"You Wanna Go To Willard?" (Paperback)

by Linda M Holbrook (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Growing up, Laura felt different, even abnormal. She was the third child of four and the oldest girl. Her mother conditioned her to respect elders. It was required to always use proper behavior and articulate manners. Laura lived with the notion of a reward for good behavior. People liked children that behaved meticulously. Her life was focused on doing all the things people asked of her. She never objected or even questioned why. Convinced everyone would like her if she did. But the older she got, and the harder she tried, the worse it became. Haunted by her thoughts of being retarded, she struggled to find an answer. Through trial and error decisions she wandered down dark paths of repeated disappointments. With years of trying too hard, she wanted the truth about whom she was or who she was supposed to be. Was happiness a myth? Her persistence pushed her over the hurdles in her life. Something inside told her she would find it. The happiness she wanted and desperately needed.

About the Author
Linda lives in Upstate New York with her husband, Jon. She is a retired Elementary Computer Teacher and enjoys photography, gardening, riding bicycle with her grandson and walks with her Sheltie, Casey

Product Details

• Paperback: 244 pages
• Publisher: BookSurge Publishing (November 17, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1419698761
• ISBN-13: 978-1419698767
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,276,569 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Didn't move me as I had hoped, July 14, 2009

By	Shannon M. Mcgee "Confuzzled Books" (PA) - See all my reviews

I had a chance to review this book thru Boswick Communications. It is not a usual choice for me, but the book sounded very inspirational.
It is a memoir of Linda Holbrook's life growing up. It starts with her finding her path as a teenager and ends somewhere in middle age.
As I read it, in the beginning I felt some kinship with Ms. Holbrook as she dealt with self esteem issues. But as it moved on, that began to fade. There was just so much of the book that, when written out, didn't seem like such a struggle. In the end, it didn't inspire me as much as I hoped.

4.0 out of 5 stars A truthful story about life, May 29, 2009

By	Jennifer "Jennifer D." (Warren, MI) - See all my reviews

This is a great heartfelt story. I loved Laura, she was so down to earth, and she seemed like a real person to me.

I almost immediately became attached to her. I felt the pain, joy, sorrow, doubt, everything she was going through. There were a few times I was brought to tears. I was angry with people that hurt her. I wanted her to succeed in everything so that she could build her self-confidence.

This was a great story about life in general. Things happen and we have to deal with them and move on. This book reiterated one thing that I always say "Everything happens for a reason, even if we can't see it at the time". I think if I had to summarize the theme of this book, that would be it.

This one took me a little longer than I expected to finish. I don't know why it was a slow read but it was. It was engaging though, and that kept me turning the pages. Overall I would have to say it was touching.

2.0 out of 5 stars It didn't captivate me, May 15, 2009

By	grumpydan (Andover, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

YOU WANNA GO TO WILLIARD? has an autobiographical feel to it and author Linda Holbrook is probably writing about her life and the struggles and obstacles she had to endure and overcome. But this story is a mundane one and I didn't feel for the main character, Laura. There was nothing out of the ordinary about her story and the conflicts are commonplace. There were no lessons learned and I was disappointed.