Connie May Fowler is a very gifted writer. I read every book she has written so far. I could never understand why women stayed in abusive relationships, but after reading "When katie Wakes" I have a better understanding. Many heartaches in this story, but also you see the light at the end of the tunnel. I think her dog really helped to save her. I was happy to know that she pulled herself out the misery she was in and found the good soul that she really is. Good luck to you Connie!

Quite often, the question is asked WHY does a woman stay in an abusive relationship, and the misguided answer is that she likes being abused and deserves it. In this memoir, Connie Fowler answers the question that I've often wondered myself. She shows in a very clear, understandable, and engaging way the recipe for a battered woman--low self esteem and self loathing. She tells how she identifies with an abused and unwanted female dog, Katie, and how they help each other through tough times. Her story is written in a way that it seems she's speaking directly to the reader, so that I cried and rejoiced along with her. Her abuser is portrayed in a way that is not sympathetic to him and shows without sugar-coating his unforgivable abusiveness, but manages at the same time not to go overboard and make him seem like an unbelievable monster. Despite his terrible acts, he still comes off as human and believable. Reading it, I could feel Connie's pain, insecurity, and fear, and read quickly, eager to see her find her sense of self and escape the terror and misery she was living in. This is a well-written story with a meaningful message.

Connie May Fowler brings the places of her stories to life with such detail that one can almost smell the air in these Florida towns. Although her character's lives are sometimes unsettling, her honesty and skillful dialogue help us feel their pain with the deepest compassion. Every one of Fowler's novels has been a treasure. When Katie Awakes is a brave and powerful story. As other readers have said, this memoir brings better understanding to the question, Why do women stay in abusive relationships? But I think the book is much more. Fowler's account of her own abuse, and the abuse of generations of women and children before her, really takes us inside the female psyche, shedding light on what women believe about themselves, how we punish ourselves and suffer shame and guilt for the most (seemingly) illogical reasons. Not all women know abuse at the hand of a parent or a partner, but most women suffer from birth the covert abuser, a society that still tries with all its might to stifle our independence and crush our self esteem. The story is tragic but the will to emerge is what makes this book so compelling. Every woman should read When Katie Awakes.

Inez Temple is working as a maid in a cheap tourist hotel on the South Florida coast when she meets Rose Looney. A Haitian woman with an ability to "see' the outlines of peoples lives, Inez sees in the sugar crystals in the bottom of a glass Rose has drunk from the outlines of a cage and knows early on that Rose and her new husband, Charlie, and their friends Junior and Eudora, and their children, are destined to be trapped in many ways in the years to come.

15 years later, Rose knows this as well. How she struggles to find her way through her broken marriage and try to save her only son from the same fate in the midst of all the "bars of the cages" society and life confine her within--poverty, racism, sexism, cultural snobbery and so on, is at the core of this unusual tale of life in the melting pot that is South Florida.

The mysticism gets a bit out of hand at times-and stretches credulity it the process, but this is a minor flaw in an otherwise excellent novel.

Connie May Fowler creates intimacy for the reader and all of the books characters. By bringing first person to all the characters we get to know more about how people choose the decisions they made and what motivates each one towards the life they choose. I really enjoyed the way she was able to keep the story progressing thorugh time but also using other's perspective on what occured or is occuring at the moment. Also the influences of Haitian voo-doo help add new depth to Florida southern culture. And gives new information to the reader about pagean religion and the intellegence and beauty it brings to the characters of this book. I felt her pride or her willingness to explore and place in a positive light Haitian voo-doo. I think the main essence of the book for me was that everyone needed to listen to thier own voice. And once they steered away from that is when thier lives turned towards unhappiness. The realness of coming to terms with our demons and releasing ourselves into our own strengths was what I felt Fowler was trying to get across. The beauty of how she used everyones perspective instead of one main character and narrator is what I enjoyed the most. I enjoyed being able to be sypathetic to everyone's life and the way they had/have chosen to live it.

This was the type of book that you can never put down. I read it all in one night. The best part about the book is the way the author displayed each character individually. It then ended up showing how each of the characters were uniquely linked togeather. It's a book that I will always love to read again and again. I would most definitly reccomend it.

