Iron Gate Press

ISBN: 978-0991466009

Published: Oct 2014

Softcover, 148 pages

I've been reading parenting books since the day I unexpectedly found out I was pregnant with my daughter almost 15 years ago. Most of the ones I read were memorable and enhanced my whole motherhood experience, from the pregnancy stage, to breastfeeding, the toddler years, school and middle-grade years. Each book gave me insight in areas I needed at the right time. 

Even though I have a degree in Special Care Counselling and I have worked with special needs children, when it comes to mothering, I feel I am always learning, and I like to keep an open mind.

Dr. Susan Newman's book has come at the right time in my life. In a relatively short period of time I went from part-time work to full-time and my kids are growing up fast in an age where technology exposes them to things and experiences (both good and bad) at a rate that has my husband and me struggling to keep up.

Little Things is a book that is handy to have because it makes a parent pro-active in ways that one may not have thought of. It also reminds us of things we used to do but not as much because we work more and our kids are getting older. It has practical ideas like keeping a whiteboard centrally located (we have ours in the kitchen) to write notes or messages to each other. This is one of the best ideas as it has helped create many memorable moments in our family when we had discussions and used the whiteboard to draw.

Little Things is a small book that fits neatly in a handbag. It looks and seems deceptively simple. It's basically a list—divided into categories— about making your children feel special every day. The ideas and suggestions may seem obvious and many of us parents are doing lots of them already with our families, but as the children grow and times change, so do family dynamics. Therefore, we can always use more ideas to re-connect, create special bonding moments and remind us that we are never too busy.

It would be easy to dismiss this book as a re-hash of simple parenting advice, but I think it's neat to have a handy resource that I can look through for good ideas. After looking through the book I decided to try these ideas:

1. What should I wear? I asked my 13 year-old daughter to pick out something for me to wear to a meeting. She has a flair for style and was so happy I asked her opinion.
2. Lunch box messages: I used to do this with my kids who hated eating at school, but once my daughter started high school and she didn't bring lunch as often, I stopped doing it. I started doing it again. My daughter loves getting special notes.
3. Planning meals with the children: Working full time has changed the way I prepare supper (they're easy and fast and well...boring) so I started asking the kids what they want to eat. I feel less stressed about supper and the kids complain less.

Who would benefit the most from this book? All parents, grandparents, and anyone who interacts with children, such as educators, social workers, daycare workers and librarians. But especially for teen parents (we tend to forget that this is a reality for some teens); for parents who are going through difficult transitional stages (loss of job, taking care of aging parents, battling depression, etc) and who are stressed with their daily demands. Dr. Susan reassures us that even 5-minute heartfelt acts throughout the day can become special and can help both the parent and child cope with their long days at work and school.

Little Things would also make a good gift for new parents since it's easy to use and would not overwhelm sleep-deprived moms and dads. Dr. Susan has taken her years of work with both children in the field and in her household to bring us a useful resource book that reminds us of the many joys of parenting.

Note: This book is rated C = clean read.
To read more reviews and follow the tour, please visit the iRead page for Little Things Long Remembered


About the author:

Susan Newman, a social psychologist, specializes in child development and family dynamics and has been named one of the 100 Top Psychologists to Follow on Twitter as well as one of 25 Parenting Educators to follow. She has been blogging for Psychology Todaymagazine about parenting and issues related to raising children for over six years: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/singletons.

She has appeared on the Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN, MSNBC, and her work has been feature on NPR and major leading newspapers and magazines.

Connect with Susan: Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter

Dr. Susan Newman is graciously giving away 15 copies of Little Things Long Remembered and also 3 copies of The Case for the Only Child.

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Reviewed by Laura

Disclosure: Thanks to the author for sending me this book for review. I was not compensated in any other way, nor told how to rate or review this product.

I’m always attracted to books on self-improvement. Maybe it’s the perfectionist in me or the need to make sure I’m aware of the latest school of thought on any given topic that interests me. Whatever it is, I knew I wanted to read this book. Oh, I've read many books on family and as a Christian, I think that following Bible principles is key to family happiness, but I was curious nonetheless.

