After chapter 1 I was not sure I wanted to carry on, as it didn't immediately grip me. However, not being a quitter with books, I decided to press on. By the end of Chapter 2 I had fallen into this book with a resounding thump and had to ask myself why on earth I had thought I would not enjoy it. This is about Helen, Nancy and Tessa. Three generations of women, bound by blood, but with little else in common - or so they thought. Nancy and Tessa, mother and daughter, find themselves thrown together when they spend the summer with Helen, Nancy's mother and Tessa's grandmother, in order to help clean up her old farmhouse home. They start off tentatively - just tolerating each other, but as the story unravels, the relationships between them are explored and they slowly become more accepting of each other and realise that they do actually have a lot in common. The side relationships between Nancy and Billy, and Tessa and Mack, are interesting and thought provoking - particularly Tessa, who lost a child and is trying to come to terms with it. Of course, the 'thread' holding this story together, is the art of quilting. Helen is a master at her craft and reading about American Quilting certainly got my interest, and almost made me want to take up quilting myself! Highly recommended, and if you have not read Emilie Richards before I urge you to start doing so.
Three generation of women come together and sort out their lives. 82 yr old Helen, a quilter who has never realized her talents or opened up her feelings to her daughter Nancy. Helen's advancing years and habit of collecting junk bring her daughter and her granddaughter Tessa to see her and help her clean out her place. In the process they uncover an unfinished Wedding Ring design quilt which Helen never finished years ago. Getting Helen to talk about it isn't very easy, as communication between the women has never been cultivated.Nancy and Tessa have relationships of their own to deal with - Nancy considered herself a hillbilly when she married a man of means 40 years prior - and her daughter Tessa, has recently lost her 5 yr old daughter in an accident involving a drunk driver and can't get past the anger, pain and revenge she wants, to the point that her own marriage is suffering.Richards always weaves an enjoyable cast of characters with her wit and gift for dialogue. Predictable but enjoyable, one you can put down and come back to at any time.
What do You think about Wedding Ring (2005)?
A wonderful story about an elderly mother, daughter and adult granddaughter. All 3 women had gone through significant suffering & heartache and each had dealt with it in their own way, not realizing how their choices could affect others. When all 3 come together for a summer to help the matriarch, each of them discover things about each other and themselves. The author did an excellent job of flushing out the personalities of the women, both good & bad. Details about their lives were revealed bit by bit, keeping it an interesting read. I wanted to continue to know about the women after finishing the book, something that I think is a mark of excellent writing. I highly recommend the audio version as the voices given to the different characters were perfect for them.
—Michele
Fantastic book about family and no matter how different they are, always coming together in times of need.The three main characters, Tessa, Nancy and Helen couldn't be more different, but they are Grandaughter (Tessa), Mother to Tessa (Nancy) and Mother to Nancy (helen) and when Nancy learns that her mother isn't coping on her own, her and Tessa spend the summer renovating Helens life.Helens reluctant at first, but as the relationships grow and they become closer they soon wonder how they managed without each another.A lovely story of friendship, family and love. Gave me a tingly feeling all over lol. Good book for reading on Sunday afternoon in the garden!
—Joanna Mcdonald
This was an interesting story about 3 generations of women, each with their own struggles, coming together, although unwillingly at first, to work together to get Helen, the grandmother,'s house back in order. Through her wonderful quilts, the story of the family is played out, with each of the women having a hand in the title Wedding Ring quilt. The women become a family again and work on their individual challenges. I loved the descriptions of the quilts and it made me wish I had the time to learn how to quilt. I thought the interpersonal relationships were well done and I liked reading about this area of Virginia. Each of the women grows and learns during the course of the book. I look forward to the other books based in this region, even though I have heard that they are all based on different characters. I enjoyed this one and would recommend it for a relatively light reading experience.
—Michelle
