Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain ~ Book Review

Morgan's schooling and career in art have been put on hold while she went to jail for taking the blame in a drunk driving accident.  When a stranger and her lawyer come to the jail to offer Morgan a chance at early release in exchange for her restoring an old post office mural Morgan is all over it, anything to get out of jail.  But her hope is soon crashing into skepticism.  Why would a total stranger choose her, especially when she has no skills or knowledge of restoration work?  And when tensions are high between her and the person who hired her she begins to doubt her decision.  But as she learns about restoration and starts to work on the piece Morgan finds all sorts of odd and disturbing things the artist has placed in there seeming to collaborate the rumors that the artist descended into madness which pushes Morgan to keep going.  Anna Dale had been a young artist from New York in the 1940's when she won a contest put on by the federal government hiring artists to paint small towns post office murals.  Her assignment lands her in Edenton, North Carolina where she finds things she didn't expect.  Things like anger that she won when there was a local artist who also submitted work into the contest and deep prejudices and secrets that the town is hiding.  When she hires a young black teenager with great artistic talent Anna has no idea of the hate that will rise in some people. What small town secrets was Anna Dale trying to tell when she painted the odd office mural, it certainly seems like the madness rumors might be true,  and why was Morgan the one chosen to reveal them?

This was a great story.   Once it got going it was hard to put down.  The two timelines flowed smoothly and the author did a great job in revealing just enough at each step to keep me turning to find out what happened.  I loved Morgan's growth through the story.  The story was both heart breaking and heart warming.  It took the whole story to reveal why Morgan was chosen and kudos to the author for being able to hold out to the end the full reveal of the story.   I will just put a trigger warning here that there is content that might be difficult for some.  I don't want to put spoilers so if you need to know exactly what it is email me.  And there is occasional use of foul language if that is something you do not like.

I gave this a 9.5/10

Read Your Shelve Challenge Goal Met:  November's A book with a night scene on the cover

Reading Goal 2021 Met:  Read a book each month from my 2019-2021 purchases

The Orphan's Tale by Pam Jenoff ~ Book Review

After being thrown out by her father for becoming pregnant by a Nazi soldier, sixteen year old Noa finds herself totally alone dealing with the grief of not only being abandoned by family but also having her baby taken at birth.  She now lives above a rail station and spends her days with her head down cleaning the station in order to  earn her keep.  When one day a rail car rolls into the station Noa has no idea how her life will now change.  She discovers one of the cars is filled with Jewish infants with no adult in sight, headed for one of the concentration camps.  Grieved at her finding Noa manages to take one of the babies and flees into the forest.  Now having to hide not only herself but a Jewish infant, Noa comes upon the home base of a travelling circus whose owner takes pity upon her and puts her into the trapeze act.  Noa has never done anything like this and she is terrified to learn.  Just as terrifying is the woman, Astrid, the lead aerialist, who has been charged with teaching her.  Astrid has her own secrets she is hiding and her resentment at having to teach Noa to become a trapeze artist is such a short time brings a lot of tension into their relationship.  But as time goes on they develop a strong friendship that seems to continuosly be tested under the strain of the war and the weight of their secrets.

I enjoyed this story that is built around a real European circus hid some Jewish people within it's ranks during WWII.   The story goes back and forth between Astrid's and Noa's point of view.  At times I did find Noa's reactions and actions frustrating and sometimes I found myself mad at her character until I reminded myself that she was really just a teenager and Astrid was about 20 years her senior.  There were harsh moments in the book as the realities of the war and what was happening in Europe brought tears to my eyes.  The whole idea of the boxcar full of children which became known as the Unknown Children  broke my heart.  I did not see the ending coming.  This was my first Pam Jenoff book and I will read more of hers.  

I rated this 9/10

Reading Goal Challenge Met:  December/Read a book with a winter element on the cover

Day After Night by Anita Diamant ~ Book Review

World War II has ended and at Atlit internment camp four young Jewish women are waiting to immigrate to Israel. Atlit is a prison for "illegal" immigrants rund by the British military.  Like everyone else at the camp they have survived the Holocaust and each has secrets and a story of survival from the war.  And like everyone else they are frustrated that they are being held even after the war is over.  Shayndel is a Polish Zionist, Leonie came from Paris, Tedi was a Dutch Jew who was hidden, and Zorah survived a concentration camp.  They have nothing in common yet everything in common.  In spite of no one wanting to talk of what they had been through they form a bond of friendship that carries them through the long days and eventually through the escape of the camp.  

