book review: when the english fall

I was at my public library, and they had a big display of “librarian recommendations.” I actually picked this book up because I assumed it was some kind of alternative history. AND IT WAS NOT. GUYS, it was post-apocalyptic Amish fiction. WHAT? That is a thing, and I didn’t know I was looking for it!

First of all, so many things in this book are from my hometown — Turkey Hill, Oregon Pike, Lititz, Central Market — all mentioned by name. These little nuances filled me with joy.

Two small complaints: (1) the daughter having some kind of future-telling “touch” was unnecessary, and to me, a total distraction and (2) the ending needed to have more conclusion because of the prologue. Without the prologue, the ending wouldn’t have felt weak.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was paced very slowed since it was a diary - lots of feelings and lots of repetition. But due to its short length, those were not a problem. Bonus, the man’s faith was preserved and represented well, rather than making it a subtle ironic failure.

Overall, worth the read for sure!

book review: the four winds

Kristin Hannah is rapidly rising on my list of favorite authors. The Four Winds was another masterpiece, just like The Great Alone. (Although I still liked The Great Alone more and even though she wrote The Nightingale that I didn’t like.)

My sister-in-law (who is my primary book dealer) dropped it off without a dust jacket so I literally had NO idea what I was reading. I opened the book at 9:11 and thought, “Let’s see what this is about,” and the next time I looked up it was 12:04 am.

If you want more proof that her writing is compelling, the story itself is actually sad — even slow-moving at the beginning — but that’s not what you’re here for. It isn’t about action and a sweeping fast pace… it’s getting to know these characters. And there is MUCH character to be known.

Unmarriagely six-foot-tall Elsa gets pregnant and disowned by her family. The barely 18-yo (who marries her at 25 to “do the right thing”) means well, but it is his parents, particularly his mother, who are instrumental in shaping Elsa’s life. The book’s quick prologue comes back in a surprising way as a speech later in the book, a very lyrical glimpse into the life of women at a transformational point of history. The family farm is dead, the animals are literally dying, the topsoil is disappearing in horrifically electrical windstorms, no one can breathe, everyone is foreclosing, and there’s no way out. You can’t walk in the desert and you can’t get gas to drive without money, and you can’t get money without crops, water, food…

I learned that I knew very little of the Dust Bowl, with most of my reading of the 20s/30s centered on cities with mention of suffering farmers in the Midwest. Wow. I obviously need to read The Grapes of Wrath. The storms, the government’s lack of response, the shocking classism/regionalism/refugee-ism (you can’t say racism in this context so blend those pieces together and you’ll get my concept)… the pieces all work together to really make you feel for the family. I appreciated that, while the son is a plot device to make the reader sense death is always moments away, mother-daughter conflict is a central focus.

Learning to accept yourself instead of basing your self-image on other people’s opinions is strongly emphasized as well. There’s a great deal of self-discovery plus blossoming inner strength. The story is compelling and believable.

A few warnings: part of the protag’s self-image centers on her parents always telling her she’s weak and unattractive, so her relationships with men are focused on at certain points. There are (very mild) descriptions of a few sexual encounters.

book review: the extraordinary life of sam hell

Sam Hill was born with bright red eyes (ocular albinism) and got his name when Mr. Hill walked into the hospital room and yelled, “What the sam hell is wrong with his eyes?”

The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni follows Sam from birth through years of school bullying until he reaches a stage of somewhat normalcy thanks to two special friends who also stand out (one for being the only black kid in a Catholic school and one for being a troublemaker with a good heart). He becomes an eye doctor on the mission field, worldwide, helping children with special vision needs. Ultimately, when he returns home, he is able to undo some damage from the past and bring some healing to places it was needed.

This story surprised me in so many ways. First, a very thoughtful approach to faith since a huge portion of the story revolves around his mother’s steadfast Catholic religion and the religious schools he attends. So refreshing to read a story where people are people — three dimensional with good qualities and mistakes and irritating habits and redeeming moments. The story’s heavy faith component is important because Sam is able to see only with maturity that his mother’s trite sayings are deeply meaningful to her, and even get a sense for himself that his faith is still relevant to his everyday life. There’s a great revelation that faith is more than attending church or going to confession or doing a rosary, and that his mother’s desire to do those things isn’t really what embodies her faith. It might be all he can see, but he learns that she is greatly empowered by her beliefs.

I related strongly to Sam’s mom’s desire to protect her son from bullying but also to his father’s desire for his son to live a normal life. The friends he makes are believable even if the bully is not. (The bully is just a bully, because his father before him was a bully, and that’s really all you get.) I didn’t even start shipping him with the romance interest until partway into the book which I think is somewhat remarkable. You find yourself learning along with Sam how people relate to him authentically or inauthentically based on his ‘condition’ as his mother calls it.

Disclaimer: This book contains two sexual scenes. They aren’t long, but I always want to warn you when I’m reviewing books.

book review: long way gone

Amazon says Long Way Gone by Charles Martin is a modern retelling of the parable of the prodigal son. It’s not. However, aside from that being a ridiculous description, the book was a fun read. There were too many deus ex machina moments for me to say it was a great read — specifically, three highly over-contrived moments that stood out — but I still enjoyed the story.

In summary: Cooper grows up as the musical side of his pastor-father’s tent revivals. But he longs to be a songwriter and flees to Nashville where he falls in love with a singer named Daley. A scheming manager and terrible injury destroy their relationship. Years later, Cooper returns to his hometown, and Daley passes through to sing at his club. They rekindle their relationship and help each other learn about faith and forgiveness.

