In Going to Solace, Amanda McTigue deftly portrays the lives of three families, their caretakers, their hospice workers and their experiences with Solace, a hospice community. Amanda handles the subject of end-of-life with sensitivity and tender care. So well- written. Amanda writes about the Blue Ridge Mountains with such loving detail, I felt like I was there. Amanda’s characters are honest, lively and intriguing. Going to Solace is a lesson in the human spirit, filled with emotional twangs, and a satisfying place to be.
Category: Book Reviews
Humans of New York Project
Do you like success stories? The kind where the humble, modest guy brings all kinds of people together in a unique way with amazing results? Meet Brandon Stanton, photographer and creator of the Humans Of New York project. I love his story. Even though I have never met him, I feel like I know him. Here’s his story. Brandon Stanton worked as a bond trader until he lost his job in July 2010. He started taking photos of buildings in Chicago. Then he spent a week in Philadelphia, taking photos of bridges, and occasionally photos of people. He headed for New York, intending to stay for only one week. This time, he took photos of people on the streets and began asking them questions. He posted these photos and quotes on Facebook. The response was tremendous, lots of “likes.” I mean LOTS of likes. To date, he has over three…
Rachael Herron — Cora’s Heart
Cora’s Heart by Rachael Herron is another delightful romp taking place in Cypress Hollow, a cozy town populated with interesting characters. This time, we meet Cora, a young widow who thinks she has everything figured out. She does, after all, keep a list of “What if. . . . ” My kind of gal . . . planning ahead and being prepared for what could happen. But she couldn’t predict the learning curve that would take place when her deceased husband’s cousin returns to town. Cora’s life unfolds, or unravels, as she thinks back to what could have happened if she had made a different decision in high school . . . a decision that took her on a path of pain and uncertainty and ultimately, a path of truth.
Love Made of Heart by Teresa LeYung Ryan
Love Made of Heart by Teresa LeYung Ryan is excellent. I read it in two sittings. Dinner could wait. I had to find out what would happen to Ruby Lin. Teresa uses her novel to advocate compassion for mental illness and to help survivors of family violence find their own voices. Teresa’s writing is evocative and from the heart. . . she reaches deep and succeeds with her genuine and authentic voice. I want to read Love Made of Heart again. Yes, it’s that good. From the inside flap of the book jacket: “Twenty-seven-year-old Ruby Lin has what many women envy: a beautiful apartment in one of San Francisco’s best neighborhoods, a busy social life, and a coveted position as manager of special events for the tony St. Mark hotel. But it’s Ruby’s personal life that’s become unmanageable ever since the day her mothers’ emotional breakdown forced Ruby to hospitalize…
Captive of Silence by Alla Crone
Captive of Silence is written with an eloquence matching the elegant author, Alla Crone. Alla captures the time period (1923-1940s) with a finesse fitting her stature and the nature of the times and locales. To tell this difficult story in such a compelling way is an art that Alla has mastered. Toward the end of the book, I could not put this roman à clef * down. Alla’s writing is honest, poignant and genuine. I highly recommend Captive of Silence, especially to learn history in a fascinating way and to be inspired from a woman who rose above an abusive and extremely difficult life. * roman à clef : French for novel with a key, a novel about real life, overlaid with a façade of fiction. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people, and the “key” is the relationship between the nonfiction and the fiction. — Wikipedia Note: …
Women at Ground Zero: Stories of Courage and Compassion
Women at Ground Zero: Stories of Courage and Compassion, by Susan Hagen and Mary Carouba, is a story of remarkable courage. . . the courage that took Hagen and Carouba from their comfortable home in Northern California to New York City to learn more about the first responders for the September 11th attack on New York City. After observing only male responders being interviewed on television, firefighter Hagen and investigative social worker Carouba decided to pack up and head to NYC to discover the stories of the women responders. They interviewed 30 women whose stories are told in detail in this riveting book that reads like a novel. The individual stories are tributes to the unselfish acts of bravery and valor. All of the first responders, paramedics, firefighters and police should be remembered. Hagen and Carouba have done an excellent job of telling these stories. All should be commended for…
Wanting to be Jackie Kennedy is like a box of fine chocolates.
I could have devoured Wanting To Be Jackie Kennedy by Elizabeth Kern in two days. But instead, I chose to savor it like a box of elegant chocolates. I absolutely love this book. The opening introduces Ellie Manikowski in “present time.” Kern takes readers on a rich journey with Ellie as she travels the rocky path to becoming an adult. I love these memorable characters. Kern expertly uses strong verbs and well-chosen adjectives. Her detailed scene description made me feel like I was right there, even though I have never been to Chicago. Wanting To Be Jackie Kennedy is a heartwarming story of love, loss, and family secrets. It’s the story of a young Polish girl’s journey to womanhood in Chicago in the 1960s, and the role the nation’s elegant first lady plays along the way. Elizabeth Kern was born and raised on the Northwest side of Chicago in the old Polish neighborhood…
Jodi Picoult writes about difficult themes with the grace of . . .
Jodi Picoult writes about difficult themes with the grace of a prima ballerina. In The Storyteller she takes on holocaust survivors, German SS guards and how generations are affected. Picoult knows how to keep readers turning the pages and how to write unforgettable stories. Characters’ lives are intertwined in The Storyteller as Picoult deliciously reveals details. Sage is a baker with a secret that haunts her and taunts her with her facial disfigurement. Josef may, or may not, be who he appears to be. Is Leo a knight in shining armor, or is he a troublemaker? Will Sage learn her grandmother’s story? All questions are answered by story’s end, of course, as well as they mystery of Ania and Aleks. Here are a couple of tantalizing excerpts. “Making bread is an athletic event. Not only does it require dashing around to several stations of the bakery as you check rising…
Frances Lefkowitz — To Have Not, a memoir
Frances Lefkowitz, author of To Have Not, has written a memoir about her remarkable life: lifting herself up from the hard scrabble of a “have not” life in San Francisco in the seventies to attending an Ivy League college on a scholarship. She writes with clarity, honesty and humor, showing her unique perspective on life. Here’s an excerpt: “But time, like traffic, moves on. In a moment that lasts maybe a year or two, everything that was clear about the world becomes hazy and then sharpens up again, like the view through a camera lens as you twist the focus in and out. What you once knew without thinking begins to clash with the evidence darting out at you from all around, from TV and movies and comic books and magazines and even real life . . . This is the moment when you discover that there are people out…
Rachael Herron – Wishes & Stitches
The first time I read a book, I read quickly because I can’t wait to find out what happens. Sometimes I reread a book and the second time around, I pay attention to detail. I notice how the author developed plot, described character. I notice what makes the story a good read. This is what just happened when I reread Wishes & Stitches by Rachael Herron. Herron expertly juggles several characters, giving them distinct personalities, making them feel real. Plot development is smooth, transitions between scenes are perfect and her characters are a good fit with this story and with one another. Wishes & Stitches contains adult content, which Herron handles tastefully, sometimes with humor and other times with passion as well as compassion between her leading characters. Quotes from Eliza Carpenter, a fictional Cypress Hollow character, headline each chapter. These quotes make Eliza feel like a real person. In…