Amy is a 46 year-old mom on her way back to the house she grew up in to discuss her parents estate when something extraordinary happens. She finds herself transported back to 1978, where she meets not only her parents, but the 10 year-old version of herself. I can’t tell you how many times I wished I could travel back in time to see my parents in the house I grew up in. I would tell them how much I love and appreciate them, and say all the things that I didn’t say when I had the chance. This is an incredibly moving, but also comic story that I can’t recommend highly enough

Amy Weinland Daughters novel with its interesting premise was first published in 2019. This story is about time travel, the nature of memory, remembering and seeing the differences between being a child and a more reflective adult, and brimming with 1970s nostalgia. Amy is 46 years old, living in Ohio, a mother, returning to Houston, Texas, to talk over her parents estate issues over Thanksgiving, when extraordinarily, she finds herself time travelling to when she was 10 years old in 1978. She has 36 hours back with her family, plus dog, a time that has her reconsidering how her future, her thinking on family, family relationships and belief in her place in the world was shaped by her memories and feelings.

This is a humorous, thought provoking, and entertaining read, that gives us a glimpse back to a time without all the tech we take for granted today, a wonderful reminder of how things used to be in this historical period, allowing us to look back, to compare and contrast. As you might imagine a 10 year old has limited access and perception into people and what might be going on around them, the undercurrents and tensions that might exist, what does the adult Amy make of all this and other revelations, plus she comes face to face with how memories of the same event can differ considerably. There is an array of emotions on display in this roller coaster of a sensitive, insightful and questioning read that offers the opportunity for Amy re-evaluate the present.

I think many readers will be charmed and engaged by the depth, descriptions and details in the writing, and the 1970s celebration fest, the culture, fashion trends, music, gadgets, norms and expectations, and more. This is one I think many are likely to enjoy. Many thanks to the publisher.

This had an interesting premise that I was excited to delve into - to time travel to your childhood home on and have to re-live your life there for 36 hours. If you could do this, and not only observe but interact with your ten-year-old self and your then family, would you? The 1970s are as much as character in this book as the family members themselves, and will be a nostalgic treat for GenXers. What Big Amy finds is an adult’s view of the family’s interactions and words, including both sets of her grandparents, whom have passed in the present day. She learns of the tension, well hidden from the children at the time, between her grandparents, and has the chance to look at her childhood world from an adult perspective. All that said, I found the book difficult to read at times and a little TOO introspective.