I love the cover, as the emotion is so evident in the lives of these children. I envision Rill on the left, who felt totally responsible for taking care of her siblings.
Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate was selected for our April book club. This one was much better than the last one, but it was still a difficult and sad story to read. The story is based on a real place called the Tennessee Children’s Home Society, whose owner Georgia Tann tricked families into giving their children up for adoption (and even stole babies who were born) so she could traffic them and make money. She made a lot of pretenses about helping the children and taking good care of them, and wealthy celebrities supported her endeavors, but the book reveals the truth about the woman and her place through the eyes of some (fictitious) children who lived through it.
The shanty boat families were intriguing. Families who could not afford proper housing lived on a house boat on the Mississippi River. They kept to themselves, to avoid problems with the law. The main family that was followed in this story loved living on the river, and the children didn’t have any inclination that they were disadvantaged. They fished for food, and rowed into town for other necessities. When their mother was in the hospital giving birth to twins, Rill and her four siblings were taken away and placed in the Tennessee Children’s Home Society; their one piece of comfort was dreaming of the day they would go get to go back to the shanty boat and live with their parents. While this family is fictitious, there are pictures of shanty boat families in the book that I would imagine this family to resemble.
The story doesn’t begin there. It’s another novel that goes back and forth in time (we seem to be reading a lot of those lately). In the present day, Avery Stafford is with her Senator father attending a lady’s 100th birthday celebration at the nursing home where her high society grandmother now lives. A new resident at the home named May Crandall comes up to her and grabs her by the arm, and calls her “Fern.” Although a bit startled, she is intrigued. This event leads her down a path to solve a mystery, especially when she follows May to her room and sees a picture of May and her own grandmother on a table in May’s room. The book really takes off toward the second half, as Avery is learning about her grandmother’s hidden past, while learning about her own heritage in the process.
I shared a personal foster story with my book club, based on one of the questions in the book. There were a set of boys at the orphanage, who reminded me of my foster brother Jerry Meyers. He lived with us for two years from the time starting when he was 11, the same age as my brother Shawn. I was 7. If you were friends of my family back in the late 60s early 70s, you may remember Jerry. The boys in the book’s orphanage were incorrigible, as was Jerry, and older boys were rarely adopted. They felt unloved, and therefore acted unloving toward others. Jerry had been tossed back and forth from one foster home to another so he never learned how to love or trust his family. My mother made it her mission to love Jerry with the unconditional love of Jesus, and he had a radical transformation under her care. After two years his father (who had basically disowned him) decided to take him back. Why not, he was much better now. We saw him once more when he turned 18 and sought out my mother, but then we completely lost touch with him after that. I often wonder what happened to Jerry.
Anyway, the book was very good. It touched on a lot of emotions. It was a hard story to read, but an important piece of history. We discussed human trafficking, and how it still happens today. It’s just harder to put a name or face to the perpetrators in our day. Somehow Georgia Tann got away with this for three decades, but she died from cancer before the investigation could result in a conviction. I wonder how many others are getting away with this today because people are desperate to adopt a child, and they put their faith in an entity that they know little about. Definitely food for thought.
On a lighter note, it has been two years since they started the book club at the Canopy, and thus it was time for a celebration. the Canopy provides a variety of support services to cancer survivors (and warriors), all for free. They also sponsor my Spanish class. Click the link if you or a friend want to know more about how to get involved in the Canopy.
Here is our fearless leader’s synopsis of our time together.
Eight of us gathered to celebrate our second anniversary of the Canopy Book Club. We all liked the book and thought it was an easy read and some of us would read it again!!!! Especially since the names of the children had changed at the Tennessee Children’s Home Society by the terrible Georgia Tann. We all couldn’t believe that a Memphis woman could cause so much pain, death and child trafficking and people went along with it for decades. We discussed how Rill/May and her siblings were so poor on the Arcadia but were so loved by Queenie and Briny and they never forgot it. We discussed how the sisters kept their history to themselves rather than sharing it with their families.
One woman shared a family secret that she found out through researching her genealogy but kept it to herself. We talked about adoption and another member shared the journey of both her children who have adopted children and how different the birth mother’s stories were. This was such a sad and heartbreaking story but we all thought it needed to be told.
We rated the book 8.4.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
I had my annual echocardiogram yesterday and saw my cardiologist. Everything looks good. Even my cholesterol is in the normal range. It’s a beautiful thing! She said I should exercise “150 minutes per week.” That could be 3 days for 50 minutes, or 5 days for 30 minutes, etc. We walk, but it could be a bit brisker for me and we probably need to be more consistent.
I wish I could say I was laying there taking a nap, but it’s impossible to sleep when the tech is jamming the wand into your ribs to get pictures of your heart. 🙄🥴😂 Fortunately I am only required to have this test annually now, and they no longer do contrast. So no pokes for blood, and a shorter time in the scan.
Today I gave blood for the second time in two days, then saw my medical oncologist. Tim went with me to that one “for quality control.” Dr. K. laughed and asked whose quality is he controlling, mine or his 😂😂🤪🤪. The doctor referred to me as “people like you” as we talked, meaning I’m off the charts in terms of lifespan with metastatic breast cancer. They don’t really know whether they are over-treating, and no one will ever do a study to determine that. As long as I am tolerating it, we are good to keep going. After this many years of treatment, he said it is easy for one to become complacent. He is always guarding against complacency, and I appreciate that.
Every time there is any little something that comes up, he sends me to see another specialist, just to be sure. First, the brain lesions are likely just increases in hot spots due to the radiated areas, but the specialists will determine that in April after my follow-up MRI. Second, I’ve had a little lung issue with spots showing up from time to time (coming and going), an ongoing cough, occasional shortness of breath and fatigue. My cardiologist said it doesn’t sound heart related. So, Dr. K. is sending me to a pulmonary specialist. No emergency. No rush. Just making sure he is covering all his bases. Third, I have had some headaches with an increase in double vision (not likely related to the brain spots). So, he wants me to see an opthalmologist. Not a bad idea; I was already considering it.