I’m not super musical, but I’m music literate. So I enjoyed much of the concept of the musician being trained in dozens of styles standing out among professionals who only know their own thing. I also enjoyed hearing about beautiful Music City as well as getting a new grasp on the shorthand professionals use to annotate music. Fun glimpses.

In a sweet moment between the two main characters, the protagonist (the male) observes that his girlfriend often touches him without realizing it or looking over, almost like she’s sending out a sonar ping to see how close he is and make sure he is still within proximity. I chuckled because I think I do that to my husband, and the idea of sonar ping makes me feel like we are submarines. But I think it was mostly that most of the book analogies are auditory due to the musical story.

One thing jumped out that probably isn’t new to many people but the protag also makes the observation that what sets a great musician apart from a good musician isn’t how many notes s/he can play, but knowing which notes to leave out. That is a profound statement, as I believe the same is true for writers (or aspiring ones, like me). It isn’t the length of the sentence or the paragraph or the novel, it’s choosing the right words and not adding anything unnecessary.

I also don’t personally enjoy angels appearing and talking to people in books — I find that distracting — and that happens on several occasions.

Reasons this is not at all the parable of the prodigal son:

• There is no older son - a HUGE element to the lesson of this parable

• The father dies before the son returns so WHAT and HOW. Just no. I mean that is literally the point.

• The son hits rock bottom but then becomes wildly successful in his chosen field.

BOOK REVIEW: Struck Down But Not Destroyed

Anxiety is complex to understand, both for the person experiencing it and for their loved ones. I don’t personally struggle with anxiety, but several key and beloved people in my life live this struggle daily. At the recommendation of a friend, I decided to tackle Pierce Taylor Hibbs’ book for the sake of learning more about their journey.

I’ll be honest — the anxiety of the people I love is often confusing to me. I love them, and I want to understand — but I can’t. This book, Struck Down But Not Destroyed, is written for people of faith suffering with anxiety or those living with someone who deals with this mental health challenge. It is written from a Christian perspective and begins by addressing some common misconceptions. He directly addresses nonsense those with anxiety might hear such as this is a punishment for sin, that if you lived with more faith the anxiety would disappear, or that using medication means you are not fully relying on God. This seems elementary, but the misinformation spread by (sometimes) well-meaning people can have devastating effects. I think of some of the lies that have been spoken to me in my areas of weakness, and I shudder to imagine the devastation that someone already struggling with anxiety would feel to be told it’s their own fault.

For the rest of the book, the author spells out many of the coping mechanisms that have been instrumental in helping him deal with his anxiety disorder. He tells many personal stories and explains in detail his experiences and the way he felt physically, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. He talks about being acutely aware of his breathing, of adrenaline rushes, and feeling like his throat was closing. These visceral details offered me great insight into the experience of an anxiety 'attack,' as well as the everyday challenges that others around him don't even notice typically. Others might only recall “Piece has anxiety” when he’s having an “attack,” but it’s something he’s aware of nearly all the time.

The author emphasizes the power of prayer and the support of his wife and family. His thesis is, "We are crushed to be called." He would seem to state that in any difficulty or challenge, God can bring us closer to Him. The author postulates that anxiety is no different and uses scripture, his own experience, and practical theology to construct a six-point plan for handling anxiety as a tool to draw closer to the Lord. He shares the acronym CHRIST to be helpful: consider the feelings as spiritual medicine, He knows, remember the promise, identify a focus, stay engaged, and talk.

I cannot recommend this to anyone who personally lives with anxiety, because that is not my life experience. I feel like that would be akin to recommending the best caramel candy when I don’t eat caramel. So I’ll simply say that I found this book helpful in better understanding the complex journey of someone who lives with this challenge.

book review: The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd

Obviously, I’m the only person who hasn’t read The Secret Life of Bees, but I did read The Invention of Wings. I was very intrigued by the story of the Grimke sisters, who seem to be feminists and abolitionists born before their time. Born forty years later, and they’d be celebrated like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and many other prominent historical figures who they greatly influenced. (This story is a fictional, but plausible story of the older sister Sarah’s life.)

Handful is a slave ‘given’ to Sarah as a birthday present, and their relationship changes the course of Sarah’s life. Years later, under Sarah’s influence, her sister would pen the groundbreaking pamphlet An Appeal to the Christian Women of the South. At least according to the novelization, the women were on the course to greater influence when they began attracting too much attention in the form of men (instead of just women) attending their rallies. The offense of being feminists in addition to abolitionists caused even their beloved Quaker church to abandon them.

The story includes a fair amount of deep sadness due to the content being heavy with a failed slave revolt, great abuses of slaves, and more. Handful and her mother Charlotte put a face on the first cause Sarah is fighting for—the abolition of slaves. Her powerlessness to free her friends or even help them is part of what makes the connection between abolitionism and feminism so personal for Sarah.

The author does a good job, in my opinion, of contextualizing all of Sarah’s difficulties for the modern reader. At one point, Handful remarks sarcastically to Sarah’s complaining about her lack of rights as a woman to purchase a slave (to then free that person) that she (Handful) is still the one emptying a chamberpot. A good reminder to the modern reader who might be beginning to sympathize too strongly with Sarah’s situation that there’s no reasonable comparison between being denied the right to own property or attend school (as Sarah was) and the right to live free or with any hope (as slaves like Handful were).

A worthwhile read, if only to serve as a reminder the historical importance of influential Christian faith in fighting cultural evils.