This book is based on the true story of the more than 200 Jewish detainees who escaped this internment camp in October of 1945.  I had not known anything about this part of WWII history and was taken aback that even after the war Jewish people were still being detained and held against their will and not even by the Nazi's but by the very people who helped "free" them, the British Allies because they didn't have papers.  It focuses on the story of four women at the camp, each from very different backgrounds and experiences in the war, yet each one having suffered greatly on their road to survival.  Each woman's story was heartbreaking and how they navigated through their challenges surviving the war and their time at the camp was well written.  It's not a long book and at times I found it a bit choppy but it was a good read involving a piece of history that I have not heard talked about and have not read about before.  

I gave it a 7.5/10

Read Your Shelf Challenge Goal Met:  A Book Set In A Country Other Than Your Own 

The Letter Keeper by Charles Martin ~ Book Review

In the continuing story of Murphy Shepard, Murphy is still living by his life principle of leaving the 99 to go after the 1.  It has been the compass for his whole adult life.  After the devastating personal news he received in the previous book "The Water Keeper", how will he ever be able to trust his partner again?  But their work must continue so Murphy has to come to some kind of terms with his broken heart.  As Murphy and Summer try to keep their personal lives on an even keel the call of the one in trouble still pulls at Murphy and with Summer's support he will still go to find the person in need of rescuing from the sex slave trade.  When their compound is infiltrated and Summer and his daughter along with two other teens go missing, the mission has become much more personal and Murphy will stop at nothing to find them.  With no clues turning up and Murphy seemingly taking one wrong step after another, everything is stripped from Murphy except his love for his family to drive him on.

This is the 2nd installment of the Murphy Shepard series about the human sex trade slavery.  It is a page turner for sure with lots of action and mystery.  But it also has so many moments of humanity and themes of love and self-sacrifice and healing.  The reader goes back and forth between lots of heart pumping action and moments of tenderness and soul searching and heart wrenching times.  Not only do we get to know Murphy better but we get to know one of the girls he rescued and the details of the immense work it takes to heal body and soul from being involved in the sex trade.  I liked this part 2 much better than the 1st book.  It continues Murphy's story and goes more into how he got involved in rescuing those caught in the sex trade and how their ranch for those healing and hiding came to be.  Get ready for your emotions to swing from one end to the other.  There were lots of characters but each is integral to the story.  Occasionally it was quite descriptive of land areas which I find kinda bogs me down.  I loved the little hidden Easter egg referring to my favorite book from this author "Water From My Heart".   Can't wait to see how the story wraps up in the next installment coming in June of 2022.

I gave this a 9.5/10.

Reading Goal Challenge met:  Read Your Shelf Challenge for August:  A book in a series

                                                        A book purchased in 2019 - 2021

A Hundred Flowers by Gail Tsukiyama ~ Book Review

Kai Ying's family live in a shared building with several other families in a village in China during 1958.  It used to belong just to her father in law, who is a professor, but with  Mao Tse-Tung slowly bringing in Communism, owning large homes is no longer allowed and they must be shared with others.  Though Mao had the poetic words in his speech of 1956,  "Let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools of thought contend", to encourage intellectuals to suggest how the party could be improved, it was really a rouse to round up anyone they thought would not line up with the party's policies.  When Kai Ying's husband is arrested and taken away because he supposedly wrote a letter to the Premier's office, Kai Ying is devastated.  She can't figure out why her usually mild mannered husband would put the family in jeopardy like that.  When their young son Tao falls from the Kapok tree out front, Kai Ying feels the family is in a free fall themselves.  But even in the worst of times, Kai Ying cannot help but reach out to a young pregnant girl she sees in the hospital when visiting Tao.  Taking her into their home, Kai Ying cares for her and the new baby even as her father in law wrestles with his own secrets and after finally revealing a devastating one, he disappears one day. How can they all hold it together when everything around them is falling apart? 

This is a historical fiction that is both lovely in it's writing and cautionary in it's tale.  While there is lots to be read of WWII, I have to say I have not read any historical fiction based on Mao's communist take over of China and this story really opened my eyes.  Especially in nowadays seemingly push towards socialism in our society.  I was really drawn into the story and it's well written characters.  Though the ending didn't satisfy me, I would recommend this story for it's lovely story telling and for the historical significance of what can happen when communism starts to take over and the how they lure the young and the intellectuals.   Interesting to note, it was the second book I read, back to back, that had a character named Tao and I had to really focus not to mix up their stories.  LOL.  How often does that happen?  Coincidentally, for me, it was the second time this year!

