departure for college, Kenison is surprised to find that the times she treasures most are the ordinary, unremarkable moments of everyday life.
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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 3 comments:
vikki, January 1, 2011 (view all comments by vikki)
she chronicled her life so well - I felt like I was living it with her, seeing her house built, her boys grow up. I gave a few copies away as gifts.
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Vicki Newell, October 27, 2009 (view all comments by Vicki Newell)
This is a memoir from a mother who is getting close to having an empty nest. Her son Henry is 17 and thinking about colleges. Jack is going into high school. To top off those already stressful situations, they are moving to a new town and building a new house. Together they go through many emotional ups and downs. But you know that through it all, love is very much present. There is some very good advice in this book, mainly that you should cherish every day. I felt that this book had a poor poor pitiful me aspect to it. When her son gets a low score on his SSAT, she is upset almost to the point of devastation. I have a daughter who has made honor roll all the way through school who is now in college, just a few months from getting her degree. She has made the deans list many times. If she were to get a low score, it would without a doubt be very upsetting to her and that would be what would bother me, not the score. Another thing that I didn't like was the wordage. The book would have affected me more if it was not so repetitive. And all the hoity toity-ness about did me in. I'm just a simple girl trying to read a book that is full of fancy talk and butterfly kisses. Don't get me wrong, I love books that are descriptive, but this was a little over the top for me. The one paragraph that almost made me cover my eyes and scream "no more" was:
I envisioned myself as a sort of house heroine, not a house wrecker. So coming to terms with the idea of knocking down the house had been hard enough. To me, it seemed almost akin to adopting a child, only to give up and send the child back-
(page 73, paragraph 2)
What????? How could anyone compare tearing down a house with the loss of a child? Under any circumstance?

I did finish this book, and I do agree that we need to recognize even the small stuff in our lives for the blessings they are, but the rest of it was not a good fit for my mind.
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Krista Smith-Moroziuk, July 31, 2009 (view all comments by Krista Smith-Moroziuk)
A memoir about transitions, and coming to terms with your ever changing life. Katrina Kenison is an inspiration for any mother to read.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780446409483
Author:
Kenison, Katrina
Publisher:
Springboard Press
Subject:
Motherhood
Subject:
Personal Memoirs
Subject:
Women
Subject:
Mothers -- United States.
Subject:
Biography - General
Copyright:
2009
Publication Date:
20090931
Binding:
Hardcover
Language:
English
Pages:
310
Dimensions:
8.30x5.70x1.20 in. .95 lbs.
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Related Aisles

The Gift of an Ordinary Day: A Mother's Memoir Used Hardcover
0 stars - 0 reviews
$16.50 In Stock
Product details 310 pages Springboard Press - English 9780446409483 Reviews:
"Publishers Weekly Review" by , "In her second affecting memoir about motherhood and nurturing (after Mitten Strings for God), Kenison, here at middle age with two sons in their teens, pursues with graceful serenity a time of enormous upheaval and transformation in her family's life. As her sons grew out of babyhood and into the 'new, unknown territory' of adolescence, she no longer felt clear about what her life's purpose was supposed to be; their comfortable suburban Boston house of 13 years grew restraining, and Kenison longed for a simpler, more nature-connected lifestyle. Since neither she nor her husband, a publishing executive, was tied to a workplace (indeed, she was suddenly let go as the series editor of The Best American Short Stories after 16 years), they were content to be rootless for over three years, living mostly with Kenison's parents until the building of their new home on bucolic hilltop land purchased in New Hampshire was completed. Meanwhile, Kenison's youngest, Jack, began a new high school, while the older boy, Henry, a musician, applied to colleges, and the family had to adjust both to the move and to the startling, delightful pleasures of country life. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
"Synopsis" by , The Gift of an Ordinary Day is an intimate memoir of a family in transition-boys becoming teenagers, careers ending and new ones opening up, an attempt to find a deeper sense of place, and a slower pace, in a small New England town. It is a story of mid-life longings and discoveries, of lessons learned in the search for home and a new sense of purpose, and the bittersweet intensity of life with teenagers--holding on, letting go.

Poised on the threshold between family life as she's always known it and her older son's departure for college, Kenison is surprised to find that the times she treasures most are the ordinary, unremarkable moments of everyday life, the very moments that she once took for granted, or rushed right through without noticing at all.

The relationships, hopes, and dreams that Kenison illuminates will touch women's hearts, and her words will inspire mothers everywhere as they try to make peace with the inevitable changes in store.
"Synopsis" by , In an intimate memoir of a family in transition, Kenison tells how she comes to realize that the times she treasures most are the ordinary, unremarkable moments of everyday life.
"Synopsis" by , Poised on the threshold between family life as she's always known it and her older son's departure for college, Kenison is surprised to find that the times she treasures most are the ordinary, unremarkable moments of everyday life.
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