Contest is now closed. Congrats to our winner, Karen, who said “I love my mom because she put up with a lot from me during those “terrible teens”, but now she’s one of my best friends.”
Enter to win a SIGNED copy!
As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, several BookPage editors attended the Arkansas Literary Festival. We met authors who have appeared in our pages—including Eleanor Brown and Thomas Chatterton Williams—and mingled with a lot of passionate readers.
One of the highlights of our time at the festival was interviewing Kyran Pittman about her memoir Planting Dandelions: Field Notes From a Semi-Domesticated Life, which comes out this Thursday. Planting Dandelions is reviewed in BookPage’s May issue as part of our Mother’s Day roundup, and reviewer Amy Scribner calls it a “wry, warts-and-all memoir . . . interesting, funny and fresh.”
Kyran—also a popular blogger—is something of an unlikely candidate to write a memoir of motherhood. As she told me in our interview, she evolved from a “free-spirit boho girl to a mom of 3, a minivan-driving soccer mom.” Hear more about Planting Dandelions in this video:
During our conversation, Kyran explains what she means by “semi-domesticated.” She shares how she feels about her three young sons eventually reading the book. (Kyran writes about intimate issues, including a chapter on postpartum sex.) And she explains the difference between blogging and writing a memoir.
Watch the video, then enter to win a SIGNED copy of Planting Dandelions.
TO ENTER: To enter, tell us why you love your mom, grandmother or mother figure in the comments section.
CONTEST DETAILS: The prize is one signed copy of Planting Dandelions by Kyran Pittman. One winner will be chosen using random.org. Prizes will be shipped to the U.S. The contest closes April 29 at 6 p.m. CST.
My mom always supported me!
My mom raised my brother and myself despite having no help and very little money. She went into debt, just so we could get by. She is the most positive, successful person I know, and I love her very much.
I love my grandma because she not only helped raise me but has always been there for me. Not only me but my whole family. She is our rock and would do anything for her loved ones. She is a wonderful example of what a person should be.
My mom died suddenly right before Christmas last. I miss her everyday. I loved her because she was such a strong support. She would always tell us “I don’t love everything you do but I always love you” and that means so much. I means you can make mistakes and she will always be there!
I love my mom because she’s quirky and unique. She remains youthful and playful and inspires me to do likewise.
I love my mom because she’s never let me stop believing that anything is possible.
My mom has always accepted me ‘as is’ and she passed on her love of reading to me; which I was then able to pass on to my daughters.
my mom and I have always had an “up and down” kind of relationship. I admire and respect the fact, that she has never given up on making us better, and neither have I. I love her because she is very stubborn, and determined!
My mother always believed in my potential, even at times when I didn’t. She didn’t live long enough to see me get my graduate degree but she was the force behind it. She got through cancer three times and if she could keep going through that, I thought she was the ultimate inspiration.
My Grandmother has always been a woman in high spirits, always laughing and joking and making others smile. She was always willing to lend a helping hand and always wished she could do more. She was the life of every party she has ever been to!
My mom and I actually became closer as we got older. We usually didn’t see eye to eye, but she was always there when I needed her most. I feel very fortunate that she’s still here and try not to think of life without her in it.
Loving isn’t always easy. It’s not that I don’t love my mother, I do, with the incredible depth that a child is born with. As an adult, however, I had to learn how to distant myself to protect myself from the hurt. But now with Mother’s Day approaching, I choose to be a child again and see her only through those eyes, knowing that’s how she’ll always see me. After all, who doesn’t want to return to that earlier, innocent time when it was so easy to bask in a Mother’s love? To say it simply, I love my mother because she loves me.
A mother’s love is like no other. My mother was devoted and always there for me.
I love my mom because she always told me I could do anything I tried to, and convinced me to believe her!
My mother has always put her children ahead of herself. She’s devoted to her family and is a great role model in how she lives her life.
