Trailing, a memoir by Kristin Louise Duncombe
Trailing is a beautifully written memoir of a "trailing spouse". Having grown up as a child of a diplomat, Kristin didn't forsee any issues with following her husband to East Africa as part of a medical team. She had grown up moving a lot, mostly overseas, and assumed that her life experience had prepared her...
The transition to life in Nairobi, as a trailing spouse with no career, was far from smooth. Kristin tries to fill her days, feel fulfilled, while being the spouse of an active medical doctor on the front lines of African distress. Kristin is starting to feel good when a car jacking turns her world upside down. With post-traumatic stress disorder, every day life becomes excruciatingly difficult. Simple travel in a taxi upends her day.
The memoir follows Kristin to Uganda, and ultimately to France, through multiple jobs. (Finding a way to utilize her social work education overseas was much more difficult than expected.) Her challenges of overcoming PTSD, raising a child, and ultimately dealing with complete betrayal take us through from depression to triumph.
Duncombe does a beautiful job of taking us into her innermost pain. It was a heartwarming story, that makes you cheer in her triumph and cry at her pain.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
A Bitter Veil
A Bitter Veil, by Libby Fischer Hellmann
In A Bitter Veil, Libby Fischer Hellmann gives us insight to the turmoil in the middle east, through the eyes of an American woman. The conflict at the heart of the novel is Iran, in the late 70s and early 80s, including the taking of the American hostages. We see the bitter hatred for Americans, the cruelty that comes with a revolution and political unrest.
Anna, an American college student, falls in love with an Iranian, and moves back to Iran to start a life with him. Her husband comes from an afluent family, and everything is provided for them. A new home, furnishings, everything. Her father in law arranges a job for her husband, and their life together seems off to a perfect start.
At first, Anna embraces her new home, the culture rich heritage, and different lifestyle. While the uprising had already begun before their move, it escalates quickly. We see many people in their lives changing, taking sides, and becoming untrustworthy. Anna's relationship with her own husband deteriorates rapidly, and he is taken up with secretive forces. And we see what Anna has to do, to simply survive...
The story is an amazing account of our heroine, and what she endures while living in the middle of chaos, and how people came to help her. It was beautifully written, and extremely moving. Two thumbs up!
In A Bitter Veil, Libby Fischer Hellmann gives us insight to the turmoil in the middle east, through the eyes of an American woman. The conflict at the heart of the novel is Iran, in the late 70s and early 80s, including the taking of the American hostages. We see the bitter hatred for Americans, the cruelty that comes with a revolution and political unrest.
Anna, an American college student, falls in love with an Iranian, and moves back to Iran to start a life with him. Her husband comes from an afluent family, and everything is provided for them. A new home, furnishings, everything. Her father in law arranges a job for her husband, and their life together seems off to a perfect start.
At first, Anna embraces her new home, the culture rich heritage, and different lifestyle. While the uprising had already begun before their move, it escalates quickly. We see many people in their lives changing, taking sides, and becoming untrustworthy. Anna's relationship with her own husband deteriorates rapidly, and he is taken up with secretive forces. And we see what Anna has to do, to simply survive...
The story is an amazing account of our heroine, and what she endures while living in the middle of chaos, and how people came to help her. It was beautifully written, and extremely moving. Two thumbs up!
Sunday, September 23, 2012
The Girl in the Italian Bakery
The Girl in the Italian Bakery
by Kenneth M. Tingle
Always intrigued by all things Italian and baked, I chose this book strictly based off the title. It was NOTHING like I expected!
The Girl...is a memoir, of a life that is tattered and broken.
Kenneth, the lead character, lives with his mother, a single mother, and has an absent father who is very open about not having any time for the boys. The boys move from tenement to housing project to apartment, always on the move. We follow Kenneth and his brothers Gary and Tommy (who had mental issues), through their childhood of violence, trouble, and dysfunction.
The book, to me, was difficult to read - very wordy in some cases, with too much detail. But it wasn't a BAD book, it was very interesting.
The Girl is actually a girl, working in an Italian bakery, who he sees from afar. He never gets to talk to her, although he thinks he sees her at various point throughout the book. She comes to symbolize his "missed opportunity".
In the end of the book, Kenneth comes to find God. Having hit his low point, he literally opens a Bible and finds in it the answer to life. He realizes that everything in his life has been for a purpose. Has gotten him to this point.
So while the book wasn't the best I've read, it was a great ending- a good-for-you lesson in life.
by Kenneth M. Tingle
Always intrigued by all things Italian and baked, I chose this book strictly based off the title. It was NOTHING like I expected!
The Girl...is a memoir, of a life that is tattered and broken.
Kenneth, the lead character, lives with his mother, a single mother, and has an absent father who is very open about not having any time for the boys. The boys move from tenement to housing project to apartment, always on the move. We follow Kenneth and his brothers Gary and Tommy (who had mental issues), through their childhood of violence, trouble, and dysfunction.
