"Lessons Learned From Lis"

Beth’s “Lessons Learned From Lis” really impressed me. Obviously, like I’ve said many times before, I loved the alphabetical listing of aspects in a non-fiction piece. Beth nailed this one because she used such personal things about her grandmother. I could sense who her grandmother was by the middle of the piece. I related so many aspects of her grandmother to mine, which helped me relate to the story. Beth did a great job of tying some topics of the alphabet back to others. My favorite two letters were the Elisabeth explanation and the Mother’s Intuition. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know how Beth got her name, as well as her mother and grandmother. After the first page, I felt like I had sat down to dinner with Beth’s family and had talked about these topics. I felt like this was a strange reaction until I realized that she had used such specific and important topics to discuss about her grandmother. The Mother’s Intuition section got to me. I think the main reason it may have affected me is because I love LOVE! This story was about Beth’s parents and it made me happy. Also, my mother knows when I date a boy and he is all wrong for me (even if I don’t talk about him) or like nowadays, when she knows I’m with the right guy for me and completely approves. I had no real issues with this piece. I was interested and it was well-written. I loved how one letter would be some funny characteristic about her grandmother, while the next could be something serious such as breast cancer. There were few, if any, grammatical errors that I could see. Sometimes tying these pieces together or ending them can be difficult; however, I loved Beth’s last letter. It definitely solidified Beth’s grandmother to me as a character and as a real person. It began with a very personal dialogue with her grandmother, and ended that way as well.