Dear Mom, I've Always Wanted You to Know: Daughters Share Letters from the Heart(TM) [Hardcover]

Lisa Delman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 29, 2005

Every woman is a daughter. For the support we've been given,f or the challenges we've been made to face, for teh love we want to share right now, DEAR MOM offers us a chance to reflect, to find peace, and to honor the most important relationship of our lives.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This book transcends the admirable goal of reconnecting daughters to mothers... Kudos to the author for impressing upon us the importance of reaching out to our loved ones vefore it is too late. Read it and reap. --Sam Horn, author of the Tongue Fu Series

About the Author

Lisa R. Delman launched the Letters from the Heart Project(tm) website, at the encouragement of her mother, to share the heartfelt letters she wrote during her mother's illness. Since then, she has received hundreds of "Dear Mom" letters from daughters around the world.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Heartfelt Press (March 29, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399530797
• ISBN-13: 978-0399530791
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,810,629 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exploring The Compexities of Mother-Daughter Relationships, April 22, 2005

By 

Christopher Woods (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dear Mom, I've Always Wanted You to Know: Daughters Share Letters from the Heart(TM) (Hardcover)

It goes without saying that the relationship between mothers and daughters is a complex one. Not only that, but it changes over time, so that neither mothers or daughters are ever quite the same from year to year, or even month to month. The result is an unpredictable relationship that is often difficult, but also rewarding. Lisa Delman's anthology began when she wrote her own letters to her mother. But it has moved from the personal to the many, and in doing so this book of letters touches on the universal. There are so many good letters in this volume, and they run the scale of emotions. I was particular impressed by the work of Judy Brand, who writes so movingly about making a momentous decision to save her mother's life following an aneurysm. I was also touched by Cynthia Jean Heidercker's story about being deaf, and how her mother labored to make life easier for her. These letters are all from the heart, some hurt and others made healthy again, by the primary relationships in their lives. The book offers life lessons for us all.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Invites us to explore our deepest feelings, April 12, 2005

By 

Barbara McNichol (Tucson, Arizona) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dear Mom, I've Always Wanted You to Know: Daughters Share Letters from the Heart(TM) (Hardcover)

Lisa Delman's book comfortably invites us to explore our own mother/daughter relationships and turn a curious ear to women's deepest emotions through their letters.

Inspired to write her mother a letter after her mom's near-fatal heart attack, Lisa asked herself, "How will writing letters make my mother and I better together?" The advice she got from her coach was: "Concentrate first on releasing your words. Then, when you read them, this will cause a healing." Indeed, it did. And as Lisa told friends about her experience of catharsis, she learned that many also had "unfinished business" with their mothers. So she created the Letters From The Heart Project and, through a website-based appeal, received more than 1,000 poignant letters from women around the world. For many, it initiated a heartfelt journey that led to deep healing.

The subjects of the letters chosen moved through sorrow and shame to anger and guilt and on to wholeness and forgiveness. In the process, they evoke profound yet different emotions for every reader-providing mirrors that can't be ignored.

For me, the essence of this book lies in Lisa's statement in the Introduction: "As we learn to embrace our shadows as part of our light through letter writing, we can move in and out of our emotions more gracefully. Like an exquisite tapestry, we can see how the threads of our negative and positive emotions play a vital role in awakening the best part of ourselves."

Reading these letters gives us permission to explore our innermost feelings without judgment-and what a gift that is!

Sherry Sterling

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The book is truly wonderful., May 25, 2005

By 

Debbie Daley - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dear Mom, I've Always Wanted You to Know: Daughters Share Letters from the Heart(TM) (Hardcover)

Lisa did a brilliant job of creating the concept and then weaving the selected letters into a masterpiece of human emotion. I was able to look inside of so many incredibly expressive women's worlds to be captivated by their heartfelt feelings of gratitude, sorrow, shame, anger, guilt, abandonment, forgiveness, grief, love and in so many situations there was resolution, peace and wholeness. I found it refreshing to be able to leave my fast paced hectic day and slip away for some precious time to experience the journey of Dear Mom, I've Always Wanted You to Know as the Letters from the Heart truly touched my heart. As a daughter of a wonderful mother that is finer than a priceless gem and as a mother of two teenage daughters, I laughed, cried and wanted more when I reached the end. Life can take people in so many directions and the process of finding your home can sometimes be a letter away. I highly recommend this book!!!