More Praise for The Burning Light of Two Stars
"Laura Davis has a unique ability to capture the details of everyday life in vivid color, as she allows the reader to shadow her on this intimate, challenging and often humorous family journey. The emotional range of The Burning Light of Two Stars is a major strength: frustration, fear, rage, joy, absurdity, humor, love, hate, melancholy--it's all there. It's a fabulous read."
—Talin Vartanian, former producer at The Sunday Edition and creator of Canada Reads, CBC Radio
"As I read The Burning Light of Two Stars, I felt like a witness to the unfolding of life and death and all that matters in between."
—Evelyn Hall, Soquel, California
"Laura's book blew me away. It's a memoir written like a novel (no small trick, I think), which is usually my first reading choice. Laura's book reads like a mystery novel; though I sometimes dreaded what I'd learn, I couldn't wait to find out what would come next. I highly recommend The Burning Light of Two Stars."
—Theresa Miller, Milwaukee, WI
"I loved reading this book. A powerful story, beautifully written, The Burning Light of Two Stars explores the journey of loss and reconciliation in vivid, gripping, moving, loving detail. Laura captures the complexity of relationships, especially relationships we don't really choose but life puts in our path. It's about a search for peace about what we can't change and the surprises of all that can change us. And, of course, mother/daughter stories are rich material. I already have a long list of people in mind who I just know will love this book."
—Lucie Eggleston, Columbia, South Carolina
"This book made me laugh and cry and reflect on my own experience as both a mother and a daughter. When I got to the last page, I wanted to turn back to the beginning, and start all over again."
—Nancy Rosulek Kramer, mother of four, Galt, California
"The world needs this book."
—Santoshi Wagner-Anue, Santa Cruz, California
"In this raw, gripping, inspiring memoir, Laura Davis recounts how, piece by piece, she let her mother back into her life after betrayal and a very public estrangement, and then, piece by piece, lost her again to dementia. Reading this book changed my heart and inspired me to pick up the phone and call my mother for the first time in 18 years."
—Hollye Dexter, author of Fire Season and co-editor of The Shame Prom
"The Burning Light of Two Stars is more than just a mother-daughter story. Laura skillfully addresses crucial human questions: 'Who am I?' 'Am I my worst moments?' 'Am I my best moments?' 'How do I move through hard places to come into a rich, full, wholehearted life?' I loved immersing myself in her journey and had a hard time saying goodbye to the characters when I reached the final page. I'd definitely recommend The Burning Light of Two Stars to anyone grappling with estranged relationships, aging parents or dementia, and to anyone who has wrestled with love and frustration in a family-which is all of us. It was truly a joy to read this book."
—Melissa Thomson, Unitarian Universalist Minister and Palliative Care Chaplain, Los Altos, California
"Laura Davis crafts a raw, powerful story of her difficult relationship with her mother, from Laura's birth to her mother's passing, moving the reader easily and deftly through time like a magician. Her vivid storytelling is so credible and real that after reading The Burning Light of Two Stars, I feel I know her well, and the details she provides only magnify her honesty. In her public life, Laura is a teacher and hero to many who have suffered from sexual abuse. Yet she also has a private voice which is often at odds with her public persona. Like most of us, Laura is a living contradiction, and in this brave memoir, she doesn't hold back. We see her through her raging moments and in her softer ones. Fearlessly, she exposes her very private thoughts alongside her public ones. It's that internal voice that she's not afraid to use, the one most of us keep hidden, that gives The Burning Light of Two Stars its potency and staying power."
—Nancy Guinther, Aptos, California
"I found Laura's story compelling. Throughout, Laura struggles to answer the questions: 'Can we overcome the worst betrayals and denials within family relationships, acknowledge the existence and damage it caused, and later in life, be able to love?' 'Can a heart that is walled off for good reason, find ways to open again?' What a moving story about the human condition! I would recommend The Burning Light of Two Stars to anyone interested in mother-daughter relationships, family reconciliation, caring for elders, or understanding the effects of betrayals in childhood on family dynamics."
—Bonnie Pettus, Greenville, South Carolina