The book, to me, was difficult to read - very wordy in some cases, with too much detail. But it wasn't a BAD book, it was very interesting.
The Girl is actually a girl, working in an Italian bakery, who he sees from afar. He never gets to talk to her, although he thinks he sees her at various point throughout the book. She comes to symbolize his "missed opportunity".
In the end of the book, Kenneth comes to find God. Having hit his low point, he literally opens a Bible and finds in it the answer to life. He realizes that everything in his life has been for a purpose. Has gotten him to this point.
So while the book wasn't the best I've read, it was a great ending- a good-for-you lesson in life.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
The Dry Grass of August
The Dry Grass of August, by Anna Jean Mayhew
A story set in the 1950s, The Dry Grass of August tackles the difficult issues surrounding integration, and prejudice in the deep south. I love the story from the perspective of Jubie, a white teenager, who has a beautiful love for her black maid. Life for them in North Carolina is very different than the deep south, and on a visit to an uncle's home in Florida, Jubie sees it in person. She starts to see the increasing prejudice on the car ride, at hotels, in restaurants, everywhere. Her mother continues to do all she can to make sure the maid is treated fairly, but society doesn't make it easy.
There is an undercurrent of trouble in the family at home, and the road trip is made without Jubie's father. Upon arrival at her uncle's house, we find that her uncle is divorced, a single father, and throughout the story, the threads of that plot unravel.
But the heartwarming, and eventually heartbreaking plot intertwined with the family issues is that of Mary, the maid, and her place in the family and in society. On the return trip, tragedy strikes, or rather society strikes, and the family is turned upside down.
We as readers get to watch Jubie grow throughout the book, because of the issues in her family, as well as what she is exposed to with Mary, and her transformation is beautiful.
While this book has similar undertones to The Help, it is much more than just that. We see the view from that of a teenager, who has her own thoughts and opinions, and is shocked and hurt by society. It is a beautifully written book, a quick read, one I didn't want to put down!
A story set in the 1950s, The Dry Grass of August tackles the difficult issues surrounding integration, and prejudice in the deep south. I love the story from the perspective of Jubie, a white teenager, who has a beautiful love for her black maid. Life for them in North Carolina is very different than the deep south, and on a visit to an uncle's home in Florida, Jubie sees it in person. She starts to see the increasing prejudice on the car ride, at hotels, in restaurants, everywhere. Her mother continues to do all she can to make sure the maid is treated fairly, but society doesn't make it easy.
There is an undercurrent of trouble in the family at home, and the road trip is made without Jubie's father. Upon arrival at her uncle's house, we find that her uncle is divorced, a single father, and throughout the story, the threads of that plot unravel.
But the heartwarming, and eventually heartbreaking plot intertwined with the family issues is that of Mary, the maid, and her place in the family and in society. On the return trip, tragedy strikes, or rather society strikes, and the family is turned upside down.
We as readers get to watch Jubie grow throughout the book, because of the issues in her family, as well as what she is exposed to with Mary, and her transformation is beautiful.
While this book has similar undertones to The Help, it is much more than just that. We see the view from that of a teenager, who has her own thoughts and opinions, and is shocked and hurt by society. It is a beautifully written book, a quick read, one I didn't want to put down!
Monday, September 3, 2012
Rebooting My Brain
Rebooting My Brain, How a Freak Aneurysm Reframed My Life, by Maria Ross
Two years ago, my best friend almost died in a car accident, and to this day continues to live and recover from traumatic brain injury (TBI). She found this book, and insisted I read it as well. I have never read a book that touched me so closely. Ross is brutally open and honest with her experiences as well as those of her husband, family, and friends.
Ross's life at the time of the aneurysm is rising quickly, a relatively new marriage, move to a new city, launching a new company. When all of a sudden, her life stops. Literally. A freak aneurysm (she is young,fit, and healthy) puts her into the ICU, fighting for her life.
The counts of her fights with daily chores as she recovers brought tears to my eyes, as I see the parallels to my own friend's life. All of the frustrations she's had in her recovery, the anxiety, fatigue, emotional overload....the roller coaster of improvements and setbacks....all of it. As I read, I could only imagine what it had meant to my friend as SHE read it. The AHA moments she must have had...
Ross's humor and insight bring TBI to an understandable, and manageable level. For anyone who has been touched by TBI, either themselves or through someone in their life, this book is a must read. And honestly, it is so well written, that anyone would enjoy it.
Two years ago, my best friend almost died in a car accident, and to this day continues to live and recover from traumatic brain injury (TBI). She found this book, and insisted I read it as well. I have never read a book that touched me so closely. Ross is brutally open and honest with her experiences as well as those of her husband, family, and friends.
Ross's life at the time of the aneurysm is rising quickly, a relatively new marriage, move to a new city, launching a new company. When all of a sudden, her life stops. Literally. A freak aneurysm (she is young,fit, and healthy) puts her into the ICU, fighting for her life.
