The Butterfly's Daughter - 48 Hour Book Challenge

I'm three hours in to the 48 Hour Book Challenge and finished my first book.  This is the only time of year that I really post reviews of grown-up books on my blog.  I find it harder to write even mini-reviews of them.  But The Butterfly's Daughter has some meaning for me, so I'll do my best.

This book was loaned to me by a friend a few years ago.  The copy we had been passing around was read by our mutual friend, Linda, just before me.  Linda died about two months ago of cancer.  Her memorial service is this Sunday, and our friend Karen is speaking at the service.  This book reminded me of both of them in so many ways - it is the story of a granddaughter whose grandmother has just died in Wisconsin.  Luz, the granddaughter, sets off on a journey to bring her Abuela's ashes to their homeland in Mexico.  Luz is young, only 21, and has been raised by her grandmother after her mother deserted her as a toddler.  It is a story of healing, and mothers and daughters, and friendship, and it was just right for a comfort read to get me in the swing of the challenge.  It had been sitting in my pile for way too long, and reading it this weekend was a tribute to Linda, and Karen's strength in speaking about Linda.  The Butterfly's Daughter is a look at death, and how people live on in our memories and in our hearts.

Current Reading Time: 3 hours
Books Finished: 1

The Butterfly's Daughter.  Mary Alice Monroe.  Simon & Schuster, 2011.

from my personal collection