Tending Roses: A Novel
Written by Lisa Wingate
Narrated by Allyson Ryan
4/5
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Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
From the New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours comes a heartfelt novel about the bonds of family and the power of second chances.
When Kate Bowman temporarily moves to her grandmother's Missouri farm with her husband and baby son, she learns that the lessons that most enrich our lives often come unexpectedly. The family has given Kate the job of convincing Grandma Rose, who's become increasingly stubborn and forgetful, to move off her beloved land and into a nursing home. But Kate knows such a change would break her grandmother's heart.
Just when Kate despairs of finding answers, she discovers her grandma's journal. A beautiful handmade notebook, it is full of stories that celebrate the importance of family, friendship, and faith. Stories that make Kate see her life—and her grandmother—in a completely new way...
Lisa Wingate
Lisa Wingate is an award-winning journalist, a magazine columnist, a popular inspirational speaker, and a national bestselling author of nineteen books. Her works have been featured by the Readers Club of America, AOL Book Picks, Doubleday Book Club, the Literary Guild, and American Profiles, and they have received numerous awards. She resides with her family in Texas.
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Reviews for Tending Roses
97 ratings10 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lisa Wingate is one of my favorite authors. She delivers heartwarming, soul edifying stories. Every. Single. Time. Her stories have an abundance of heart and her characters own the perfect balance of strengths and limitations.Tending Roses depicts the realistic falling away of families—becoming busy in our own lives, or holding on to past hurts, that puts a wedge between those we’d preferably cling to. And Christmastime is the premier occasion to join together, even if the circumstances aren’t ideal.After Grandma Rose has a stroke, the splintered family comes together to come up with a game plan for her future. Clearly, this isn’t an easy decision, and one I can relate to in my own life. As with all of Ms. Wingate’s characters, Kate Bowman is easy to connect with. I connected with her from the very beginning and understood her motivations and heart. This is such a beautiful story, showcasing the importance of family bonds and spiritual faith. I was blessed to receive a complimentary copy of this book.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5heart-jerking story about growing old, Wingate tells it very well and brings characters alive
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5While there are some good life lessons to be learned from this book, it is so 'sweet' that I gained 5lbs while reading it!
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Little gem of a story about a hurting family coming together again by learning and adopting the wisdom of a feisty grandmother. She teaches them the importance of giving children memories and time, not money and things. The plot is oversimplified, and preachy, but good writing, characterizations and pace make this a beautiful read!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kate Bowman, along with her husband and infant son, travel to the family farm in Missouri to try to convince her strong-wiiled grandmother to move to a nursing home. Kate, used to the frantic pace of the city, dreads returning home and being embroiled in family drama. Grandma Rose, who is stronger than anyone realizes, leaves her journal out so that Kate will read it. As Kate reads the journal, she come to appreciate and know her grandmother and discovers what is really important in her own life.Fine chick lit that encourages all of us to slow down and smell the roses.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book makes you think about what is really important in life. The setting is a rural town in Missouri. The main character leaves a high profile job and "finds" what is important isn't money and material possessions, but life itself. Her grandmother teaches her a lot about this. She also befriends a child that has a difficult home life. The other books in the series are just as powerful.Reviewed by:Georganna MansfieldVocational Education Teacher
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kate Bowman is on maternity leave from a high-pressure job, so when Grandma Rose starts a fire through her forgetfulness, the family decides Kate and her husband Ben, who's an architect and can "work anywhere", should go stay with Grandma Rose and convince her to move into a retirement home.Grandma Rose is a bit cantankerous and persnickety, and is prone to heartbreaking and alarming bouts of forgetfulness, but she also has a unique sense of humor and the wisdom she's gleaned in her long life.It's mostly Kate's story, as she goes from frustration with Grandma Rose and eagerness to return to her old life, to a real affection for and understanding of the old woman, and the big old house. She periodically finds a journal lying around, in Grandma Rose's handwriting, and each time there's a new story of Grandma Rose's life, but after she's read it, it disappears until the next time.Kate was more understanding of Grandma Rose than I think I would have been, but I really enjoyed Kate's journey. She went from buying in to the yuppie dream at the beginning of the book to understanding what really mattered to her at the end, helped along by Grandma Rose's advice: "maybe you should want less." Ben had the same journey, but it was a little easier for him, I think, since his focus was on architecture rather than on the lifestyle. Too, his life didn't change as much as Kate's.The secondary characters were vivid, unique, and realistic--the other family members, who are concerned that Grandma Rose is manipulating Kate, and the young girl Dell who Grandma Rose takes under her wing.It's a little self-consciously "heart-warming," something I don't particularly enjoy, but the characters made up for that somewhat, and since I'd read the subsequent books in the series, I already knew how some of the more emotional scenes would turn out, so they weren't as tear-inducing as they might otherwise have been.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5My favorite book! The wisdom of the grandmother, the searching of the girl next door, the healing of the daughters. Wow...make you think about what is really important.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This was a nice story with life lessons and sage advice. I’m thinking this was an early work by the author. I listened to Before We Were Yours first and the writing was much better developed than Tending Roses. When writing, the first key thing taught is ‘show don’t tell’. This story was the opposite of that with undeveloped characters. The narration was distracting at times as well. I still feel it was worth the listen and will continue to check out this author’s work.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5"Tending Roses" was a gentle, touching read filled with so much wisdom about families, priorities, motherhood and appreciating the little things in life. I adored Grandma Rose! She could be stubborn and opinionated, often hurting people with her words, but deep down she had a heart of gold. She reminded me of my own grandmother and her relationship with Kate was similar to the one my grandma and I shared.I just wish there had been more stories in Grandma Rose's wildflower book, they were definitely my favourite parts of the novel. I wasn't a big fan of "Before We Were Yours", but I loved "Tending Roses". It was poignant and deeply moving, and it touched my heart.