Things I Wish I Told My Mother by Susan Patterson and Susan DiLallo

Amy  

women's fiction

Laurie’s mother, the invincible OB/GYN to the stars, ends up in the hospital with heart trouble. As a bribe to get her mother to be a good patient, Laurie promises to take a trip with her after her recovery. The novel describes their journey through Paris and Norway while they sightsee, shop, eat, meet up with friends and family, and each enjoy a little romance. They also grow closer through their shared journey.

So much about Laurie’s overbearing mother rang true to me. And, like Laurie, I grew to know that much of her unsolicited advice came from a place of love and concern.

A personal joy, since I’ve been learning French for a year, was being able to understand most of the French words in the novel! I was also pleased that the authors (Susan Patterson and Susan DiLallo) gave us the translations for words in other languages, which sometimes does not happen in novels.

I realize that there isn't much meat to this review. I suppose there wasn't much meat to the story. But I stayed interested, had fun traveling with the characters, and enjoyed the ride well enough. Because of the title, Things I Wish I Told My Mother, I kept waiting for Laurie's mother to die. So I was surprised to read an entire novel where Laurie had been, very much, telling things to her mother. All gets explained in the end. 

The audiobook narrator, Ellen Archer, did a great job with voice acting as well as displaying several different accents and voices. She even sang! A+