Author: Susan Wiggs
Length: 250 pages
Genre: Fiction
Publisher/Date: Mira, 2011
Source: Library copy
About the Book
Linda Davis’s local fabric shop is a place where women gather to share their creations: quilts commemorating important events in their lives. Wedding quilts, baby quilts, memorial quilts—each is bound tight with dreams, hopes and yearnings.
Now, as her only child readies for college, Linda is torn between excitement for Molly and heartache for herself. Who will she be when she is no longer needed in her role as mom? What will become of her days? Of her marriage?
Mother and daughter decide to share one last adventure together—a cross-country road trip to move Molly into her dorm. As they wend their way through the heart of the country, Linda stitches together the scraps that make up Molly’s young life. And in the quilting of each bit of fabric—the hem of a christening gown, a snippet from a Halloween costume—Linda discovers that the memories of a shared journey can come together in a way that will keep them both warm in the years to come….
My Thoughts
I absolutely loved this little book! The Goodbye Quilt is a heartwarming story that also makes you think about yourself, as a wife and mother, and as a person. What is especially wonderful is that it does so without being preachy or pedantic.
Since I have started blogging about each book I read, I have found myself reading with a part of my mind on my review. I will notice particular things that strike me as especially good or bad, and will find myself stopping at particularly quotable sentences or thought-provoking ideas. This has not been too much of a problem up until now, but with this book, I found myself stopping too much. 
I loved her often poetic language, with phrases such as “supported by the unseen infrastructure of husbands and homeowners’ associations” and “the car inhales the belt as she jumps out.”
And the way she uses the physical journey as a backdrop to the emotional journey of remembering the past in preparation for moving on to the next phase of each of their lives is effective both as a literary device and as a way to emphasize the opportunities we all have for personal growth in our own lives and in our relationships.
You can really tell that Ms. Wiggs has poured out her heart in this book, and it definitely has touched mine. Highly recommended read!
Note: This is Book #55 of my 2011 Reads (master list here).
I'm a mom with Asperger's raising an amazing son with autism, which means I'm basically the case manager/advocate/cheerleader/chauffeur. The rest of the time, you can usually find me with my nose in a book!