While I don’t look forward to adding more specialist visits to my list of providers, that’s what I love about my oncologist. He never assumes everything is just fine unless the specialists tell him so. He listens, and responds accordingly. It’s better to go see a specialist and discover nothing is wrong than to not go and allow it to escalate.
At this writing I’m getting my treatment (Herceptin and Perjeta), which I do every three weeks. That’s the last of my medical appointments for this week, and then we can play.
I’m wearing my Airstream shirt because we are hitching up the trailer right after this and leaving for a Bluebonnet Rally in Brenham. They got me in early today and I have a very efficient nurse, so that’s a double blessing! Looking forward to seeing some beautiful bluebonnets!
“Lord, You restored me to health and let me live.”
Isaiah 38:16b
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
Have you ever heard the expression, “The cure is worse than the disease”? This statement applies to our recent Airstream experience.
If you follow us on Facebook you will undoubtedly recall, last summer on our way to Oklahoma City, a rogue spaghetti jar and some of his hooligan tin-can friends decided to escape the confines of their luxurious pantry and dance about on our pristine white Airstream floors. Their party was so raucous that spaghetti sauce found its way into some of the most obscure parts of our trailer. Needless to say, the owners of said partiers were in shock, and ultimately deeply depressed. The brand new Globetrotter had been defiled. This is a poetic way to say that our Airstream suffered some serious consequences from that mishap.
After two dealer recommendations and five home remedies, the mess only seemed to get marginally better. Was this an insurance claim? Was this a warranty item since the pantry lock had failed to do its job properly? Was it the result of owner stupidity? A few days later and after some serious conversations with the warranty people at the Mothership, it was determined this was indeed a warranty item — a $15,000 warranty item. There was a sigh of relief that this problem could be solved and return our Airstream to her previous glory.
Fast forward a few months. We found ourselves at Foley RV Center and Airstream of Mississippi to get the repair. (Originally we were going to travel to Jackson Center, Ohio for the repairs, but Foley has been highly recommended and since they are closer to home we could drop it off and avoid paying for hotels until the repairs were done). Mind you, this repair is not as simple as it might sound. The warranty work required that anything touching the floor, or connected to anything that touched the floor, had to be removed from the Airstream, and reassembled after the floor was replaced. That meant removing all of our personal stuff from the rig. We decided to use this opportunity to do some reorganizing and cleaning when we got it back from warranty work.
After removing everything, the last things to come up were the rugs. We reexamined the floor. To our astonishment, the stains had largely and substantially disappeared! On the drive from Conroe to Gulfport, we came to the conclusion that the cure (tearing everything apart and reassembling it) might be worse than the disease (some residual, very light staining). We spoke to John, the service manager, and while he would have loved to receive the $15,000 revenue from warranty work, he also felt that leaving it as is was likely the more prudent course. Decision made.
You have to look really closely to see the spaghetti sauce stains. It should look even better after we clean it a few more times.
We are returning home as we write this blog from Gulfport, on TX SH-12. It’s a beautiful, sunny, 71 degree Friday morning, a perfect day to clean the rig and put everything back where it belongs. All the additional warranty items have been repaired, and Roam Home seems to be feeling pretty good. Surgery was avoided and she will just have to live the rest of her life with only a small scar as a reminder of a piece of her journey.
Isn’t this much like us? We begin life with hopes and beliefs that our journey will be blemish-free. Then real life happens. We too find ourselves with the residue of regrets and bad choices, bumps and bruises, with scars along our path. But once we meet the Divine Service Advisor, we learn that we can be whole again even if not perfect (until we meet Him in eternity). The damages that we once had so much sorrow over become tutors to a better future.
(Thanks to Tim for helping me write this blog on our journey home from Mississippi. He has also started learning Spanish with me using Duolingo, so we are honoring our language studies at the end of each blog.)
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
Foley RV Center and Airstream of Mississippi (above). View from our hotel window (left).
It’s a bit daunting to have scans, only to be told I need to do it again in a few weeks. I was just getting used to having annual scans *sigh* 😔 . I’m not nervous or scared, mind you. Just annoyed that I have to take the time out of my busy retirement schedule to go back to the clinic (🤪😂🙄).
You may recall I had an MRI of the brain last year, as I do every year. It was in February (2023) and nothing was found. Well, I DO have a brain. They found one (contrary to some opinions 😂🤪), but there were no lesions noted. Still stable!
Shortly after my annual MRI in 2023, I had a routine vision exam. The exam showed a significant increase to my double vision, which was concerning to my eye doctor. He can’t add enough prism in my glasses to fully correct it, so my eyes fight to bring the objects together. I’ve had double vision for about 2+ years now. I can see perfectly clear; I am just doubly blessed with whatever I see 🤦♀️ . In some ways it’s easier to wear glasses all the time instead of always looking for my readers, so I don’t mind that too much.
I shared the vision issue with my oncologist and he repeated the MRI of the brain in April 2023. In those results, two very small lesions showed up. But, they didn’t see any cause for concern. These are in the exact same location as two of the lesions we had radiated with gamma knife back in January 2019. My oncologist said they likely showed up because of the way the MRI slices. I wrote a blog about that in May 2023 if you missed it.
My follow-up MRI for this year was done last week on Valentine’s Day, along with a follow-up CT of the chest (because of some new spots noted on the lungs in my last CT scan).
Before you read the following, please note that any hot spots in my brain are likely due to post-radiation effects. I think that means any lesions are just showing where my brain was radiated with the gamma knife, and therefore will keep showing up on the scans. There doesn’t seem to be anything to worry about, and they are still calling my body stable, but they do watch these hot spots closely in case there is progression of disease.
