Biography, Autobiography, and Memoir read in 2019

[Selina]

Fishface wrote: "Now I want to know why she considered the tree walk more dangerous than the volcano viewing! Angry cassowaries?"

There's bridges suspended amongst the trees.

[Koren]

The World of Laura Ingalls Wilder: The Frontier Landscapes that Inspired the Little House Books by Marta McDowell
5 stars


I've read several biographical books about Laura Ingalls Wilder and I would say this is the best. It is both a biography of Laura and a geographical look at what the country was like at that time. Interesting from beginning to end. Laura's Minnesota days were spent about an hour away from where I live so it was fun to read familiar names and pictures. There are a ton of pictures in this book. I am totally amazed at the amount of research the author did for this book.

[Fishface]

Selina wrote: "Fishface wrote: "Now I want to know why she considered the tree walk more dangerous than the volcano viewing! Angry cassowaries?"

There's bridges suspended amongst the trees."

Ohhh. I do see what she means then. Gulp!

[Koren]

Saving Millie; A Daughter's Story Of Surviving Her Mother's Schizophrenia by Tina Kotulski
5 stars

This was a hard story to read. Thankfully, most of us do not know what it is like to live with someone with a severe mental illness and most of us do not know what it is like to be a child who is living with someone with a mental illness. The story starts with the author as a young child and ends with her as an adult caretaker of her mother. Shame on her father for abandoning the family and praise for the daughter who stuck by her mother through good times and bad. Her mother was very lucky to have such a supportive family.

[Koren]

Perfectly Human: Nine Months with Cerian by Sarah C. Williams
5 stars


While this is a very sad book, it is also uplifting. What would you do if you were pregnant and found out your baby would be born with a terrible birth defect and would likely die during the birth? Would you terminate the pregnancy or follow it to term? This is what the author faced and she decided to complete the pregnancy. The author has a strong faith and this helps her get through. The author gives advice on what to say and not say when someone you know faces infant loss.

[Diane in Australia]

Holy Ghost Girl: A Memoir
Author: Donna Johnson

4 Stars = Outstanding. It definitely held my interest.

I both liked, and disliked, this book. I liked it because I admire anyone who shares their evangelist Pentecostal upbringing with the world. Most folks have no idea what goes on under those big tents, or inside those tongue-talking churches. Well, I do, having spent far too many years allowing myself to be held in that doctrine's sway.

I disliked the book because I was hoping it would be a much deeper exposé of this type of church, and its inner workings. Donna barely skims the surface. As with any group of fanatics, a lot of harm is done in the name of 'religion'. If you're raised in it, you're already facing an uphill battle to free your mind from the dogma. I am very glad I am no longer affiliated with, nor influenced by, these people.

[Fishface]

Teresita, the Voice from the Grave: The Incredible But True Story of How an Occult Vision Solved the Murder of Teresita Basa, John O'Brien and Edward Baumann
4 enthusiastic stars!

I was really expecting this book to be super cheesy, starring a phony-baloney psychic who manages to get on the witness stand and accuse someone of murder. That kind of story was so common when this crime went down. It was nothing of the sort, though. The authors simply told the story, registered everyone's statements of dismay and disbelief at the paranormal events described, and let the reader decide. It's wonderfully written, well organized and never repetitive. It takes you all the way through the victim's life, up to the day of her horrible death. The authors clearly took some liberties when telling us what the victim was thinking about this or that situation. But they could have had enough detail from informants who knew her to make educated guesses. I highly recommend this one. It's a good crime investigation and a paranormal head-scratcher at the same time.

[Diane in Australia]

Reunion in Barsaloi
Author: Corinne Hofmann

3 Stars = It was just 'okay'.

This is the third book in Corinne's trilogy about her life in Kenya, Africa. I've read the first two, The White Masai, and Back from Africa. In a nutshell, first book = she marries a Masai in Kenya, second book = she leaves her husband, and Kenya, with a daughter from the marriage, third book = after 14 years, she visits Kenya (without the daughter), and reacquaints herself with family/friends there.

I didn't find any of her books very compelling, but they were interesting enough for me to finish reading them. As I said in my review of Back from Africa, she's got a money-making-machine going, who am I to tell her to stop writing?

[Fishface]

Crime Archive: John Christie, by Edward Marston
4 stars!

This confirms what I always say about reading more than one book on a true-crime case if you can. This little hardcover treasure contains all kinds of information on the Christie case that was new to me. It's well and clearly written, offers photos I never saw before and includes much more about the married lives of the Evanses and the equally short, tragic lives of the other victims of this terrible man. I'm not a Rillington Place scholar by any means but this is the first book I've seen on this case that attempts biographies of both Tim and Beryl Evans. Don't miss this one.

