Excellent book about sisters Edith and Helen, and
beer. I have no interest in beer.
“I’m making a pie,” Helen said, closing the
refrigerator door.
“I can see that,” her mother nodded. “That’s
what Edith does. You can do something else.”
“Yeah, but I think I can do it even better
than Edith.”
“I know you could. But then you’ll make it
into a competition, and it won’t be fun for her anymore. So, get on out of
here.”
So it was.
Helen succeeded at everything she attempted, while Edith made pies and tried to
be useful.
Edith
married a truck driver, had two children, and one grandchild. When her husband
Stanley couldn’t work, she took a job in the kitchen of a senior citizen home
to make ends meet. When her daughter and son-in-law died in an accident, she
raised her granddaughter Diana. Edith never complained or spoke ill of anyone.
Helen loved
beer, from her very first underaged taste. Why she didn’t become an alcoholic
is never explained. She went to college and studied chemistry. She married
Orval Blotz whose family owned a defunct brewery. In a plot twist reminiscent
of Jacob and Esau, Helen took her sister Edith’s inheritance to resurrect the
Blotz brewery. She is wildly successful and creates one of the most popular
beers in Minnesota. After she took Edith’s inheritance, she never found an
occasion to make amends or even speak to Edith. The two sisters were estranged for
over fifty years.
Against a
background of Minnesota and a midwestern work ethic, the story is about women:
sisters, daughters, mothers, and grandmothers. It is also about beer.
My personal
beer story: When I was young, I got into my head that I should learn to drink
beer. I bought a six-pack and committed to drinking one every day so I could learn
to like it. I didn’t finish the six-pack and never learned to like beer. I quit
drinking it. This book has more details about brewing beer than I ever
wanted.
Some of the
women are entrepreneurs and businesswomen. Others are minimum wage working
women. A few are educated. Mostly they are good friends and hard workers. The heroes
of this tale are this latter group.
Aheart-warming story of working hard and being useful. Just what’s needed in the
chaotic world of 2020. #strongwomen
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