Unglued by Lysa TerKeurst ~ Audiobook Review

Publisher's Description:

Do you ever feel like your emotions are working against you? Though we may find ourselves stuffing down emotions, exploding with emotions, or reacting somewhere in between, Lysa TerKeurst assures us it’s possible to make our emotions work for us. Lysa admits that she, like most women, has had experiences where others bump into her happy and she comes emotionally unglued. But the good news is, God gave us emotions to experience life, not destroy it. With gut-honest personal examples and biblical teaching, Lysa shows us how to use our emotions for good. 

 Unglued will equip you to: 

 Know with confidence how to resolve conflict in your important relationships

 Find peace in your most difficult relationships as you learn to be honest but kind when offended

 Identify what type of reactor you are and how to significantly improve your communication

 Respond with no regrets by managing your tendencies to stuff, explode, or react somewhere in between 

 Gain a deep sense of calm by responding to situations out of your control without acting out of control

I listened to this as an audiobook while doing my mandatory sanitizing of my childcare at the end of the day.  It was one of my first audiobook ever so it took awhile to get used to and to teach my mind to focus as I listened.  Once I got over that hurdle, I for the most part enjoyed the book.  The author narrates it herself.  It was very relatable and there were many times I kinda wished I had the book to notate and underline.  I may purchase the book and reread so that I can do that because I retain more when I write it and see it.  Lots of takeaways in this book but the biggest for me was her statement: 

 "Let your mind idle in truth rather than perception."  

That was a big eye opening statement for me in how I react when things happen.  This is a great book club or bible study resource.  

I rated it 8.5/10

Here's the Story by Maureen McCormick ~ Book Review

In the early '70's Marcia Brady was the ideal teenager, the one all the girls wanted to be and all the boys wanted to date.  But for Maureen McCormick life was anything but ideal.  In spite of playing Marcia on the hit sitcom, the Brady Bunch, and being one of the most recognized tv faces, real life for Maureen was anything but sunny.  In her memoir she honestly reveals what was really going on behind the sunny persona of Marcia Brady.  As she grew and Brady Bunch was cancelled, Maureen struggled with the perfect persona that was cast upon her and her life took a turn in parties and drugs as she tried to live up to the image the character of Marcia laid on her.  

This book really took an honest look at Maureen's life and what she became after the Brady Bunch.  From major family dysfunction, to cocaine addiction, to wild parties, Maureen came to fight a battle she almost lost.  Two things saved her from ultimate descruction:  her new found faith in Jesus and finding her husband who stuck by her even in her ugliest moments even after becoming a Christian.  This book is raw and not pretty, but it is very honest, heartbreaking, emotional and ultimately triumphant as Maureen struggles through her whole life to live up to the perfection of Marcia's character.  While I found some of the earlier tellings of the Brady Bunch years a bit teenage angsty, her struggles and story is one worth the read if only to understand the pressure that is on child stars, some of it their own making and some we, as a star crazed society, put upon them. 

I gave it a 6.5/10

All I Have to Give by Melody Carlson ~ Book Review

Anna and Michael have been trying unsuccessfully for years to have a child. Therefore Anna is torn when Michael asks to have the nursery remodeled into an office for his new business. It means Michael is ready to move on and she is not sure she is. As she begrudgingly agrees, she starts to experience symptoms that are too close to the symptoms her mother had when she a terminal illness and died. With the thought that this may be their last Christmas, Anna puts off going to the doctor until after the holidays, deciding instead to put all her thoughts and effort into making this the best Christmas ever for Michael. But Michael is starting to draw away as he puts more and more effort into building his business. Can this turn out to be the memorable Christmas Anna hopes for before their world comes crashing down? 

 This was a short, easy Christmas read with themes of love and self-sacrifice. I found some of the decisions the main characters made annoying and questionable and the story was quite predictable. I guessed what was going to happen quite early. The story just didn't have Melody Carlson's usual depth and character development. Though not horrible it was just an average read for me.

Gave it a 6/10
 

The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver ~ Book Review

Lydia Bird and Freddie Hunter have known each other since they were fourteen years old. You can't imagine one without the other. They are as close as a couple can be. And they are finally going to make it official and are getting married within the year. But tonight is for celebrating Lydia's 28th birthday and they've got reservations at a fancy restaurant where they can't be late or their reservation will be given away. So when Freddie calls to say his best friend, Jonah, is having car trouble and he's going to swing by and pick him up, Lydia resigns herself to reminding him to keep an eye on the time and be there on time. But that time, that moment is going to change Lydia's life forever. That time is when Freddie dies in a car accident and Jonah survives. That time is when Lydia is no longer part of a pair and she must learn how to restart her life without Freddie. But then something happens that she can't explain. She's given a second chance to live her life as if the accident had never happened. To see Freddie whenever she wants and continue on towards their wedding day. At first, Lydia grabs that chance whenever she can. But being pulled back into the past and yet living in the present, essentially and impossibly living two lives at once isn't as easy as it seems. And there are slight differences between the two lives that Lydia is heartbroken to find.  How long can she go on bouncing back and forth between the two before one or the other is affected? How can she make the impossible decision to stay in the past with Freddie or to move on towards the future and new possibilities, maybe even new love? 