After reading the intro I knew I would like this book. The author is a family man, he does his research and he’s got a good sense of humour. This book was the result of his goal to set out to find the best practices for family today. After reading the first chapter, I approached my husband and said, “I think we've got to try this.” He read the chapter and replied, “This is a good idea, let’s do it.” That chapter talks about a cutting edge program called “agile development” that companies are putting into practice with success. Feiler shows how this agile blueprint can be used for families. How cool is that?

Why not use strategies that promote adapting to change? Like Feiler says, “families have undergone dramatic changes in recent decades... Almost everyone feels completely overwhelmed by the pace and pressures of daily life.” I agree! So I gobbled this book up, taking note of the practical things I could do and put into practice with my family. The book includes a family toolkit that makes it easy to use these practices, and an extensive bibliography and author notes that make me want to read a whole bunch of other books!

Feiler does his research and interviews all kinds of experts. He includes snippets of their conversations and snapshots of his own family life, which I could relate to. The advice is sound, it makes sense, it can be easily applied, and it encompasses many components such as issues with discipline, money, sex and what to do when your marriage is beginning to get stale.

I love books that make me want to be a better team player in my family, a better mother, wife and partner. This is how I felt reading this book. It empowered me to keep working at building up my family, even on days where I feel I just want to walk out and take a vacation...alone!

Some things I had heard before but they deserved repetition because they are worthy, and others were a revelation to me. This book is well-written, easy to read and a good resource I will refer to often. Highly recommended to all families!

New American Library

ISBN: 978-0-451-22649-5

Published: April 2009

Trade Paperback, 343 pages

Reviewed by Sandra

This story is set in Savannah, Georgia, so immediately I imagined a story about romance, intrigue, and “the South”. I wasn’t disappointed. Karen White is an excellent storyteller with lots of imagination, weaving in dark secrets with poignant family situations ranging from Alzheimer’s to blindness, life-long friendships and more. Throw in racial issues and the reader is kept fascinated to the end. The timeline flicks back and forth from present-day to the 1930’s segregated South.

The author uses an interesting technique, alternating between first person accounts and third-person narrative thus allowing the reader to get a rounded out understanding of the story. There are 4 primary characters, each with their own fears, insecurities, regrets, guilt. In short, real people!

Earlene/Piper disregarded her grandmother, Annabelle, even before her death, thinking that “long before the Alzheimer’s got her mind, a fear of living had taken hold of her spirit, convincing me that my grandmother had no stories worth listening to.” However, in researching her deceased grandmother’s past she unearths a buried box containing a bunch of scrapbook pages and a picture of 3 young girls. In her grandmother’s attic she stumbles upon a hidden room. The scrapbook pages, the room, a blue baby sweater and blanket, and a 1939 newspaper clipping of the death of a black baby boy are at the heart of the mystery in the book. “There are some things that should never be forgotten – like the worth of an old friendship, and a secret to take to the grave”, is the comment made by Lillian, one of Annabelle’s childhood friends, who holds the answer to the mystery.

The character development is excellent. We see Lillian move from a child, to a beautiful young woman to a 90-year-old matriarch who is full of love for her granddaughter, and who, in her own words “attributed her longevity to her stubborn ability to never confuse grief with regret.” We note the change in Earlene/Piper from a bitter, self-centered person to a loving, considerate woman open to new possibilities in her life. My favourite person was Helen. Read the book to experience the incredible nuances of her personality, talent, love.

The descriptions of the oak trees throughout the book are impressive. They seem to take on the attitudes of the people in the story at various times. At one point the narrator calls them “grieving oaks”, then as a “canopy of old men protecting what was theirs.” Finally, they become “strong and supple again, each limb bearing the bud of new life, each shawl of moss swaying with the promise of forgiveness.”

I highly recommend this book. Family relationships, family secrets, friendship, love, renewal, forgiveness, and the strength to go forward are explored in this intriguing tale, well told.


Disclosure: I was not compensated in any way, nor told how to rate or review this book.