This was our February Sizzlers choice which I was not excited to read...but leader Lynea pushed me into it!! When I hesitate on reading non-fiction, it comes down to not wanting to be bored (I never have loved science) or not wanting to be convicted about yet another "issue". The author surprised me! I was ready for: "compost", "drive less-exercise more", "recycle more efficiently", "3 minute showers". I was not ready for "animal agriculture" as being the biggest contributor towards our dance with the death of our planet.
Yes, it was convicting, but so very enlightening. My conservative background taught me for years that climate change wasn't real- but it is hard to support that anymore, and if we take the Bible seriously--we are advised to care for/be responsible for our surroundings. Foer weaves his story of the death of his Holocaust-survivor grandmother, alongside all of his musings and facts on how to do better in facing climate change. I believe he gives this personal narrative to remind us of our legacies and what we hope for our children and grandchildren. He also parallels his grandmother's strong conviction that Poland was falling to the Nazi's ..so she chose to "race away"; which he likened to our realization that Climate change will kill us if we don"t "race away" from it by facing it & taking measures to stop it.
I particularly liked his chapter, "Dispute With the Soul", which was his own back and forth dialogue about why he should embrace eliminating meat, cheese, and eggs..but arguing just as vehemently from the other side as to what others are saying. It was so human. When he admitted that every so often he "cheats" to buy a burger and is still struggling with eliminating the cheese and eggs; he had my sympathy because of his honesty. I think that's what I appreciated most of all...this isn't a book on how to change in 4 easy steps; it's a call to awareness and hope.
"The real choice we all face is not what to buy, whether to fly or whether to have children but whether we are willing to commit to living ethically in a broken world, a world in which human beings are dependent for collective survival on a kind of ecological grace. What does it mean to live ethically if not to make ethical choices? ....What is ecological grace if not the sum of daily, hourly decisions to take less than one's hands can hold, to eat other than what our stomachs most want, to create limits for ourselves so that we all might be able to share in what's left?"
Thumbs Up- an excellent, compelling read.
THE FLIGHT GIRLS by Noelle Salazar
My sister-in-law, Pam, handed me this book with the comment "I kept thinking about your mom as I read this story of these World War II women pilots."My remarkable mother took flight from Michigan at age 19 to join the Navy Waves. Why? Her father died, her fiance was drafted, her brother joined the Air Force, her horse died and then her home burned down. As she journaled, "maybe I needed to find myself." This story re-acquainted me with my mom's story....young women who wanted to make a difference in the war effort, who made fast friendships that lasted over their lives, who mourned losses.
Audrey was born into wealth in a Texas home, but the glitter that it offered didn't appeal to her. All she wanted to do was to fly and to eventually own an airport in her home town. The US government offered women pilots jobs during World War II to train army pilots!! BUT, these women faced prejudices and injustices because the government never made it known until 1977. Jimmy Carter signed a law that finally gave these women veteran status.
My mother thought that she did not contribute much to the war effort because she was stationed in FL logging pilot hours, not serving overseas. Not until 2016 on an Honor Flight to Washington DC at age 92 did she realize the full extent of her accomplishments.... amazing numbers of women veterans and current service-women stopped to thank her and verified her invaluable contribution of "paving the way" for them! She was touched and honored.
THE EMOTIONALLY HEALTHY WOMAN by Geri Scazzero
Uh-oh, another non-fiction read that made me think! My daughter, Mikkel, handed this book to me after one of our conversations about getting "swallowed up" in ministry. Don't get me wrong, God called me to ministry back in my Columbia Bible College days; but some days (and years) of our pastoral ministry were overwhelming!Geri, a pastor's wife, "quit church" after the first 8 years and determined to make some changes in herself, in her marriage and in their parenting..before she was willing to join back in. I identified with much of her analysis because I too was taught to "give everything", that saying "no" was unbiblical, that my husband's work sometimes had to take priority over our family, that selfishness wasn't Godly. I never quit, but I wish I had really gotten some better perspective on my poor behaviors before we retired!!
I especially enjoyed the chapter on acknowledging anger, sadness and fear; traits that I stuffed partly due to my family of origin. I have now learned to "feel" what is stirring me up..and to analyze and determine a plan of action. Freeing!
The other trait she mentioned which has plagued me was "over-functioning"...picking up everybody's jobs rather than allowing them to learn and grow in the job. This was true in our early church settings as well as in stepping in for Bill and our kids to "take care of the details of their lives", sometimes because I thought I could do it better (sheepish grin). I now realize that I probably did a huge dis-service to their spouses...or perhaps even a dis-service to them in training them to be like me. Thumbs up...this is especially good for over-functioners everywhere!
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