 Okay in all honesty, I cheated a bit and put that I finished this book on the last day of the year so I could count it in my 2020 reads. In all fairness I was almost done and finished it up the first day of the new year. I picked this book up on a whim at the library because the cover drew me in and the description sounded good. I kept my fingers crossed that though a contemporary romance it would stay clean. And I was pleasantly surprised to find that for the most part it did. There was a couple instances of the f-bomb but it wasn't gratuitously used. The story was wonderfully and charmingly told. It explores great love and great grief and asks the question "What if one could go back in time to before the defining moment of loss? Would we still want that? Would we miss other defining moments, maybe even happy ones?" The story was sad as Lydia deals with her grief, yet hopeful as a new future starts to unfold before her. I was gripped with the story and my emotions were all in for Lydia. The author tells it in back and forth chapters of "Awake" and "Asleep" the asleep being where she is able to live out her life with Freddie. Lydia is a character who is easy to root for and I cried for her, laughed with her and hoped with her as she comes to a point of decision between her two lives. I did take a smidge off the 10 rating because towards the very end I did feel like it was getting a bit drawn out. But other than that I really liked this moving story of grief, hope, love, friendship and family. I can see a movie being made out of it.

I gave it a 9.5/10
 

Hillbilly Elegy: A memoir of a family and culture in crisis by J.D. Vance ~ Book Review

Hillbilly Elegy is the story of the author's growing up white working poor in industrialized Ohio.  His family's story starts out after the war when his grandparents moved from the Appalachian region of Kentucky to Ohio at a time when the industry sector was doing well and they saw an opportunity to make a better life.  They were able to achieve a middle class lifestyle but it was fraught with problems.  Though "upwardly mobile" they never left behind the abuse tendencies, the violence, the addictions.  Eventually when the industries that gained them their middle class status started to shut down, they along with others of their culture found themselves once again facing dire poverty.  The family struggled within the middle class and without it.  The author with the encouragement of his grandmother was able to break the vicious cycle, first by joining the army to gain some discipline in his life and then going on to graduate from Yale Law School but not without still feeling the effects of the trauma of his childhood.

I first picked up this book because I wanted to watch the movie on Netflix but wanted to read the story without the Hollywood's thumbprint on it.  I also wanted to learn about this group of people and their culture because I have no knowledge of them except to know that they are very poor in the Appalachian region.   I had also read (in several reviews, comments and blogs) that the book may answer the connection between Trump's election win and this group of people.  After reading it, I am in the camp that I just doesn't get the hype around this book.  I always find it very hard to review a memoir or autobiography because it is a person's life after all.  A stranger cannot make judgement or review a person's life.  So I guess I look a how the story was told.  This book is not just a memoir in the sense of it being the author's life story (though this author is only in his early '30's), it is also an examination of a culture of Americans, where they came from, what happened and is happening to them as a group, and why they find themselves where they are at within society.  While the parts of the book that told the author's story are heartbreaking and horrifying, these are interspersed with the author's thoughts, ponderings, facts, quotes from other sources, and his ruminations about the region and culture.  He  makes the attempt to  delve into the sociological, psychological, community and faith of the culture to see if he can answer just why they are the way they are and why they find themselves in the situation they do.  The way it was all interspersed throughout the book made it a very choppy read for me.  The language was atrocious, the violence horrible.  The things the author experienced within and from his own family boggles the mind.  But I was left with mixed feelings as his violent addicted mother seemed to painted in a different light than his violent grandmother and his alcohol addicted grandfather.  The thought that no gov't or social agency can fix the problem of the "Hillbilly" or "Redneck" poor, that the answer comes from within seems to be the general theme of his thoughts , but other than the idea of  picking yourself up by the bootstraps and getting disciplined and determined to make it out I can't say that the author offered any other idea or thoughts toward that solution.  A review on the back of the book also said it was "hysterically funny".  I did not find it so even in the remotest sense.  As far as how it explained Trump's win, I did not find that either except it did draw some parallels as to why deep rooted working class poverty and deep rooted generational values can figure into the political game.  I also wonder if this book might paint with a very broad brushstroke the poor from that region of America.  But what do I know, I'm a Canadian.  And this is why I find it so hard to review this kind of book.  In the end I plodded through because I wanted to learn but can't say that I enjoyed the book at all.  

I rated it 6/10

The Liturgy of the Ordinary by Tish Harrison Warren ~ audiobook Review

Note:  I am very behind on my book reviews and finished this a few months back, so it is in that perspective that I wrote my thoughts.  I had recorded what rating I would give it at the time of finishing it, but the review is what I could remember of it.

Publisher's Description:
"Many of us go through the day feeling like we don't have time for God. But God can become present to us in surprising ways through our everyday routines. Framed around one ordinary day, this book explores daily life through the lens of liturgy, small practices and habits that form us. Each chapter looks at something making the bed, brushing her teeth, losing her keys that the author does in the day. Drawing from the diversity of her life as a campus minister, Anglican priest, friend, wife, and mother, Tish Harrison Warren opens up a practical theology of the everyday. Each activity is related to a spiritual practice as well as an aspect of our Sunday worship. Come and discover the holiness of your every day."

