“The beauty of being a sister is that when you connect with the people you grew up with, you can go back and be a kid again. You can laugh and giggle and just be crazy. You don’t have to be a dignified, responsible person because a sister knows who you really are.” – Helen Landrum, Fluffy, Funny, and Fabulous.
As I watch my children play, laugh, squabble, and just be siblings, I often go back in my mind to my own childhood. I grew up with two sisters and four cousins who were close enough to us to be our siblings. We had an adventurous and sometimes crazy childhood. I have a lot of memories of my childhood, good and bad, just as I am sure you do. From time to time I share a story with my own kiddos and try to pass on the story of my family.
I have always loved to write and have kept diaries and journals on and off for most of my life. I have several journals from many stages of my life, although not one is fully completed. The urge to journal my life seems to come and go and I do often regret this. I wish I had a better record of my life because my memory fails me at times. Writing my family story should be easy, but I have not spent much time trying to get it on paper.
I was contacted by a nice woman named Anita Lewis a few months ago and asked if I would mind reading and reviewing Fluffy, Funny, and Fabulous: A Tale of Five Sisters, the book she and her sisters wrote together. Anita and her sisters took the time to write down their family story. They are not famous or infamous, just regular folk like you and me. I agreed to read the book because I am a sucker for a family story.
The book is intensely personal, as the five sisters all write a section of each chapter reflecting on stages of their lives. It did not take long before I felt like I was a part of the family. I felt like I was sitting around the kitchen table listening to my aunties and grandma tell me the story of their lives. As I fell in love with this family and listened to them recount the adventures their lives have brought, I realized how precious it would be to me to have a similar book written by my mom, grandma, or aunts. How valuable and priceless a treasure to know the story of your family.
Fluffy, Funny, and Fabulous did two things for me. First, it reminded me how much I love and miss the family of my childhood. My mom, sisters, and my dad have all moved away. Second, this book inspired me to write down as much of my life as I can remember by journaling. This would be fun to pass on to my children, but also meaningful to me.
I highly recommend this book to you. It will touch you, make you laugh, make you cry, and even motivate you to pass on your own family’s story. It might even encourage you to reach out to estranged family members or contact those you love to let them know how you feel about them. It might just put your life in perspective.
“Mom, when did you get old? When did your body start to fail? I never noticed. I guess as I began to age, I didn’t realize that you were aging, too” – Vicki Foley, Fluffy, Funny, and Fabulous
Time goes by so very quickly, doesn’t it? It is easy for us to lose contact with our family and sometimes we forget just how much they mean to us. I am so glad that I agreed to read Fluffy, Funny, and Fabulous. My advice to you is to read this book and start a journal. It might even be fun to get together with your siblings and have them write about some of your family stories, compare notes, and have a few laughs.
Stop by and say hello to The Five Sisters on Facebook and on their Web site.
Disclaimer: I was given a free copy of this book to review. Of course, all opinions are my own and I loved it.
About Janice
There is no greater joy than having a sister that you are close with to share your thoughts and dreams with. I couldn’t imagine not having a sister to talk to or just to call and breathe on the phone with (you know what I mean if you are close with your sissy). This book sounds like it touches on just that, the joy of family, especially sisterhood. I love my sisters relentlessly and couldn’t imagine life without them. I love you sisters!
I would love to read this book. There is so much to be shared, learned and just enjoyed from remembering what was.
I recently took a little walk down memory lane for a big milestone birthday and I have memory books from my grandmother and father that I treasure. The Grandparents’ Memory Book, Did you really walk 5 miles to school”.
I share many great memories with my two sisters growing up. So so much fun and being close and then our kids growing up together also being close. Me, Sandy and Linda used to get all the kids together with my Mom and go to the park and have a picnic and sometimes roller skate! LOved it.We always did stuff together. 🙂
I would love to read this book. I need to start journaling for my grandkids.
I love sitting with my Grandmere and remembering the 4th grade summer we lived with her and my Grandpere. Long-term memories are all she has now, so the time spent reminiscing is particularly poignant. We found a drainage ditch with a bazillion tadpoles that summer. Brought a bunch home in a bucket every day. It was quite the moment when we figured out they were not frogs but mosquito larvae… most of us still laugh about it.
I loved the summer when my whole family got outside to play and do yard work.
I remember our family vacations – driving all over the country! Great adventures.
I love to remember the times when my mother and sisters would drive to Flagstaff and have a picnic in the woods and just have fun. I will cherish those moments forever! Oh yeah! That made me think of the trees there. We would smell the bark of the pine trees and they would smell like vanilla! Love it.
Driving to visit my parents in Idaho. A long 12 hour drive is perfect for bonding with hubby and just being silly with everyone.
watching my grandma ride a unicycle
vmkids3 at msn dot com
Bringing my grandmother on her first real vacation to the beach. Such awesome memories.
my favorite family memory was the last vacation we had with my favorite aunt who has since passed away
When I was 11, my sister was born. Seeing her for the first time (and I got to name her!) is my favorite memory.
I have so many…the day my sister found out she was pregnant, her husband and her have been trying for eoght years
I loved camping with my family when I was growing up. Telling stories by the campfire, enjoying quality time together. Something we don’t do nearly enough as adults! Great giveaway.. thank you!
with my parents taking their 8 grandkids to the zoo for the 1st time
I always remember taking my grandma with us on our family vacation to Florida when I was 9. We got to Florida from CA and went grocery shopping right away since we were staying in a condo. My grandma got “jipped” a quarter at the register and didn’t realize until we were in the car and driving away and she made my dad turn around to go get it! He was so mad <3 I love my grandma
I used to journal daily, then I kind of lost my way with it during the chaos of everyday life. When I read your story about journaling it reminded me of why I once did it to begin with. I think I will try to get into it again, for my children. Thanks for the reminder!
Such a great tradition for us Moms to start, for our kids & future grandkids!
I am Anita Lewis, one of the sisters who wrote the book ,Fluffy, Funny and Fabulous. I love reading all your memories and sincerely hope you do journal your own memories to pass on. It does not have to be every day or even a work of art. Just get it down.
To any of you that are interested in purchasing the book its on Amazon, B&N or through our publishers website http://www.tatepublishing.com
thanks again to Janice for connecting so well with what we were trying to convey.
Love you all,
Anita- Sister #5