Things I Wish I Told My Mother by Susan Patterson and Susan Dilallo with James Patterson ~ Book Review

Laurie is an advertising executive who has just landed a career changing account when her mother, the very professional, very put together perfectionist Doctor Liz, calls her from the ER saying she has admitted herself.  Upon learning that Dr. Liz may have suffered a mild heart attack, Laurie decides to take her mother on a dream vacation to try to mend the rifts between them.  Laurie has always felt her mother wasn't there for her and that she could never live up to her mother's expectations but is hopeful that this vacation is what they both need.  But right from the get go the same old tensions arise.  Laurie wants to take her mother to Norway, the country from which Dr. Liz is from but Laurie has never been to, but Dr. Liz wants Paris.  Trouble is Paris is where Laurie and her ex-husband spent their honeymoon and there is too many memories there.  So they compromise and the itinerary is set for both countries.  Both ladies have memories and secrets from their lives in the perspective countries that they have never shared with each other.  It will take a lot to step out and get past their own discomforts and the memories they bring and share them in order to draw closer as mother and daughter.

I, for the most part, thoroughly enjoyed this mother/daughter dysfunctional relationship story.  I felt it had heart, some humor, some emotional parts that really drew me in to their relationship and that made it relatable and a twist that I was not expecting at all.  It's an easy and quick read and I finished it just over a day, it was hard to put down for me.  There was one relationship in the story that I wondered if it was necessary to move the story along,  but other than that I thought it was a fun summer read with some depth.

9.5/10

Reading Goal Met:  One book a month off my library list