My Thoughts:

 I listened to this as an audiobook while I was cleaning and disinfecting at the end of the work day. It seemed quite appropriate as I was not happy with this added extra work at the end of  every long work day. This book really opened up something I already knew in my head but that sunk it a bit more into my heart and that is how to take our everyday chores and seemingly mundane acts of ordinary days and turn them into a different mindset and habits of worship. The author's calming voice and everyday examples got me through those first days of developing this new habit in my workday  and I really enjoyed this book. I will probably at some point listen to it again.

I rated it a 9/10
 

The Christmas Train by David Baldacci ~ Book Review

Tom Langdon is  a hardened & disillusioned journalist.  Once at the top of his game as a war reporter travelling all over the world into the most dangerous of places he now writes "fluff" pieces for a magazine after deciding he needed a break.  Wanting to get home to girlfriend, Leila for the holidays, Tom is forced to take a train instead of flying because of a slight altercation at an airport that has him banned from flying for the time being.  Finding the train the option he must choose he decides to take the route that Mark Twain did in 1872 and record his journey.  But once the journey begins there are distractions galore especially when he runs into his past love.  Embittered by their parting of ways, Tom must now navigate being thrust into a working relationship with Eleanor after all these years causing this train journey to also be a journey into his own heart.  Just when he and Eleanor find their footing and are able to talk about what really happened, a surprise passenger boarding the train at one of the stops along the way throws everything into chaos.

I've had this book on my radar for quite awhile and finally was able to get to it this Christmas. For some reason I had it very built up in my head.  At first it was a bit hard to get into for me but eventually the host of characters started click and it got interesting.  There are lots of characters and each seems to have an air of mystery surrounding them so it made it hard at first to connect to them but as the author built some of their characters and back stories I finally was pulled into the story.  Tom is a bit of an unlikeable character at first and there is questions regarding  his relationship with Eleanor.   As the train journeys along their story unfolds.  Along the way Tom finds he's forced to look into his own heart to see his part in their breakup.  It's a feel good story that has atmosphere, mystery, quirky characters, laugh out loud moments, a touch of romance and a twist at the end.  Though it didn't quite measure up to what I had expected it turned out to be an enjoyable, light read for Christmas.   There is a tv movie adaptation that I would like to now see.

I rated it a 7.5/10

The Engineer's Wife by Tracey Enerson Wood

Emily Warren was always a strong willed child but now as a young woman she knows what she wants and that's to be involved with the women's suffragette movement.  But when she meets Washington Roebling the two fall quickly in love and marry once Washington comes back from the war.   Washington is an engineer as is his bridge building father and the two have plans to build an iconic bridge to span the river between Manhattan and Brooklyn.  Though Wash has always supported Emily with what she wanted to do, now Emily is talked into using her wealthy mother's connections to give fund raising speeches for the project.  She reluctantly agrees as she is terrified of speaking in front of people.  It is at one of these meetings where she meets the infamous PT Barnum and an unlikely lifetime friendship and attraction is formed as PT trains her to get over her fear of being in front of people.  As the project moves into the building phase it is met with many hazards and roadblocks.  When Washington's father becomes gravely injured and eventually dies, Washington is now totally in charge of the project.  But his PTSD and his own battles with caisson disease from spending too much time in the shafts causes him to request of Emily to give up her own dreams to further his.  As more and more responsibility shifts to Emily and she becomes consumed with building the bridge she must find a courage within her she never knew she had all while facing her own demons from the past and the present.   Her marriage, her ideals, her dreams and principles and who she really is are all put on the line.

This historical fiction novel is based on the life of the real Emily Warren Roebling.  It explores how one woman took on a man's world to build a project of unimaginable scale, one that would change everything for a city and a country.  It is a story of love and self-sacrifice, of challenging the norms of the day in more ways than one.  The obstacles she faced seemed insurmountable.  She had no education and learned everything as she went.  She had a fear of being in front of people and overcame that to speak to crowds.  She had to earn the respect of the both the men in power and the ones who were doing all the hard labor in an era when women were scorned and shamed for pursuing anything but social status and were even dictated by men and their laws what she could and couldn't wear.  She had to make decisions when her husband could not be reached that she could only pray were the right ones.  And when her husband slowly pulls away both from the project itself but also from her she forged ahead to build the dream and the legacy.  I liked the story of this strong woman who changed things for the woman of her day.  Little is known about her and her contributions to the building of the Brooklyn Bridge and history even though there is actually a plaque on the bridge with her name on it.  I found the actual engineering science within the story a bit on the dry side as I do not in the least have a brain geared to the science of physics but I think the author did her best to make it as simply understood as possible.  But I must admit a lot of it was lost on me and I had to google things a few times.  The story was interesting and emotional.  The author's notes at the end are definitely a must read as she tells her inspiration for the story and also what was fact and what fictional parts she took liberties with.  I would have rated the book higher had it not been for one of these liberties and that was the relationship Emily had with a main character in the story.  It is revealed in the author's notes that because they lived in the same place at the same time the author supposed the relationship between them, that there is actually no historical fact to base the relationship on.  It was such an integral part of the story that this came as a shock to me and it kind of left me having to rethink the story without this part.  But other than that it was a great story of a woman who built an iconic bridge and who did not get the historical recognition due to her and well worth the read for the historical significance of her life.   

