Teaser Tuesday – Can Any Mother Help Me?

Published on by Margaret

teaser-tuesdayOne of the books I’m reading is Can any Mother Help Me? by Jenna Bailey. It’s an edited collection of letters between a group of women calling themselves the Cooperative Correspondence Club, or CCC. They created a magazine that was circulated between the members for over 55 years. They wrote chatty letters to each other about all aspects of their lives, becoming close friends through their letters.

This extract is from letter from Roberta, who was living in Kent in September 1940. It was a Sunday, the sun was shining and just as the family sat down to lunch the peace and quiet was shattered by the sound of the siren and machine gunfire could be heard in the distance. Then suddenly the noise was terrifyingly close, as right overhead six planes were fighting and one plane was shot down in front of their eyes.

Roberta wrote:

This is war, I said, this is war. No, God, no, I screamed inside myself. This is wrong, wrong. (page 72)

9 thoughts on “Teaser Tuesday – Can Any Mother Help Me?”

  5. Just that small piece you shared is so gripping. I like the idea of the book with all those women writing to each other. I see a parallel in our blog writing. Although I’ve never physically met you, I believe we’ve met in this other world of cyberspace. Very nice.

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  7. Oh, what an absolutely fantastic teaser! And I love the very idea of this book! I am rushing immediately to put it on my TBR list! It sounds truly wonderful.

    Meanwhile — much less dramatic, I’m afraid — my own teaser is at Bookishgal.

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  8. This is very much a woman’s book. I am struggling to get started. As a breakfast read I am afraid it has failed. I am going to read Andrew Marr’s Making of Modern Britain instead.

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