I love my mom because of all the things she taught me. I probably learned (and am still learning) more from her than from anywhere else!
My mother is full of “warts” and embraces them. She is quirky but that is a small price to pay for such a loving & warm spirit.
She enjoys waking up each day and inspires me to do the same.
It was not always this way – like a typical man, I thought I was my fathers son and saw little input from my mother.
Then I learned to willingly take up life in all its glory. Warts and all.
Thanks mom!
I love my mom because she gave me the gift of literacy. My fondest memories are of my mom reading me my favorite book, “Miss Suzy”. She would read me that book every night, even though she had three younger children clamoring for her attention too, she always took time to read to me.
She also was all-time pitcher and all-time quarterback when we played baseball and football in the backyard, and she taught all of her kids how to make free throws in basketball. She gave her children the most important gift- her time and attention.
I love my mom because she put up with a lot from me during those “terrible teens”, but now she’s one of my best friends.
Congrats, Karen, you’re the winner! I’ll be in touch via email ASAP.
My mom ROCKS. She raised my sister and I alone after our father died. So I knew at an early age just how strong and incredible she is. But becoming a mom myself helped me truly appreciate her.
My mom is a witty, clever woman who always uses her humor to draw people together and make difficult situations lighter. I love that she has passed those qualities on to me.
I loved my great-grandmother because she was such a sweet little old lady….but her favorite saying was “If you want something done right, be bitch enough to do it yourself!”
My mom always believed that women could become or do anything that they wanted to because she said “if there’s a will, there’s a way”. I have a successful career and family life because of her love, sacrifices, and advice. I miss you mom!
I love my mother because she is a hard working, educated woman. She loves my father to no end. She granduated U of M top of her class. She is an amazing role model. She always kept the house perfect. She is an excellant cook. She loves to work hard so she can travel with my father and myself. She loves to spoil me too! My grandmother could literally run circles around Martha stewart and put her to shame. There is NOTHING she is not a master of….decorating, cooking, baking, sewing, quilting, designing, gardening, parenting, lapidary, knitting, needle point, canning, preserving, framing, cleaning…you name it! She misses my Grandfather so much. She was such a devoted wife. She cries everyday, which is heart wrenching. Both my mother and my grandmother are numinous women who have instilled a deep love of family. I am so lucky.
When I was little I loved to pick flowers for my Mom. To this day I can still remember the look on her face when I would bring her a scraggly bouquet of dandelions.
She would make a big show of delight and get out one of her antique vases to put them in.
This is just one of the reasons why I love my Mom.
I love Momma because she taught me, by example, how to love unconditionally and to help others…(-:
She has been gone from this earth now for 24 years but in my heart every day. My children all have picked up on what she taught because that is the way that I am…paying life forward in any way we can.
Thank you for the opportunity to win Planting Dandelions…I love memoirs and hope to transcribe all my memories into book format as well.
My grandmother emigrated to America from County Tyrone in Northern Ireland when she was very young, eventually meeting my grandfather and raising four kids – one of them being my mom. I can only imagine the kind of courage it takes to cross an ocean and leave all that’s familiar to try and make something of yourself in a new place.
My own mother is such a surprising fountain of strength – she’s managed to have eight kids and maintain her sense of humor. She’s the rock upon which we all stand, and – as she often tells us – we’ll probably appreciate it most when she’s gone.
I love my mother very much. She pretty much raised me when I was a kid becuase my dad worked all the time. She taught me a love of books and bargain shopping. She is a strong person because she has helped both of my grandmas when they were sick and taking care of my dad also who is disabled. She does a lot for many people and I am so proud of her.
Because she calls once a day–every day
Because she loves me in spite of me being me
She always knows the right thing to say to make me feel better.
My mother was the best — we use to call her the “Grand Dame”. She passed away at 87 yrs young — she was still putting on skits at the nursing homes — for the “old” people she said!!! She was loving and caring and everyone loved her . Its been 10 years and it still hurts so much –I miss her so much!!!!!
