A Special Delivery: Mother-Daughter Letters From Afar - Softcover

I hope that readers will love these letters as much as I do. It is not only the story of a pregnancy, it is also the story of a creative and adventurous young woman, and her beautiful relationship with her mother. It sometimes seems as if we only hear about dysfunctional families these days. What a refreshing change to read the words of a mother and daughter who, despite their very different personalities and lifestyles, love and respect one another immensely. I feel fortunate to be able to share these letters with others.

What I love about being the mother in this book of mother and daughter letters is that I have a chance to step back and to see how very much my daughter and I are alike - in values and principles. But because we were brought up at very different times, the things we chose to do, in order to be doing our own thing, appear as basic differences, rather than likenesses. In my day, the mid-fifties, to go off to Europe with one friend and a backpack (a borrowed Boy Scout rucksack) was very adventuresome and unique. In Elizabeth's day in the late eighties, everyone went off to Europe on their own, and the adventuresome thing to do was to buy a year's exploratory ticket to the Pacific! In my day, getting married at 25 was taking a high risk; we were supposed to be married right out of college. In Elizabeth's day, married?? In my day, asking for a female obstetrician was searching for an alternative. In Elizabeth's day, the alternative is a midwife. See what I mean?

Here's an opportunity to look at yourself and your mom or daughter and see how influential a mother is on her daughter - even though at first look you'd never know it! --Joyce Slayton Mitchell

I love reading the letters to my mom in A SPECIAL DELIVERY because it brings back all the loving and magical moments of being pregnant for the first time. It also shares some of the anxieties any first-time mother (and grandmother) would have leading up to and during birth. Pregnancy and birth are very personal and intimate experiences. To have them written in a book that I can reread brings back the whole experience very vividly. Reading about the actual birth brings tears to my eyes every time! --Elizabeth Dix Mitchell