Bottom line, those little punctate lesions in my brain have grown since April of last year ever so slightly. Here’s the medical lingo from their impressions.
Irradiated Lesions: * Interval increase in size of an enhancing lesion within the right cerebellum status post radiation therapy which now measures 0.7 x 0.5 cm in axial dimensions (series 26 image 32), previously measuring 0.4 x 0.4 cm. Similar minimal associated T2 hyperintense signal without significant mass effect. * Interval slight increase in size of an enhancing lesion within the cerebellar vermis status post radiation which now measures 0.4 x 0.4 cm, previously 0.3 x 0.3 cm (series 26 image 36). Similar minimal associated T2 hyperintense signal without significant mass effect.
Comparison: MR brain with and without contrast dated 04/20/2023, MR brain with and without contrast dated 02/21/2023.
MRI Brain with and without Contrast Collected on February 15, 2024 8:25 AM
(It was on the 14th, not the 15th.)
What does this mean now?
They still think these spots are most likely “post-radiation” effects, rather than disease. I have had several conversations with the radiation PA, who has also been in contact with my radiation oncologist (who did the gamma knife). They want me to follow up with another MRI in 6-8 weeks (scheduled for April 3). I can do that in The Woodlands.
After the scan, I will meet with my radiation oncologist on April 9th to discuss “treatment options.” I don’t like the sound of that, but I did ask a question about treatment if there is progression, so perhaps she is just responding to my question. I’m glad she is willing to do talk with me via telehealth, and I’m happy they have MRI in The Woodlands now. It’s so much better now that I don’t have to drive downtown.
I have been five years without any progression, and it’s not uncommon to have some spots show up when you have metastatic breast cancer. I’m not worried, and I think it’s going to be fine. Having said that, just in case there is something else going on we are praying for a miracle, e.g. these spots will all vanish in the next scan. Please join me in prayer for that miracle. Either way, we trust the Lord with whatever comes our way.
As for the CT of the chest, all the lesions they saw in the last scan are gone 😁 . I believe it was the cold I had at the time. They found some new spots, but are attributing it to “inflammatory,” meaning I have another cold. Surprise 🙄 🤦♀️. So that’s good news.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
(I started studying Spanish as well as French, beginning in January of this year. I’ve been studying French on DuoLingo for more than four years now.)
For our February book club, we read Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood, by Trevor Noah. We know the books we will read three months in advance, so I’ve had it for a while. The cover was not appealing to me. I’m not sure why; it just wasn’t. Well, this is one instance where there is truth to the saying, “you can’t judge a book by its cover.” This is an excellent book, and I highly recommend it. Here’s my review.
Trevor Noah is an excellent writer. He was first a stand-up comedian, and he shares stories from his childhood in many of his gigs. I watched a few of his shows, and I do not believe he used a ghost writer because he is very articulate. He’s an intelligent young man. He speaks multiple languages. He isn’t the kind of comedian like Jim Gaffigan or Jerry Seinfeld, where you laugh at punch lines which hit you every thirty seconds. He is more of a story teller, with humor intertwined with some rich history from his childhood as well as apartheid. It’s informative, educational as well as laughable.
The first page you read will tell you he was born a crime because it was illegal for blacks and whites to have sex during apartheid. They literally would be sent to prison for having relationships. His mother was a bit of a rebel, and she didn’t play by all the rules. She was black and his father was white, so Trevor is “colored.” I was interested in reading on, as I wanted to learn more about apartheid, the diversity that is evident throughout the book, and how he matriculated these years. Born a Crime is filled with information about what it was like living during apartheid, and a life of “freedom” after Nelson Mandela was released (which had its own complications).
The stories he tells about having to hide from the public, being on the outside of every racial group, having childhood sweethearts and losing love because of the color of his skin, never having any friends, were heart wrenching. Yet, he had a way of telling the stories that made you laugh. He managed to find humor in every challenging life situation, and didn’t let his circumstances push him down. This spirit came from his mom.
Trevor’s mother sounds like quite a lady. I already said she was a rebel, and she fought the traditional expectations of a black woman in South Africa. She had a way of (literally) beating sense into her son, talking to him in a way that made him listen, and developing him into the man he has become. Her advice was crude and sometimes made my eyebrows raise, but it spoke to Trevor and stuck with him as life lessons. Her commitment to Jesus was unmatchable. She would drag him to church or Bible studies several times a week; her faith in Christ saved her life. I wonder what my group members will think of this, as they often don’t like books that have a strong biblical base.
Trevor’s mom became independent and took care of finances, raising her son as a single mother. But she did make some poor life choices which deeply impacted Trevor, like marrying Abel who was a violent alcoholic. Her financial independence was put in jeopardy as he kept drinking away their earnings. This made me so mad. “Just leave him!” we would say.
Yet, I also understand the mentality of abused women. The learned helplessness. Domestic violence is so hard to comprehend even with my mental health background. The belief it is better to stay, because he will kill you if you do leave, and after hearing how things were handled by the “good ol’ boys” police in South Africa, it’s no wonder she had difficulty leaving. I wanted to wrap my arms around her and take her away from him. But she wouldn’t have wanted that. She’s an independent woman.
I didn’t care for the language. There were lots of “F” bombs and “sh*t” as well as other curse words, even though they were committed to a Christian way of life. After living in Australia, I realize cursing is viewed differently in other countries. So, I gave him a pass on this. However, I was also able to understand some of his terminology because of living down under (e.g. “tuck shop” and “jumper”). His friends needed a bit more character development, I thought. He knows them well, and he can tell stories about them, but it was difficult keeping up with who was who at times. I enjoyed reading about “The Cheese Boys,” and wondered if this is where the term “Big Cheese” in reference to our bosses came from.
