Thursday, March 18, 2021
Where the Blind Horse Sings - Book Review
Thursday, March 4, 2021
The Moonlight Child - Book Review
Things just aren't adding up. Late one night, while out on her patio watching a lunar eclipse, Sharon spies what appears to be a very small child washing dishes in the kitchen of the house across her back yard fence. How can that be? The neighbors don't have a child that young. And even if they did, why would she be doing dishes hours past her bedtime?
Perhaps it is nothing, but what if it isn't? Sharon Lemke finds herself wondering if her imagination is merely running wild. Soon, though, when Niki, an eighteen-year-old who has recently aged out of the foster care system comes to live with her, Sharon's concerns become shared.
As it has been said, it takes one to know one, and Niki knows plenty about what it means to be endangered. The clues are pinging Niki's internal radar system. She isn't willing to leave things to chance if there is a child who may be at risk.
Though Sharon has followed proper channels (notifying the appropriate social services authorities about the unusual circumstance next door), bureaucratic wheels often turn much too slowly for those fearing the worst.
Niki and Sharon decide to take matters into their own hands. Can they pull off a clandestine investigation without endangering themselves or others? Is there something sinister at play here? What will happen if they are caught in the act of spying on neighbors who may not be what they outwardly appear to be?
For me, an exceptional book is one that makes me care. I was all in shortly after being introduced to Sharon, Niki, Mia, Jacob, and Griswold. There was so much to love about the redemptive moments. Of course, there are individuals you will likely despise. Every powerful story needs that counterbalance.
I came away from this read thinking about the people who pay attention when they feel something isn't right. Not only that, I reflected on the difference between those who act on their intuition and those who do not. This story drove home for me the necessity of being a noticer who actually does something for the lost and the unseen individuals of the world.
I highly recommend The Moonlight Child by Karen McQuestion.
Thursday, February 4, 2021
Six Weeks To Live - Book Review
Thursday, November 19, 2020
Breath - Book Review
I am so sorry. I didn't realize how much I was taking you for granted. I should have appreciated you more. Now that I finally know how much I need you—how much you mean to me—I hope it is not too late to make a new start. Will you forgive me? I promise to make it up to you.
Love, Me
Yeah. So okay. That was long overdue. It wasn't until I read Breath, by James Nestor, that I discovered the error of my ways. It's like missing a truth that is staring you right in the face. How is it that we miss the things that are right in front of us every day?
I must say Breath is, by far, one of the most stunning books I have ever read. As a lifelong athlete, and former coach, I thought I knew quite a bit about proper breathing. Wrong!
This book was a journey of discovery... a revelation. After the first few pages, I lost count of the epiphanies I was having—or that were having me. The author had me at this:
the greatest indicator of life span wasn't genetics, diet, or the amount of daily exercise, as many had suspected. It was lung capacity.
And, it turns out, we can increase our lung capacity by 30-40 percent just by knowing how to breathe right. If that is the case, why wouldn't we want to learn how to do so? Who doesn't want to live longer and with greater wellness?
This book blends the author's personal quest to find solutions to his own health crises while seeking out other "pulmonauts" who are finding new, and old, ways of helping their patients address any number of serious medical conditions: immune disorders, high blood pressure, weight challenges, anxiety, asthma, sleep apnea, dental issues, and so much more.
We learn that 90 percent of us do not breathe correctly. Also, those who are least healthy among us are overbreathing. Overbreathing? Did we ever imagine too much breathing could be bad? Or that too little carbon dioxide was harming us? How much is too much or too little? What is the right amount? How do we achieve that balance? What is the proper breathing rhythm? How can we attain that?
And then there is mouthbreathing vs. nosebreathing. The negatives of mouthbreathing, as illustrated by the author's own clinical experimentation, should be more than enough to make every single one of us avoid it like the plague. Who knew just how bad the effects could be?
But wait, there's more: left nostril vs. right nostril breathing. Ever thought about that? No? Neither had I. Breathe through the left, lower body temperature and blood pressure—reduce anxiety. Breathe through the right, speed up circulation, heat up your body, and increase your heart rate.
Which brings us to this: What is the deal about the erectile tissue in the nose? Um, I'll let you read about that for yourself. That was probably my first big shock while reading Breath.
