Snag Your Copy Shadows And Ghosts Drafted By Barbara Froman Accessible From Digital Format

Mae Glick, a critically acclaimed filmmaker, has lived and taught in the small town of Willow Bend, New York for five years without drawing attention to her troubled past.
But when she suffers a near fatal heart attack, the result of trying to live on the same meager rations as a group of homeless people she is filming, she winds up in intensive care under the scrutiny of a neurotic psychiatrist who believes she's unstable.
To make matters worse, her mother's ghost has appeared at her bedside with old gripes, and her angry, estranged identical twin, Lisa, is heading toward town intent on having her committed.
Ida Mae is desperate to escape with her freedom intact, but knows she'll have to get past her psychiatrist first.
The only question is, can she Shadows and Ghosts is Ida Mae's tale of artistic passion, fierce sibling rivalry, failed love affairs, substance abuse, and the magical redemptive power of cinema.
Most of all, Superb Writing

There are books fueled by dynamic plot that keep you furiously turning the page.
Then there are books where an elegant choice of words makes you linger over phrases, The best books do both, and Shadows and Ghosts by Barbara Froman, is one of those, Its also very funny.
The book operates on many different levels at the same time, being about Jewish mothers and their daughters, sibling rivalry, the creative process, and the magic and power of films.
Theres also the presence of ghosts, the past that lives with us long after people have died,
Two aspects of this book stood out for me, First was the exceptional character development, Wonderful depictions of every character made each one come alive,
But most of all, the writing itself was superb, I often found myself rereading sentences several times, because the choice of words was so perfect,
My only complaint is that I wished Id seen more of the films referenced in the book, I think this would have helped me appreciate the work even more,
This novel, winner of the First Book Contest sponsored by Fairleigh Dickinson University and Serving House Books, delves into the "shadows" and "ghosts" of many relationships sistertosister, daughtertomother, artisttowork, therapisttoclient as we learn the story of Ida Mae.
Don't let the folksysounding name fool youIda Mae is an articulate artist with a story to tell, one that is told through various perspectives and scenes, much like the movies to which Ida Mae alludes.
Though the themes may be ages old, this is a contemporary story and its originality makes for a great read.
Anxiety eater meets anorexic to exorcize their mutual ghosts,

Wellwritten, this book gives some deep insights into the difficulties of modern daughters separating from their mothers, a glimpse from both sides of the fence as a shrink tries to assess and then treat a woman who has had a heart attack due to her selfstarvation.
As they begin to connect on a human level, deeper stories emerge,

The book gave me some insights, and plays up how unresolved issues and miscommunication interfere with our relationships with our parents, siblings and partners.


I particularly liked Gloria, one of the sidekicks, an exnun teacher of art who dresses like a biker.
She adds color and humor to lighten up the drama,

Partly told in first person past by one character, and in thirdperson present by the narrator, the voice shifts from one person's point of view to focus on the other players are doingan interesting technique.
I liked the descriptionsn of scenes from popular movies as chapter titles and as hits to what migth happen next.


It is a satisyfing read, and one I enjoyed quite a lot,

I received an ecopy of this book from the author for a fair review, I really enjoyed this book, I really understood the Mother/Daughter relationships in the book, I really think all women can in one way or another, Not the drama of story but the underlining love in it, An excellent read! First of all, I won this book through the Goodreads First Reads program, Thank you so much, to Goodreads, Barbara Froman, and the publisher! Special thanks to Barbara Froman for the card, and for signing the book! : I'm very sorry I couldn't review this book sooner school was starting to get really crazy around the time I received it.


I was pleasantly surprised by this book, When I first read the description, I wasn't sure if I would enjoy it, I usually stick to fantasy and scifi, and the description seemed more in the realm of reallife than I'm usually interested in.
It did turn out to be way out of my normal genre, but I didn't mind at all! Froman's writing pulled me in from the start, and while it lagged for a page or two midway through the book, I thoroughly enjoyed it.


What I found especially enjoyable was the depth of the characters, At the beginning of the book, the reader isn't quite sure who everyone is, what their relationship is to each other, and who's really the 'good guy.
” Throughout the story, we learn about each character's past, and what got them into the tense relationships we find them in in the beginning of the novel thinking of Ida Mae and her sister.
The characters have suchD past and current relationships with each other, that I half expected some of them to walk right off the page and start arguing in front of me :D.