I gave this book an 8.5/10

Reading Challenge Goal Met for June:  A book with an animal on the cover

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Amir and Hassen grew up together in Afghanistan. They were as close as could be. Their friendship was unique as Hassen was also a servant to Amir. Amir was from a wealthy family and Hassen's father was a trusted servant to Amir's family. Once the "serving" was done, though, they were as close as brothers and played together all the time. Hassen fiercely and loyally protected Amir when they were out on the streets and the two were inseparable. But as close as they were jealousy grew a root when Baba, Amir's father, treated Hassen so well. Amir felt he never measured up to his father's expectations and never quite had his father's whole love. When the kite fighting competition season came around, Amir felt he just had to win it to gain his father's respect and love. With Hassen as his kite runner, the one who chases the kite that got cut, he had a great shot at it. But when things take an ugly turn with some bullies and Hassen needs Amir's help, Amir cannot find the courage within himself to do what he should and the guilt Amir lives with affects their relationship for the rest of their lives. As an adult living in America with a family of his own, Amir has done well in life but still lives with an underlying guilt of what happened so many years ago and when an old family friend approaches him to help a young boy in Afghanistan, Amir reluctantly agrees. But going back after so many years will be the hardest thing Amir has done and what he finds out will rock his world. As long held family secrets come to light Amir must try to reconcile what he always thought he knew of Baba with what unfolds. Will Amir finally find the courage finally do what he has to and lay to rest the guilt he has carried for so long. 

 This was a very moving novel that painted a picture of a country and culture I knew nothing about. It starts by giving the reader a general picture of what life in Afghanistan would have been like before Afghanistan became a household word in the Western world. The upper class and the servant class life is richly detailed through the lives of Amir and Hassen and their families. Then the events that throws that life into chaos comes: the coup, the Soviet invasion, the Taliban takeover and 911 are all woven into the story and show how the lives of all classes of people in Afghanistan changed. I thought the author did a wonderful job of "educating" me on what it might have been like for the Afghan people of the time. I'd never really given it much thought. Though I found the character of Amir frustrating and honestly not too likeable at times,  his story was what moved the descriptions of the times along. I won't lie, at times the story was brutal to read, and very sad and anger inducing. It will be very triggering for anyone who suffered abuse as a child or who has lived through war.   This book at times was painful and so sad to read.  But I think, in my case, it really opened my eyes to a lot of preconceived notions the West has been fed.  But the politics of the times aside, it's a story of friendship, family, loyalty, lies and betrayal, guilt and redemption.

I gave it a 10/10

Reading Challenge Met: "Read Your Shelf Challenge May Prompt - A book you should have read in high school.  (Technically this wasn't from my era but I couldn't remember any books I should have read and had no desire to reread the one I did think of "The Great Gatsby" so I chose this book from more recent lists of high school reads.

Risen - Movie Novelization by Angela Hunt (Audiobook) ~ Book Review

Publisher's Description:

A Powerful Novelization from Bestselling Author Angela Hunt.  Epic in scope, yet deeply personal, this novelization offers a unique perspective on the story of the resurrection.

 Roman Tribune Clavius is assigned by Pilate to keep the radical followers of the recently executed Yeshua from stealing the body and inciting revolution. When the body goes missing despite his precautions, Clavius must hunt it down. His investigation leads him from the halls of Herod Antipas to the Garden of Gethsemane and brings him in touch with believer and doubter alike. But as the body still remains missing, Clavius commits to a quest for the truth--and answers that will not only shake his life but echo throughout all of history.

I listened to this on audiobook during one of my many road trips to go see my mom.  I have watched the movie several times and love it but have not watched it in over a year.  The novelization was written by one of my favorite authors.  The movie is so interesting seeing Jesus and the crucifiction and ressurection through the eyes of a battle worn, hard hearted Roman centurian.  It really made me think what it might have been like.  I must admit, though, that with the novelization I was very confused for a good portion of the listening because I could not for the life of me remember the female character in the movie and she is a major part of the book with the chapters rotating back and forth between her voice and Clavius' voice.  Turns out, in the author's notes the  character was the author's addition.  She explains it this way: 

  "As I wrote, I tired my best to properly represent Scripture, history and the Risen film/screenplay. Though the premise - what would the resurrection look like through the eyes of a Roman tribune? - is entirely fictional, I took a few small liberties for the sake of the story." 

 "A screenplay is not nearly as long as a novel, so of course I found it necessary to add several additional developments in order to flesh out the story".   

