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This Day in the Life: Diaries from Women Across America |
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Media & Publicity“Captivating" is the word most often used to describe This Day in the Life. For a list of
print and broadcast media that have done stories on the second book in
the This Day series email joni@thisdayinthelife.com. PEOPLE Magazine
"The idea is simple: a few hundred American women agreed to keep a diary of their thoughts and actions on June 29, 2004. But the results are fantastically complex: an entertaining, heartwarming, and empathetic glimpse into many lives. The diarists in this collection, the second such volume from these three editors (This Day: Diaries from American Women) and with all new participants, include an Emmy-winning producer, an entrepreneur in Kenya, a 91-year-old nun, and many more ordinary and extraordinary women who were willing to share themselves with the rest of us. The editors carefully avoid theorizing or moralizing about these women and their lives, leaving readers free to just enjoy." Empowerment 4 Women Yeah! We made this online publication's list for Top 10 spring reads! Check out the review at www.empowerment4women.org/entertainment/reviews/books/issue11_carlystopten.php Baltimore Magazine READ IT by John Lewis This revealing and entertaining book compiles diary entries, all recorded on the same day (June 29, 2004), by 500 women across the U.S. In disarmingly candid prose, the diarists, some from the Baltimore area, provide brief glimpses into their lives. We hear from bureaucrats, artists, grandmothers, doctors, homemakers, war correspondents, teachers, talk show hosts, and many others. Diversity reigns here, and an organic sense of empathy, established early on, builds with each turned page. The many highlights include sections penned by Baltimorean Nadine Goldman (described as “the ultimate Jewish grandma”) and singer/songwriter Rosanne Cash (who’s juggling parenting, semi-stardom, and the loss of her father). The editors are to be commended for deftly handling what could have been an unwieldy mess. Chicago Tribune By Anne E. Stein On June 29, 2004, 493 women across the U.S. and in 14 countries--teachers, soldiers, reporters, factory workers, among others--kept a diary of their day. They chronicled thoughts and feelings as they moved through that Tuesday, commenting on raising kids, getting along with partners, why they do their jobs, paying bills and not getting enough sleep. The result is 34 complete day diaries and
hundreds of snippets on various topics. Under "Miscellaneous Moments,"
Oklahoman Ann Taylor, 78, writes: "5:30 p.m. Have my martini with Lou
Dobbs, except he is on assignment and I never felt the same about his
replacement, so I switch to TCM to watch Cary Grant ... Isn't it great
to have him, sometimes young and always gorgeous, even though he is
long gone? Mmm." Curled Up With A Good Book at
www.curledup.com This day in history may have been dotted with truly global events, but this book shows how one day, any day, can have profound meaning and importance on a much more personal level, as in that of the life of a woman. The essays and entries in this book are from women as diverse as famous entertainers, firefighters, foreign correspondents,refugees from other nations, moms struggling to raise children, moms struggling to care for their own parents, and wives, daughters, sisters, colleagues and friends, each with their own special story to tell. Some of the 34 entries speak of the amazing courage and strength of women, like Adeeba Sulaiman, a refugee from Iraq now helping other refugees find their footing in a new land. Other stories show the struggle of working two jobs to try to make a life, like Paige Balter of Portland, Oregon. Still others focus on motherhood and caretaking, as in my favorite entry in the book from Roberta Blain in Utah, which was so utterly moving I cried. There are also some short entries called "Miscellaneous Moments" and "On the Job," with simple one-paragraph slice-of-life perspectives such as the one from Verlene Schermer from San Jose, California, who recalls how her harp-playing at a local hospital inadvertently gave courage to a dying patient. In the section titled "24/7," the entries are even shorter yet no less profound, as in this absolute one-sentence gem from Julia Litton Steury in Minnesota -- "I FOUND THE SECOND PACIFIER!" Only another mom can understand just how that one sentence can shape the course of a whole day! The entries range from joyful to tragic,
hopeful to despairing, inspiring to exhausting and create a beautiful
patchwork quilt of the fabric of a day in the life of women. And no
matter how different these women may be,there are fibers of truth that
run through all their stories, and that is what makes this book so
amazing. That our lives, no matter how boring and simple they may |
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Publishers Weekly starred review
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