Veronica's Grave

A Daughter's Memoir

Non-Fiction - Memoir
338 Pages
Reviewed on 07/26/2016
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Author Biography

Barbara Donsky is a native New Yorker, born in what was once called ‘the beautiful Bronx’.

Author of the newly-released Veronica’s Grave: A Daughter’s Memoir, she is a Phi Beta Kappa magna cum laude graduate of Hunter College, with a doctoral degree from Hofstra University. Publications include a dissertation Trends in Written Composition in Elementary Schools in the United States, 1890 -1960. Articles in educational journals include “Writing as Praxis” and “Trends in Elementary Writing Instruction”. As well as a short story— “The Trouble with Harry”—published in the Naples Review in Florida.

A reading specialist with a private practice for school-age children and an adjunct professor at C W Post College, on Long Island, she served for many years as a trustee, board president, and capital campaign coordinator of the Boys and Girls Club of Oyster Bay-East Norwich.

For work done on behalf of the Club, Barbara was honored as ‘Woman of the Year’ by the Boys and Girls Club and by the Town of Oyster Bay for her 'public-spirited contributions advancing the general welfare of the community.'

Living in Manhattan with her husband, she blogs at https://www.Barbaradonsky.com

    Book Review

Reviewed by Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite

Veronica's Grave: A Daughter's Memoir by Barbara Bracht Donsky is the compelling memoir of a woman coming to terms with the loss of her mother. In the process of discovering her mother, she ends up discovering herself. The author speaks about her lost childhood, the loss of her mother, breaking away from a family that raised her with a lot of secrets, and finally going out into the world and getting educated. This poignant story will reach out to readers and take them through her trials and triumphs, sorrows and joys, and her coming of age.

The book is heartrending and the author's narration is descriptive, drawing readers into her world, her emotional pain, and her angst. The pictures shared in the book help readers connect with the author, making her life more tangible to them. The author also shares the problems she faces with her father and her step mother, and how she moves away from her family secrets and guilt to be her own person. The pain of the author is palpable through her words, and shows how the people in our lives can directly and indirectly influence us and cause an impact on our lives. It's a good book for everyone, especially parents as it reminds them that they need to hear their children at any and every age. The author does an excellent job in capturing the sights and sounds of her life through this memoir.