4 to be read….
Untamed by Glennon Doyle. Soulful and uproarious, forceful and tender, Untamed is both a memoir and a galvanizing wake-up call. It offers a piercing, electrifying examination of the restrictive expectations women are issued from birth; shows how hustling to meet those expectations leaves women feeling dissatisfied and lost; and reveals that when we quit abandoning ourselves and instead abandon the world’s expectations of us, we become women who can finally look at ourselves and recognize those who are like us. Untamed shows us how to be brave.
The Overstory by Richard Powers. Shortlisted for the Man Booker in 2018, The Overstory is a brilliant and passionate book about humans and their relationship to trees and the natural environment. The first half of the book is exceptional. Written like short stories, 9 characters are introduced separately with their tree story. Each story has an event that has happened to change the life of the character by the tree or trees that shaped them. The stories are phenomenal. The second half of the book is about these same characters being drawn together to fight the cause of saving trees. Environmental activism is the center of this part of the book and it’s fight against logging companies who are destroying the American forests.
The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance during The Blitz by Eric Larson. Larson shows how Churchill taught the British people “the art of being fearless.” It is a story of political brinkmanship, but it’s also an intimate domestic drama, set against the backdrop of Churchill’s prime-ministerial country home, Chequers; his wartime retreat, Ditchley, where he and his entourage go when the moon is brightest and the bombing threat is highest; and of course 10 Downing Street in London. Drawing on diaries, original archival documents, and once-secret intelligence reports–some released only recently–Larson provides a new lens on London’s darkest year through the day-to-day experience of Churchill and his family.
Long Bright River by Liz Moore. In a Philadelphia neighborhood rocked by the opioid crisis, two once-inseparable sisters find themselves at odds. One, Kacey, lives on the streets in the vise of addiction. The other, Mickey, walks those same blocks on her police beat. They don’t speak anymore, but Mickey never stops worrying about her sibling. Then Kacey disappears, suddenly, at the same time that a mysterious string of murders begins in Mickey’s district, and Mickey becomes dangerously obsessed with finding the culprit–and her sister–before it’s too late. Alternating its present-day mystery with the story of the sisters’ childhood and adolescence, Long Bright River is at once heart-pounding and heart-wrenching: a gripping suspense novel that is also a moving story of sisters, addiction, and the formidable ties that persist between place, family, and fate.
2 recent read and recommend (or not)…
The Woman in the Window by AJ Finn. Anna Fox lives alone in New York City drinking excessively, popping pills, watching old movies, and spying on her neighbors. Anna has severe agoraphobia from some recent, unnamed trauma. A new family moves onto the block and Anna believes she witnesses a brutal crime. When she goes to report it, her world begins to crumble. Sounds boring? Well, it isn’t. The chapters are short and extremely fast-paced making for a diabolically gripping thriller. Anna is a lovable, flawed, unreliable narrator that adds a special dimension to the story. Who is in danger? Who is in control? This book will never make my favorites shelf but it was an enjoyable read and a perfectly paced thriller. Take it in your beach bag! Recommend.
Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah. Quite simply, I loved this book. I greedily gulped it down. The story seamlessly alternates between past and present as two sisters learn to reconnect with their emotionally unavailable mom after their father’s death. I learned so much about the siege of Leningrad in World War II and the tragic starvation of a nation. It is a powerful historical fiction novel that looks at the mother-daughter bond and explores the enduring links between past and present. The two daughters finally learn the truth about their mother’s harrowing past and heal themselves in the process. Recommend.
Night Road by Kristin Hannah. Yet another homerun hit by Hannah! A heart-wrenching love story with flawless character portrayal and superb relationship dynamics. A set of girl/boy twins are coming of age when their idyllic world is shattered by a horrible tragedy and the consequences of it changes absolutely everything. It is a painfully real, emotionally complex novel that will have you in tears. Night Road explores questions about motherhood, loss, identity and forgiveness but especially explores grief in all its many forms. Recommend.
Home Front by Kristin Hannah. When I read other reviews of this book, I was very surprised to learn that not everyone loved it. I thought it was a raw, gritty, powerhouse of a novel that explores the toll a war takes on an ordinary American family. It also explores the intimate landscape of a troubled marriage. Hannah did her homework for this one to get the tone of the military and expose the large hardships and enduring sacrifices the military make. Ultimately, it is a story of love, loss, heroism, honor and hope. Recommend.
Why Won’t You Apologize?: Healing Big Hurts & Everyday Betrayals by Harriet Lerner. This approximately 3-4 hour read is a game changer. Renowned psychologist and best selling author studied apologies for 2 decades before penning this how-to book. Lerner offers a unique perspective on healing broken connections in an easily readable fashion, filled with compelling stories and solid research. She uses humor and wit to untie the knotted concept of forgiveness. Recommend.
Daughters of the Silk Road by Debbie Rix. It had all the components that I usually love in a book. It was a sweeping tale spanning the centuries and is historical fiction. It follows the journey of a precious Ming vase passed down from generation to the next. And at first, I thought it was going to be really good. Rix toggles between Venice 1441 and London 2015 and all the timeframes in between. She clearly has the ability to draw you into her character’s lives and can weave a good story but she gets going so quickly, as soon as you get to know a character, she moves on to the next generation. Do Not Recommend.
Just re-read and still love…
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. Dinah’s story reaches out from a remarkable period of early history and creates an intimate connection with the past. Deeply affecting, The Red Tent combines rich storytelling with a valuable achievement in modern fiction: a new view of biblical women’s society.