I loved the stories, but I had a little trouble keeping track of where he was in the course of his life. His writing style is a bit like a stand-up comedy act. Story after story without a lot of chronological organization. If he at least started each new story with “when I was nine,” or something similar, I might not have had so much trouble keeping up. Regardless, the stories were captivating, and the introduction to each chapter with a bit of historical reference was intriguing as well. I read the book and also read some of the stories to my husband, and he said he wants to read the whole book. They were that good. Some stories are more serious. Others were hilarious (the poop in the kitchen was by far the funniest of all stories). Some were a mixture of both, helping me to also better understand how some folks simply don’t know who Hitler was, and what all he did. That kind of blew my mind, but it did make sense to me culturally.
It was a great book about coming of age, culture, diversity, South Africa and apartheid. I learned a bit of history I never really studied before. I would rate the book an 8.5.
We’re meeting in two weeks to discuss it. After we meet, I’ll include what my book club had to say about Born a Crime…
Updated February 13th. Here’s what my book club had to say about this book.
Ten of us gathered to discuss our February book, Born A Crime by Trevor Noah. We had two new members show up, so a BIG welcome to them. This book surprised a lot of us with a young comedian writing a book about growing up in South Africa, and boy were we surprised how well written and also learned a lot. We didn’t realize it was a crime to become pregnant by a white man in South Africa. We didn’t realize the atrocities of living with Apartheid……no electricity, no water, different neighborhoods that were cut off from each other. Trevor describes it was worse than the Holocaust. Despite all these terrible things, we laughed a lot. His friend called “Hitler”; his experience in jail and starting to like it since it was 3 meals a day and a bed; his beautiful date who turns out doesn’t know his language, the struggles of being “colored” and not knowing where to fit in, etc. We all thought his mother Patricia was a force and admired her strength and teaching Trevor how to speak in different tribal languages and how he used this to his benefit of survival. We were in awe how she survived getting shot it the head by her abusive husband and surviving that. Our conversation covered so many topics that Trevor pointed out in this novel. Several people didn’t like how he jumped around a lot and didn’t flow in chronological order. We rated the book 8.4.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
If you’ve been following my journey, you will recall when I was first diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer we didn’t know how long I would have to live. We were told anything from nine months to a year, maybe a year and a half. Here I am more than seven years later. My body is stable, and I’m still going strong. Praise the Lord for His boundless mercies, protection and healing! ❤️❤️
When I started feeling better (and it became evident the doctors were wrong on their predictions), we made a commitment to live life to the fullest. You never know how long you’re going to have on La Terre (Earth), no matter what your circumstances, so why wait until retirement to enjoy the one life we have? You will read a lot of stories about our travels, books I’ve read, ministry, and fun times we have experienced because of this decision.
In addition to motorcycling, Airstreaming, driving the Mini Cooper, and playing with the grandchildren, we also watch a lot of television. We watch movies, but our go to in the evening — we like to eat dinner while watching Wheel of Fortune. We even tape all the episodes so we can go back and watch them when we are away. I’m pretty good at the puzzles. Some of my friends have been on the show (jealous!) and I would like to do that one day.
In the hallway of Studio 11, waiting to watch the taping of WOF.
Well, for Christmas, my hilarious husband gave me a very thoughtful and unique gift of attending a taping in Culver City, California. The show itself is free; you just have to sign up! Tim used points for the flight, so we just had to pay for the hotel and our food while we are there. He decided to give me a first class experience all the way, so we flew first class on points and stayed in the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills, a Luxury Hotel in the Marriott collection. We had the same server each morning. She was terrific! We gave her a five-star review, and she should get a bonus. We hope so as she was so good.
Breakfast was included and boy was it delicious! Decadent. i wanted to take that little iron teapot home.
We didn’t rent a car at the airport because it cost $70 per night to park it at the hotel. We took Uber or walked everywhere we wanted to go. We did make one exception and rented a car one day to go do some site seeing, and to retrieve my purse 🤦♀️😔🙄🥴. (I left it on the plane, and fortunately a United employee found it. They had it ready for me to pick up the next day! PTL!).
Ironically, I didn’t even realize I had left it until we got all the way to the hotel and I was getting out of the Uber. “Where’s my purse?” That’s when I realized I must have left it in the plane. On my seat. We were in a hurry to get off the plane. I laid it down to put my book away, and left it there. It’s a horrible feeling when you lose your purse. On the side of caution I immediately cancelled my debit cards and put a hold on my credit cards, but I never really felt like I was in jeopardy. I believed I would get it back, and I did.
Historic Santa Monica Pier. Yummy freshly made churros!
After driving to the airport to get my purse, we took the rest of that day and drove around the area in our rental. We went to the Historic Santa Monica Pier, drove up to Griffith Observatory (didn’t park as it was too crowded), saw the famous Hollywood sign, took a ride to Airstream of Los Angeles, parked in a $3 mall garage (bought something so we could get our ticket validated and save $12), walked the Hollywood Walk of Fame (looking for Pat and Vanna), walked to the Beverly Hills sign via Rodeo Drive, had dinner at a nice restaurant in the Golden Triangle, and then walked back to our hotel. That paragraph alone could take up a whole blog! Or two.
We didn’t see Airstream on the Walk of Fame, but Wally Byam needs a star! ⭐️ 🌟 🤩
On to the Wheel!
We discovered too late before we left home that we were supposed to call and confirm our spot 5-7 days in advance. 🤦♀️ Originally we were supposed to be there for the taping on Thursday, Jan. 11th, but since we called too late to confirm, the guy transferred us to Friday Jan. 12. So it ended up being the last thing we did on this trip.
The taping is for Sweetheart’s week, so maybe that was providential ❤️❤️. The three shows we saw will be aired on Feb. 12, 13, and 14. We were sitting right in the middle of the crowd, if you look closely at the pan from the back at the very beginning of each show (if they do it). 😜 😉
We were in the studio audience, but my dream is to be on stage as a contestant someday. I told Tim we are getting good practice, as we now know how the stage looks, where the used letter board is, what they do with the contestants between tapings, and what happens when there is a glitch.
