Review: The Goodbye Quilt by Susan Wiggs

First line: Dan says I should quit reading all those homemaker magazines.

From the back cover: Linda Davis’s local fabric shop is a place where women gather to share their creations: wedding quilts, baby quilts, memorial quilts, each 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?

As mother and daughter embark on a cross-country road trip to move Molly into her dorm, Linda pieces together the scraps that make up Molly’s young life – the hem of a christening gown, a snippet from a Halloween costume. And in the stitching of each bit of fabric, 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: This is a sweet, fun, heartwarming read that tugs at your heartstrings. Told in the first person by Linda, we follow her and her daughter, Molly on a road trip across the United States. It is a poignant tale of the struggles of mother and daughter as they separate when the daughter goes off to college. Wanting to spend as much alone time with her daughter as she can before starting school, Linda agrees to the trip, while all the while working on a quilt for Molly. As Linda pulls each scrap of fabric out of her bag to add to the quilt, we get a little history on both Molly and Linda and the important people and events in their lives. This was a quick read that makes you realize just how important the relationships we have with the mother-figures in our lives are and that we all leave an impression on all those we love.

I received a complimentary copy of The Goodbye Quilt by Susan Wiggs from Eric at  Planned Television Arts.