[Diane in Australia]

Blacktown
Author: Shane Weaver

3 Stars = I liked the book. I'm glad I read it.

Shane Weaver grew up with an abusive father. Thankfully, he also had the love of a strong woman, his mother. Shane wrote this when he was in his 40s, looking back at his childhood, his Australian boxing career, his alcohol and drug use, and how he eventually managed to turn his life around. In fact, he became the creative director of one of the world's biggest advertising companies.

[Diane in Australia]

A Child Called 'It': One Child's Courage to Survive
Author: Dave Pelzer

3 Stars = I liked the book. I'm glad I read it.

I know there is a controversy as to whether Dave is telling the truth in this book, or not. I know his brother wrote a book (A Brother's Journey: Surviving a Childhood of Abuse) that corroborates Dave's memories. On the other hand, some of his relatives say that he was the problem, not his mother.

It is written from the viewpoint of Dave as a child, which may be why some readers find the writing to be childish. Not sure if he intended it to be that way, or if he truly is just a terrible writer.

Almost everyone I know was abused as a child, including myself, and, yes, unspeakable things do happen that when written down make some folks say, "Oh, that couldn't have really happened!". I beg to differ. It can, and it has, to far too many children.

So, if Dave suffered even 50% of what he wrote, he was still horribly abused. If every word is the truth, then he's lucky to be alive, and fortunate to be sane.

[Koren]

Diane in Australia wrote: "
A Child Called 'It': One Child's Courage to Survive
Author: Dave Pelzer

3 Stars = I liked the book...."

Diane, I am currently reading Too Close to Me: The Middle-Aged Consequences of Revealing a Child Called "It" by Dave Pelzer, which deals with how childhood abuse effected him as an adult. I'm not very far into it but it is good so far.

[Diane in Australia]

Monsoon Rains and Icicle Drops
Author: Libby Southwell

3 Stars = I liked the book.

First of all ... beautiful cover! Libby is an Australian who goes on a journey, after she experiences the death of her fiance, and other friends. She visits China, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Tibet. The book is as much, or more, about her thoughts/feelings than it is the travel.

[Diane in Australia]

Koren wrote: "Diane, I am currently reading Too Close to Me: The Middle-Aged Consequences of Revealing a Child Called "It" by Dave Pelzer, which deals with how childhood abuse effected him as an adult. I'm not very far into it but it is good so far."

I'm planning on reading that one, too. I have read criticism of Dave's current 'personality' during interviews, at book signings, etc. My thoughts were, "You go through what he went through, and let's see how you handle it as an adult!" Anyone who is abused is going to have an internal (and sometimes external) struggle with their past all of their lives. It is a part of what 'shaped' them as they were growing up.

[Diane in Australia]

African Nights
Author: Kuki Gallmann

4 Stars = Outstanding. It definitely held my interest.

Kuki also wrote I Dreamed of Africa, which I gave 5 stars. I didn't enjoy this one quite as much. Almost ... so, it gets 4 stars. This book is a collection of stories of her experiences in Africa. I do like the way she writes. An intriguing storyteller. She has a great attention to detail. Her emotions are shared clearly, outlined sharply, and speak to my heart. She clearly loves life, and Africa.

[Diane in Australia]

Sea Dog Bamse: World War II Canine Hero
Authors: Angus Whitson and Andrew Orr

3 Stars = I liked the book. I'm glad I read it.

Bamse was a Saint Bernard that served on a Royal Norwegian mine-sweeper, the Thorodd, during WWII. The book has very little about the battles, it is more about Bamse's experiences. He was a such great morale booster, and actually saved the lives of two crew members. The book also gives us an insight as to how the Norwegians endured the five year German occupation.

A larger-than-life bronze statue of Bamse was unveiled by the Duke of York, Prince Andrew, on the 17 October 2006.

[Diane in Australia]

The Silent Twins
Author: Marjorie Wallace

3 Stars = I liked the book. I'm glad I read it.

Interesting biography of identical twins, June and Jennifer Gibbons. They spoke only to each other, using a secret language. All their movements were synchronized. Things became stranger, and stranger, as they matured. Eventually, they ended up in a psychiatric facility in Berkshire, England, called Broadmoor Hospital.

Through interviews and the twins' diaries, novels, poems, and short stories, the author tries to understand who these young women were. Their prison diaries were filled with minuscule, perfectly neat writing, each page held about 4,000 words! (see photo)