“I highly recommend this book for all families; exposing children to the concept of adoption at an early age will help them understand and accept their adoptive peers.” – San Francisco Book Review
“A Is for Always has as its core the love and sense of belonging that adoptive family members have for each other…You can imagine the delight and reassurance that a three-to-six year old would find in this book. But its perceptive, funny, and tender pages have a broad appeal that caregivers will enjoy just as much.” – Spirituality and Practice
Looking for a book to explain the various aspects of adoption to kids? With simple rhymes and sweet illustrations, A Is for Always offers a creative approach that kids can understand. A is for Adoption, L is for Loving, Q is for Questions, and S is for Soothing… the friendly animals on each page depict an adoptive family cherishing a new child. (Ages 2-8) – Midwest Book Review
5 / 5 … Through rhythmical storytelling, Cutting uses animals to show the ways adoption makes a family, from A to Z. Describing adoption as a gift and celebration creates a story of acceptance and love for those involved in the adoption process. The story gives simple examples of how people can come from all different parts of the world, through a variety of circumstances and backgrounds, to form loving and bonded families. It does not shy away from questions that kids may have about how they came to be adopted, or the challenging emotions that may be present. Adoption is represented as an opportunity for nurturing, reflection and growth. The variety of animals, from a kangaroo to an otter, suggests the diversity that adopted families. Characters are shown soothing their children, answering hard questions, spending time as a family, and working together to build homes. This story would help anyone who has adopted children begin or continue conversations about the adoption process. Written for early elementary school-age children, this book could be used with upper elementary-age children as well. – Children’s Literature
“A beautifully written meditation…Her courage will lend great strength to other sufferers.” – New York Times Book Review
“The writing stuns us with its immediacy and sharp, urgent focus…An extraordinary tale of a young pianist’s struggle.” – San Francisco Chronicle Book Review
“When she writes about music…the words sing.” – The Boston Globe
“Cutting writes with simple candor and elegant prose…A powerful piece from the dark melodies and painful dissonances of her lost childhood.” – Washington Post Book World
“Linda Cutting demonstrates an honesty about the interplay of art and madness.” – Portland Oregonian
“…wrenching, articulate, expressively titled memoir.” – Publishers Weekly
“In her writing, Linda Cutting displays the same grace, thoughtfulness and talent that she’s always brought to her music-making. With courageous candor, Linda has shone light into the darker corners of her own compelling life, and we, the readers, are richer for it.” – John Williams, Academy Award-winning composer and conductor laureate, The Boston Pops Orchestra
“This is a mesmerizing story about the loss of music and innocence and — very nearly — the self; and the subsequent recovery of all those things. It is testimony to the power of Linda Cutting’s writing that the same book that tears at your heart can, in the end, make it rise up with gladness.” – Elizabeth Berg, author of The Confession Club and other novels
“What survivors want is to go beyond their trauma into healing. Linda Cutting’s understated reserve and dignity in the way she tells her story are very special…this wonderful book is not about an issue—it’s a human story. I stayed up all night reading it and couldn’t put it down.” – Ellen Bass, co-author of The Courage to Heal
“Memory Slips is beautifully–indeed musically—written. Linda Cutting’s masterful interweaving of two lives—one lived in music, the other in pain—has the remarkable dual effect of setting this incest survivor’s story in sharp-edged relief and still presenting a ray of hope and self-redemption…” – Keith Lockhart, Conductor, The Boston Pops Orchestra
Content © Linda K. Cutting 2020 | Background photo: Unsplash | Site design: Minh-Anh Day