I sort of wish there had been a note to that in the beginning of the story to avoid the confusion for ones such as myself who have seen and are a fan of the movie.  Some of her additions might not sit well with some Christian readers but it was a reflection of what the history and times might have presented and as always with the story of Christ there is redemption woven into the telling.  The audiobook was a good listen.  I thought the two voice actors did a good job in acting and narrating the voices.   Had I not seen the movie several times I probably would have enjoyed this better as I would not have been distracted with trying to remember characters.  But because I did, the movie ran in my head during Clavius' chapters, and kind of stalled with the other characters voice.   All in all, it was a good listen, but not what I expected.

I rated it 7.5/10
 

The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett by Annie Lyons

Eudora Honeysett is 85.  Considering her age, she is in pretty good shape.  She still lives on her own and still attends daily swim sessions at the pool.  She doesn't need anybody and she is content that way.  But she is done.  At 85, she wants to be in control of her own passing from this earth.  She's lived her life and she doesn't want to wait until she is desperately ill or incapacitated with people having to do everything for her.  She wants her end to be on her terms while she is still able to decide.  Upon hearing of a clinic in Switzerland who will help her with this, she makes her application and sets about setting things in order.  But then Rose Trewidney, a precocious 10 year old filled with a zest for life and happiness and a penchant for twirling and overly bright clothing choices moves into her neighborhood.  For some reason Rose has decided to befriend Eudora.  Resisting at first, Eudora is put off by Rose's constant interfering and suggestions but slowly the infectious Rose draws her and her other senior neighbor, Stanley into her circle.  As the three odd friends grow closer through tea parties, shopping sprees and celebrations, Eudora starts to open up her closed off heart.  And as they wait for Rose's baby sister to be born, Eudora starts to remember and reflect upon her own childhood where she lost her beloved father to WW II and the devastating impact it had on her family and in turn her whole life. 

I loved this story.  Though at first glance, it seems to be a story about choosing how and when one gets to leave this earth it turns into so much more.  It's a book about love, loss and grief.  About friendship and acceptance and the different forms it can come in if we are only open to receive and give it. It's about no matter how difficult one has found life, that if we look there is always good to be found.  And it's about hope.  With parallels to "A Man Called Ove", this story was definitely driven by it's great cast of characters.  It was sweet, engaging and emotional.   Eudora's character was at times frustrating but as her story is revealed in flashbacks, just like her heart opens to Rose, the reader's heart is opened to Eudora.   In joining Eudora on her bittersweet journey, the reader is reminded to remember that there is so much more to a person's life than what they at first present, and how much in life there really is to live for.    

I gave this a 10/10  

Reading Challenge Goal:  Book from my library list, 5+ words in the title

The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton ~ Book Review

Full Title:  The Sun Does Shine:  How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row

In 1985 Anthony Ray Hinton was arrested in Alabama and charged with 2 counts of capital murder.  Though he was scared and shocked, Anthony knew he was working that night miles away from from the murders in a sign in, fenced and secured supermarket where he had to regularly check in with supervisors, so he figured all he had to do was tell the truth and it would prevail.  That's what his Mama always told him.  But another attempted murder victim who picked him out as the perpetrator combined with the fact of his being black and poor worked against him.  Because he could not afford his own attorney he was assigned one from the state, one who couldn't be bothered to really dig into his case and defend him properly because the state only pays $1000 for these attorneys.  Add a racist prosecutor and judge who wanted a conviction for political purposes and Anthony found himself on Death Row sentenced to death by electrocution even though he passed a polygraph test where the administrator said there was no way he committed the murders.   In his time there, he watched 54 men walk past him to their deaths only feet from his cell.  This is his story of how he got past the anger, the dread, the hopelessness to find purpose in becoming his best in order to lift others within his block.  With the help of Bryan Stevenson, the civil rights lawyer who wrote the book Just Mercy, Hinton was finally released 15 years after Stevenson took on his case.  But now with his hard fought for freedom,  he had to learn to live in a world that had moved on without him, that was totally different yet unchanged in some ways from when he was first arrested.  He had to adjust 30 years of living in a tiny cell to becoming a contributing member of society on the "outside".   

This book was phenomenal.  It was shocking and real and upsetting.  Which it should be.  Hinton does not hold back from the realness of the horror of being on death row, especially knowing you are innocent, but he also is able to show how choices even in the very most horrific situations can determine what kind of person you become and that there is beauty if you look for it.  There were so many quotes I took from this book but it would make the post really long but there are some I must share that really hit home with me.

"I was on death row, not by my own choice, but I had made the choice to spend the last three years thinking about killing McGregor (prosecutor) and thinking about killing myself.  Despair was a choice.  Hatred was a choice.  Anger was a choice.  

I still had choices and that knowledge rocked me.

I may not have had as many as Lester (his best friend) had, but I still had some choices.

