Book Review: Maude by Donna Mabry

Maude, a novelized biography of the Donna Mabry’s paternal grandmother, is neither beautifully written or groundbreaking. But it is a memorable page turner about the captivating story of a girl forced into adulthood during a tumultuous period in time – the beginning of the 20th century through to the 60s.

It’s not a fine piece of literature because flowing descriptions and self soliloquies are not the language of Maude, who became a wife and mother before turning 15, but what it lacks in style, it makes up for with feeling.

Written by her granddaughter Donna, who is featured in the later years of Maude’s life, the story shows the hardship of the Depression, World War I and II, marriage, the loss of children, childbirth and much much more. Maude is a testament to the unrecognized heroines of everyday life and it is heartbreaking to know that her story isn’t extraordinary but simply an honest portrait of millions of “ordinary” women. 

498 pages; published in 2015 by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

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