There is so much more that will astound you when you read Breath. This book is filled with wonder. It left me with a completely new sense of awe for my body and how everything is so intricately, and beautifully, connected to my breathing. I gained renewed hope in discovering just how resilient and malleable our organs, and vital systems, can be when we know how to take simple health-reversing actions.
Throughout my life, whenever asked what part of my body I disliked the most, I always said it was my nose. I'll never feel that way again after learning the truth about the magnificence of my nose. It is so much more than the first line of defense against the invaders that would cause me harm. I have gained such a tremendous respect and appreciation for what my nose does for me every second of every day.
In a single breath, more molecules of air will pass through your nose than all the grains of sand on all the world's beaches—trillions and trillions of them. As they make their way toward you, they'll twist and spool like the stars in a Van Gogh sky...
There is something to be gained by everyone who delves into the mystery we call breathing. Every 3.3 seconds we have the opportunity for transformation. Breathe it in... and be the brilliance of that Van Gogh sky.
Thursday, November 5, 2020
Hiking Naked - Book Review
Kindle Unlimited Link |
Are you taking a leave of absence? She whispered her question as if I were planning a prison escape.
No. What Iris had in mind did involve absence, but truly, it was more about arriving back at presence. In Hiking Naked, Iris Graville takes us along on her journey of stripping life down to what is most essential. This is a book about reclaiming your joys.
If ever there was a time to plan a prison escape, surely it would be now. Just as Iris felt imprisoned by the burnout of years in the public health field, who among us is not wishing for an escape from the weariness of daily crisis... from the pandemic stress in which we are engulfed?
For me, being immersed in the author's sojourn to a place far removed from constant bombardment was not only a much-needed respite, but also a knowing, as Graville put it, of "the riches of attending to what's truly important."
Anyone who has ever fantasized about moving to a remote haven far from the madding crowd will relish this account of Graville's time spent in Stehekin (a Native word meaning a way through), Washington. As Iris ferries us via her writing to this uplake North Cascades paradise, we discover ourselves in a place any lover of Northern Exposure would find intriguing and refreshing.
Imagine living without TV, phones, freeways, or frenzy. Think what it would be like to mail-order your groceries (and have a stranger named Alice select your food items for you).
Envision a time of reading, writing, hiking, and just being. Wrap your mind around days filled with art, bread-baking, letter-writing, laundry-hanging, and journaling about the desires of your heart.
In the process of becoming "Stehekinized," Graville found her own way through the tumult of both internal and external fires and floods. As she sought balance, and let Stehekin live within her, Iris found the path to what was next.
I highly recommend this book to anyone searching for clarity, for renewal, for a clear sense of calling, for a return to the essence of life. Here's to finding your own Stehekin. May the way through be a journey to joy.
Thursday, October 29, 2020
Citizens of Campbell - Book Review
The heart of this novel is the bond between two quietly heroic men—Earl Johansen and Nearly "Walking Elk" Kelly. One is a hero for saving a man's life; the other for simply being who he is—a good and decent man.
I'm sure Earl and Nearly would be surprised to find themselves between the covers of a book. I imagine Earl would be a little embarrassed and Nearly secretly delighted. The dailiness of their lives, to them, wouldn't seem worthy of mention, but they would be wrong.
Citizens of Campbell reveals the soul of what it means to be essential to someone else.
Ann Reed, the author, is an extremely gifted singer/songwriter. More than writing the story of Campbell, Iowa, and its citizens, she has sung it. The song is an anthem all kindred spirits will recognize. You will feel the chords, the true notes that are the music of living simply and beautifully alongside, and in concert with, your chosen family.
Highly recommended.
Thursday, September 3, 2020
The Book of Two Ways - A Review
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Thursday, August 20, 2020
Blind Your Ponies - Book Review
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The thing is, magic happens—even in those outposts that have known more than their share of dashed hopes—especially in those bleak has-been places where glory is just a word in the dictionary. Everyone in Willow Creek is there for a reason. And it is in how those reasons come together, in one fairytale basketball season, that we come to love, and cheer on, this ragtag group of misfits.
