Today I went and visited my Mother-in-law’s resting place. It seemed so humble and small next to the the strong personality of the woman buried beneath the freshly tilled Earth.
Strong women leave such a void when they are gone.
Kind of like Alice Roosevelt, the sassy daughter of former President Teddy Roosevelt. I just finished the book, American Princess and I wanted to share with you a little tidbit about the story.
First of all, at the end of the book, I was left wanting to know more about her – but in a good way. I love learning about strong women, specifically strong American women, and how they lived their lives free from regret. She died in her mid-90s and lived a life so full, so well-lived (in the grabbing life by the horns kinda-way,) that you can’t help but adore her.
The book was written by Stephanie Marie Thorton, a history teacher that was enamored with Alice’s father, Theodore. While doing a little research, she came to understand that Alice was a force of nature and her story needed to be told.
I could not agree more.
Without giving too much away- basically, Alice was the first real media darling in the 20th century. She was constantly seeking approval from her father, who honestly spoiled her to a fault, however, she could never quite see that. She later ended up as a socialite and made friends with, well… with the wrong girls. Both of whom tried to take her beau away – Nicholas. Yes, that is a story all unto itself. You follow through affairs, world travels, politics, suicide, war, greed – the whole gambit. The hardest part of the book is getting past the silliness of her late teens, early 20s. The writing gets more mature as Alice matures. In other words – stick with it.
Once she ends up in China, you will fall in love with her!
If you are a fan of historical biographical fiction and adore stories about strong women who rock the boat, then this book will be a fun one for you to read. (I mean, she even went to war with sweet little Eleanor Roosevelt! That is a hoot! AND she ignored President Carter when he was in office because she felt he was not very dignified.) Ha!
I’ll end this by leaving you with a famous quote by the main character, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, then come sit by me.” ~ Alice Roosevelt.
Destination Unknown 