Mother's Day idea: What she might really want is...to get away from you

"It is possible to go away for a weekend and have a life changing experience," author Joan Anderson has said. "Retreat is a form of pause -- it is a time apart in solitude, a precious space in which we can see our world in a different light."

Anderson knows. Overriding both her own fears and the criticism that her venture triggered, she spent a year by herself on Cape Cod. She returned and wrote, "A Year By the Sea -- Thoughts of an Unfinished Woman." The memoir spent 30 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. While most women can't go away for a year, a day or weekend is another matter.

You might want to consider Anderson's book for a Mother's Day gift -- along with some add-ons.