Some books just grab you by the heart and never let go. This is one of those books. Blind Your Ponies is about never giving up. It is about finding love in the midst of loss. It is about the transformative power of grief, and healing, and believing when it seems crazy to believe. It is ultimately a book about letting in the things that can lift you past the point of hopelessness and despair.
Who is this cast of characters that will cause us to cheer until we are hoarse? There is Sam Pickett. English teacher and "losingest" basketball coach ever. This is a man who has experienced the worst that can happen to someone he loved. He is a crushed soul who will be lifted by the young boys who would go to any length for their beloved coach.
Which brings us to the boys on the team. Dean, Pete, Olaf, Tom, Rob, and Curtis. These young men have known deprivation, the feeling of not being good enough, the doubt that comes from being tossed away by those who were supposed to love them most.
There has never been a group less destined to succeed on the basketball court, unless, of course, you can see into their hearts. They will come together, by the sheer power of heart, to achieve the unimaginable. In that unlikely march to claiming what was theirs all along, we will come to know what it means to give everything you are to become everything you can be.
You don't have to love basketball, coaching, teaching, or mentoring young people to get caught up in this story. But, if you, like me, have ever had the great privilege of being involved in those high callings, it will be impossible not to embrace this book with that part of you that has known, and nurtured, a Dean, a Pete, an Olaf, Tom, Rob, or Curtis. Once you have experienced the immense joy of helping shape a child's life, you are forever a part of the greatest enterprise on earth.
Blind Your Ponies will move you in ways you didn't even know you needed to be moved. If you have loved movies like Hoosiers, Rocky, or Rudy, you are sure to be lifted by the spirit of this inspirational book. Highly recommended. Five stars.
Thursday, August 6, 2020
The Garden of Small Beginnings - Book Review
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Thursday, July 30, 2020
DIY Copper Bookmark - Painting With Fire
DIY Copper Bookmark |
You can do so much with copper, but I am focusing, right now, on hammered, stamped, and annealed copper. I call the annealing of my pieces "painting with fire." It is my absolute favorite part of this project. When you take a torch to copper, you never know exactly how the finished piece will look. I am always delighted to see the surprising effects of heat on my metal works of art.
My M.O. (modus operandi) happens to be the repurposing of materials. I love nothing more than to bring new life to those things that have unseen, or unused, potential. In this case, I was fortunate enough to reclaim some small copper sheets that were the remnants of a solar installation. Though the metal was scratched and tarnished, with irregular edges, I knew it held great promise, and a beauty to be found when its true colors were revealed. These are the steps I took to transform the copper.
Step One: Cutting the Copper
I first considered using a hacksaw to cut the copper sheets into bookmark-sized pieces. After trying that, I decided it would be much faster and easier to use my Dremel Saw-Max with the metal cut-off wheel. That worked perfectly. The important thing was to protect the surface of the copper using painter's tape.
Cutting the Copper Using Dremel Saw-Max |
Step Two: Filing the Rough Edges
After cutting the copper, the edges needed to be deburred to remove the sharp slivers of metal. I used a round file for this step.
Filing the Metal Burrs |
Step Three: Rounding the Corners
Because the corners of the bookmark were sharp, the next step was to use my Dremel rotary tool, with a sanding bit, to gently round off those points.
Rounding the Corners Using Dremel Rotary Tool |
Step Four: Cleaning the Copper Surface
Before heating the copper, I needed to clean off the surface tarnish, fingerprints, etc. The simple way to do this is with fine steel wool (00 grade) and a little elbow grease. When I was done, the copper was nice and shiny (see the center image below). I chose to leave some of the character marks (a few nicks and minor scratches). My work is not meant to have a machined look. I want it to be wabi-sabi (where the imperfection is the beauty).
From Tarnished to Bright, Shiny Copper |
Step Five: Painting With Fire
I love this step! My bookmark blank is now laid on a moist sand mound. I place the front side of the bookmark facing down (because that is the side of the copper that will have the most colorful effect after I torch the back side). I use a mini butane torch to paint (anneal) the copper. Basically, I just heat the metal until it begins to turn vibrant purple, blue, and fuschia colors. The possibilities are endless and no two "paintings" are ever the same.