The counts of her fights with daily chores as she recovers brought tears to my eyes, as I see the parallels to my own friend's life. All of the frustrations she's had in her recovery, the anxiety, fatigue, emotional overload....the roller coaster of improvements and setbacks....all of it. As I read, I could only imagine what it had meant to my friend as SHE read it. The AHA moments she must have had...
Ross's humor and insight bring TBI to an understandable, and manageable level. For anyone who has been touched by TBI, either themselves or through someone in their life, this book is a must read. And honestly, it is so well written, that anyone would enjoy it.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Running With Scissors
Running with Scissors, by Augesten Burroughs, is a memoir. Though I read somewhere that he had to change it to a novel classification after its release, as several members of his families were angry and contested its content. And after reading it, I can understand. I had to remind myself several times while reading that this was a memoir. That this actually happened to someone.
Running with Scissors is not for the faint of heart. It is real, honest, and in some cases graphic and brutal. What the reader regards as normal is tested. Because normal in the case of Dr. Finch is anything BUT.
Augesten's story starts out showing him as an odd child, but living in a clean, orderly home. But this quickly falls apart. Deep issues between his parents leads them to the office of Dr. Finch for assistance. It is that office that begins the changing of normal for Augesten's frame of reference. Augesten's parents divorce, his mother goes off the deep end (searching for herself and determining she is not the right parent for Augesten), and Augesten is sent to live with Dr. Finch.
Dr. Finch's house is a myriad of dysfunction. Comprised of his wife, biological children, adopted children, and patients, the house is run without rules and in complete disorder and chaos. While Augesten's childhood home was a neat and orderly place, he is thrown into the Finch home which is filthy, and chaotic. Augesten's first reaction to the filth and disorder was what I expected, and then I watched as his understanding of normal changed, and he slowly adapted to the house and life in it. It was hard for me to read the conditions he lived in at the Finch home... so many things were wrong.
Dr. Finch has some deeply seeded issues. While not written, I felt that there were many inappropriate relationships and situations. Augesten entered into a relationship with a much older adopted son, and the twisted relationship was very hard for me to accept. There were several graphic scenes that literally made me feel sick to my stomach. As I stated, it's not for the faint of heart. You have to go into this book with an open mind, understanding that these kind of situations happen, as sad as that makes me. But through reading this book, and others like it, I not only learn to appreciate my life, but gain an understanding that there are so many other normals out there.
I enjoyed the book. It was a quick read, but as I stated earlier, it is graphic. I want you to be forewarned.
Running with Scissors is not for the faint of heart. It is real, honest, and in some cases graphic and brutal. What the reader regards as normal is tested. Because normal in the case of Dr. Finch is anything BUT.
Augesten's story starts out showing him as an odd child, but living in a clean, orderly home. But this quickly falls apart. Deep issues between his parents leads them to the office of Dr. Finch for assistance. It is that office that begins the changing of normal for Augesten's frame of reference. Augesten's parents divorce, his mother goes off the deep end (searching for herself and determining she is not the right parent for Augesten), and Augesten is sent to live with Dr. Finch.
Dr. Finch's house is a myriad of dysfunction. Comprised of his wife, biological children, adopted children, and patients, the house is run without rules and in complete disorder and chaos. While Augesten's childhood home was a neat and orderly place, he is thrown into the Finch home which is filthy, and chaotic. Augesten's first reaction to the filth and disorder was what I expected, and then I watched as his understanding of normal changed, and he slowly adapted to the house and life in it. It was hard for me to read the conditions he lived in at the Finch home... so many things were wrong.
Dr. Finch has some deeply seeded issues. While not written, I felt that there were many inappropriate relationships and situations. Augesten entered into a relationship with a much older adopted son, and the twisted relationship was very hard for me to accept. There were several graphic scenes that literally made me feel sick to my stomach. As I stated, it's not for the faint of heart. You have to go into this book with an open mind, understanding that these kind of situations happen, as sad as that makes me. But through reading this book, and others like it, I not only learn to appreciate my life, but gain an understanding that there are so many other normals out there.
I enjoyed the book. It was a quick read, but as I stated earlier, it is graphic. I want you to be forewarned.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Hello!
While I hate to have multiple blogs, I feel that the audience for this blog will differ from my others. I plan to use this forum to note my "reviews" of books that I read. I am a lifetime reader. I love to read many different genres. And I have a LONG bucket list of books to read.
I've wanted to start a journal on the books I've read, as I'm in two book clubs, and read many in between. Decided instead, to use this blog to log my thoughts, and share them with YOU.
I hope that you'll enjoy reading my thoughts. And that maybe I'll even move you to try a new book now and then. And I welcome your comments and suggestions -
happy reading!
I've wanted to start a journal on the books I've read, as I'm in two book clubs, and read many in between. Decided instead, to use this blog to log my thoughts, and share them with YOU.
I hope that you'll enjoy reading my thoughts. And that maybe I'll even move you to try a new book now and then. And I welcome your comments and suggestions -
happy reading!
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