Review:The Bridge Ladies

Title: The Bridge Ladies
Author:Betsy Lerner

A fifty-year-old bridge game, and the secrets it held, provides an unexpected way to cross the generational divide between the author and her mother: Betsy Lerner takes us on an intimate and powerfully personal literary journey where we learn a little about bridge and a lot about life.

After a lifetime of defining herself against her mother’s Don’t-Ask-Don’t-Tell generation, Betsy Lerner, a poster child for the Sex-Drugs-and-Rock ’n’ Roll generation, finds herself back in her childhood home of New Haven, Connecticut, not five miles from the mother she spent a lifetime avoiding. When Roz needs help after surgery, it falls to Betsy to take care of her. She expected a week of tense civility; what she got instead were the Bridge Ladies. Impressed with their loyalty, she realized her generation was lacking. Facebook was great, but it wouldn’t deliver a pot roast.

Tentatively at first, Betsy becomes a regular fixture at her mother’s Monday Bridge Club. Before long, she braves the intimidating world of Bridge and comes under its spell. But it is through her friendships with the ladies that she is finally able face years of misunderstandings and family tragedy. The Bridge Ladies become a Greek chorus, a catalyst for change between mother and daughter.

By turns darkly funny and deeply moving, The Bridge Ladies brilliantly weaves the stories of the Bridge Ladies, along with those of Betsy and her mother across a lifetime of missed opportunities. The result is an unforgettable and profound journey into a hard-won—but never-too-late—bond between mother and daughter.

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I found this book at a goodwill so long ago I have no clear idea why I picked it up.The Bridge Ladies has been sitting on my book shelf for quite some time.It wasn't till quite recently I decided to pick it up after letting it gather dust on my book shelf.The book wasn't what I expected, but I found it very enjoyable

This is a book about being a child, a parent, or a grandparent; it's about aging, not always with dignity and light; and it's about a bridge club of five Jewish ladies, who have been playing together for more than 50 years.I loved the stories about The Bridge Ladies. It was interesting reading about their lives then and now, and how different the women's lives were compared to how young women live now. I wish the whole book had been solely about the Bridge Ladies.

I found it jarring in someways the author talked a big game about being modern and not like her mother and her mothers friends, however from my perspective as a young 20-something in today's world, I found a lot of what the other was saying outdated. This was what was so intriguing to me about The Bridge Ladies.Reading this book gave me a very detailed peek into a small pocket of women from two generation. I would recommend this book o anyone who loves a chill memoir to read.4/5