Butane Mini Torch and Fuel |
Painting With Fire - Torching the Copper Blank |
Newly Torched Copper Bookmark |
The Infinite Variety of Fire - Painted Copper Bookmarks |
Step Six: Water Bath
Using a forceps, I then plunge the hot metal into a cool water bath. Next, I pat dry the copper with a soft cloth. (It's also important to wear clean, soft gloves so you don't mar the metal surface with fingerprints, etc.)
Cooling the Torched Copper in a Water Bath |
At this point, I used metal stamps (Impress Art uppercase alphabet set) to imprint a message on the front of the bookmark. This is the hardest part of the process. Getting the spacing and impressions right can be extremely challenging. I had to leave the perfectionist in me out of the equation and just go for it. What will be, will be! And that is okay. It is the charm of handmade art.
Stamped Copper - Rumi Quotation |
Step Eight: Edging the Bookmark
Depending on the look you want, you can leave the edges of the bookmark plain, but I wanted a hammered copper look. This is where I used a ball-peen hammer to make some shallow depressions all around the perimeter of the piece.
Creating Hammered Copper Edge Using Ball-Peen Hammer |
Step Nine: Finishing the Piece
I used a tiny bit in my Dremel rotary tool to drill a hole in the end of the bookmark (for attaching a chain and embellishments). Next, I applied a finish wax (a natural carnauba wax) to protect the surface from fingerprints, tarnish, etc. Finally, I chose a pair of wing charms to be a whimsical play on my chosen sentiment.
Finished Copper Bookmark |
I may consider creating a few custom bookmarks for my Etsy store. Most likely, though, these pieces will be offered as gifts because they are truly a labor of love.
Thursday, July 16, 2020
National Lost Pet Prevention Month
Fenway Bolted Due to Frightening Gunshots |
Count off two seconds with me. One, one thousand. Two, one thousand. Stop. Someone has just lost a beloved pet. Again: One, one thousand. Two, one thousand. Another fur baby is missing.
This happens every day, every two seconds. If you add it up, that is 30 missing pets per minute, 1800 per hour, and 43,200 per day. I did the math. That comes out to over 15 million missing pets each year. For anyone who cannot imagine a life without animals, that is a horrifying number.
I hate to tell you this, but it gets worse. Only 1 in 10 of those lost animals will return home.
Blessing Escaped From a Vehicle - She Has Not Been Found |
Though one might be able to set aside cold, hard numbers, it is much more difficult to forget the names and faces of the missing. Likewise, the desolation of not knowing the fate of a pet is the kind of thing that haunts a pet parent forever.
Given these statistics, it seems clear that more needs to be done to significantly reduce the number of animals that go missing, and more needs to happen to successfully reunite the lost with their loved ones. It is no coincidence that July is National Lost Pet Prevention Month. Over the 4th of July holiday, animal intakes in shelters across the nation increase by 80 percent. No doubt, much of that has to do with the terrifying nature of fireworks, and how extreme distress causes so many animals to bolt in sheer panic.
Why do pets become lost? What happens to missing pets? Why are some found, while others seemingly disappear into thin air? What makes the difference in giving these lost animals a better chance of being reunited with their families?
Pets become lost for any number of reasons. They can bolt when scared or when involved in an accident (like Jade in Yellowstone National Park), escape when given the opportunity (an open gate or door), go looking for love (if not spayed or neutered), take off during a hike in the woods (in pursuit of a wild animal), become disoriented, or upset, after a move to a new home (and go looking for the familiarity of a former life), jump out of a vehicle, dig under a fence, get snatched while unattended, and so much more.
Harley Went Missing During a Move She Was Found Eight Miles From Her New Home |
What happens to your missing pet? Many different scenarios can unfold depending on the animal's physical condition and age, her confidence and personality, familiarity with the territory, weather conditions, proximity to helpers (remote area vs. urban area), and actions taken by those responsible for finding her.
Some animals are found, but have no identification tag or microchip. The finder doesn't know who to contact to return the pet. That dog or cat may end up being kept by the finder, or adopted out by an animal rescue organization. This is one reason why it is so important to notify regional shelters and online lost pet forums. Highly visible, and widely distributed, lost pet signs are also critical in these cases. Harley was reunited with her family last week because the finder saw her posted in a lost pet group on Facebook.
