Dickinson's Family

[Stephanie]

What did you think of the Mighty Queens in Dickinson's family? What did they teach her?

[LeisaPS]

They all seem like strong women who survive with the support that they receive from each other -- regardless of their situations/mishaps/choices....!!

[kayJ]

I think they taught her to just 'be' and accept others to be what they were. If they saw something that needed doing they did it. No expectations of others to pick up on what they felt should be done.

I could relate to some of this because I am the youngest of 7 girls and 2 boys. My mom ran mostly the whole show but my dad's sister who never married, along with 3 more of her sisters and one brother (all never married) lived and ruled over us and  had the final say. It gave me the sense that if you want something done ...then the girls would do it while the boys had to be babied along. Not sure it is right and not sure how that is going to play out in the long run with all of our marriages.

[vivico1]

You know, I would have liked to hear more one on one conversations with the women in her life and really get to know more about the Mighty Queens. I felt like other than knowing they met once a week and talked over the same things each week, or hearing Amy think about what this one or that one might say about something, well I feel like I missed out on a lot of first hand talks among them that really would have connected me more to the title of the book. Were they "mighty" because they all got through a divorce and all stayed in the same town together? Or what made each one mighty in her own way? I wished there had been more of that.

[moomjy]

Vivico, I agree I wish more was written about all of the Mighty Queens.Nothing was really discussed about their lives...Becca

Message Edited by moomjy on 10-20-2008 05:57 PM

[pcsmama5]

In all honesty, I felt there was so much more that could have been "fleshed out" about the Mighty Queens in Amy's life.  I really felt that the title didn't quite live up to itself in that way.  I was intrigued by her mother's going back to school and getting a degree at 53 (I'm 53) and more about her aunts and sisters and mom might have really shown WHY they were considered "mighty."

[vivico1]

It was kind of like we were told their nickname for themselves but never really got to know why huh.

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pcsmama5 wrote:

In all honesty, I felt there was so much more that could have been "fleshed out" about the Mighty Queens in Amy's life. I really felt that the title didn't quite live up to itself in that way. I was intrigued by her mother's going back to school and getting a degree at 53 (I'm 53) and more about her aunts and sisters and mom might have really shown WHY they were considered "mighty."

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[pcsmama5]

That's it exactly!  While I am sure they were "mighty" in their minds, it doesn't seem clear enough to us, the readers, why we should also find them to be that.  As a Freeville native, however, it was rather fun to read the references to local people and places.  And because I have met Amy's sister Rachel, I can personally understand why one might consider her "mighty."  As an unfamiliar reader, though, that would go right over my head.

[vivico1]

You know, I am usually saying, this book needed to be cut from 500-600 down to 350-400. Sometimes the best books are those where the author uses the least amount of words to get the points across. It makes you think harder about the words you chose but gives some really wonderful succinct thoughts. But here I would say, give it about 50 more pages, not as filler but to give a few stories about a couple of those "mighty" women. I think it would pull it together more.

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pcsmama5 wrote:
That's it exactly! While I am sure they were "mighty" in their minds, it doesn't seem clear enough to us, the readers, why we should also find them to be that. As a Freeville native, however, it was rather fun to read the references to local people and places. And because I have met Amy's sister Rachel, I can personally understand why one might consider her "mighty." As an unfamiliar reader, though, that would go right over my head.

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[AleaML]

I totally agree. I was expecting sort of a "Ya Ya Sisterhood"-type of book. I didn't really see how the MIghty Queens really played into the book. Maybe it should have been singular b/c I thought that Amy came across as really strong. However, I didn't really think that Freeville was a central location for the book. The title was a bit misleading...

[bookowlie]

I totally agree that this book should have been a bit longer.  I also would have liked to see more background about Amy's sisters, mom, and aunts.  Since the "queens" were central to Amy's life, I was interested in a little more character development.

[GnANorman]

I agree that her mother taught her to be strong and an independent woman.  Her strength was also passed on to her daughter.  I enjoyed the different stories, but other than the weekly breakfast and ongoing discussion among her aunts, never felt the strong connection with the rest of the family.  Most of her strength she learned from her mother and through her life experiences. 

[boutiquegb]

I have to agree with everyone.  I have no Idea what makes them so Mighty?  I think it would have been nice if each of the "queens" were explored individually.  While I feel like this book is a super easy read, sometimes I find myself thinking "get on with it already", kwim?  Amy does seem mighty, and has overcome a lot of things, but I want more about why the title is 'The Mighty Queens of Freeville' and not 'Amy Dickinson Surviving and Thriving'.

[kayJ]

I felt there was enough information about her family. I think the title is more of a feeling that Emily was feeling from all that she had seen in her short life. She was dealing with her own loss of parent and watching her mother struggle from time to time. They would go home again and Emily was exposed to her grandmother and aunts all strong and dealing with their lives and what situations they were in making the best of each.

I think the title reflects what a young girl like Emily might feel especially when her mother became a success after all her doubts and troubles. Her grandmother becomes a teacher and I think Emily can see anything can be out there for you if you make that choice. I think for her, that makes them Mighty Queens and she is the recipiant of all that knowledge and power now to go forth and seek what awaits her.

Or I could be wrong??

