THROWING OFF THE YOKE OF FAMILY EXPECTATIONS....
592765
Teensie MacAllester is the youngest of three sisters in a small college town in Georgia, where her father was the college president and where her sister and brother-in-law "hold court" as a professor and now current president.  Both older sisters have assumed their "entitled" places in the good life.

Meanwhile, Teensie, who earned her diminutive name from one of her sisters who had exclaimed, upon first seeing her, "isn't she teensie?", has tried to carve out a life for herself in Atlanta as a nurse.  Until her father calls her home to care for her ailing aunt; then her mother, when she falls ill; and finally, her father himself, aptly named "King."

While she defers her own dreams to help out the family, since neither sister is ever available for these chores, her father promises to leave her the home and its contents when he dies.

Fast-forward a few years, and we see Teensie and her sisters as they hear their father's will read.  King MacAllester did not change his will to reflect these promises, and even though his attorney (and family friend) knows what his wishes were, he can do nothing.  So Teensie is soon drawn into a struggle to hold onto her share, as well as protect the things that were hers alone.

Throughout this delightful and emotional tale that had me wanting to shout "no!" at every injustice, Teensie stays true to her loving soul, her "Friday's child" demeanor, while slowly, but surely, moving forward and away from the path her family wishes to dictate for her.  She refuses to remain as the family "slave," a role her sisters had already decreed for her by each insisting that she move in and help them with their families, and instead strikes out on her own.

While her path forward is not smooth and even, with many obstacles cropping up at every turn, she finally claims her own dreams.

<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Friday-s-Daughter/dp/0451232194/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Friday's Daughter</a>, taking its theme from the days-of-the-week rhyme that denotes that "Friday's child is loving and giving," spotlights a drama of extreme sibling rivalry and competitiveness against a backdrop of small-town life.  The author carries it off with just the right emotions to elicit the reader's investment in Teensie's triumph, and then delivers that triumph in unexpected and joyful dollops.  Five stars!
1101084
Perhaps this is due to being yet another dysfunctional family book, but I actually don't think so.

I happen to be one of three sisters. I even happen to be the oldest sister. My own family experience has been pretty grim with cancer diagnosis for multiple family members.

So perhaps my personal history influences my impressions of this book. All three sisters are horrible selfish people with their own agendas.  One sister died, the other two end up divorcing their husbands because they now know the reality of life.

Not even vaguely close to the reality I know. I'm actually surprised I got through the book.
4971346
So, this book does cover a very necessary subject. Sometimes, things just aren't going well for families, and they have to take up a different living situation. This is a thing that happens, and having a book which explains to kids that things are not their fault and that the family is still strong and sticking together is a GREAT thing! This fills a need!

However, I think Bunting was really remiss in adding the misunderstanding about Callie being "for sale." Way to give kids a nightmare! It's meant to bring a cathartic revolution about a pretty tense idea, but it was wholly unnecessary!

I'm afraid I've not seen other books addressing this subject so well, though, so I can't recommend anything else. Just know in advance, there's a joke about kids being bought and taken from their family, and you want to make sure your little ones aren't going to get THAT idea in their head and wake up in the middle of the night!
3676534
I know your sister so I was interested in her family. I felt lonely for each of you. All families have things that aren't like we wish they were at times. I could feel for each family member. Thanks for sharing.
460733
At best it might work for an already tightly scheduled family combined with a relaxed easy going baby. I am anything but scheduled and all my children are high strung. It was completely impractical to implement. It would have required that both my children and I become people we are not created to be.
4128990
Young people might be enthusiastic about their progress in "cleaning their rooms" and then "making them beautiful" - but not to throw cold water on this life-giving FABULOUS effort, but somewhere JBP himself warns something to the effect, "Beware.  There may be those in your family - who are NOT "cleaning their rooms" - who may be suspicious and overtly hostile to your efforts."  I hope that isn't so, but if it happens, he gives OTHER advice about handling people who do NOT have your best interests at heart, or in mind - people who do NOT have your back.  His advice is something like, "Stop sharing (verbally) with them.  Pull back.  Listen, and they'll TELL YOU what they're up to."