Coco is a Real Flight Risk |
Pets riding in cars should always be restrained. This can be done with a travel crate, a harness system that hooks into a seatbelt, or similar safety features. Blessing escaped from a vehicle because she was not adequately secured. Always, always secure your pet in a vehicle. Some dogs are able to lower car windows by standing on the power window buttons (Blessing was one of those dogs). That provides a vehicle escape route. Be sure to activate the child safety locks in your car when traveling with pets.
Our organization microchips every animal adopted from our shelter. It is not unusual for a pet to get away from a new owner. Keeping your pet's chip registered and updated with current contact information is essential.
If you take your dog hiking or camping in remote areas, you might consider outfitting him with a GPS tracker collar. Out in the wilderness, this could save his life. It is also a good idea if you have a dog that has gotten away from you before, or that tends to be easily frightened. A skittish dog on the run can be harder to find given the tendency toward evasion.
Some final tips: Be aware of your pet's body language. Pay attention to the behavioral, and environmental, cues that may alert you to a potential escape. Have a plan in place for how you will respond should one of your pets go missing. Read up on the essentials of how to find a missing animal. Even if your pet is primarily an indoor animal, always ensure that she is wearing a collar and identification tag.
It is said an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Given the estimate that 1 in 3 pets will go missing over their lifetimes, now is the time to ensure your precious companion will not become one of those sad statistics.
It takes all of us together to ensure the safety of the beloved animals that count on us and that enrich our lives beyond measure. Please consider supporting our new Lost Pet Search and Rescue Initiative. Given the epidemic of lost pets, this collective effort to save lives has taken on a greater sense of urgency. Thank you for joining forces with us.
Thursday, July 2, 2020
Fast Girls - Book Review
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Fast Girls is historical fiction that introduces us to real women who broke world records, achieved Olympic gold, rose above rampant racism, sexism, and the societal norms meant to keep them off the track... out of the running for their dreams... out of their place in history.
Betty Robinson. Louise Stokes. Helen Stephens. Remember their names. These fast girls will teach us much that goes far beyond 100 meters. From them, we will gain the perspective and insight that becomes a kind of second wind, which is what you need when you hit the wall during a race, or in the midst of dealing with life's hard challenges.
Each fast girl had to rise above tremendous obstacles to become who she was destined to be. Take Betty Robinson, for starters. As the first American woman to achieve Olympic gold, at the very first Olympics that included female athletes (Amsterdam, 1928), it seemed the "Golden Girl" had it made. Not long afterwards, Robinson was involved in a near-fatal plane crash that left her body wrecked beyond hope of any kind of recovery, or any return to her former glory. Everyone counted her out. Everyone, that is, except Betty herself. What she does with her brokenness is what will define her greatness.
Next up, Louise Stokes. As a member of the first integrated Olympic team, Stokes, a black athlete, will face the kind of abuses no one deserves, or should ever experience. Her treatment, how she copes with it, and where it leads, even to today's Black Lives Matter movement, is not just a lesson for the history books. It is living history. It matters as much right now as it did back in 1932.
Which brings us to Helen Stephens. Stephens, a misfit, unwanted by her father, mocked and bullied by her childhood peers, so different, so confused about her identity, so incredibly talented. What will become of Helen? Who will see her immense promise and provide a means for her to leave the bleak, hardscrabble existence of her youth?
Fast Girls is about so much more than blazing speed. Even though these women, at their peak, were the fastest women in the world, what mattered, and still matters, is what they did with their enormous capacity for turning tragedies into personal triumph. Their disappointments and losses, perhaps even more than their triumphs, are what make for compelling reading.
This is a book for the history buff, the athlete, the coach, the teacher, the enthusiastic spectator, the one who cares about the worthiness, and enormous value, of every single person who asks only to be allowed the opportunity to fly down that straightaway toward the achievement of a dream... toward the fulfillment of personal destiny.
*I received an ARC of Fast Girls from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. I wish to thank the author, Elise Hooper, and her publisher, HarperCollins, for this opportunity.
