An Open Book – November #anopenbook
Today I’m joining Carolyn Astfalk and Catholic Mom for An Open Book. Here’s what I’ve been reading and/or working on for the past month.
My new book is now available: Life From the Bottom Shelf.
Synopsis: “Even the smallest person can change the course of history.” Galadriel to Frodo in the movie The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring
Have you ever gone to a public bathroom to find the mirrors so high that you can only see your forehead? Do young children stand beside you and exclaim, “I’m as tall as you!” When you drive, do you still have trouble reaching the pedals even when you’ve moved the seat all the way forward? If you’ve never experienced these situations, then it’s quite likely you’re well over five feet tall.
In her new book, award-winning author Ellen Gable, along with seven other contributors, shares the ups and downs of being short-statured in a tall world. Gable, who is four feet, eight and a half inches tall (the average height of a nine- to ten-year-old girl), has always tried to keep a sense of humor about her height. This is a book about embracing one’s size and finding the joy and humor in it.
The Better Part of Worse by Denise-Marie Martin
Coming in January 2025!
Synopsis: The Better Part of Worse is a gripping family saga that explores the meaning of family, the devastation of mental illness, the resilience of love, and the enduring hope that survives even the most overwhelming challenges. Set against the backdrop of the 20th century’s most tumultuous decades, the story follows Jamie Murphy, a former seminarian turned family man, as he grapples with his wife Katie’s mental illness in the late 1920s. For three decades, Jamie and his daughters hold on to the faint hope of Katie’s recovery.
Katie’s journey sheds light on the harsh realities of mental health care and the restrictive social norms of the time. It also highlights the groundbreaking impact of the first antipsychotic medications, such as Thorazine, which offered new hope for treating severe mental illness.
An unforgettable love story marked by human brokenness and powerful redemption, the novel bears witness to God’s miraculous ability to bring light out of the darkest circumstances.
My review: I absolutely loved this book. The characters are well-developed, the setting and time period well-represented and well-researched and the story compelling. It’s not an easy read, but it’s an important one that defines the uniqueness and the irreplaceability of every human being, no matter how they were conceived. If I could give it more than five stars, I would. Highly recommend!
Shadow of the Titanic by Andrew Wilson
Synopsis: A riveting and groundbreaking account of what happened to the survivors of the Titanic.
We think we know the story of the Titanic—the once majestic and supposedly unsinkable ship that struck an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Britain to America—but very little has been written about the vessel’s 705 survivors. How did the events of that horrific night in the icy waters of the North Atlantic affect the lives of those who lived to tell the tale?
Drawing on a wealth of previously unpublished letters, memoirs, diaries, and interviews with their family members, award-winning journalist Andrew Wilson brings to life the survivors’ colorful voices, from the famous, like heiress Madeleine Astor, to the lesser known second-and third-class passengers, such as the Navratil brothers, who were traveling under assumed names because they were being abducted by their father.
More than one hundred years after that fateful voyage, Shadow of the Titanic adds an important new dimension to this enduringly captivating story.
My review: I picked this up on sale and found it to be a compelling and interesting read about the aftermath of some of the survivors. Highly recommend.
500 Miles From You by Jenny Colgan
Synopsis: What happens when two medical professionals–ex Army medic from a village in the Scottish Highlands and an inner city nurse from inner-city London—switch jobs for three months and become unlikely pen pals?
Lissa, is a nurse in a gritty, hectic London neighborhood. Always terribly competent and good at keeping it all together, she’s been suffering quietly with PTSD after helping to save the victim of a shocking crime. Her supervisor quietly arranges for Lissa to spend a few months doing a much less demanding job in the little town of Kirrinfeif in the Scottish Highlands, hoping that the change of scenery will help her heal. Lissa will be swapping places with Cormack, an Army veteran who’s Kirrinfeif’s easygoing nurse/paramedic/all-purpose medical man. Lissa’s never experienced small-town life, and Cormack’s never spent more than a day in a big city, but it seems like a swap that would do them both some good.
In London, the gentle Cormack is a fish out of the water; in Kirrinfief, the dynamic Lissa finds it hard to adjust to the quiet. But these two strangers are now in constant contact, taking over each other’s patients, endlessly emailing about anything and everything. Lissa and Cormack discover a new depth of feeling…for their profession and for each other.
But what will happen when Lissa and Cormack finally meet…?
My review: What made me pick up this book is the unique and interesting cover — and the fact that it was on sale. A charming story. I didn’t care for the ending. Recommend.
