Summer Reads

The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen

 Emily & Julia are drawn together when Emily arrives in the hometown of her deceased mother where her granddad still lives, and runs into Julia, the neighbor and restaurant business owner.  Always quirky and a bit of magical mystery in Allen's books. They are predictable but always have fun twists and delightful prose; I very much enjoy this author to lift me up after a heavier read!



Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

This first novel by Owens is definitely not a light read, but thought provoking and edgy.  Because of the author's career in Natural Science, she brings so many details to the narrative of how Kya (the Marsh Girl) has been abandoned and lived on her own in the marshland of the North Carolina coast. Kya becomes an expert on the insects, birds and eco-system of the marshland...just by living, observing, listening and navigating in this area. The plot involves a murder of a local man in the marsh, and the deeper story of the townspeople's dislike and distrust of Kya...because she is different.
Some have likened the story to Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" and the courtroom scene could justify that.

This book made me realize that I have missed a lot of science because I get creeped out by bugs, snakes and the quiet of the woods with noises I don't understand.  Owens made me aware of how God has made his creation so similar in many aspects: though they don't possess souls they definitely have natural gifts of survival, parenting, cooperation...very intuitive as to their surroundings.  So interesting.

There were clues along the way to the surprise ending, but the book still left me pondering!

Summer of '69 by Elin Hilderbrand

Another light easy summer read, Hilderbrand delivers a bit of character development, a bit of controversy, a bit of forgiveness and always an intact family who still manages to be slightly dysfunctional.  I was drawn to this because I'm getting ready to attend my 50th High School Class Reunion and wanted to be reminded of that era!  One of the best discoveries when I was halfway through:  the chapter divisions are song titles from those long ago years!  I loved that!

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb

 Although this was the June book club choice, I did not get to the meeting to discuss it, and just finished it.  I would have loved to hear the opinions of my friends, as I did not love it as much as I had hoped.  Lori is an actual therapist in CA who also writes a "Dear Therapist" column in The Atlantic.   She is knowledgeable, articulate and humorous.  This was way better than most non-fiction books on psychology since she shared stories from her own life and those of her clients.  I generally enjoy this type of "learning" and analyzing of human behaviors, but I found myself just trying to "get through it". 

Here are my takeaways:  we are all a hot mess if we will honestly admit it;  we carry a lot of baggage from our childhood whether we realize it or not; it's wise to engage a therapist at some points/points in our lives; we only grow in connection with others (hence the need for a therapist if we don't have a "somebody"); our feelings need to be felt-acknowledged-shared... not stuffed as was the pattern in my childhood home (and carried forward into ours); we cannot experience full JOY if we haven't embraced full PAIN. 

At my recent Girlfriend Weekend, a friend said to us that each one of the 7 friends there had added to her life in some way, and made her who she is today.  I loved that!! This author clarified that concept, even going so far as to explain that even a bad relationship can be a growth stimulus to take the next positive step...thus being a contributor to who we have become today!!  I love to think back over the people in my life who I desperately needed during different seasons.  Sometimes we lose connection with them, or move on in our lives...but we think fondly of one another and the role they had in shaping us.  I believe deeply that God strategically places these "therapist friends" and "thorns" in our lives to grow us up for the next phase in our journey.  Grateful.

PS  I remembered one last paragraph that struck me--it identified the many fears that grip us at various times of our lives...I guess I got a lot more out of this book than I realized!!  Ha!

Summer Shindigs Continue

So delighted that Wendy's daughters bought a house on Stony Lake, and even more delighted that they invited our crew of girlfriends to enjoy it!  There is nothing like friends being together....friends who have had connections since grade school....friends who are celebrating a 50th Class reunion this year...friends who meet for lunch monthly....friends who listen....friends who laugh...friends who encourage...Thank God for THESE kinds of FRIENDS!!  

 

 

 

 

Summer Shindigs...so far!

I loosely use the word "summer" since the first shindig was in May!  Off we buzzed in our little Lovebug RV to Northumberland PA for a Roadtrek Rally where we chatted it up with other like-minded people who LOVE their little RV vans.  We did determine that we might be in the wrong group....our more specialized rally needs to be with the Vintage Roadtrekkers since ours is a 1996 and we may well have much more in common with that "club" than with the 2019, granite counter, sleek contemporary models that we were among in PA.  However, the redeeming moments of the weekend were with our Vintage College crew... two of my roommates from Columbia Bible College, AKA Columbia International University in Columbia SC along with our vintage hubbies of 46 years!!  Proverbs tells us that LAUGHTER is a good medicine. Our health was definitely improved!!  We also welcomed some youngsters, David and Cindy, to this shindig of a day!

Marlene, Marlita, Deb

Our Tiny House!

   

Ready to Roll from our driveway, to living alongside the elite! 





My next shindig was to California to visit the grands!  So thankful that the hubs encouraged me to go-- I hadn't seen most of them since Christmas.  Laughing, playing in the cold creek water at Mt Hermon Camp, eating ice cream and smoothies, reading, jumping on the trampoline, celebrating Maelie's kindergarten graduation, and tucking them in bed.....loving the connections, even though it was a short week.