Oh goodness. Have the tissues ready. One of the best books I've read in a while. Loved it from start to finish.

Thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free, it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

Oh man you are going to need tissues for this book. I absolutely loved this book. The book is about 92 year old Millie and how her choices throughout her life, good and bad, have effected her daughter and granddaughter lives. The story is told in past and present and it’s amazing portrayal of how far women have come. Tori Whitaker does a really good job of making it feel like you were back in the 50’s her attention to details is amazing.

The story, told by a 92 year old woman, is a good example of the trials women have overcome to be productive members of society. She tells her story about happenings in the 1950s, and in present day. Very well written, especially for a debut novel, three generations come together in this book and find out more about each other. At the beginning of the book I wasn’t sure where the book was headed, but I did not ever feel like it should be a DNF. All the characters are realistic and likable. I received copy of this book from NetGalley and Lake Union Publishers.

Millicent Glenn’s Last Wish is the story of three generations of women with secrets that are keeping them apart. This was a five star read for me AND a debut novel! I can’t wait to read Tori Whitaker’s next book.

Millicent Glenn's Last Wish by Tori Whitaker turned out to be just the book I needed right now. Three generations of women come together to celebrate the 91st birthday of Millicent, the Matriarch, Mother to Jane and Grandmother to Kelsey.
The chapters alternate from the 1950's and Millicent's early marriage years, to the present time, her estranged Daughter Jane's return home and Granddaughter Kelsey's pregnancy. As Millicent tells her story and reveals the secrets she has held close to her heart, all three women come to understand themselves better and deepen their relationships with each other. You may find your Grandmother or Mother, if not yourself, in this relatable novel. As a Baby Boomer, I loved the references to the news and products of the 50s and 60s, but it was the attitudes toward women in marriage, business and even obstetrical care that spoke to me when measured up against present day attitudes and standards. All thoughts of the "Good old Days" dissipated as I realized how much better things are for women today, in spite of all of the problems we still face. We've come a long way, even though we still have a long way to go. During the trying times of today, it's so easy to wish for simpler yesterdays, but were they really simpler?
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this advance copy of Millicent Glenn's Last Wish in exchange for an honest review.
#NetGalley #MillicentGlennsLastWish

Oh to be a 1950’s housewife. Really? Maybe.

Millicent lets us in on what it was like to be a housewife in the 1950’s.

Husbands not really liking their wives to work, having to have your husband sign at the bank if you wanted to open an account in your own name, being dressed up when your husband came home, and wishing you could do more than stay at home with the babies.

We meet 91-year-old Millicent, her daughter, Jane, and her granddaughter, Kelsey, as we move from the 1950’s to 2015.

Three generations of strong women and a secret Millicent kept for all of these years.

We get to experience these women’s joys as well as their sorrows.

I enjoyed the way the author weaved past situations into the present-day happenings as she looked back.

MILLICENT GLENN’S LAST WISH was a trip back to the time when my mother would have been a wife. It had me wondering if my mother felt as if she were trapped since she was required by the company she worked for to quit when she got married.

Even more than learning about Millicent’s life of sorrow and secrets, this sweet book focuses on the love between a mother and her child and a mother and her daughter.

Warning: Tissues needed for happy events as well as sad and oh so good. 5/5

This book was given to me by the author and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Tori Whitaker’s stunning debut novel takes us through five generations of women (great-grandmothers, grandmothers, mothers, daughters and grandchildren) weaving their stories and legacies around the central themes: the consequences of keeping family secrets; the yearning to find one’s purpose both aligned with and apart from the social norms of the times; and the need for approval.

When we first get to meet the protagonist–Millie–she is in the final moments before she will marry Dennis Glenn, vowing “to love, to cherish, and obey, until death do us part.” Whitaker artfully portrays the beauty of the wedding moments, contrasted with tensions already ensuing between her and her soon-to-be sister in law, Abbie. Whitkaker’s portrayal of Millie’s mother and mother-in-law are pitch perfect. Dennis’ Mother Glenn is the consummate mid-Western farmer’s wife: hard-working, kind, resilient mother, and wife. Millie’s mother, whose family heralded from German immigrants, lost their brewery fortunes during Prohibition, leaving Millie a resident of Cincinnati’s immigrant slums. Her wedding advice to her daughter is “you have to have a means of earning . . . lest you find yourself without a bed or soup bone.” Millie registers her mother’s admonition, remembering at places throughout the novel her poverty against the backdrop of her family’s pride, a family unwilling to accept the simplest of charitable gifts at Christmas, a pride which seems to influence Millie’s decisions, especially one with devastating outcomes. Nonetheless, Millie’s greatest desire on her wedding day, is to bear Dennis a passel of children, enough to fill a birthday party, a desire which reflects the social norms of having large family’s in the late 40’s and 50’s, and the hope to counter her experiences as an only child.

The novel then navigates time in a past/present format where we learn about Millie as a ninety-year old mother, who’s tortured by past regrets about a decision she made early in her marriage that changed the trajectory of her life experiences as well as her relationship with her only daughter, Jane, the daughter she so desperately wanted to have siblings. Shrouding her regret is her belief that she is fully responsible for the consequences of the decision that costed her, her daughter and her marriage so dearly. She bears the secret surrounding this decision for her lifetime, holding to the belief that some secrets shield us as well as those we love.

When her daughter returns to Cincinnati after an adulthood of virtual estrangement from her mother, Millie feels at once thrilled, confused and threatened in that she, Millie, has forged a close bond with Jane’s daughter, Kelsey, who now works in Cincinnati. Ultimately, the test of forgiveness of oneself and others is the gift necessary to reconcile with oneself and others. For the family to be whole again, the secret must be acknowledged and forgiven.

Whitaker did extensive research to transport her readers to the forties and fifties: her attention to details of time, place, music, home décor, T.V. shows and events like Tupperware parties where treats of the times were celery sticks stuffed with Cheez Whiz, is flawless. She captures the moments in time where a marriage is adrift, where husband and wife are struggling to communicate when the tension between them is so thick you could cut it with a knife. Similarly, the novel seamlessly travels from the present to past times both between and within chapters through flashbacks. Her deft word-craft is no surprise since Whitaker has spent the last 20 years soaking up historical fiction that moves between past and present times. She has published an article, ”Multi-Period Novels: The Keys to Weaving Together Two Stories from Different Time Periods,” appeared in the Historical Fiction Review

The novel gives an accurate portrayal of how doctors and men of the 50’s acted like gods before the publication of Betty’s Friedan’s game-changing book, The Feminine Mystique. It was a time when women were more often than not forced to choose between motherhood and their professional aspirations. It presents the all too familiar choices women face again today in this unchartered era of COVID.

I’d strongly recommend this book to book clubs for its robust themes worthy of understanding and deep discussions. And I’d recommend you keep an eye on Tori Whitaker. I can’t wait to read her next novel! Sign up for her newsletter by going to her website at www.ToriWhitaker.com .