The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain

This was a quick read: a daughter searching through her family home after her father's death, unearthing devastating secrets.  Riley feels the heaviness of being the youngest daughter with a troubled older brother who doesn't remember their family background in the same way that she has.  The suicide death of their oldest sister adds to the pain.  As a school counselor, she feels the need to fix him, but even the uncovered lies do not help to bring their views any closer together.
I enjoyed this book throughout all the twists and turns.  One of my favorite lines was when the older brother, Danny, says to Riley: "It's not my mind that's sick, it's my soul."  What a statement!  So often in our society, the problems we face come down to soul sickness.  It seems that the combinations of temperament, home dynamics, and life experiences all intersect to vastly affect one family member in a very different way than another.  I think Augustine's prayer, " Our hearts are restless until they find rest in You" is the start to fixing soul sickness.

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

I love historical fiction and Quinn delivers on this one.  For whatever reason, it seems that the World Wars are often the era that draws me in.  Young Charlie is looking for her cousin who disappeared during or after World War II while much older Eve is looking for her abuser & Nazi collaborator from her younger years during World War I, while she served as a British spy.  These two very unlikely characters begin a journey together through France and Belgium with individual goals....that somehow get intertwined by the end of the story.  Being a geography lover, it greatly pleased me to have the map that Quinn provided so I could trace the steps of these women, along with their trustworthy driver, Finn.


Of course the deeper part of the novel is the message that we are all broken, that we all carry wounds, that we all have negative voices in our heads; BUT when we experience the love of friends and family who accept us in spite of it all, healing begins.  Though there is not an overt Christian theme in the story, I clearly saw redemption reflected in Quinn's characters.

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.

  

Musings on my Backyard Birds

Ahhh...wonderful summer!  Birds trilling, chirping, and heckling one another before the crack of dawn.  As I sat on my deck one morning, I was flummoxed to see both a robin and a mourning dove frolicking together near my backyard ornamental pear tree.  Up, away, back...reminding me of a roller coaster ride as they chattered back and forth.  Then I noticed that they seemed to be attending to a nest....both of them at the same one!  Of course, this made me google the likelihood of this..and YES, it does happen!  I learned that they actually assist in both the "sitting" and the "feeding" of those babies!  I was once again struck about how God's creatures can educate us in how to work alongside  other people ... humans are alike in so many ways, yet somehow we have elevated our differences rather than concentrating on the similarities.  That robin and mourning dove learned how to cooperate in order to achieve a great goal..getting those babies grown-up.  How amazing would it be to be more concerned about the goals of unity, of racial reconciliation, of compromising on gun control and education initiatives instead of standing in the corners of the boxing ring glaring at one another? Lessons from nature about what God wants us to look like.

Ageless Soul by Thomas Moore

This book came across my Facebook feed a few years ago, and the "trailer" seemed so relevant to this season of life that we discussed adding it to our book club list, as it would pertain to the women of that "certain age"...of which most of us are!  So happy that never happened!! I did make it through to the end, but Moore wanders, heading down some rabbit trails and not coming to conclusions; which may be the nature of therapists OR the nature of authors of a "certain age"!!  I was hoping for some inspiration in the art of growing older and the one thing that I took away was in giving grace to older people...and I am in total agreement!  Observing my dad in his assisted care facility gave me a head start on this...it's not easy to move fast, nor talk fast, nor dress fast, nor eat fast.  Minds wander and sometimes don't get back on track, responsibilities don't get accomplished in one day.  Ageless Soul is a reminder of what is to come...I will continue to pray that grace will abound, both to my friends and to myself.

Home by Marilynne Robinson

Marilynne Robinson is a new author to me.  After doing a bit of research on the Soul of America, I found out that Jon Meacham's wife, an educator, highly applauds Robinson as one of her favorite authors.  My book club friends agreed so I picked this book up.  "Home" describes the feelings and memories of two of the adult children of Rev. Boughton, who is aging and in need of care.  Just as it is in our families, the memories of siblings don't always jibe; but Glory is making an effort to love the prodigal Jack...she desperately wants to understand what made him leave the nest and never look back.
This book is intense, making me go slowly and linger over pages that were sometimes hard to understand.  Because I do enjoy the analyzing of human nature and family dynamics, I am giving this a thumbs up; but will hold my full approval of the author until I finish "Gilead", her pulitzer prize winner.  For sure, Robinson has a totally different style than that of Sarah Addison Allen: even though they both delve into the workings of family, Robinson is a bit deeper and darker.

First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen

  I have to admit, after reading my first book by this author a few months ago (Garden Spells), I was delighted to pick up this sequel to discover how the Waverley women were faring.  Light, warm-hearted, and whimsical, she is the perfect summer go-to author for me.  First Frost picks up about 8 years later so we can find out what gifts have been passed on to Claire and Sydney's daughters.  Yes, the apple tree is still temperamental...yes, the house still keeps its front door "stuck" to strangers; but the community seems to be more welcoming and accepting of the Waverley gals as they forge ahead, making mistakes and wrangling with the same issues as the rest of the town. This author leaves a smile on my face.