Reviews

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  • “I'm hooked! The Foreword was amazing. Helen draws one in right from the start. I was grateful for the list of characters. I have to say, this is charming, heart-warming, and fun.” Mary Donoho
  • “I can hear Grandma’s voice telling these stories.” Susan DeFord
  • “I loved this book. It is the product of two gifted writers, a mother (Helen Mar Carter Monson) who wrote it and a daughter (Kim Poole) who revised and organized it. It is full of precise and well-chosen details that bring early 20th century Salt Lake City vividly to life. And young Helen is a fascinating character—honest, fallible, smart, and ambitious. We rejoice at her successes and cringe at her failures, and through her observant eyes we get a clear, unvarnished view of her family, friends, and the Latter-day Saint society experiencing growing encroachment from the outside world. While very particular to this time and place, the book felt like a classic coming-of-age story to me, easily as engaging and insightful as Annie Dillard's An American Life. It was a joy to read.” Jenny Pulsipher, Associate Professor of History, Brigham Young University
  • “No Ordinary Life makes me think of my own journal. The missing thoughts and feelings leap out at me after I have read the story.” Carolyn Hanson
  • “Oh my! I laughed and laughed at the image of Helen managing to navigate the hospital corridor with her bed!” Lisa Norton
  • “This memoir is a fresh and attentive recounting of childhood in the tradition of extended family and nineteenth-century Mormon plural marriage as it trailed into the twentieth century. Helen Mar Carter Monson (1916—2001) was a granddaughter of LDS church president Joseph F. Smith and Alice Kimball, one of Heber C. Kimball's daughters; the draft was completed posthumously by daughter Kim Poole. The voice is alert, vital, and warm, held within a web of family relationship, charged by the multiplicative power of polygamy … The rich detail of memories [Helen] attributes to having been a talkative extrovert who captured events and perceptions in her words and re-tellings. It is a life remembered with charm and honesty.” Andrew Kimball, co-author of Spencer W. Kimball
  • “From the way it is written, so real life, and so eventful, you could make it into a couple of movies/mini-series. Seriously.” Greg Valdez
  • “These stories are gems!! Their ‘plainness and honesty’ are exquisite. They are concise and honest, and otherwise very well written.” Don Norton, Retired Professor of Linguistics, Brigham Young University
  • “This isn’t your ordinary biography. I couldn’t put it down! I was captivated by Helen’s childhood stories masterfully written with such a fresh and fun style. I found myself rereading passages just to delight in the glorious word choice. This novel-like life history will make you laugh and cry and most of all make you want to meet this woman who had so much personality! I also loved her sharing of life lessons, spiritual insights and valuable glimpses into history. I can’t decide if I loved it more because I felt like I was reading the diary of my own grandmother, or because I felt like I was reading a classic.” Lori Searle
  • “Sensitive portrayal of a young girl growing up during the 1920's. Author combines the struggles and feelings of "coming of age" with the interesting history of early Utah and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. … This first edition is well worth reading and I look forward to the next two volumes with more of the story.” Annette Pierce
  • “I absolutely enjoyed this quick read. It flowed together well, especially since it is taken directly from the notes of Helen Carter Monson. Kim Poole adds some historical context that very effectively combines a touching and poignant coming of age story of an ordinary girl with a history of early Salt Lake City. By the end of the book you'll agree with the author that Helen's life was in fact extraordinary.” Wigglerbug, Amazon review