Kind of reminds me of something I read about Satan (I'm not a holy roller, don't worry :-):  How he could NOT not reveal himself whenever Christ spoke."  Something like that.
4903452
There is an alternative cover that is much more inclusive - the family has darker skin, albeit blue eyes.  The message it conveys to me is that its not just washed out, witless people who open carry.  http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81YZDbALa%2BL.png
99892
I was not a fan of this book.  While the points were well enough stated, I didn't like what seemed the negative portayal of a closeknit mom-son relationship.  It seemed outdated.  I hope we move beyond that paradigm where a mother contentedly plays the supporting role in a family.  There is plenty of room in a son's life, if he lucky enough to be raised by both parents in an equal partnership/relationship, for each parent to be seen as strong and powerful person who bring their own unique and lasting influence.  Maybe I missed the point, but it rubbed me wrong in a big way.  I encourage self reliance and independence.  Both are important to me, but family, love, and connection seem equally so.  How do we develop a deeper sense of connectedness with our sons while honoring their need for respect?  That is the path for me.
2856481
Too funny!!! A bit ridiculous and they put dysfunctional in a whole new meaning.  You have to have a good sense of humor and not take life so seriously.  But it makes me laugh and makes my family seem like saints. :-)  But they care about each other and you can feel the love between the siblings and what they will do for each other.
377239
Ignoring doctrine that doesn't fit your narrative is akin to telling on your parents and lying to yourself. Own the whole pile of junk, don't just focus on the shiny pretty artifacts. Something interesting "unchanging" because someone says it is, it is if it is and it's not if it's not. Your grandfather was nice but that doesn't make him right.
3635047
The movie is not as good as the book and this is no surprise as very few movies are.  But as I watched this with 3 family members, I found them constantly asking questions to clarify what was going on.  So while I was (as expected) disappointed by what was left out, my family was simply confused and was never able to really get absorbed into the movie as a whole.
3678960
The pressure is rather low, and the family doesn't like it.
2797208
I was not totally satisfied with the advice on the relationship the family should have with the  homosexual person.
I don't believe the advice is in line with the Scriptures.
612160
I was browsing the library shelves on vacation when I stopped to consider this book. I read the upbeat description of a family that doesn't seem to want or need its men. I'm not a sister-chick sort of person, so I put it back. But I had enjoyed the fracas between Amy Dickinson and Margo Howard surrounding the whole "next Ann Landers" thing, so eventually I checked the book out.

This is a good beach read; quick, lively and peopled with lovable characters in quaint places. But I never could get over my initial reaction, that underneath the "mighty queens" posturing, there's something seriously wrong with this clan. The author's father left, her husband left; in fact only one aunt has a husband and even the author's brother is estranged from the family.

Family ties are great, but in this case they must be so estrogen-choked that they make "outsiders" (a.k.a., men) claustrophobic. When the author's husband leaves, he says he is tired of disappointing her. I felt bad for him then, not for Amy. I think I'd run, too. I can't imagine men enjoying this book. If your family is primarily female, though, and high rates of divorce don't disturb you, go for it.
2316151
A Family Saga, a Haunted House set in the South, the Civil War -  almost everything it takes to make a perfect read for me. But not quite. Maybe my expectations were too high, maybe like movie trailers all the good stuff was in the tease, and maybe it just didn't quite work.
I don't want to write a summary of the book-the publisher and most reviewers do that. Let me just say it mostly takes place in the present, the best part is the letter section, and this isn't a haunted house.
I am not sorry I read it, it's not a bad book at all. I just expected - well,........ more.
454228
Our family gathering over the holidays numbers about two dozen or so. Laughter fills the air mingling with aromas tingling our tastebuds.  All bring special dishes to share and to sate our appetites.  Humor abounds and sometimes sneaks in.
I chose my brother-in-law as the "victim" this year.  Soon after our arrival, I surreptitiously passed a "Bozo Red Foam Nose" to each family member.  Throughout the evening, groups of two's or three's popped up in front of my unsuspecting relative to startle him.  Much laughter ensued and we all have a memento of the "extra" fun that evening.
4708006
Book Review: The Beauty of Broken...My Story, and Likely Yours Too by Elisa Morgan

"I received this book for free from BookSneeze for this review".

Book Review: Find beauty and hope for the messiness of family life.

Are you exhausted by the fairy-tale idea that following Jesus will mean our families won't suffer? That a parenting formula can guarantee our children will turn out okay? That our families will be immune from being broken because we love God?

In The Beauty of Broken, Elisa Morgan, one of today's most respected female Christian leaders, shares for the first time her very personal story of brokenness--from her family of origin to her family of creation, represented by her husband and two grown children. Over the years, Elisa's family struggled privately with issues many parents must face, including: alcoholism and drug addiction, infertility and adoption, teen pregnancy and abortion, divorce, homosexuality and death.

Each story layers onto the next to reveal the brokenness that comes into our lives without invitation. "We've bought into the myth of the perfect family," says Elisa. "Formulaic promises about the family may have originated in well-meaning intentions, but such thinking isn't realistic. It's not helpful. It's not even kind."

Elisa offers hope in the form of "broken family values" that allow parents to grow and thrive with God. Values such as commitment, humility, relinquishment and respect carry us to new places of understanding. Owning our brokenness shapes us into God's best idea for us and enables us to discover the beauty in ourselves and each member of our families.

 My Review: The cover of this book immediately drew me to the book as did the idea of listening to what Elisa Morgan, the leader over all of the MOPS groups, one of which I attended, had to say that would be considered different from what we learned from her every MOPS meeting. I must say that I was actually quite disappointed in this book. It lost me very quickly. There was a little too much Christian talk in between stories and it drug on getting to the point of anything she was trying to tell the readers. Once you got to an individual story, it was a good one, but actually getting from one story to the next seemed like it took forever and came across as being very boring. I almost felt like I had to skip ahead to the actual story and not read what was in between. I wish I could have reviewed this better, but honestly, I only made it to Chapter 6 because there was just not enough of interest in this book. I will let anyone be their own judge, but personally, I would not recommend this book.