Traveling_with_Pomegranates

Kidd, Sue Monk and Ann Kidd Taylor. Traveling with Pomegranates: A Mother-Daughter Journey. Viking Penguin, 2009, 282 pp. iSBN: 9780670021208

What would you do if you felt like was changing, and you were no longer sure of your role in it?In this book, author Sue Monk Kidd and her daughter take a trip together to Greece, Turkey, and France, joining other women in visiting sites of importance in the history of Athena, the Virgin Mary and Joan of Arc. Sue is turning 50 and entering menopause, and daughter Ann is at cross roads in her life regarding career choices; each is feeling lost, and seeks inspiration from other strong female figures in an attempt to learn from them. Sue sees death at her door, and Ann perceives rejection if she does not make the right choice.

Really? First of all, who in this day and age sees 50 as near-death? I passed that spot three years ago, and cannot identify with Sue’s trauma. Even my parents don’t think they are old, and they’re in their 70’s! As for Ann, her daughter who worries that she shouldn't be an author because others will compare her to her successfully-published mother---who cares? This co-authored book is nothing more than an attempt to get Ann’s writing career off to a start with a boost from her mother and her well-known name.

Although there are well-worded descriptions of the places they visit, the book is filled with entirely too much drivel. I really don’t care to hear about their personal journey to finding themselves, both as individuals and as mother-daughter. Maybe you do; if so, this book is for you. If not, join me in returning it to the library, and not recommending it to a friend.