I could choose to give up or hang on.

Hope was a choice.

Faith was a choice.

And more than anything else, love was a choice.

Compassion was a choice."

pg 115

"I wasn't expecting to have my heart break that night.  I wasn't expecting to end 3 years of silence.  It was a revelation to realize I wasn't the only man on death row.  

I was born with the same gift from God we are all born with - the impulse to reach out and lessen the suffering of another human being.

It was a gift and we each had a choice whether to use the gift or not.

pg 117

"I was afraid every single day on death row.

And I also found a way to find joy every single day.

I learned that fear and joy are both a choice.

And every morning, when I opened my eyes at 3 a.m. and saw the cement and the mesh wire and the sadness and filth of my tiny cell,

I had a choice.

Would I choose fear, or would I choose love?

Would I choose a prison or would I choose a home?  It wasn't always easy."

pg. 186

In the Afterword of the book, Hinton lists all the names of people on death row in America as of 2017.  He asks you to read each name aloud.  Then he asks you to put the word innocent after every tenth name.  Then he asks you to pray for each by name.  It is a sobering exercise that really brings home the reality of the "justice" system in America.

Anthony Ray Hinton's story is amazing and convicting.  It is a testament to the fact that we can choose faith, we can choose hope, we can choose forgiveness.  This next quote really sums it up.  Unfortunately, I did not record what page it is on.  I know I really shouldn't quote it because of that but it's too important.

"Some will read this book and be enraged at the injustice and suffering heaped upon an innocent black man. As we all should be.

But to not go beyond and understand that his life story is trying to tell us

that we have choices no matter how horrendous our circumstance

and to choose well,

is missing half his story!

Though parts of this book are extremely hard to read as it's an indictment upon us as humans, it resonates with hope and inspiration."

After reading this I feel this book should be required reading in high school instead of some of the stuff we were assigned to read that had no impact upon us except to rush through and get the assignment done.  This book makes you think, makes you examine why you take the stand you do on issues such as racism and the death penalty and opens your eyes to your own choices and excuses and directions you have taken.  

Highly, highly recommend.

I rated it 10+ out of 10

Read Your Shelf Challenge:  April Prompt:  Read a book with 5+ words in the title

the Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson

Cussy Mary is a young 20 year old woman living in the poverty stricken part of the Appalachian outside of Troublesome Creek.  Nicknamed Bluet by the local doctor after her blue skin, Cussy works as one of the Packhorse Librarians under the Packhorse Library Project started by President Roosevelt.  Cussy is passionate about her job, facing treacherous mountain conditions to get any reading material she can to her patrons up in the hills, even putting together reading scrapbooks from any articles and materials she can find.  It holds a special place in her heart as her mother, who passed away when Cussy was just little, taught her to read and it is her connection to her.  Cussy's father is a poor working miner and his goal is to get Cussy married in case something happens to him.  But all potential suitors are soon turned away after seeing Cussy's blue skin.  On Cussy's route she meets those who can't wait for her to arrive with new reading materials but she also meets those who are opposed or are distrustful to either the Library Project or her blue skin or both.  No different than the townspeople.  She has always faced those who accepted her for who she was and those who viciously teased, bullied her, blamed her for every thing gone wrong or showed outright racism including in her workplace.  But she has been able to make some precious friendships through her work and she will do everything to keep it in spite of the obstacles thrown her way.  The doctor in town has always had a keen interest in Cussy, or Bluet as he calls her, because of her blue skin and when he thinks he finds an experimental therapy that can "cure" her blue skin he talks Cussy's father in making her go along with it against Cussy's wishes.  Humiliated by her treatment at the big city hospital, she nevertheless, keeps going hoping the results will change her life for the better.  But will it actually change her impoverished community's minds about her?

I love, love, loved this story.  The stories that touch my heart in some way, that pull the emotions out of me while at the same time teaching me things I had no idea about are those that stick with me and bring out those 10 out of 10 ratings.  And this one did just that.  Though a few pages in I wondered if I would like it.  It took me a little bit to get used to the rhythm of the way the characters spoke.  But once the story got going I was totally invested.  It's a story about love, hate, prejudice, racism, and extreme poverty.  I had no idea about the Packhorse Library Project or the Blue Skinned people of the area.  I learned a lot.  The story also gave me another view of the Appalachian area's history of poverty and community after reading "Hillbilly Elegy" last year.  The author was able to weave historical information so well into a personal story of a young woman facing all those things. It took me on a roller coaster ride of emotions from horror to anger to happy to crying through several parts of Cussy's story and round about again.   Excellent, powerful and moving story.

