Listen to the Light

In this true story, The Daughter's a Farmer, we view the journey of a mother and a daughter moving gradually toward mutual understanding and respect for each other's world perspectives and life choices, and see lessons learned and insights gained that surprised them both. The Mother and The Daughter, different in many ways, find their common ground in the values they share and the strength they possess. By choosing to use the generic terms, "The Mother" and "The Daughter," the author underscores the universality of the themes so brilliantly illuminated in this fine and touching essay.

The compilation of holiday letters, warm, wise, and hilarious, is evidence that Erma Bombeck or perhaps a literary clone, is alive and well in upstate New York. For anyone who has a knee-jerk negative reaction to holiday letters I recommend reading the no-holds-barred true stories about raising children and animals on a farm. Far from being the all-sunshine-and-light chronicles of the accomplishments and exotic adventures of perfect families, each member of her farm family, beautiful, smart, and brave, these accounts are honest tales of real people dealing with such issues as the family dog (a guide dog reject) overdosing on corncobs or a teenage daughter learning to drive. The humor The Daughter finds in every day events and the family's love for their land, their animals, and for each other shines brightly throughout each mini-masterpiece. If there were a Pulitzer category for holiday letters, these would win.