This is the diary of a teenage girl, Josephine Knight, who kept this journal from January 1885 to August 1888 while living in Searsmont, Maine. She went to school off and on in neighboring Camden. When not in school herself, she taught and gave music lessons. She traveled to many nearby towns including Belfast, Thomaston, Boothbay, Rockland, Hope, Liberty, Appleton and Northport. Josephine was a keen observer and provides us with extraordinary and often humorous accounts, of teaching and growing up in Maine, of Native Americans and gypsies passing through town, and deaths at sea. She also provides us with insights into the mundane and often repetitive work of the times. "Mother washed. I ironed." She also paints a complex picture of her relationship with her father and the behavior of others. Josephine's diary will be of special interest to those in the fields of Women's Studies and Maine History as well as anyone who is curious about life in the late 1800's. It gives us a remarkably clear view of life before cars, radio, TV, and the internet.

Whether adopting or giving birth, Moms Choice Award winning book Transformational Mothering: A Prayerful Companion for New Mothers by Amy Robbins-Wilson provides the comfort and inspiration new mothers need in those confusing and transformational first years of motherhood. This beautifully written book of prayers, poetry, affirmations, and stories acts as a guide by addressing the emotional issues associated with becoming a mother, from infertility to time spent in the neonatal intensive care unit to sleepless nights. Whether single, married, working, or a stay-at-home mother, all will find inspiration here, as well as a deeper understanding of their journey and that of other mothers. It is a moving and unifying tribute to motherhood in all her forms.