Rating:  10/10

February Read Your Bookshelf Challenge Goal:  Red on the Cover                                                                      Read a Book Purchased in 2019 -2021

U.S. cover

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande

This book was recommended to me by several people.  With my parents both on the cusp of 90, they said it was a great read to help us navigate the medical and senior system.  Though written by a U.S. doctor there are plenty of take aways for a Canadian too.  

The author takes a hard look at aging and what used to happen and what now happens in America in the post modern, indrustrialized society.  Our attitudes and focus have definitely taken a shift over the century from all viewpoints:  the medical field, the aged themselves and those coming up behind who are to care for their loved ones.  The author presents the idea that what medicine created in allowing longer lives has not kept up on the end of serving it's end of life citizens well, whether they are end of life through aging or or through illness.  

"Medicine has been slow to confront the very changes it has been responsible for - or to apply the knowledge we have about how to make old age better"

pg. 16

As medicine has allowed for longer lives, for the aged and the infirm, there has become more aged and less doctors who want to care for the aged.  The author points out the fact that there is no money to be made working with the aged, no challenge but to hear their regular complaints of bodies no longer working the way they used to.  Most medical students are opting for specializations that are exciting, more glamourous and making them money for their efforts.   This is not found in the caring for the aged.  As he goes through various cases he has dealt with, including his own father who faced a rare and debilitating cancer, he started to ask "What makes life worth living when old and frail or unable to care for ourselves".    He explores how medicine in it's concerns with extending life have run opposite to what might make living worthwhile for each individual.  Doctors approaches have become an "information dump" onto patients so that they can know their choices not ever pausing to ask what are the patients desires and goals for outcomes.  What do they individually want and not want, what is the goal for them.  It is as individual as each person.  And it is this that is missing in our care of them.  The author argues that quality of life for each individual should be the desired goal and doctor/patient decisions should be made upon those expressed ideals.  

"When to shift from pushing against limits to making the best of them is not often readily apparent.  But it is clear that there are times when the cost of pushing exceeds it's value" 

pg 262

This was an eye opening book as the author made his arguments through real life stories and his experiences as a surgeon.  His explored the various approaches that different medical disciplines take and how doctors need to take more time to really get to know their patient and what it is they really want.  His arguments for "finding the quality of life" and living the best possible day today  are laid out in an easy to read language and he encourages us to ask the hard questions of our loved ones before they are not able to communicate what is quality of life to them.  What do they want to sacrifice now for time later and what do they not?  What do they want out of their last days?  What are their fears?  We should not assume we know and we will probably be surprised by their answers.  He argues that when we ask these hard questions it helps both the individual and those who care for them (professionals and family) to be able to make the confusing, hard decisions when we are faced with them.  He advocates for quality hospice care  so that a person's last weeks or months may be rich and dignified according to their own goals of end of life.  

"...the role of caring professions and institutions...ought to be aiding people in their struggle with those limits.  Whatever we can offer, our interventions, and the risks and sacrifices they entail, are justified only if they serve the larger aims of a person's life."

pg 260

"We've been wrong about what our job is in medicine.  We think our job is to ensure health and survival.  But really it is larger than that.  It is to enable well being".

pg ??

"Our ultimate goal, after all, is not a good death, but a good life to the very end"

pg. ??

(??  I forgot to take note of what page these quotes were on)

I gave it a 9.5/10   Well worth the read!

March Read Your Bookshelf Challenge Goal:  a book recommended by a friend

A Desperate Hope by Elizabeth Camden ~ Book Review

Eloise Drake's childhood was a lonely existence.  Living in a large home sitting above the town of Duval Springs, she led a very separated, strict life living with her guardian.  She didn't have any of the usual joys of childhood such as school and friendships and being involved in community.  All these she only observed through her telescope.  So when she met Alex Duval in her late teens it was easy to fall for his charm.  But when they are caught together, both of them bear consequences that will affect their whole lives.  Now a grown woman, Eloise is an accountant working for the State of New York's water department.  New York city is literally shutting down towns from her childhood area in order to build a reservoir, flood the valley and construct aqueducts to carry water needed for the growing city of New York.  When Eloise's boss assigns her to the demolition team that will shut down her home town Eloise wants nothing to do with it.  But her mathematical genius and her knowledge of the town makes her the right person to go and estimate what each citizen's homes and businesses are worth.  Eloise goes thinking she can stand on her professionalism to get the job done but once there she is reminded that these are not just citizens of a town about to be destroyed but that they are the very people she used to long to be with as she watched them as a child.  And that includes the young man whom she gave herself to so many years ago.  Alex Duval is now the mayor of Duval Springs and is doing everything in his power to stop the project and the wiping out of his town.  Alex is stunned to learn Eloise is on the team come to shut them down and he, in typical Alex fashion, risks everything to stop them.  But his idea will need Eloise's help.  He needs to convince her to go against her team and her boss, but can he also convince her that he never stopped loving her?