There are so many reasons I love my mom that it is hard to nail it down to just a few. My mom and dad raised eight of us and she always seemed so tireless. My parents had a farm and my dad had a job besides that, so my mom was left with a lot of the responsibility at home. She taught me that hard work never killed anyone and I never heard her complain. Later in years she made quilts for charity and was always a very selfless, strong woman. She gave me a love for reading and life in general. They say you turn into your mom and I can only hope that it’s true.
My mother is wise, kind, loving and has always put her children and husband before herself – she has worked hard all her life, at home and on a full-time job, but still managing to play with us kids – board games, sledding, building igloos and throwing snowballs. For a few years, she even worked 2 jobs, yet was still there if we needed someone to talk to. Even now as an adult I rely on her wisdom, kind words of advice and most of all – her love. The main reason I love her though – is because she is my mom, my precious and only mother.
She’s not just my Mother, she truly is my best friend. We laugh and talk on the phone everyday. She really is the most wonderful, strong woman I know.
Mom was a good cook. She was a excellent seamstress.
My mother has always been a great suppporter of mine, no matter what. She has always loved me unconditionally and has shown that. She’s a wonderful Christian example.
I love my mom because she always told us the way things were and did not sugarcoat it. We did not have much growing up but she did her best, loved us unconditionally, and supported me and my sisters in whatever we wanted to do. She still is a great role model, and helped me be a good mom!
I love my mom because of the little things she has always done for me. When I was in college and living on campus about 20 minutes from home, I could call my mom and ask her if she would make a birthday cake for one of my college friends whose family wasn’t close by. My mother made SO many birthday cakes over the years and delivered them to campus too!
She is a very giving person who lives to make others happy!
Because she is the ONLY one who continues to be there for me. No matter what.
My mother lived abroad until she died. One of our major connections was my sending the books in English that she loved to read. I loved her because we shared so much.
My Mother died in 1995, and I miss her everyday. When something exciting happens in my life, I miss being able to share with her. She was always there for me as I try to be there for my children.
I love my Mom because she was my best friend and put up with me in my bad teen years and helped me appreciate and understand my marriage and 6 children. She was always there on the telephone when I needed a friend or adult to talk to when I had tough days to get through while being a stay at home mom.
I love my mom because she finally got past the jealousy that ravaged our relationship when I was a child. Of course, it did take the death of my father for her to do that — after all, I was “his,” as he put it to her the day I was born. Granted, it is merely an excuse for the horrid way she often treated me, but we’ve now been able to go beyond that and now that she is in her 80s, we can enjoy that fact that we are mother and daughter.
My mother has been deceased for the past 30 years. I think of her everyday and often have “chats” with her.
Many years of caring!
I am a Mom [7 children] and a GramMom [12 grandchildren] and a Great GrandMom [3 great grandchildren] and it is all based on my Mom, whose was the foundation for all of us.
There are many, many reasons why I love my Mom. However, in relation to this contest; I love her because she instilled in me, at a very young age, a great love for books and reading.
I lost my mom when I was only 30 and she was 55. I still miss her
everyday. I’m always wondering what we would be doing if she was still with us, cause we had such fun together.
My mother and I were so close and I wish she were here for me to give her anything! She was an Angel!
READ MY BOOK,” LIFE LOVE AND DEATH,” BY MARY F. TUCKER, AND TOU WILL SEE WHY I LOVED AND STILL LOVE MY MOTHER. SHE WAS THE MOST FORGIVING , LOVING AND CAREING PERSON I’VE EVER KNOWN, OR WILL EVER KNOW. SHE HAD TO BE ONE OF GODS ANGELS HERE ON EARTH, WHO WENT THROUGH HELL , BUT HER FAITH IN GOD NEVER WAVERED. I CAN’T BEGAN TO TELL YOU ALL SHE WENT THROUGH,BECAUSE IT TOOK THE WHOLE BOOK, AND THEN SOME, AND THAT JUST WAS THE TIP OF THE ICEBURG, THE FIRST BOOK IS ,”LIFE LOVE AND DEATH,” AND THE SECOND BOOK WAS ,”FARTHER ALONG,” MORE ON LIFE LOVE AND DEATH, BY MARY F. TUCKER. BOOK ID # 69033, AND BOOK ID# 86166
My mom died 30 years ago when I was 25 and my daughter was 1. I miss her every day & give my daughter all the love I can!
