This is such a cool idea! Cole, Joffrey and Rakhra recruited 529 women to write a diary of a single day -- the same calendar day -- in their lives. The compilers selected some to print in their entirety and some from which they quote, and they arranged them into This Day: Diaries of American Women.

The book represents women of different ages, income levels, professions and situations, and each is unique in the story she tells. At the same time, there are common threads running through from diary to diary, such as the sense of too much to do and too little time, or the need for time alone to think or to pray or just to breathe.

I read it cover to cover in nearly one sitting, and I still like to open it at random and read the entry on the page. This is the kind of book you want to buy for everyone you know.

The lives of these women are inspirational and encouraging, and even the ones who seem the most mundane offer fascinating glimpses into another woman's life.

- Rambles
written by Donna Scanlon
published 29 May 2004