This is a third installment in the Empire State series.  I didn't know that when I bought the book but when inquiring in a facebook group I'm a part of the author assured me it could be read as a stand alone.  I really enjoyed this story based on historical fact.  Duval Springs is a fictional town but was based on the collective experience of the towns that were dismantled to create the Ashokan Reservoir.  I really enjoyed this story that pitted accountant Eloise against mayor Alex even as they tried to work through their past and the hurt and betrayal that brought with it.  Both Eloise and Alex were likable though flawed characters and I was easily drawn into their stories.  Both characters overcame hardships from their pasts that made them into the adults they became but it also presented difficulty when life threw them together again.  Both had to work past the love and betrayal they had shared together.  I loved the charming small town people that played secondary roles in the novel and the author was really able to highlight the small town closeness and loyalty through them.  She wove historical facts together with the emotions of the characters so well to create a story of love, loss, a bit of mystery and second chances.  Really enjoyed my first read from this author.

I gave it a 9/10

Reading challenge goal:  a book purchased in 2019/2020

A Painted House by John Grisham ~ Book Review

In A Painted House, author John Grisham takes us away from the legal dramas he is famous for and give us a historical fiction story set in 1950's Arkansas inspired by his own childhood.  

Seven year old Luke and his family are generational cotton farmers who rent 80 acres, which puts them in the impoverished folk category.  There is never much money left over for anything.  But young Luke's dream of playing for the St. Louis Cardinals one day and having a painted house keep him going.  Only people who do well have painted houses.  When the cotton is ripe it's all hands on deck for the picking including Luke.  The Chandlers hire migrant workers from Mexico and also "hill people" who come down for work during the cotton picking season.  It's hot, exhausting work fraught with worry for the adults as they keep their eyes on the weather hoping that this year could be a good crop.  For Luke and his family during harvest season, baseball sustains them throughout the spring and summer being their only diversion from the hard work and drudgery of the fields.  Saturdays are the day of reprieve for all, as everyone including the Mexicans and the hill people heads into town in the afternoon to shop for supplies, enjoy the meeting of friends and for the kids a matinee movie.  But one Saturday Luke and his friend are witness to an event that will kick off a summer of secrets for Luke that a 7 year old should never have to carry.  

This was an interesting story.  I'd never read historical fiction set in a cotton farm in this time period before.  The narrator of the story is seven year old Luke and so the days and events are seen through his eyes and his experience.  It is a summer where he grows up very quickly as his natural, rambunctious 7 year old self ends up witnessing things which then force him to carry secrets he feels he must keep and the burden of that comes to a breaking point.  It's funny after just reading "Hillbilly Elegy" and the description of violence as attitude and a way of life in that book that I would then come across a fictional story that also describes some of that same experience.  The story is not a fast paced story like the author's legal thrillers but more of a slower meandering slice of life of the farming poor of the area and time and their struggle just to survive another harvest, their hopes and their dreams.  Baseball and cotton are main characters in the story and while the cotton farming was interesting to me the baseball part I did end up skimming simply because I'm not a baseball fan but my doing that didn't detract from the story in the least.  Fans of baseball would enjoy the descriptions.   I think this has been turned into a movie so am going to try to find it to watch.  

I gave it a solid 7.5/10

Read Your Shelves Challenge prompt:  A book with a "home-ish" word in the title (House)

Winter Garden by Kristen Hannah ~ Book Review

Meredith and Nina are as different as two sisters could be.  The older one, Meredith, is the super responsible sister, married with two young adult children, has stayed around home and is now running her father's apple orchard.  She goes by the rules and her life is very ordered.  Nina , the younger is the risk taker, the adventurer.  She has no home base and is very content in her life as an award winning photographer traveling around the world and inserting herself into world wars to get to the toll on the human element.  She holds her camera and ideals close and her relationship with her boyfriend at a distance.  The two sisters rarely see each other anymore and hold resentment against each other for various things from their childhood.  Their childhood was not easy, made difficult by a very cold and distant mother who's only touch of love came from telling them Russian fairy tales but even that was held at arms length.  It was tempered with a very loving and encouraging father who always tried to build a bridge between the sisters and mother right up to his death.  On his deathbed, the father encouraged Nina to get the Mom to finish the fairy tale for them and then they would understand.  Meredith didn't want anything to do with it as she resented the fairy tales with a fury, but Nina grabbed ahold of it and pursued her Mother for the details and the end.  It was a decision that would change all three women's lives in the quest to understand their mother and bring closure to their childhood.