In a world where happiness is hard to come by and love comes with a price, where pain is felt regularly and cruelty is often a consequence, it's a wonder that beauty could live, kindness could thrive, and women could have wings. The main character, Avocet (known as Bird), is part of a disfunctional family made up of an older sister (Pheobe) who craves freedom from her family, an alcoholic mother whose hobby is beating her children, a father who is anything but devoted to his family, and a half-brother (Hank) who claims to love her but is never there. The mother is an outrage, beating them so badly that scars are not only left on the surface of their skin, but also in their souls. Before Women Had Wings perfectly illustrates the hardships of the bright yet unsung hero that lies in a little girl. It also shows that some people are put into other's lives to be an angel, and to give them wings to fly. We are five female English honors students from Colorado. This book was intense but fulfilling for all of us. It made us value our lives, as well as those in less fortunate situations. It is a tearjerker that will bring out a powerful anger from deep within you. People who deal with or have dealt with domestic violence or just want to read about the shocking realities of it should definitely read this book.

Perhaps one of the most difficult stories to write is a story about children and/or abuse. Interjecting just the right amount of sentimentality is often times too difficult of a task for even the most talented writers, but Connie May Fowler tackles both topics with a level of sensitivity and finesse that makes this book a "must read." BEFORE WOMEN HAD WINGS tells the story of Avocet "Bird" Jackson, a world-weary child in search of love among the people whose love should be a given but who are sometimes the most stingy with their affections. Bird tells the story of many young women who have either witnessed or experienced abuse in a matter-of-fact, no-holds bar fashion. The complexity of the relationship between she and her parents and she and her sister and brother provides readers with a wide-open look into a tragic life that eventually makes a transcendent jump into a path of redemption. This is a book well worth reading again and again.

Ms. Fowler does an excellent job in her character detail. I felt that I knew the entire family through the imagery that she created. Bird truly captured my heart and made me love her. I was torn between wanting to rescue, hold and protect her or encourage her through her struggles. She was so strong and wise beyond her years. I love the perspective that children have on the world and this book genuinely captured a childlike outlook at a very terrible situation. I also think the author did an outstanding job by describing the pain that the girls went through in dealing with the fact that they loved their mother despite her abuse. I think this was very realistic - and although I kept thinking "get out of there", in reality a child will still love its parent despite the treatment they receive. Bird's humorous view of the world reminded me of Scout in Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird." Her strength was similar to Ellen in Gibbons' "Ellen Foster." I would recommend all 3 of these to anyone that wants a book that sticks with your psyche for a while.

I was afraid that Ms. Fowler would not write again after "Before Women Had Wings," because it was her own life story. "Remembering Blue" is a very nice addition to her writing credits. I found the beginning a little tedious, because Mattie Blue launches often into paragraphs of lists: all the things of her mother's that she has away after the funeral, all the things she remembers about Nick, etc. But I knew if I just read on, I would become accustomed to Mattie Blue's style. It is important for an author who speaks in the voice of her character to give that character a unique voice. We learn early on the fate of Nick Blue, so we know this story is really about Mattie growing up, accepting a new and challenging life, truly finding herself and how she has learned to love. Finishing the book, I found myself sorry to see the story end. I eagerly await Ms. Fowler's next story.

Connie May Fowler has put into words what love is all about. Husband and wife love, mother/child love, love of women for each other, love of family and friends, and love of the part of nature in which we best know ourselves.

The story of Nick and Mattie is actually a simple one and therein lies its wonder. The telling of this tale by Connie May Fowler is art. As a long term resident of the Florida panhandle, I can tell you Ms. Fowler has captured the essence of our very special part of the world. She's masterfully described the wonder and beauty of this very different Florida, and painted as real a picture of "folks from hereabouts" as I've ever read.

Ms. Fowler opens our eyes to sophistication and wisdom that transcends the conventional. She makes us laugh and be joy filled. She has created characters full of life and mystery and she lets us into their dreams and their hearts.

This story has a powerful message about the strength of women, and how important it is for women to love one another, and to love ourselves. And,Remembering Blue presents some terrific male characters - men who cherish their women and their children.

This is an uplifting, inspiring, and magical tale.