We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside the studio, but we got some outside and in the hall during our bathroom break. We also took a few pictures of the other studios, which have names of the movies that were filmed inside there. I’ve included some scenes from our trip in this blog. What a GREAT experience. I recommend doing this if you have a favorite show.
We should have posed like Pat and Vanna (missed opportunity) 🙄🥴😂
I must admit, recovering from the glitch during the taping was pretty cool to watch, and perhaps my favorite moment. They had listed the wrong final tally for one of the couples during the third taping (to be aired on Valentine’s Day). Pat noticed the error as soon as he said it, then said, “let’s just stop so we can get this right.” He wasn’t upset. He just asked them politely.
He waited a couple of minutes, talked to the couple, then walked off the stage while the staff cued up the tape that had been rolling. All the couples stood there waiting. When they were ready for him, he went back on stage, stood between the couple exactly how they were standing before, he was cued and they started the tape rolling. Pat seemlessly started talking when the tape got to the point immediately prior to where they had messed up the first time. I doubt anyone will even notice it, and I was super impressed with how they did that. I guess that’s why they pay him the big bucks! Fun to witness the other side of Sony Pictures!
So memorable, and that was the culmination of our experience in Beverly Hills.
I won’t give away the puzzles (I probably can’t remember them all anyway 😂😂), but I will say it was fun to watch two out of three couples who went to the bonus round actually win the bonus round. That’s all I’ll say about that.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
I just realized I never posted this book review, so I’ll back-date it. Tim and I were on our way to watch the Wheel of Fortune taping, so I was unable to make it to the book club meeting in January. There should be a post about that bucket list item somewhere in my blog list 🤩.
This picture was taken on chemo day. I often take books to read and an engaging discussion with my nurse ensues. Often they write down the titles, or give me suggestions from their book clubs.
We read The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, an intriguing book about the concept of “parallel universes.” I recall a Seinfeld episode about this concept! The book explores many of the potential branches in the life of Nora. She is transported into that life, to live as though she had made a different decision. It provides great insight into how one’s life of regrets, decisions, and relationships, may not have turned out any better than the actual life he or she has lived.
I sent my review via the following email, as we flew out the day of the meeting.
“We are standing in line waiting for our plane to board. I hope y’all are having a good meeting! I wish I could be there for this discussion. I’m curious what others think.
I still have 50 pages left, and I’ll probably finish it on the plane [I did]. Nora just entered her “perfect life” with Ash and daughter Molly. It is a rather captivating book, so it wasn’t for lack of desire; I’ve just been busy this month.
Interesting concept of parallel universes. Certainly makes you think about those Deja vu moments in life. Also made me think about some past regrets. Choices I might have liked to change, but after seeing Nora’s life experiences with overcoming those regrets and the ensuing consequences, it makes me glad to have this life and just live with my choices. Her alternate lives did have some valuable lessons. Maybe we can learn from that as well. I’d rather remember a life that isn’t perfect than to have no memory of it at all.
Lastly, I loved the Thoreau references. Makes me want to read some more of his work.
Anyway, just a few thoughts before I get on the plane. I would rate it an 8.0.
I did finish the book, and I liked the way it ended.
Here’s what the group said.
Good Afternoon Ladies!!!! Eight of us gathered to discuss The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. Our discussion varied immensely about “regrets” and different outcomes that your life can take or could have taken. Some of us had a hard time getting into the book with the countdown of Nora’s death in the first nine chapters. But once Nora goes to her different realities or “lives” the book gets very interesting. We described the book as self discovery and discussed the good and bad of her different realities. Each of us thought about how important it is to live and let go. We loved the reality of her with a family but Nora realized that she didn’t earn that life and decided she wanted to live and earn her own life. We rated the book an 8.3.
I’d love to hear your thoughts about a parallel universe, or if you have read this books what are your thoughts? Please comment below. It will prompt you to input your email address, but I promise I will never sell it. This is just to ensure you are a real person and not a robot.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
A couple of months ago I posted about The Walk, a novel I read for my book club by Richard Paul Evans. Tim and I read the book together on a trip pulling the Airstream. I would read and he would drive. Fortunately I don’t get car sick when reading.
After losing his wife, home, cars, and business, the protagonist (Alan) was planning to walk from Seattle Washington to Key West Florida, because it was the farthest he could walk on the map, and it was better than killing himself. He only made it as far as Spokane in the first book, so we decided to purchase the rest of the series and see what his journey was like on the rest of the walk. (We knew he would make it to Key West; we just didn’t know the story along the way.)
I’ve already posted a review of book one in the series, so this review is more focused on the remaining four books and the overall series. Each book could almost be read as a standalone as he does recap in each book (if you don’t mind ending on a cliffhanger). However, one cannot fully appreciate the entire series without reading them all.
We finished the series on a few other trips in the car, truck, and lying in bed when we didn’t feel like watching television. It was a good thing to do together, as we could read aloud and walk the journey as a couple, groan at the less than realistic parts, drool over Alan’s brand new camping gear, commiserate when he made stupid choices, reminisce about the places he described where we had already been, and contemplate visiting some of the places he mentioned in the book where we have never been. It’s a great way to pass the time, while spending quality time together.
There are some spoilers here, so if you plan to read the books, don’t read any further 🤪🥴. I thought I’d give you a quick review in case you were wondering how the series ends. Some critiques will be shared as well as things we really liked.
The author’s writing style is easy to read. Chapters are short and manageable. He does a good job of painting a picture of the activity in the book, sometimes in painful detail, but it helps you to “see” what Alan is experiencing in the moment. Also, he has many, many interesting lines that make you stop and reflect. I also liked that he drew a map at the beginning of each book, to show the reader his route and point out interesting places along the way.
