The Bird House ~ Book Review & Giveaway!

I truly loved this book.

Is it too soon to say that to you guys? I hope not. I hope you keep reading to see why.

Ann and her granddaughter Ellie are taking a trip down memory lane together, but Ann is worried about so many secrets. So many things she wants to protect Ellie from, and protect herself, of course.

Along with Ann's fear of sharing too many sad memories, and revealing too much, we also experience the onset of Alzheimer's in our main character. Which seems to give the memories even more of an air of mystery about them. How much does she truly remember? How much is she hiding on purpose? Or is her mind truly losing track of the days of her past?

The diaries of Ann that we get a glimpse into were written forty years apart. We experience life with her as a new mother, the struggles, the emotions, the heartache and the loss. We experience life with her as an active grandmother trying to teach her young granddaughter of what it is like to truly live in the moment!

When Ellie approaches Ann about a project for school, we sense the older woman's tension building. She prepares what she wants to allow Ellie to see, she hides the secrets deeper into the attic. We won't go there, we hear her think. She doesn't need to touch that, see that, know any of that.

But Ellie, being the precocious child that she is, helps Ann face memories of the past. Helps her see things more clearly and face them head on. Ellie's parents have their own issues, and we watch as Ann recognizes many of them as way too familiar. And yet we have no idea of the similarities and how far they'll go into the past.

There is so much more to say but I don't want to give anything else away. The pain she experienced as a new mom stung in such a way. I've known so many women to experience this frazzled and frustrated way of being, myself included. One point in her "old" diary she notes that she hasn't taken a shower in several days. The mystery of being that is a new mother. The survival - looking back, how so many of us feel it.

This book was emotional, heart-wrenching and heart-warming, all at once. And the author has been gracious enough to offer me an autographed copy for one of my readers, so if you're interested just let me know here, with a single comment saying that you are.

Winner will be chosen in a week and contacted via email, with 48 hours to reply. Good luck, everyone! I hope you win this incredible read!

** I was not compensated in any way for this review. I was given a copy from TLC book tours to faciliate my review and offered a copy of the book to give away to one of my readers, should I so choose. All opinions expressed are strictly my own.**

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