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Book Nook provides readers with insights into the world of books. Vick Mickunas takes you into the center of the publishing world with the latest book buzz, book reviews, and exclusive chats with authors..Home > Blogs > Book Nook > Archives > 2010 > May > 02 > Entry
Mom
“Mom: a Celebration of Mothers from StoryCorps” edited by Dave Isay (The Penguin Press, 186 pages, $21.95)
If you have passed by the Schuster Center in downtown Dayton over the past couple of weeks you would have noticed an unusual sight, an Airstream trailer parked nearby. This trailer is a mobile recording studio for StoryCorps.
StoryCorps has made a stop in Dayton to record the stories of ordinary people. Founded in 2003, StoryCorps is an oral history project that has collected the stories of over 50,000 Americans so far. Every Friday morning a StoryCorps interview segment airs on the National Public Radio program Morning Edition.
In the Miami Valley NPR is carried on WYSO Public Radio (91.3fm). Neenah Ellis, WYSO’s general manager, contacted StoryCorps a year ago to ask if they would pay a visit to Dayton - and here they are.
StoryCorps was conceptualized by the visionary radio producer Dave Isay. He also edits and publishes the StoryCorps books. Their latest volume is “Mom: a Celebration of Mothers from StoryCorps,” a collection of interview excerpts culled from the StoryCorps oral history archives.
Each story is unique. These appreciations of mothers and motherhood are related from various perspectives; by sons, daughters, spouses, friends, grandchildren, and of course, by mothers themselves.
These stories will tug upon your heartstrings. One woman describes a breakthrough in her relationship with her mother:” I felt our relationship was awful, and I told her right before I left that I couldn’t deal with her criticism anymore and that it wasn’t helping me.”
Her mother replied: “That’s what mothers do. Who would tell you if not your mother?” Her daughter responds by saying: ” I said I didn’t need a mother anymore; I needed a friend. If she wanted to continue to try to be my mother that way, I didn’t want it - but to call me if she wanted to be my friend.”
Initially her ultimatum angered her mother. She concludes her story: “I think about two weeks after that conversation, I picked up the phone and a small voice on the other side said, ‘Hi, this is your friend.’ {crying} And it was.”
The maternal wisdom within these stories is precious - it glimmers and shines as it takes us through gladness and tears and all the emotional realms in between. These stories reveal so very much about what is most precious in our lives; our relationships. These moms understood what was most important.
Maternal bonds are like no others. A mother interviews her daughter. She tells her: ” I’ve always felt that when you inhale, I exhale. The closeness that we’ve had through all this has been one of the most rewarding things in my life.” The StoryCorps magic blooms again and again.
Isay concludes “Mom” with wisdom of his own: ” If there’s a single piece of advice I can offer six years into this work it’s this: Don’t wait. Take the time to show the people important to you that you love them by interviewing them about their lives.”
And if you are searching for that perfect “Mother’s Day” gift this book “Mom” might be just the ticket. Don’t wait.
Vick Mickunas
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