Book OneBook TwoBook ThreeBook FourBook Five
The last book was another easy read on our quick trip to Florida between Christmas and New Years to see our friends. We finished the series together on the road and we met our goal of completing the series before the year ended. The stories found throughout the series were heartwarming, while not always realistic. For example, a young mom named Analise with two children invited him (a stranger) to come over for dinner, intimating that her husband would be joining them shortly. When it later became evident that she didn’t have a husband, we felt it was much too bold for her to have done that, for her own safety as well as the safety of her children. Either she was very naïve, desperate, or they are much more trusting of strangers in the small rural town he was walking through.
Overall it was an entertaining series with cliffhangers at the end of each book, nudging us to keep reading. However, we felt it could have all been put into one long novel, or two at most, with fewer lengthy monologues and details about which road he took and what kind of mundane food he ate. (We tired of reading about Cliff bars and Pop-Tarts.)
Unrealistically, there were way too many stories that had a religious twist, when in the real world not everyone you meet is into God or part of some freaky cult group. The retired pastor and his wife who bought the bed and breakfast where he had previously stayed seemed like an odd choice of characters. I truly wish people were more open about their faith as they are in the books, but it seemed forced throughout the series. Also, several references seemed anachronistic for a man in his 30s. A reference to Zsa Zsa Gabor changing husbands 🙄? We understood because of our age, but young adults might wonder who in the world Alan is talking about. Ms. Gabor died a year after his last book was published at the age of 99.
Some stories were very strange, like the cult leader in book four who preyed on his hunger, swayed him to come to the compound to eat, and locked him in the building from which he had to escape. They believed aliens were our god and all the cult members followed one leader. Alan tried saving a woman who was being “punished” by the cult by helping her escape, but she went back to the cult in the middle of the night. He regretted leaving her side, as he thought she truly wanted out. That whole story seemed to come out of left-field, and we wondered if the author was just looking for a filler to entertain. I suppose one could find a hidden message, e.g. the wiles of Satan and how he tempts us when we are weak, but the whole thing was very bizarre. Alan was looking over his shoulder for a while after that encounter, and we had a bad feeling as well.
I read the author’s background and he comes from the LDS (Mormon) tradition, so we wondered if he was sending some type of message about the church at times. Perhaps he was subtly warning people not to get involved with a group that has been labeled as a cult by mainstream Christianity. Nowhere could we find whether he is still active in the LDS church, but we know it is a hard one to leave. He does live in Utah with his family, so he is likely still a member. The religious theme of the series seemed closer to a dismissal of religions, and Alan himself didn’t seem to have a strong religious belief. Yet religion and talk about God was found throughout the series. It seemed out of character, while tugging at the main character. It was difficult to get a sense of who the character Alan really is as it pertains to his own personal faith.
There were a lot more stories than actual walking throughout the series, which made the journey interesting and provided lots of fodder. But there was also enough walk (3,000+ miles) to enjoy the scenery. Alan was met with people and circumstances delaying his walk several times; for example, being mugged, recovering from serious injuries, having a brain tumor (benign), surgery, more recovery, and caring for his dying father. Alan’s walk was delayed by almost 200 pages at the start of book four while staying in Pasadena with his father; however, the lessons he learned while caring for his dad are noteworthy. He grew to appreciate his father more than ever before. He never knew the sacrifices his father had made on his behalf. His dad had written a family history, which gave Alan insight into his grandparents, parents, and his own life growing up as a child. It made me want to write such a history for my own children.
One long part of his journey confronted Alan’s need to extend grace and forgiveness to other individuals. There are some great quotes in the third book which primarily deals with this concept. For example, “we chain ourselves to what we do not forgive.”
Alan’s business partner had stolen his company, which lead him down one path of bitterness. The Holocaust survivor Leszek, who found him passed out on the side of the road, was instrumental in helping him see the value of forgiveness. Alan wrote, “Leszek has taken me into his home to care for me. Would I have done the same for him? I’m ashamed to answer.” We thought it a bit unrealistic that he would run into a Polish, Jewish man in South Dakota, but we tended to overlook these kinds of conflicting details and just read the message. After that encounter (and a lot of introspection) Alan penned Leszek’s words, “It is not the ability to walk that pleases God, it is the desire to walk. The desire to do the right thing. The truest measure of a man is seen in the actions that follow.”
Also, McKale’s mother Pamela searched and found Alan. She showed up in book three. He dismissed her, but she followed (stalked) him for a lengthy part of his journey. Early in the series we learned that McKale and Alan were childhood friends and sweethearts. She was the girl next door — literally. Her mother had left her with an abusive father when she was young, and Alan never understood why. He held a disdain for her mother that is evident in the following book quote: “There are people such as Benedict Arnold or Adolf Hitler, whose names become synonymous with evil and more adjective than proper noun. For me, ‘Pamela’ is such a name.”
Pamela could not keep up with him. She didn’t have a backpack or proper footwear, was not drinking water or eating, but she was persistent in finding ways to locate him on his journey. Multiple times she had a driver drop her off on the road beside Alan. He kept walking. She became quite ill from trying, and finally passed out on the street where Alan had a decision to make: Go back and help her, or keep on going. Fortunately for her he did the right thing, the most unselfish thing to date. There was an interesting plot twist when he finally decided to hear what she wanted to say. And yes, he did choose to forgive her. He wrote, “To forgive is to unlock the cage of another’s folly to set ourselves free.”
“As we walk our individual life journeys, we pick up resentments and hurts, which attach themselves to our souls like burrs clinging to a hiker’s socks. These stowaways may seem insignificant at first, but, over time, if we do not occasionally stop and shake them free, the accumulation becomes a burden to our souls.”