I ended up loving this story.  The  first part of the book was a bit drawn out in building the main characters and foundation of the family dysfunction, they were definitely the kind of characters you want to give a good shaking up to.  Everyone except the father seemed to be utterly self absorbed, though I wanted to shake him up at times too.  There were some majorly repetitive use of several ideas in the beginning parts of the story that caused me to want to roll my eyes, just small things but that were repeated several times sometimes within a page or two, like the author was trying to make sure I got the idea.  But I stuck with it because I had heard it was so good.  And I'm so glad I did, it definitely didn't disappoint.  It ended being a time split novel,  telling the story of the "Great Purge" of 1930's Russia and then the "Seige of Lenningrad" in the WWII.  At that point I could not put the novel down.  It was utterly heartbreaking and you could tell the author researched the part of women during this time and the hardship and heartache that they experienced.  Once the story really got rolling between the two time lines the author wove it back and forth pretty seamlessly and the use of the fairy tale to move the story, I thought, was brilliant.  The ending was unexpected and the story really brought out a lot of emotion, I cried through several parts.  

I gave this a 9.5/10 

Read Your Shelves Challenge Prompt:  A book with with a "hom-ish" word in the title (Garden)

Relentless: Unleashing a Life of Purpose, Grit and Faith by John Tesh ~ Book Review

Publisher's Description: John Tesh has achieved more in life than he ever dreamed possible. But the road to success has been anything but easy—and those challenges have become the secret to his success. Through his story, we can learn how to be relentless, how to achieve what we didn’t think was possible, and how to handle our inevitable discouragements. 

My Thoughts:   I was excited to read this book because years ago John Tesh's "Worship at Red Rocks" was a major part of my life. I would listen to and watch that DVD over and over. This is John's memoir recounting the stories of what he has faced in life and what he has had to do and the miracles he encountered to get to where he is today. He has had quite the journey, everything from being kicked out of college and his family's home to homelessness to dizzying success with his NBA basketball theme song success, providing live commentary for two Olympic games, 10 years as co-host of Entertainment Tonight, producing a nationally syndicated radio program -Intelligence for Your Life-, to taking a huge step of faith to launch his music career through PBS. All that he faced in life caused him to learn how to persevere, take the lessons learned through hard times and how to have the courage to apply his faith. And he needed those to faces his biggest battle in his '60's when he was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer. When it returned John and his wife Connie made the decision to stand on God's Word and apply that perseverance, settling in belief that what God says is true. 

 I was looking forward to reading this book when it came out and about John's journey with faith. At first I found the book more about perseverance and grit than anything to do with faith. But eventually John does get around to that too. His and his wife's journey of faith in God comes to play a major role in dealing with his cancer diagnosis and especially with the cancer's return. At times I found the way the story is laid out to be a bit confusing as to where it is in the time line as it jumps around a bit. And I found myself skimming a bit when it came to details of his career. But what I got most out John's memoir is seeing a pattern of how God moves in a person's life, how the more difficult things are training grounds for things to come and how being courageous enough to step through open doors as God presents them leads to good things. It also showed me how that hard work is not separate from God's will for your life. His deep love for his wife, family and God are apparent in his story. There are scripture references throughout though the part I wished he would have delved into with much more detail was how they came to settle within themselves to believe what God says about healing. It was so simply laid out and I'm sure it was more of a wrestling within and I would have liked to have read more on that.   At the same time though there is lots of "sound bite" takeaways and thoughts on healing that made me think.  I do like the quote from the book on the back cover:

"Mastery is hard work.  It is thousand of hours of practice.  There are no shortcuts.  You must believe that whatever challenges you face right now, on the other side of pain is greatness.  Mastery over your goals, over your circumstances, over a disease you never anticipated and that you cannot control requires not just hustle and grit and perseverance, it demands purpose and faith.  It requires a why and a how."

John Tesh

And this was another favorite quote:

"The power derived from the Holy Spirit is available to us all!  

The wiring is done.  Flipping the switch is our choice.

I hope I can help you flip yours.

For as the Spirit tugs at our hearts, enlivens our spirits,

and fills our minds with possibility,

where ever it pulls us,

we should go!"

John Tesh, Relentless pg. 210

 As always I base a memoir's rating not on the story told but how the story was told.  I gave it an 8.5/10

Reading Challenge Goal:  library holds