I gave it a 9/10

Distant Echoes and Black Sands by Colleen Coble ~ Book Reviews

Kaia Oana is a mammal intelligence researcher based in Hawaii.  Her dolphins are her life.  Her relationship with her rescued and trained dolphin, Nani takes the majority of her days and she is close to a break thru in the area of communications with dolphins.  But someone new has taken over the research facility and wants to turn it into a dolphin tourist attraction and Kaia is running out of time to prove her research.  When a tourist catamaran explodes off the coast close to an army weapons testing site, Kaia and Nani aid in the search and rescue efforts.  Exhausted from not giving up to find survivors, Kaia is pulled from the water by Lieutenant Jesse Matthews.  Lieutenant Matthews feels that missile research might have had something to do with the explosion but his thoughts fall on deaf ears with his superior.  Recruiting Kaia and Nani, Lt. Matthews starts his own rogue investigation to get to the truth placing them all in danger.

This is one of the author's older series, the Aloha Reef Series, that I've had sitting around forever and finally made it a goal to read all four.  I read this book in the summer, so am very late getting to the review.  Life happened!  But from my memory I did really enjoy this story.  It is consistent with this author's works:  a little mystery, a lot of suspense, a little romance and was a great summer read.  I enjoyed the author's efforts into dolphin communications research and it was an interesting part of the story.  There is a bit of setting up characters as there are lots in this one, but the suspense was good.  This story also gets into some family drama which is an element I do like in stories.

I gave this one a 9/10

Annie Tagama is volcanologist who works alongside her father at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.  But life has thrown some curves her way and she is losing her passion for the work, even as a long dormant volcano on the island is coming to life.  She has been grieving the loss of her brother in the Middle  East under mysterious circumstances when she discovers that he might be alive after all and is trying to communicate but to find him she must join forces with the very person she blamed for her brother's death in the first place.  As they try to find answers an ancient cult on the island starts gaining traction once more, including it's practice of human sacrifice and it becomes enmeshed with their investigation.

I didn't not enjoy this second installment in the series nearly as much as I did the first one.  Though the volcano science part was very interesting, I found some of the other stuff in the story leaning towards unbelievable.  I did like that as in other series by the author, she continues the story with a whole different set of main characters but a lot of favorite characters from the previous story return and are connected.  The series are not just about one main character.  And her descriptions of Hawaii are beautiful.  There are 2 more in this Aloha Reef Series that I am looking forward to getting to.  

I gave this one a 7.5/10

Never Change by Elizabeth Berg ~ Book Review

Myra Lipinsky is a 51 year old visiting or home health care nurse.  She has never married and spends her days serving her patients and spending enjoyable time with her beloved dog.  She feels she's built a pretty good life all things considered.  That is until she is assigned a patient with an incurable illness.  It's not the illness that gets to Myra but the fact that the patient, Chip Reardon, just happens to be Myra's old high school crush.  Chip was the "golden boy" of high school.  Good looking, popular and on the football team, his crowd was everything Myra wasn't.  And now here he is back in her life, dying.  Not quite the second chance she would have dreamt of.  Chip has returned from Manhatten to his childhood home to live at his parents.  Though his Mom is pushing him to do whatever it takes, including invasive treatments, Chip has resolved himself to the fact that he wants to live his last days in peace without being poked and prodded with no guarantees.   As Myra cares for Chip, trying to balance his wishes with pressure from his Mom to convince Chip to undergo the treatments, Myra starts to find her role as caregiver coming closer and closer to the line she must never cross, finding her feelings for Chip grow from patient to friend and beyond.  As their relationship grows and becomes more complicated, Chip's old girlfriend from Manhattan inserts herself back into the picture.  Myra is left to deal with all sorts of emotions, questioning how she has lived her life and how she will continue to live her life when Chip is no longer there to care for.

I loved this story.  It brought out so many emotions and was so well written, drawing me in to Myra's seemingly simple world now turned very complicated.  I loved her relationship with her patients as she saw them day to day caring for the most grumpy to the most needy.  Her tender care and sensitivity with them was so nice to read, even as she fought her low self esteem.   Her relationship with Chip was complicated and interesting and there were parts of the story where just a sentence or paragraph had me talking to the book saying:  "Don't go there!  Don't you go there, I'll be so upset if that is what this story does."  I won't tell you what "there" was, or whether the story went there, but I'll just say that I was totally immersed into it.  Such a mix of emotions as the story ended.  