You can almost here the waves crashing and taste the oceans salty breeze in the love story set along Floridas Gulf Coast. In Connie May Fowlers forth novel, a young widow recounts her husbands life, their passionate affair and the tragedy that stole him from her after two short years. And though the outcome is revealed from the onset, the beauty of Fowler's prose is so compelling that you can't help read on. As much as it is a love story, REMEMBERING BLUE is also a tale of the battle between man and nature. Mostly it,s a book with heart and soul, that readers won't forget anytime soon.

I seem to be working my way backwards through Connie May Fowler's list, after serendipitiously finding "Before Women Had Wings". Ms Fowler certainly has a gift with opening paragraphs - I usually give a novel 10 pages to hook me, but both of these books had me well and truely landed after one paragraph.

Sadie is a feisty, 40ish, tour guide in the Florida Everglades, but her real vocation is that of a story teller. She finds her captive audiences among those chartering her elderly but regal boat, the product of an almost unbearably steadfast love, inherited from her mother and grandmother after their amazingly unlucky deaths when she was nine.

Sadie is unconditionally loved by Carlos, an accidental and unwilling Cuban refugee, who has an endless tolerance for her headstrong and stubborn behaviour, and her complete unwillingness to commit to anything.

Sadie's struggle to come to terms with her own life is beautifully entwined with the stories of "her women", as their their stubborn strength and fortitude emerges though a series of dreams and childhood rememberances. We are drawn back to the times of newly emancipated slaves and Native Americans torn from their homelands (realising that was not so many generations ago), and are given a grand tour of the Everglades and the Florida coast. But mostly we are taken on a trip through love in many of its forms - unrequited, unconditional, uncompromising, enduring - as Sadie learns to love herself and allow herself to be cherished.

I recommend this book highly and I'm looking forward to reading more from this fine writer.

River of Hidden Dreams is Connie May Fowler's second book, and it is also the second book I have read of hers.

River of Hidden dreams is very picturesque in georgraphical description, rich in history (in particular, with the Native Americans), and full of emotion.

Sadie is afraid to get close to anyone, to let her guard down, and to love and be loved. She lost her beloved grandmother, Mima, and her mother when she was young. They died together, while they were dancing, when a hurricane hit and the roof caved in, killing them. Sadie was a young girl, and never got over the loss. All she had to keep her company were stories passed down from Mima and Mama, a regal boat the grandfather (Mr. Sammy) she never got to meet, built, and an old quilt her mother and grandmother had sewn.

This piognant story traces Mima, as well as Mr. Sammy's life, and then touches a bit on her mother's. It tells of how Mima was taken from her family and stripped of her Native American heritage when a wealty woman named Miss Alice adopted her and lavished her with the finer things in life.

Mr. Sammy, a warm-hearted mulatto, had befriended, and fallen in love with Susannah (Mima) for the second time (he had laid eyes on her briefly once before in passing, and her face haunted him until their second meeting) when she had fainted in a church. Soon, a whirlwind romance had gotten started, until circumstances had changed.

Sadie is haunted, not knowing if the stories she was told as a child by Mima and Mama were true or just fabrications. She had brothers and a father she had never met, and now she had a loving Cuban named Carlos, who wouldn't abandon her, no matter how high her walls were.

This is a story about Sadie finding herself, allowing herself to love Carlos and to be loved by him, and to revist her past to see if those lovely fables her grandmother uttered had any thread of truth to them.

Connie May Fowler tells the aching story from Sadie's point of view, and when Sadie thinks back to her past, those historic fables are told in Mima's and Mr. Sammy's voice -- illustrting the rich emotions running through three generations of women.

This is a wonderful story, and the only complaint I have is the ending. There was so many loose ties. There was a fleeting moment of Sadie thinking about the brothers she had never known. Did she try to find them? What else did she find out about her past? What kind of future was Carlos and Sadie jumping into?

Besides the loose ends during the conclusion of the story, the rest of the book was highly enjoyable. Connie May Fowler proves to be one of the most talented and gifted writers of our time.

Attention all Woman, If there is one book that you read, this would be it. It is so romantic that you want to become Sadie and Mima for just a little bit at certain points of the book and if you read this book you will know what I'm talking about.