Member Janice Northerns shares this note about member Tammy Hader's book, Walking Old Roads: A Memoir of Kindness Rediscovered.
If you, like me, find yourself growing grumpier by the year, check out this memoir by my friend Tammy Hader!
WALKING OLD ROADS: A MEMOIR OF KINDNESS REDISCOVERED by Tammy Hader.
Tammy Hader structures this memoir around revisiting childhood memories in an attempt to find the cure for the cynicism that plagues many of us as we grow older. She describes growing up in the small town of Belle Plain, Kansas, and expresses longing for the past when neighbors and strangers seemed friendlier and more open to helping one another.
The book features a dual plot line as each short chapter focuses on a visit to her aging mother. Together, mother and daughter sort through old photographs and these often spark the memories that form the bulk of the book. In writing about the weekly visits to her mother, Hader also reflects on role reversal as she poignantly contrasts memories of her parents caring for her with the details of her new role: taking her mom to medical appointments, helping her with daily tasks, and offering comfort and reassurance.
The author recalls her childhood with details such as these, as she thinks about the five-and-dime store she and a friend visited often: “The store’s curious odor blended necessities and indulgences into a thick promise of discovery. …. Bubble gum and Milk Duds in hand, the creaky wood floor kept track of us until the door chime announced our departure.”
She also vividly describes her parents as newlyweds, captured in a short home movie that she finds at her Mom’s house: “Smartly attired in his Army uniform, Dad reached up to straighten his military-issue dress hat. There was no audio of Dad joking with his bride or Mom’s laughter, but I heard them anyway. Mom grabbed Dad’s hand ….. They climbed into their blue two-tone 1955 Pontiac and drove off in the direction of a new beginning.”
Readers will enjoy these glimpses of life in small-town Kansas, as well as Hader’s chronicle of her quest to rediscover the kindness she grew up with. Insights and reflections throughout the book are infused with dry humor, adding another layer to the memoir. The author’s examination of her changing relationship with her mother is just as interesting as her childhood recollections, and anyone who is in a similar stage of life will appreciate that aspect of WALKING OLD ROADS as well.
#readlocalks
WALKING OLD ROADS: A MEMOIR OF KINDNESS REDISCOVERED by Tammy Hader.
Tammy Hader structures this memoir around revisiting childhood memories in an attempt to find the cure for the cynicism that plagues many of us as we grow older. She describes growing up in the small town of Belle Plain, Kansas, and expresses longing for the past when neighbors and strangers seemed friendlier and more open to helping one another.
The book features a dual plot line as each short chapter focuses on a visit to her aging mother. Together, mother and daughter sort through old photographs and these often spark the memories that form the bulk of the book. In writing about the weekly visits to her mother, Hader also reflects on role reversal as she poignantly contrasts memories of her parents caring for her with the details of her new role: taking her mom to medical appointments, helping her with daily tasks, and offering comfort and reassurance.
The author recalls her childhood with details such as these, as she thinks about the five-and-dime store she and a friend visited often: “The store’s curious odor blended necessities and indulgences into a thick promise of discovery. …. Bubble gum and Milk Duds in hand, the creaky wood floor kept track of us until the door chime announced our departure.”
She also vividly describes her parents as newlyweds, captured in a short home movie that she finds at her Mom’s house: “Smartly attired in his Army uniform, Dad reached up to straighten his military-issue dress hat. There was no audio of Dad joking with his bride or Mom’s laughter, but I heard them anyway. Mom grabbed Dad’s hand ….. They climbed into their blue two-tone 1955 Pontiac and drove off in the direction of a new beginning.”
Readers will enjoy these glimpses of life in small-town Kansas, as well as Hader’s chronicle of her quest to rediscover the kindness she grew up with. Insights and reflections throughout the book are infused with dry humor, adding another layer to the memoir. The author’s examination of her changing relationship with her mother is just as interesting as her childhood recollections, and anyone who is in a similar stage of life will appreciate that aspect of WALKING OLD ROADS as well.
#readlocalks
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