**You may also wish to check out my five-star review of Elise Hooper's fabulous book Learning to See.
Thursday, June 18, 2020
Pet Tracker - Book Review
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Albrecht needed direction on where to start searching and this required help in the form of another dog. If dogs could track missing people, why not give them a chance to use that skill to find another dog? This wasn't being done at the time, but, having no other leads, Kat felt it was worth a try. Even though Kea, the dog brought in to search for A.J. had not been specifically trained for this purpose, she was known to be a gifted tracker. The mission was successful. A.J. was found and brought safely home.
While reflecting on what had worked, Albrecht began to imagine the possibilities of using refined training techniques, and the tools of her trade, to take animal search and rescue to a whole new level. It would be her retired service dog, Rachel, who would prove to be the key to this whole enterprise. Rachel, a Weimaraner, taught her human everything she needed to know to ensure there were far more happy endings to the missing pet stories.
Pet Tracker is everything I love in a book. It combines intrigue with amazing animals, inspiring people, surprising behavior, spy gadgets, forensics, sleuthing, and heart-warming rescue stories. I picked up this book in the midst of a very personal rescue operation. In grappling with the most challenging search of my life, I needed more understanding, more insight, more direction, more of everything that would take me to a higher plane, where I could be more of what the lost need.
Like Albrecht, my life has been changed forever, all because of one lost dog. My lost dog. I encourage everyone who cares about animals, or their humans, to read this book. You never know when you might be called into action to help save a life. And who knows? Maybe the life you save just might be your own.
Thursday, May 21, 2020
The Honey Bus - Book Review
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At five years of age, May found herself uprooted from everything familiar. Due to the divorce of her parents, Meredith and her brother were suddenly moved cross-country to live with their grandfather in California. This was an incredibly upsetting, and confusing, turn of events. For May, things no longer made sense, as no one had explained what was happening. To make matters worse, her mother barricaded herself behind a bedroom door, and entered a seemingly endless season of child abandonment.
Sensing the need for connection, nurturing, and something to fill the deep hole in his granddaughter's psyche, Franklin Peace began to introduce Meredith to the wonders of beekeeping. That journey began with a flurry of bee stings—which would terrorize most children. Counter to what one might expect, the temporary pain of that surprise attack by swarming bees built up a kind of immunity to the deeper sting of feeling alone in the world.
Like a bee drawn to honey, May's curiosity about the rusty old Army bus in her grandfather's back yard was not to be denied. The ramshackle honey bus was the object of Meredith's great desire. She longed to be granted entry into that portal, for she knew that magical things happened inside her grandfather's top secret laboratory. On the day when she was finally deemed old enough for a membership into the honey bus's secret society, May's joy knew no bounds.
As her grandfather's beekeeping apprentice, Meredith not only entered into the fantastical world of honeybees, but more importantly, she found her forever family.
Bees need the warmth of family. Alone, a single bee isn't likely to make it through the night. A beehive revolves around one principle—the family. I knew that gnawing need for a family.May's sage, quietly unassuming grandfather used the language of bees to reveal the ancient ways that were relevant to learning how to persevere through collective strength. As she fed off of this Way of the Bees, Meredith learned all that she could not learn from her birth parents. It was the bees that were, in essence, raising her. From them, the author gained insight into compassion and how to thrive by caring for others.
In following Meredith through the mystical portal into honeybee society, we find ourselves joining in the dance of the bees. You will revel in the poetry of what it is to be in the presence of sacred creatures that exist for the greater good. The artistry of Meredith May's writing was, to this reader, the sweetest of nectars.
Just as honeybees make themselves essential through their generosity, this book is essential reading in that it gives us what we need to enter into the bee's state of grace. Bees give far more than they ever take. Spending time in The Honey Bus has given me the desire to be more of what someone else might need right now. And, perhaps, that is the true elixir of life.
Thursday, April 30, 2020
Learning to See - Book Review
Read an Excerpt |
Migrant Mother (1936) Credit: Dorothea Lange/Public Domain |
You have heard the photographer's name. Dorothea Lange. But how many of us know the backstory of how Dorothea Margaretta Nutzhorn Lange (1895-1965) became one of the most famous documentary photographers of all time?
