Orlagh Cassidy delivers Betsy Lerner’s tender memoir with warmth and affection. Lerner lets us in on her early strained relationship with her mother. Once she moves back to New Haven, Connecticut, at age 54, however, her own life experiences open her eyes and heart to her mother, now 83. From her conversations with the regulars of her mother’s Monday afternoon bridge club, we get to know the women Lerner has seen every Monday for years without really knowing them. Cassidy presents the women’s histories—their marriages and careers, their trials and triumphs. As Lerner develops insights into the women, she gains a deeper respect for each as well as an understanding of her mother’s life. Cassidy’s Yiddish pronunciations are off, but, overall, she’s terrific in this touching story. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine
A fifty-year-old Bridge game provides an unexpected way to cross the generational divide between a daughter and her mother. Betsy Lerner takes us on a powerfully personal literary journey, where we learn a little about Bridge and a lot about life.
After a lifetime defining herself in contrast to her mother's “don't ask, don't tell” generation, Lerner finds herself back in her childhood home, not five miles from the mother she spent decades avoiding. When Roz needs help after surgery, it falls to Betsy to take care of her. She expected a week of tense civility; what she got instead were the Bridge Ladies. Impressed by their loyalty, she saw something her generation lacked. Facebook was great, but it wouldn't deliver a pot roast.
Tentatively at first, Betsy becomes a regular at her mother's Monday Bridge club. Through her friendships with the ladies, she is finally able to face years of misunderstandings and family tragedy, the Bridge table becoming the common ground she and Roz never had.
By turns darkly funny and deeply moving, The Bridge Ladies is the unforgettable story of a hard-won-but never-too-late-bond between mother and daughter.
A fifty-year-old Bridge game provides an unexpected way to cross the generational divide between a daughter and her mother. Betsy Lerner takes us on a powerfully personal literary journey, where we learn a little about Bridge and a lot about life.
After a lifetime defining herself in contrast to her mother's “don't ask, don't tell” generation, Lerner finds herself back in her childhood home, not five miles from the mother she spent decades avoiding. When Roz needs help after surgery, it falls to Betsy to take care of her. She expected a week of tense civility; what she got instead were the Bridge Ladies. Impressed by their loyalty, she saw something her generation lacked. Facebook was great, but it wouldn't deliver a pot roast.
Tentatively at first, Betsy becomes a regular at her mother's Monday Bridge club. Through her friendships with the ladies, she is finally able to face years of misunderstandings and family tragedy, the Bridge table becoming the common ground she and Roz never had.
By turns darkly funny and deeply moving, The Bridge Ladies is the unforgettable story of a hard-won-but never-too-late-bond between mother and daughter.
Editorial Reviews
Product Details
BN ID: | 2940173830821 |
---|---|
Publisher: | HarperCollins Publishers |
Publication date: | 05/03/2016 |
Edition description: | Unabridged |
Videos
![](/static/img/products/pdp/default_vid_image.gif)