[vivico1]

Oh, there was great stuff written about Amy and Emily. I liked Emily and oh yeah, I see her calling the family clan of women The Mighty Queens , but I think what we were all hoping, or at least me and what I read from others, is more about those other women and why she saw them as Mighty Queens. We get very little of their stories to make the title make much sense other than it was a one liner Emily used as a nickname for them that maybe Amy thought would be a good title.

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kayJ wrote:

I felt there was enough information about her family. I think the title is more of a feeling that Emily was feeling from all that she had seen in her short life. She was dealing with her own loss of parent and watching her mother struggle from time to time. They would go home again and Emily was exposed to her grandmother and aunts all strong and dealing with their lives and what situations they were in making the best of each.

I think the title reflects what a young girl like Emily might feel especially when her mother became a success after all her doubts and troubles. Her grandmother becomes a teacher and I think Emily can see anything can be out there for you if you make that choice. I think for her, that makes them Mighty Queens and she is the recipiant of all that knowledge and power now to go forth and seek what awaits her.

Or I could be wrong??

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[bmbrennan]

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vivico1 wrote:
You know, I would have liked to hear more one on one conversations with the women in her life and really get to know more about the Mighty Queens. I felt like other than knowing they met once a week and talked over the same things each week, or hearing Amy think about what this one or that one might say about something, well I feel like I missed out on a lot of first hand talks among them that really would have connected me more to the title of the book. Were they "mighty" because they all got through a divorce and all stayed in the same town together? Or what made each one mighty in her own way? I wished there had been more of that.

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I took it a different way with there being strength (or might) in numbers.  Maybe the weekly get togethers had more to do with re-enforcing their emotional and intellectual solidarity than anything els.

[Peppermill]

Because some book marketers thought one title would sell better than the other?

I.e., do we think Amy wrote the book to celebrate and honor the women in Freeville who have supported her, or is this more a promotion piece to further her own reputation and provide another source of income?

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boutiquegb wrote:
I have to agree with everyone.  I have no Idea what makes them so Mighty?  I think it would have been nice if each of the "queens" were explored individually.  While I feel like this book is a super easy read, sometimes I find myself thinking "get on with it already", kwim?  Amy does seem mighty, and has overcome a lot of things, but I want more about why the title is 'The Mighty Queens of Freeville' and not 'Amy Dickinson Surviving and Thriving'.

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Message Edited by Peppermill on 10-23-2008 04:35 AM

[1ggprincess]

vivico1

I agree. When my friends go out without me I get a full report the next day. We women retell full conversations, along with what would I have done had I been there kind of talk. That was something I missed. You felt they had a connection but it wasn't fully developed.

[Wrighty]

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kayJ wrote:

I felt there was enough information about her family. I think the title is more of a feeling that Emily was feeling from all that she had seen in her short life. She was dealing with her own loss of parent and watching her mother struggle from time to time. They would go home again and Emily was exposed to her grandmother and aunts all strong and dealing with their lives and what situations they were in making the best of each.

I think the title reflects what a young girl like Emily might feel especially when her mother became a success after all her doubts and troubles. Her grandmother becomes a teacher and I think Emily can see anything can be out there for you if you make that choice. I think for her, that makes them Mighty Queens and she is the recipiant of all that knowledge and power now to go forth and seek what awaits her.

Or I could be wrong??

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While I would have loved to read more about Amy's family members I don't feel that there was information lacking in this story. This was Amy's memoir and her immediate family had been reduced to just her and her daughter. The rest of her family, the Mighty Queens, were background characters to me. They were strong, interesting women but I didn't need a lot of details to know that they influenced Amy. They all set a fine example for her when they went through their own hardships. When Amy endured her own divorce she knew who to turn to and that she could also survive it. I felt that this was her story and the Mighty Queens were her support system. As a child she lost her father and as an adult she lost her first husband yet she has led a happy, successful life. She has earned the title of Mighty Queen as well.

[Tarri]

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Wrighty wrote:

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kayJ wrote:

I felt there was enough information about her family. I think the title is more of a feeling that Emily was feeling from all that she had seen in her short life. She was dealing with her own loss of parent and watching her mother struggle from time to time. They would go home again and Emily was exposed to her grandmother and aunts all strong and dealing with their lives and what situations they were in making the best of each.

I think the title reflects what a young girl like Emily might feel especially when her mother became a success after all her doubts and troubles. Her grandmother becomes a teacher and I think Emily can see anything can be out there for you if you make that choice. I think for her, that makes them Mighty Queens and she is the recipiant of all that knowledge and power now to go forth and seek what awaits her.

Or I could be wrong??

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While I would have loved to read more about Amy's family members I don't feel that there was information lacking in this story. This was Amy's memoir and her immediate family had been reduced to just her and her daughter. The rest of her family, the Mighty Queens, were background characters to me. They were strong, interesting women but I didn't need a lot of details to know that they influenced Amy. They all set a fine example for her when they went through their own hardships. When Amy endured her own divorce she knew who to turn to and that she could also survive it. I felt that this was her story and the Mighty Queens were her support system. As a child she lost her father and as an adult she lost her first husband yet she has led a happy, successful life. She has earned the title of Mighty Queen as well.

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I agree.  To me Emily and Amy were the Mighty Queens of the story, but there were many other Mighty Queens that helped form Amy, then Emily, into who they were.   While it's nice to know everything about everybody, I didn't feel the extended queens were the main point.