I gave this book  a 9.5/10

The Scroll by Grant R. Jeffrey and Alton L. Gansky

David Chambers is a world renowned biblical archeologist in the top of his field.  With his faith fueling him his passionate work has helped unearth some of the most ancient tunnels under the Holy Land.   But some of life's circumstances have left David's faith in ruins and he has left biblical archeology to pursue other disciplines.  When an old friend and mentor contacts David and talks him into a mysterious dig involving riches that described in the Copper Scroll, against his better judgement David agrees to come to Jerusalem to meet with his friend and fellow scholar.  When he arrives, however,  not only has his former fiance been called and is there but also his former nemesis, both of whom are also archeologists, and none have been told the whole story.  Will the draw of the historical dig be enough for them to put their history behind them and work together or will the danger that eventually stalks them cause them to leave the ancient secrets buried?

This sounded like a great suspenseful premise.  One of the co-writers is Grant R. Jeffrey who is world renowned for his knowledge of bible prophecy, so you know it is going to have all sorts of detail in that area and it did.  I really enjoyed the descriptions of the Middle East especially as it related to biblical prophesy.  I, as the reader, also learned a lot about modern day politics surrounding the Holy City and how biblical treasures and archeology are a minefield and must be protected.  But sometimes the detail in the conversations amongst the characters tended more toward schooling the reader on the subject rather than coming across as a natural conversation between people and that is where it bogged down a bit and kept it from going from a good read to a great read for me.   I also became bored with the tension between the three main characters.  They reminded me more of angsty teenagers than mature professionals high in their field, especially the sulky and irritable main character who was very hard to like.   I did, however, like the exploration the authors made of David Chamber's loss of faith while in a profession that mainly proved the truth of the Bible.  His struggles in that area made the story for me.   Once the danger started in the story is when it really picked up for me and moved it along to it's conclusion.

I gave it a 6/10     

October - December 2020 Reading List

Well I'm a month behind on posting this, but goodness it's been a tough month.  There has just been not as much time to read, and when I do have time I'm so tired and basically just sit and veg in front of the tv.  Hopefully that will change with November around the bend.  New month, new beginnings.    It's also Non-fiction November (NF) which I like to participate in because it helps knock off my non-fiction books and I enjoy doing it.  And then there is Christmas and there are some Christmas themed books I want to get out of my piles too.  And all these added into my goals that I set at the beginning of the year.  So who knows where this will go.  But here are my probable choices:

(NF = non-fiction for Non-Fiction November)

GOAL:  One book a month from my longest owned and unread books:

          -The Scroll by Grant R. Jeffrey & Alton L. Gansky

           -Here's The Story by Maureen McCormick (NF)

          -The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd (carried over)

         

GOAL:  2 Books per month from my own more recent unread piles:

          -Dangerous Depths (#3 Aloha Reef Series) by Colleen Coble

          -Midnight Sea (#4 Aloha Reef Series) by Colleen Coble

          -The Christmas Train by David Baldacci

          -Keeping My Sister's Secrets by Beezy Marsh (NF)

          -All My Mother's Secrets by Beezy Marsh (NF)

          -The Complicated Heart by Sarah Mae (NF)

          -Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance (NF)

          -EXTRAS: -What Happens At Christmas by Victoria Alexander

                              -Christmas Camp by Karen Schaler

                              -All I Have to Give: A Christmas Love Story by Melody Carlson

GOAL:  1 Book per month from my Library TBR

          -The Engineer's Wife by Tracey Enerson Wood

          -The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver

          -The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware (carried over)  DNF'd

GOAL:  Finish 1 audiobook

          -Risen by Angela Hunt

GOAL:  1 Novella from Lineage of Grace Series  (personal study)

          -Unspoken (Bathsheba) by Francine Rivers

           

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd ~ Book Review

It is 1800's Charleston and the Grimke family are an influential, upstanding & wealthy family.  The father is jurist and land owner and the family own many slaves to keep the property and their lives in the way of the socially elite of the time.  When young 11 year old Sarah is given a slave for a hand maid on her 11th birthday, she is appalled and tries to refuse but her mother who is harsh and all about appearances insists.   Not having any friends due to a speaking impediment she developed from trauma when she was 4, Sarah develops as much of a friendship with 10 year old Hetty as the culture allows.  In spite of her speech affliction, Sarah has a thirst for knowledge and desires, unlike her brother who feels forced into it, to be a lawyer like their father.   But as the times dictate this is no place for a woman and Sarah feels the limitations imposed upon her even as her heart is full of knowing she is called to do something big in this world.  As they grow together, they develop a complex relationship, each influencing the other's life and both Sarah and Hetty must learn how to survive in their opposing worlds and both do what they can to break through those limitations that society has imposed upon them.

