Kindred Souls: The Friendship of Eleanor Roosevelt and David Gurewitsch

by Edna P. Gurewitsch

Book Overview

After he turns into a werewolf, Luke Watson and his family are relocated to Scream Street, a frightful community of supernatural beings. Luke vows to get his terrified parents home and learns the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312286988
• ISBN13: 9780312286989
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 296 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.5" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Recommended

I "read" this book as a book on tape. If you love Eleanor Roosevelt as most people do, you'll feel you "know" her almost as a friend after reading this book. One story in the book that stands out in my mind is this: Eleanor liked to always be 'on time' when she had an appointment or was going to a play, concert, or outing. Dr. Guerevitch and his wife were going with her to a concert onetime. They were "behind schedule" and arrived at the theater a few minutes late. As they entered the theater the audience started to applaud. Mrs. Roosevelt was "miffed" saying with some angry emotion to the Doctor and his wife, 'See, we're late...the audience is already applauding for the conductor!' Eleanor didn't realize that the audience was applauding for HER... not the conductor! This indicates to me that she was a rather "humble" person who wasn't self-centered. Whatever your political persuasion, you'd have to admit that she was a noble person who tried to "do good" in her life. Email:boland7214@aol. Good book.

Adding to the ER mystic

I certainly do not claim to be an expert on the life of Eleanor Roosevelt. However, I have read my fair share of books on her life and that of FDR. As a result, I thought I was aware of ER's circle of friends and the people who shared a close relationship with her. When I discovered KINDRED SOULDS - THE FRIENDSHIP OF ELEANOR ROOSEVELT AND DAVID GUREWITSCH on audiocassete at my local library it came as a welcome surprise. David Gurewitsch was a name that was new to me. Edna P. Gurewitsch's 2002 book is a memorable history of the relationship between the author's husband, Dr. David Gurewitsch and ER. Based mainly on letters between ER and Dr. Gurewitsch and journals along with Edna's memories, the book presents a charming portrait of Mrs. Roosevelt as a pragmatic, driven, thoughtful, quirky, emotional and sometimes difficult friend. The relationship that developed first beween ER and David, who was ER's physician, and later with the addition of Edna when they married, makes for an interesting insight into the dynamics of this unique set of human relationship. Did ER really love David, a man many years her junior, and resent the intrusion of Edna? Did she finally come to accept this "other woman" in a strange threesome in order to maintain her relationship with David? These are questions that no one can answer and one that the prospective reader can ponder for themselves. The Roosevelt children do not fair wll throughout the book, which covers the last years of Mrs. Roosevelt's life. They come across as seemingly lacking concern for their mother, going to her when they were in financial straights, especially Elliot and living lives where they believed that the society owes them a great deal because of their place in history as Roosevelts. It becomes almost trite to talk about the result of a dysfunctional family, but it's the only thing that seems to fit after listening to Edna describe ER's relationship with her children. Surprisingly, the references to FDR are few and far between. Edna speaks from the prospective of those who argue that ER took on a new persona as her own person after her husband's death and moved on with her life. As I said, I don't claim to be an expert on ER, however, I know that she was extremely close to Joseph Lash. Then there is the rumored relationship with her one time driver, state trooper,Earl Miller, both of whom were younger than ER. There was ER's life long friendship (allegedly lesbian) with Lorena Hitchock and her interesting relationship with other women. And these are just the ones that I remember. As a prolific letter writer ER left a great legacy in her writing. The thousands of letters addressed to "my dearest friend" with comments of "how much I love and miss you" were left behind for historians now to consider. Are we now judging her late Victorian style by 21st century standards? Were these loving comments a result of ER's loneliness and her desire to be loved in return? Only a psychologist can

Generous, enlightening & uplifting

This is an astonishingly generous book that gives a different look at the real life of a larger-than-life woman. Mrs. Gurewitsch was (apparantly) completely unthreatened by the strong, deep, and intimate (in the non-sexual sense of the word)relationship between her husband and the redoubtable Mrs. Roosevelt. She limns the outlines of the relationship gently, with great compassion for Mrs. Roosevelt and frank admiration for her many accomplishments. Still, this is not hagiography- Mrs. Gurewitsch tells her story with simplicity and affection, but is still clear eyed about her subjects human foibles.Through her portrait, and through the extracts of letters to David, it becomes clear that the infamous Lorena Hickok letters must be read in the context of an era (and a woman), in which language was rather more effusive.Like so many things about Eleanor Roosevelt, the book is a bit bittersweet, but she clearly had made her peace with life, and in the end Mrs. Gurewitsch has repaid Mrs. Roosevelt's trust and friendship. The book is not a comprehensive biography, but you may inspired enough by what you read that you go read one!

A different look at Eleanor Roosevelt

I enjoyed this book. After reading so much "trash" about Mrs. Roosevelt and her friendships, this book is revealing without delving into smutty, unproveable theories. It provided a lot of personal information about Eleanor Roosevelt's last years, public and private, as well as valuable insights about her complex personality. On occasion, the author's somewhat proprietary feelings toward her connection with Mrs. Roosevelt were in evidence, but on the whole, it is a memoir that no one with an interest in Eleanor Roosevelt should miss.