Book 3, Chapter 9
Alan had a few potential love interests along the way, none of them sexual, which was a bit unrealistic in our view (the closest he came to having sex was with a young single mom Analise who shared his bed and invited him to make love to her, but he rejected her offer because he couldn’t imagine giving himself in that way to anyone but his wife McKale). While he remained pure in his commitment to his deceased wife, he shared hotel rooms, homes, beds, and even his tent and sleeping bag with various women. Perhaps the author’s attempt to keep it PG played into this decision. As a Christian I appreciated the purity, but it seemed unrealistic for a man in his 30s.
“People aren’t wired to be alone. Even in the stressful population of prison, solitary confinement is still considered a cruel punishment. “
Book 2, Chapter 13
Alan finally started moving past McKale’s death as he discovered the second love of his life. Until the very end, the reader was left wondering who it would be? The young mom, or the other two more prominent characters Nicole or Falene? It wasn’t Analise. She was only present in the one story, never to show up again.
One possible love option was Nicole. He knew her as “Angel” at first. He fixed her flat tire on the highway, and then she nursed him back to health after his mugging in Spokane. They lived together for several months while he was recovering (in another purely platonic relationship). Interestingly, while he was recovering at her place in the first half of book 2, he says, “My father came. No matter what he said, his search for me spoke louder.” She helped him deal with his feelings toward his father, and he helped her get through her depression by watching her bucket list of movies together and sharing life together. There was a lot of healing that took place physically, emotionally, and relationally, one of life’s many lessons.
In English we have one word for love. I wish we had different words like we see in other languages, as it would make our communication about this emotion much clearer. Alan was very grateful for Nicole’s compassion. He loved her, and her love for him grew stronger each day. But he loved her more like a sister. When they eventually kissed in the final book, after she had pursued him the entire series, she realized at that moment she wasn’t in love with him but loved him in the same way he loved her. She loved him like a brother. Alan and Nicole remained good friends throughout the series, and they stay connected. Admittedly, the love triangle was resolved a little less messy than I’ve read in other novels. (She ended up with the doctor who was treating his father.)
So that leaves Falene. She was introduced in the first book. She was his assistant at the advertising agency which he owned. When he lost his business and took off walking, she was the only one who stood by his side. She helped him by organizing his stuff, helping him fund his walk through the sale of his things. It took him five books and a trip across the country to realize she was the one for him. He wanted to reach out to her but she had moved to New York and changed her contact details so he could not find her. He hired a private investigator and found her phone number, but he didn’t call her right away. He finally called her after his father died. He asked her to come to the funeral where she told him she was engaged to be married.
From the time she met him she was in love, but he was married to McKale so she had never pursued it. Even after McKale died, she didn’t think she was good enough for him, even though she was a beautiful model. She had several abusive ex-boyfriends, and believed she would always be the “girl behind the bleachers,” never good enough for someone as kind and loving as Alan. She agreed to help him on his walk so she could stay connected. Eventually she broke off her engagement because she had always been in love with Alan.
Alan and Falene finally got together when he was sitting on the sandy beach at Key West and he heard her voice come up behind him. I wasn’t surprised for her to be there honestly, but my reaction caught me off guard. There was a continual question of “will she/won’t she” so it could have possibly gone either way. I admit I was a bit teary when they finally got together 🥲🥲. I thought she would be the one, because he alluded to this in the beginning of the series when he said he never thought he would be married to a model, but the journey to get there was heartwarming.
At the end of his journey, Alan took an inventory of all the people who had helped him on the walk and influenced his life in some fashion. He was grateful for everyone he met, and each circumstance, even the challenging ones. Also, Alan helped several people along the way, like Kailamai, the Samoan runaway teenager who was just about to be raped by a gang (again, a bit unrealistic, but not entirely implausible). He pulled out his gun gifted to him by his dad after the mugging, and saved her life. The two of them walked together for several days, weeks even. He connected her to Nicole, who had by now inherited an apartment complex and a house. Nicole became a mentor to the young girl who became a successful student in college.
He wrote about Kailamai in book 2. “It’s difficult to believe that someone with so many trials could harbor such hope, as there are those with so much advantage who harbor such hopelessness.” She embodies a teen one would like to help. She loved stupid dad jokes, had a positive attitude, and her character made me laugh as I’m also a bit weird.
Kailamai comes back in the end and meets Alan in Key West with Nicole. The two of them were there to welcome when he finished his walk. In the restaurant they read a sign that made me laugh, and then go hmmmmm, “I dream of a day when a chicken can cross the road without having its motives questioned.” So many people questioned Alan’s motives. How often do we question another’s journey in life, and the choices they make? Take a step, and don’t worry about what others think. It’s your walk!
One thing I liked about the series was the spirit of adventure, and reading about different parts of the country where we have personally been. The author got most of it right, as he did take a road trip with his daughter to research the road his character Alan would travel. A few times my husband and I looked at each other and said, “nah…there’s no way he did that in one day.” Some of the stories were adapted from the author’s interviews with a holocaust survivor, hitchhiker, and others who he met on that road trip, which did make it feel more authentic at times.
I was also inspired by the analogy to our own “walk.” Everyone travels a journey in life. Everyone. Everything and everyone we encounter shape who we are. The good, the bad, the pretty, the ugly. Even the health scares. I know I am a better person because of the ladies in my book club as well as others I have met along the way.
Sorry this is so long, but it is a five book series, so you can cut me some slack 😂🤣😂. I hope you enjoyed reading my review of The Walk series. Let me know what you think in the comments below! We would probably rate the series about an 8.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
Today is chemo day, so I’ll take a few minutes to write an update. Tomorrow we are leaving for Natchitoches Louisiana for an Airstream Rally at the Christmas Festival of Lights.