This story follows the parallel lives of Sarah and Hetty as they try to find lives of their own dictated by their heart and not the society they were born into.  It is a novel that swept me into the world of the South at a time when owning slaves not only culturally acceptable but even looked upon as the Christian thing to do.  It is inspired by the real life Sarah Grimke and her sister Angelina who became the first women to publicly start speaking up for not only the abolitionist movement but also the women's movement.  Sarah's story is one of courage in the midst of huge pressure to conform, betrayal and then rejection.  For such a historical character that accomplished so much for the not only the abolitionists but also the women's movement it is odd that neither her or her sister's name is one that is well known in history books.  This story is well researched and really opens the readers eyes to the attitudes, justifications and culture of the time.  I always wondered how the South, which was so entrenched in church and what they called Christianity could justify the inhumane treatment and ownership of other human beings and this story was able to show that in all it's ugliness.  I also learned a lot through the characters of Hetty and her mother Charlotte who though born into slavery always had deep within the desire to be free and in control of their own life and strove to express it in whatever way they could even though the consequences would be dire if found out.  I thought the aspect of Charlotte, who was a seamstress in the Grimke household, would tell her life story through the stitching of a quilt.  Though the gift of reading and writing was kept from her, she still found a way to keep her personal history alive.  This was a wonderful read of the stories of two young girls born into opposing stations of life growing into strong women reaching for their own destinies as their lives intertwine.  The author did an excellent job of fleshing out historical people and relaying what might have been their experiences, heart and motivations.

As a last note I loved how the author ended the "Author's Notes" with this quote by Professor Julius Lester:

"History is not just facts and events.  History is also a pain in the heart

and we repeat history until we are able to make 

another's pain in the heart our own"

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd pg 369

The Water Keeper by Charles Martin ~ Book Review

Murphy Shepard was a dedicated and courageous part of a team that used to rescue girls who had been taken and were bound for the sex trade operating out of Florida.  But now he is holed up on an island caretaking a church that nobody attends while he grieves the loss of two key people in his life.   When a young woman named Angel shows up at the church Murphy realizes she is headed for very kind of fate that he has dedicated his life to saving girls just like her from.  A runaway who has met the wrong people, she is part of a "party boat" floating through Florida's waterways not knowing she is about to become part of modern day slavery.  As Murphy heads down to the south of Florida to grieve and to lay his friend and mentor to rest he finds a beautiful former drug addict and dancer that needs his help finding her missing daughter, a young stowaway looking to understand her past, an ex-con who just wants to go home and live out his last days and a faithful Labrador he finds swimming in the ocean.  Together they form an unlikely team to find the woman's missing daughter even as Murphy's secret past is catching up with him.  

Charles Martin is one of my favorite authors because of the depth and multi layers he puts into his stories and the way he weaves his words to create his images to convey the setting, characters and emotions.  Every character is so rich and not wasted, very real in their emotions and reactions to what life has thrown at them.  The settings almost become a character in and of themselves.  His stories are always about redemption, hope and healing from very deep hurt.  They are always a journey that he takes the reader on that leaves their own emotions bare.  This story though it did have all those elements for me, did leave me a bit confused at times.   There is much description of the Florida Intercoastal Waterways which at times left me lost because I don't know the area in the least so I found myself starting to skim over some of that.  And I was confused at the ending until I went back and re-read the 1st chapter and then it made total sense.  I have just found out that this is actually the first in a trilogy so that explains too, the questions I had when it was all over.  Though at times frustrated with the character of Summer (the mom of the missing girl), I loved the character of Clay and am looking forward to seeing where he will go in coming installments.  Though not near knocking off the pedestal my three favorites of his (Water From My Heart, When Crickets Cry and Wrapped in Rain) this is a good read that sheds a light on the dark world of modern day slavery within the sex trade in America.  

My rating:  8/10  

The Secret Wife ~ Book Review

In 1914, Grand Duchess Tatiana is just on the verge of leaving her teenage years behind when she meets calvary officer Dmitri Malama.  Soon the two find love and have plans to marry with her parents, the Tsar and Tsaritsa of Russia, approval.  But fate comes crashing in on them as their beloved Russia as they know it faces collapse and revolution takes over.  As the family is removed from their palace home and taken away Dmitri desperately tries everything to try and save Tatiana.  When they get separated things take a tragic turn and Dmitri is left with more questions than answers as he tries to figure out what happened and where they could have moved Tatiana.  Forced to leave the country, he finds himself in limbo grasping onto any hope he can find.  When he meets Rosa he must decide whether to keep grasping at straws or to receive the second chance at love she is offering him.

In 2016, Kitty Fisher leaves London with a broken heart and marriage and comes to America to check out the cabin her great grandfather's estate left to her upon his death.  Back in the remote area of Lake Akanabee in New York State Kitty hopes to rebuild her heart even as she rebuilds the rundown, ramshackle cabin.  When she discovers a jeweled pendant under the front steps it leads her on a quest to find the origins and discovers an astonishing family secret.  

I read this author's more recent story of another member of the Russian royal family, The Lost Daughter, last year and loved it so was eager to read this earlier one as well.  The split timeline goes back and forth between the historical story and the current timeline as the author builds in the connections between the women of two different eras.  In the end I had very mixed feelings about this story because of my reading preferences in topics that I do not enjoy.  I loved it and then disliked it.  At first I was drawn into the story as the author built the relationship between the young Russian couple.  You really cheered on their fledgling relationship as it develops into love.  Her groundwork in the Russian history was so interesting and her weaving fictional with historical detail is excellent.  Though right from the beginning, the current timeline part of the story dealt with a topic that I do not like in my reading content,  I pressed on because it was more of how the character was dealing with it and what her future would hold.  At first both stories were captivating but as it progressed, the theme/topic I do not like became prevalent and choices were made and the events that eventually unfolded left me disappointed with the outcome of the story.  My rating reflects my enjoyment, not that the author wrote poorly.  The theme and choices made within that theme clashed with my world view and  just ended up not being enjoyable for me.  