My mom is the best mom of all – she has always been there for me and loved me andbeen a great example. I can only hope to be half the woman she is.
I lost my mom in June of 2006 but for me she lives on in my heart, in my memory and in the faces of my children and grandchildren. What a character she was….. funny, outspoken, bold, generous and above all, loving and compassionate. With each passing year I swear every time I walk past a mirror she is looking back at me. Now that’s a big old dose of reality that catches me unprepared every once in awhile. She’s probably laughing her buns off looking down at me from heaven because I always told her I would never grow old gracefully. She had the most beautiful head of silver white hair framing her olive complexion. I’m a breast cancer survivor of 3 years and when my hair grew back after chemo, I can say I’m now the proud owner of a beautiful head of silver white hair framing an olive complexion. Thanks mom…I get compliments all the time from people who tell me I look more and more like you every day. If my children and grandchildren love me half as much as I loved her, I could count myself as the luckiest woman on earth!
As a product of divorced parents, my grandmother was the special person for me. Visiting her house was always fun, even if it meant working. She alway made my favorites to eat, memories of her are special.
My mom is one of my best friends. I turn to her often for advice and support. She is always there for me and my family and has been an excellent example of what a mother should be.
My mother and I were so close and she showed me what books could do for my life. I wish she were here, but she has been an Angel since I was a teenager. I am an avid reader because of her encouraging me to read when I was little. Now I can get away just be reading! She also was a sweet, kind and compassionate woman who everyone loved. I am 67 years old now and look just like her and my friends and family say I am just like her. What a compliment that I treasure!
My mother had (and has) a silly, untamed side to her parenting that I’ve found surfacing as I raise my own children. It makes me happy I’m my mother’s daughter.
I love my mom because she is always there for me. It’s not something that she just says, it’s a way of life for her. I recently graduated from college at the age of 36, and my mom rearranged her whole schedule to fit in my ceremony, then a party at her house the following day. The next week I was hospitalized with severe complications with shingles. Once again, the only thing that mattered was me, my children, and my husband. She made sure we had what we needed to keep life going. I hope I can be the same type of mother as my children grow older and they know that I will ALWAYS be there for them!
I love how my grandma’s eyes looked like clam shells! And how I knew she loved me–no matter what.
I love my mother & grandmother! They are truly two of the most special ladies on the face of this Earth!!! They have tried to pass on & instill in me many great beliefs and have led by example. I hope, someday, my future children will look to me as a guide and feel the same amount of love and respect for me, as I do for them.
Happy Mother’s Day to all og the great mothers and grandmothers out there!
My mother turned me on to nature at a very early age and it has become my touchstone throughout my life. An example: she taught me to ID birds by sight and sound..at 5 years old I thought God sent cardinals to make my day….at 55 I use to sit in very boring meetings and listen to the birds’ songs outside and identify them…it made the meetings go much better. I thank my mother daily for starting me on a lifelong inpirational adventure.
Both my mother and grandmothers are now gone. But my fondest memories of my mother were from when she was not working. She was the only mother who taught the neighborhood kids sidewalk games such as Red Rover and Rolly Polly. She took us for walks in the woods where we almost crossed paths with a copper head snake. We went on day trips to historic sites from Morristown to Elizabeth, NJ. None of the other mothers would do these things except her next-door side kick, Charlotte Grant. We would have missed these great moments in the neighborhood.
Laura Beyer