Customer Reviews

Dear Companion: The Inner Life of Martha Jefferson (River Lethe Book)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Kelly Joyce Neff's birthing of major historical information astounds me. Her writing style hauntingly evokes the distinctive vernacular of the times. My eyes hungrily devoured every word of her Dear Companion, and I was there with her in heart-beating technicolor. We became transported backwards through time hundreds of years, straight into Martha (Patty) Jefferson's expert housewifery, motherhood---even boudoir---into her heart full of joys and misfortune. Thomas Jefferson's feminine "other half" makes it plainly clear to us how precious and pivotal was their mortal life behind the scenes. I praise Kelly Joyce Neff for her courage in bringing this vital information forward for future generations to assimilate. Dear Companion will inspire all students of metaphysics and would be great required reading for high school and college students as well.

This extraordinary book tells the real story of Thomas and Martha Jefferson in a fast-moving and incredibly detailed format that brings the period to LIFE! Supposedly written from the author's own past-life recall this is a must-read for anyone interested in metaphysics, American history or women's studies. Vibrantly alive, Neff's Patty Jefferson emerges as a compelling figure in TJ's life. This vivid portrayal brings up more questions than it answers.... namely HOW does the author know all this?!

I am amazed by the other reviews I read. Have you never read a piece of actual good writing? Does history count for nothing? This story is a badly-told, baffling bodice-ripper, written in a pseudo-georgian vernacular. It reminds me of nothing so much as a teenage girl playing dress-up with historical costumes.

I find this woman very hard to believe. Any scholar knows that Jefferson and his wife held their love story very private. If this woman was even 10% of what his wife was, as far as class, dignity, education and charm then A. She would not have written about her sex life and courtship, even now, for her "so called recalled love of Thomas" it would still have been a very private matter B. she would have not written Thomas like he had a high school level education- he would have used bigger words and better dialogue (seeming she was married to this man and can "recall" what he supposedly said to her).

Don't me mislead by this complete waste of time and shameful piece of literature- I sure hope that the folks in Williamsburg and Monticello aren't buying her self indulged stories.

FYI those so called past life regressions she had can be put into her mind over time- especially seeming she has been obsessed with Thomas since childhood.

Martha Jefferson did not live long enough to see her husband enter the White House. Because of that, so little was known about her. Through Kelly's painstakingly detailed research, intuition, and clairvoyance, not to mention her memories of love for Thomas, she has retraced Martha's life, and earned the respect of her fellow Jefferson historians. Martha's life was not always joyful and she struggled with her health. Rather than being a romantisized view of a famous President's wife, this is a portrait of a real woman, with the backdrop of the reality of those times.

What a wonderful book! For anyone fascinated with life during the time of Thomas Jefferson. Lots of details on day to day life... enough to make us all thankful for our modern conveniences. Thomas Jefferson and his wife Martha comes to life in the pages of this book.

This book gave me a better feel for Thomas Jefferson the living, breathing, feeling man than any biography of him that I had read, and gave me, too, a believable portrait of Martha Jefferson as plantation wife. It is a vivid, living description of colonial life, by an author who has made recognized scholarly contributions to our understanding of the time. I don't see how anyone interested in colonial and revolutionary America can fail to be interested in reading this gripping book.

If you're looking for a book that explores the true character of Martha Jefferson and her relationship with her husband...THEN DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS. I can only assume that the other glowing reviews on this page were posted by the author's family. This book is not history--but romance- and it's not even well-written. Anyone associated with this thing should be embarrassed.