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When my daughter Morgan was nine and just starting adolescence, I wanted to ensure that we would not only survive her teen age years but that we would thrive! Casting about for a common interest to build on, I realized we both loved to read. It was only a turn of the page later that I had an inspiration: to start a mother-daughter reading club with Morgan.
She quickly warmed to the idea, especially when I told her she would be in charge of whom to invite. I assumed Morgan would simply pick her best friends. Instead, she surprised me by choosing one or two girls from various aspects of her life...school, ballet, girl scouts, and church. When she suggested a girl who had just turned eight, I initially tried to dissuade her, but she stuck to her guns. The younger girl and her mom have been among the most valued members of our mother-daughter book club. Morgan's instinct was right and that became an invaluable lesson in listening to my daughter.
The chance to listen to our daughters — and to have them hear us in a new way — turned out to be the best part of the club. As our group of mothers and daughters has come together once a month, for the last five years, to talk about books, we have had fun, forged new relationships, and fostered better and better communication. Our club loves the chance to get into real-life discussions. We do not limit ourselves to talking about the plot or the characters. Using the book as the springboard, we jump right into complex life issues. We have developed a safe haven with mutual respect in which such discussions are nurtured. The result? Morgan is now 14, and we are closer than I could have ever imagined. We continue to look forward to our special time together, and have no intention of stopping any time in the near future.
In fact, the club was so beneficial to my relationship with Morgan that I started a second mother-daughter book club with my younger daughter, Skylar. Their club is called "Bookworms" and we are just completing year two. Our clubs are among the thousands of mother-daughter clubs that have sprouted up in the last few years. I'd like to think I've contributed to that grass roots movement with my two books, The Mother-Daughter Book Club: How Ten Busy Mothers and Daughters Came Together to Talk, Laugh and Learn Through Their Love of Reading and 100 Great Books for Girls to Grow On. And now, with this guide, I'd like to inspire you to join or start your own mother-daughter book club.
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