I gave it an 8/10 rating.         

The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain ~ Book Review

It is 1970 and Carly Sears has just received the news that her unborn baby has a fatal heart defect.  Unfortunately the news comes on top of the news that her soldier husband was killed in the Vietnam War.  Devastated and alone, she cannot bring herself to do what the doctors are suggesting she do.  The baby was a dream of her and husband and she was not even able to give him the news of being pregnant before he was killed.  When her brother-in-law, Hunter, says he might have a solution she is faced with the biggest decision of her life, one that seems improbable and that will require great courage and faith in the impossible.  While she has a great relationship with Hunter there are things that no one knows about him.  She must decide whether she can trust him with not only her unborn baby's life but with her own as well.

I absolutely loved this story.  It is a split time novel taking place in the 70's and in the 2000's. It's a contemporary story with a sci-fi twist.  A story of family bonds,  of the strength and faith of a mother's love and a story that challenges ethics and what one would do to save a loved one.  I couldn't put it down.  It is well written, was never confusing as some of these types of stories can be, and tore my heart.  Carly's struggle was heart wrenching and real and I felt every moment of her mother's heart.  Sometimes I was frustrated with her decision making process but that's because I was looking at it from the vantage point of my couch but it was totally real and understandable given her situations.  The consequences of the choices her and Hunter make sucked me right in because they were believable and emotional.  The twists were realistic and unexpected.  While sci-fi and especially this type of sci-fi is not usually what I choose for my reading, I went into this story blind not wanting to know what it was really about.  I was surprised that it took that turn but the author was able to weave the two together so well and made it such a rich story that I'm pretty sure this is going to be one of my favorites of the year.  It was pretty clean considering it's a secular novel which I really appreciated.   I loved the ending and closed it with a very happy sigh.  I know this review is a bit vague about what the story is actually about but it is hard give a synopsis without revealing what it is about.   If you like contemporary stories that involve family, love, moral dilemmas, or sci fi I recommend this one.   I think this would make an awesome movie.

I rated this one a solid 10+.  Loved it and I will read it again.

Unveiled by Francine Rivers

Tamar did not want to get married at 14, especially to Judah's oldest son Er,  whom she had heard was a very cruel man.  But because of the traditions of the day, Tamar has no choice in the matter.  Her father has made what he considers a good match and her mother won't back her up but insists she not shame the family.  As she very quickly finds out the rumors of Er being cruel are all true and she starts to bear the brunt of his meanness.  And on top of it her in-laws give in to Er, not ever giving him consequences for his behavior.  Her father-in-law, Judah, is spineless around him, and her mother-in-law dotes on him and is bitter towards Tamar.  Tamar is for all intents and purposes alone.  Even as she hides her fear of Er, she does her best to be obedient and a good wife, hoping she produces the heir they want.  When Er unexpectedly dies, according to tradition his brother must take her for a wife and produce the heir that Er had not.  But Onan is also cruel, though in a different way, and Tamar is left with no hope of redeeming herself by giving Judah descendants.  When Onan also dies, she is banished back home much to the shame of her family and to her own disgrace.  But Tamar holds out hope of being redeemed and concocts a plan to get justice for herself.

I had forgotten to write a review of this first book in the Lineage of Grace series by Francine Rivers.  The series are five novellas of five unlikely women that changed eternity.   The author dedicated this story of Tamar  to all those who have been abused and used and yearn for justice.  Tamar's character, in spite of the horrid times for women, managed to have dignity and hope in the midst of all the cruelty and injustice.  The one thing I did feel a lot reading this story was anger.  Anger at the way women were treated in that day, anger at Judah for being so spineless, anger at Tamar's family, and anger that history was just so demeaning to women in general.  It is just a story of the bible that is hard to put into perspective because of the content and the times.  But Tamar's character in the midst of it all is what stood out for me.  She was strong in her own way and managed to be faithful, dedicated and the author managed to give her dignity and convey her story as one of hope.  The novella starts with a section called "Setting the Scene" (as does all the books in this series) that gives the historical perspective of the times and what was going on and finishes with an epilogue that tells what happened to the characters later in the biblical story and how the main character came to be in the lineage of Jesus.  There is then a Seek and Find section that has questions to apply the story to one's life today.

I rated this one a 9/10.

July - September 2020 Reading List

So for my July - September Reading List things have changed a bit as review books are no longer available to me. A fact that breaks my heart! But it's not like I don't have other choices!