Dorothea Lange (1936) Credit: The Library of Congress/No Restrictions |
Learning to See is historical fiction that reads like an organic biography. Elise Hooper used volumes of historical records and interviews to create this compelling memoir-like novel. Like many based-on-true-life stories, the fiction morphs with the nonfiction into a very realistic portrait of the complex life and times of Dorothea Lange.
We are first introduced to the intrepid twenty-two-year-old Nutzhorn as she arrives in the bohemian San Francisco of 1918. Having been the victim of a thief who makes off with her life savings, Dorothea must use her wits to secure housing and a job as a photographic assistant. Before long, the renamed Lange decides to forge her own path as an independent studio photographer.
As things unfold, we discover Dorothea's many evolving iterations: friend, businesswoman, wife, mother, and fearless social activist. There are elements of Lange's life that some will find upsetting (like choosing to foster out her children during the hard economic times of the Great Depression). The sacrifices endured for the sake of Lange's calling will have lifelong ramifications.
This is a book for those who appreciate historical fiction, biographies, defining moments in time, photography, or reflections on the human landscape of America. I couldn't help but see the parallels between the subjects of Lange's Depression Era portraits and those that are beginning to define this current time of economic collapse, migrant oppression, and social injustice.
As a photographer with a connection to our country's unseen and often marginalized individuals, the themes of this book deeply resonate. For me, Lange's unvarnished look at the real America took me to a place deep within myself that wishes to compassionately acknowledge and respond to the pain of those who are struggling mightily. We know there are multitudes experiencing the hardest times of their lives at this very moment in our nation's history.
Woman of the High Plains (1938) Credit: Dorothea Lange/Public Domain |
I highly recommend this novel and encourage members of book clubs to consider Learning to See as a group selection. It is sure to generate the kinds of conversations that matter.
Thursday, April 16, 2020
Lost in Transplantation - Book Review
Read an Excerpt |
For Edwards, the gift was that of life. In choosing to be a living kidney donor, she literally gave of herself to ensure another individual, and a stranger at that, could experience the very life of life. This story, though, is not written to spotlight Eldonna. The real underlying message is one that will, perhaps in more subtle ways, inspire each of us to commit an act of uncommon goodness, grace, generosity, or no-strings-attached love.
The opportunity, for Edwards, arrived unexpectedly. As a 48-year-old single mom enrolled in community college courses, Eldonna learned that one of her young classmates was suffering from a kidney condition that would prematurely end her life. Though she did not know this young woman very well, Edwards quickly realized she wanted to donate a kidney to her. To Eldonna's great disappointment, her offer was rejected. Sometimes an individual in great need is not ready to receive—not even a gift being freely given with pure motives.
This could very easily have been the end of it, but a seed had been planted. Edwards found herself on a quest to learn everything she could about the need for kidney donors and the process of donor selection. The more she discovered, the stronger the urge grew to help someone on the kidney transplant list. It turns out, though, that there would be major hurdles standing in the way.
To read Lost in Transplantation, is to accompany Eldonna on her winding pathway to giving what she most wanted to give. It is also to be there when she receives what she most needed to receive. You will find yourself becoming completely invested in the author and her mission because of Eldonna's authenticity, her humility, her beautiful humanity, and the unassuming way she touches hearts.
This book held great meaning for me. When my mother was diagnosed with renal cancer, which required the removal of her malignant kidney, I began to think about the possibility of needing to donate a kidney to her. Mom had various conditions that made the reliance on one kidney rather precarious and quite risky. As I sat in the hospital by her bedside following nephrectomy surgery, I learned that her sole remaining kidney was not picking up the extra duty that her second kidney had previously performed. I was ready to offer my mother one of my kidneys should it become necessary.
To offer a close family member a kidney is one thing. To offer a total stranger a kidney is quite another. Lost in Transplantation will move you in ways you weren't expecting. Perhaps this will be the story that leads you to an act of kindness or mercy that will completely transform a life. Not everyone can donate a kidney, but each of us can donate something, big or small, that will make the kind of difference that brings meaning and purpose into life.
I wish to thank Eldonna Edwards for the gift of this book and her healing presence in the world. You inspire me! I highly recommend that you pick up her memoir today. For those who subscribe to Kindle Unlimited, you can read this for free. This link will take you there.
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