That said, I think this book would be best for people who like a lot of character development and not a whole lot of plot.
While the story outline did have physical plot that greatly impacted the way the characters felt and responded, the story wasn't about stuff going on in the external world.
It was about internal emotions, and how these formed and caused relationships between the different characters,

On a more technical level, the editor did a good job, As I was reading, I only noticed two small mistakes, They were both very minor missing wordsnothing that can't easily be fixed, The mistakes weren't anything that made me stop and stare and have to think for an hour about what it was supposed to sayI just like to include technical stuff like that in my reviews.
In general, the book flowed nicely,

Overall, I really enjoyed Shadows and Ghosts, I think Barbara Froman's characters were amazingly realistic anddimensional, and her writing style was very nice,

Thanks again!
Relationships of all kinds is explored in this prizewinning novel, Motherdaughter, two sisters, doctors and their patients, and friends and lovers are all types of relationships that are dealt with to various degrees in this characterdriven novel.


When Ida Mae Glick has a heart attack in her local grocery, her mother Edna pushes her soul back into her body and hangs around for the rest of the book.
Ida Mae is literally starving herself for her art a literal starving artist, . . that is, she has been living with and among the homeless that she is filming in her documentary, It is because of this radical change in lifestyle that she nearly dies,

A psychiatrist, Fern, is called into the case, but cracking through Ida Mae's protective armor may be too much for either of them.
Both have mother issues both have addiction/eating disorders, and there are more similarities between them than either wishes to acknowledge.


The difference: Edna is a ghost that is hanging around her hospital room and talking to Ida Mae, and Fern's mother is living with her, but both drive their daughters crazy.


For Ida Mae, add in an identical twin sister Lisa, and there is enough sibling rivalry to make a reader cry.
Especially when they are both jealous of each other,

As the tale is spun out, Ida Mae's story comes out, Fern may realize that they have more in common than they know.


Poignancy, depth, and emotion are all hallmarks of this novel that makes the reader identify with these characters.
. . and their own relationship with their mother and sister, Overall, loved the story and the characters especially exnun/biker chick Gloria and Max, Lisa's husband, Loved, too, the way the humanity of each and every character was brought out, making the reader examine their own humanity as well.






Let me say first off that this book is the perfect example of why you should not judge a book by its cover! The cover would lead a reader to believe the story is a paranormal thriller or horror story when it is a story of an artist literally starving for her art.
I also think this is a perfect example of why the genre of women's fiction is so broad, While most generally think chick lit is synonymous with women's fiction, it is refreshing to read a perfect example of nonchick lit women's fiction.
Barbara Froman created characters that are relatable and real, These women are psychiatrists and artists dealing with familial guilt and personal addictions, While producing a documentary on homelessness, Ida chooses to embrace the lifestyle of her subjects, including minimal eating, which leads to her passing out in a grocery store.
Waking up in a hospital under the care of a psychiatrist, Ida begins to share her past demons as well as her encounters with her deceased mother.

Read my entire review here: sitelink ivoryowlreviews. blogspot. c Barbara is a writer and musician whose early love of sound led to a study of music and degrees in music composition.
After a few career twists and publications, she became the Director of Mundelein Colleges Creative Writing Program, then taught Literature and Creative Writing at National Louis University where she also acted as a consultant to Nationals graduate program in Written Communication.
Shes written fiction, non fiction, drama, and poetry, placed in screenwriting competitions, and was nominated for a Fringe First at the Edinburgh Fringe.
When shes not writing, shes practicing, composing, reading, or watching movies, Barbara is a writer and musician whose early love of sound led to a study of music and degrees in music composition.
After a few career twists and publications, she became the Director of Mundelein Colleges Creative Writing Program, then taught Literature and Creative Writing at National Louis University where she also acted as a consultant to Nationals graduate program in Written Communication.
She's written fiction, non fiction,

drama, and poetry, placed in screenwriting competitions, and was nominated for a Fringe First at the Edinburgh Fringe.
When she's not writing, she's practicing, composing, reading, or watching movies, sitelink.