I have chosen the following for my summer reading keeping in mind my goals I set at the beginning of the year:

 GOAL: 1 book a month from my box of longest owned and unread books :

           -Never Change by Elizabeth Berg (carried over)
           -The Scroll by Grant R Jeffrey, Alton L. Gansky
           -Outside the Lines by Amy Hatvany  DNF'D

          -The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd

 GOAL: 2 books per month from my own more recent piles:

           -The Secret Wife by Gil Paul (carried over)
          -The Shape of Family by Shilpi Somaya Gowda (carried over)
          -Distant Echoes (Aloha Reef Series) by Colleen Coble
           -Black Sands (Aloha Reef Series) by Colleen Coble
           -Dangerous Depths (Aloha Reef Series) by Colleen Coble
           -Midnight Sea (Aloha Reef Series) by Colleen Coble

 GOAL: 1 book per month from library TBR:

           -A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
           -Day After Night by Anita Diamant
           -The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware DNF'd

 GOAL: 1 novella each month from Lineage of Grace series for personal devotion:

           -Unspoken (Bathsheba) by Francine Rivers (carried over)
           -Unafraid (Mary) by Francine Rivers (carried over)


GOAL:  finish 1 Audiobook

          -Liturgy of the Ordinary:  Sacred Practices in Everday Life by Trish Harrison Warren


Looks like it might be lots of mysteries this summer, but that's ok.  Gotta get all these books out of my closet!  What are you reading this summer.  If you want to do a post and link on feel free!  I love to look at what everyone else is reading!

Unshaken: Ruth (Lineage of Graces Series) by Francine Rivers

Unshaken is the biblical story of Ruth. Ruth is a young Moabitess, who when her husband died, chose to follow and care for her mother in law Ruth as they made their way from the country of Moab to Bethlehem. Though Naomi tries to get Ruth to turn back like her sister in law Orpah did, Ruth is adamant in her loyalty to Naomi. She leaves behind her family that was fairly well-to-do for the unknown, as Naomi does not even know if any of her relatives would be alive. It is not an easy task taking care of an older woman who, as the journey progresses, starts to turn from hopeful to more complaining and bitter. But Ruth perseveres as she wants to follow the one true God of her Mother in law and learn of His ways. When they arrive in Bethlehem, things do not go as easily as imagined and they find themselves, especially Ruth as a foreigner, shunned by the villagers and gossiped about. Living in a cave with nothing, Naomi instructs Ruth to glean in the corners of fields as the poor and foreigners are allowed to according to God's law. But even in those corners Ruth is made to not feel welcome and she ends up in a field quite aways from town. As she tries to work hard and do her best for Naomi, she is noticed by the owner of this particular field, who when he finds it is Naomi's daughter in law instructs his workers to leave extra for her and to make sure she is safe. When Naomi finds out it is Boaz's field and see the generosity of Boaz she realizes that as a relative Boaz can be a husband redeemer. Naomi concocts a plan to bring Ruth and Boaz together. But it would require both of their cooperation and the removal of another family member that stands in the way.

 I absolutely loved the story of Ruth and Boaz. Francine Rivers stayed true to the biblical account while fleshing out the characters in the story and the history of the times. Through the story I really got the sense of everything Ruth was leaving behind for the uncertainty of going with Naomi and how loving, faithful, loyal and hard working she really was. Her strong character & moral fiber throughout the story was remarkable to me even as she did what her mother in law instructed. I felt Naomi's frustrations as things didn't quite go as originally planned though at times I felt like shaking her for whining attitude (which is recorded in the bible). Through the author's story telling I was able to get a better understanding of the Jewish laws of harvest and husband redeemers, and how foreigners were perceived in Jewish minds of the time. I loved how in this story of Ruth the author chose to use the townspeople's gossip as a way to show attitudes and thoughts, so relatable. In all I loved this retelling. The study and questions at the end was excellent and thought provoking making the story of Ruth and Boaz relatable to today's personal life.  The author dedicated this book to her own mother in law whom she admires and adores.

Rating: 10/10

Unashamed by Francine Rivers ~ Book Review

This is a retelling of the biblical story of Rahab.   If you don't know Rahab's story, she was a prostitute who lived in the walls of the city of Jericho.  All of Jericho had heard of the Israelites and their conquering God, so when they heard that they were headed towards Jericho, the people were very afraid.  But there was something in Rahab that wants to know the Israelite's God and to seek redemption, and she would do what she had to do to save her family, knowing that they would have surrender in order to be saved.  So when the Israelite spies entered Jericho, Rahab hid them in exchange for their promise to keep her and her family safe when the attack came.

I liked this retelling of the story.  Francine Rivers was able to give thoughts and feelings to the main characters of the story that made me see it in a new light and made me think of things that never occured to me.  The author gave a base for the love story between Rahab the prostitute and Salmon, the Israelite and showed the difficulty of how that relationship would be accepted and yet God made it happen and Rahab went on to be in the lineage of Christ.  I loved the redemption aspect of the story and how determined Rahab was to become a part of what she saw God doing.   I thought the author did a great job describing the historical part of the story which really drew me into the era and times.  At the end is a really indepth bible study that not only takes you further into the biblical account but also how it applies to one's life today.

Unashamed is one novella in a series called the Lineage of Grace about 5 unlikely women who changed eternity.  It can be found as a stand alone or bound with the other 4 novellas as one book.  The dedication reads:  Unashamed is dedicated to women who think a past of mistakes ruins any chance of a joy-filled future.  Turn to Jesus and experience the wonders He has waiting for you.

Rating:  9/10