From First Breath to Last by Dede Montgomery -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

 

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

From First Breath to Last by Dede Montgomery

Thank you for joining me this week for Book Beginnings on Fridays where participants share the opening sentence (or two) from the book they are reading. You can also share from a book you want to feature, even if you are not reading it at the moment. 

MY BOOK BEGINNING

It made no sense to me when I first learned Mom ate sugar sandwiches as a child.

-- from From First Breath to Last: A Story About Love, Womnhood, and Aging by Dede Montgomery.

From First Breath to Last is an entwined memoir of Dede Montgomery and her remarkable mother Patty Montgomery. Using her mother's unpublished memoir and other writings, Dede weaves in her own story, including life lessons she learned from growing up with an independent and self-assured mom. 

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING

Please add the link to your book beginning post in the linky box below. If you participate or share on social media, please use the hashtag #bookbeginnings so other people can find your post.

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THE FRIDAY 56

The Friday 56 asks participants to share a two-sentence teaser from their book of the week. If your book is an ebook or audiobook, pick a teaser from the 56% point. 

Anna at My Head is Full of Books hosts The Friday 56, a natural tie-in with Book Beginnings on Fridays. Please visit My Head is Full of Books to leave the link to your post. 

MY FRIDAY 56

-- from From First Breath to Last:

This was where the seed began to shape for Patty's idea of offering seminars for women in transition after her graduation. She felt she had found her calling.

FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

Dede Montgomery returns to her own roots in From First Breath to Last, and skillfully weaves her life with her mother's in a touching tribute to family and what matters most in their lives. She meshes passages from her mother's memoir, journals, published book, and dissertation with her own memories and how her mother's journey influenced her own in a celebration of womanhood.

Patty Montgomery was born between the World Wars and was reborn in the 1960s and 1970s during the time women pushed through the barriers to independence and equality. She followed what she believed was the expected path for other women like her who were privileged by whiteness, education, and middle-class income. Until she couldn't, and broke loose with support from some and criticism by others, while raising her only daughter to be self-confident and self-assured.