#chemoday
I’m on an annual schedule for echocardiograms, mammograms, and MRIs of the brain (is that all??🫤🤔. Every three months — or sometimes a little longer — I also get the following scans. CT of the chest, abdomen and pelvis, and whole body bone scan. It takes about a half day, as they access my port, inject me with the nuclear medicine and then I have to wait two hours for the bone scan (which takes 30 minutes by itself). While I’m waiting for nukes to penetrate my body, I drink the contrast and get the CT scan over with. After it’s all done, they de-access my port. I usually need a nap after all that. 🥱🥱😴
I had my usual scans on November 22, 2023. It took a little while to get the results due to Thanksgiving. Added to that my annual mammogram (left side only). Nothing to worry about, but here are the brief impressions.
CT: “There are new indeterminate less than 5 mm pulmonary nodules. This this can be evaluated with follow-up imaging. There are stable bone metastasis.”
I have several spots in my bones that show up in the scans. Most likely it is degenerative. I do have back pain, but doesn’t everybody at my age??
Bone Scan: “1. Probably stable multifocal bone metastases. 2. Slightly more prominent activity in the lower thoracic spine is favored to be degenerative rather than metastatic, recommend close attention on follow-up studies.”
Mammogram: “There is no mammographic evidence of malignancy. Follow-up mammogram in 1 year is recommended.”
I have a cold, and coughing up phlegm. I believe those are the “nodules” on my lungs. I guess we’ll see in a few months when we do the update, but I bet they will be gone by then.
All in all, still stable! Thanks again for all your prayers.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
We ordered all these books while we were on the road in October. I was so happy when they arrived at the KOA safe and sound! The top four are the rest of The Walk series, in sequential order. The bottom one, The Secret History, is for our December book club meeting. I wanted to get an early start, as it is a doozy. I finished the book a few days after our November meeting!
The Secret History by Donna Tartt is an intriguing murder mystery novel. I was captivated after reading the prologue, which tells you that someone nicknamed Bunny will be murdered, and Richard (the character telling the story in first person point of view) was at least partly responsible for his death. Wikipedia calls this an “inverted detective story” also known as a “howcatchem.”
It’s not very often I start a book and have trouble putting it down, but this one was just such a book. Psychologically thrilling and intriguing as well. I was thankful the book is a work of fiction, but the story did seem plausible.
I started reading it in October, as I had finished our November club book quickly, and went on to read this heftier novel. It has over 550 pages, and small print at that. I finished it about a week ago, just after our November meeting.
I think this book could be made into a movie, although there are a few scenes I wish the author would have deleted. Those scenes did show you how depraved this group could be. The plot was quite involved.
Also, there is a lot of alcohol and drug use in this book. It is a college scene, after all, but are all college students thatbad? I went to a small Christian liberal arts college for my undergraduate degree, so was probably a bit more sheltered. The worse thing I remember happening was the panty raid when all my underwear went missing. They were found, á mon grand et total embarras (to my complete and utter embarrassment), strung up in a public place. I’m pretty sure I know who did that. 😂😂
I thought the setting as well as the plot of this book were both very interesting. The plot had several twists and turns. You don’t even experience Bunny’s death until half-way through, as the entire book to that point is building the characters and providing a foundation for how this could possibly happen. At one point you could nearly be convinced that he has to die! From there you see how his death affects the other players, as they are waiting to see how the police and FBI are going to handle the case.
I thought I had it all figured out, but then the book deviated and meandered around corners I didn’t know existed. A flurry of emotions kept popping up, but mostly frustration at the stupidity (yes, stupid geniuses), and all the poor choices made throughout the book. I just wanted to slap some of the characters. Come on, don’t do THAT! Maybe it is a product of their age, but they had no foresight into possible consequences for their actions until much later. Nearly all of the characters go through a mental health crisis in the second half of the book, as they one by one begin to experience the repercussions of their actions. There’s a lot to be said about thinking ahead.
The main characters are six college students at an elite liberal arts college called Hampden, located in Vermont (I fact-checked to see if it really exists. While Hampden College is fictitious, Tartt attended Bennington College between 1982-1986, and patterned her book after this school). The six students are all part of a very small, prestigious clique of what I would consider genius level intelligent students of the classics, who are also learning to speak in multiple languages including ancient Greek. They have one professor. I looked up The Secret History on Wikipedia, which you could do if you don’t mind spoilers. Apparently this book, published in 1992, helped popularize “the growth of the dark academia literary sub-genre.” (I learned a new thing today.)
Several times I was forced to pull out my dictionary to check definitions, as well as my translator to look up the Greek, Latin, and French which the students used to communicate between themselves in public settings. I think it helps that the author actually attended a similar school, and probably had some training in the classics. Since I didn’t, I wouldn’t really know if the things they described could be for real, but it could be. I had to skim over some of the philosophical discussions, as it got pretty deep and a bit over my head. Their professor is a bit far-fetched. Who gets an entire building endowed to them, so they can teach just five students? Yeah, right.
I had to learn the characters, which were so many it confused me at first. To help with this, I made associations. Basically, I assigned famous people to each of the main characters based on the author’s descriptions, and how I viewed them.
A young Johnny Depp was who I pictured as Henry, if you imagine him to be a few inches taller wearing an expensive English suit, round glasses, and sporting a mysterious façade. Henry seemed capable of talking anyone into anything. He was rich and used his money as a means of manipulation and control. He started to remind me of a cult leader by the end of the book. I think Johnny Depp could really bring this character to life.
Gru from the Despicable Me animated series immediately came to mind for Francis, but since he doesn’t have any hair and is a cartoon character after all, I looked online for red-headed actors. When I saw this picture of Benedict Cumberbatch my mind said, “yes, that’s it!” He’s a natural ginger, believe it or not.
Christina Ricca sans her gothic persona fits nicely for Camilla, who is a twin to Charles; they are two of the six. Charles reminds me of Rami Malek (below) who incidentally studied Greek, and is an identical twin himself. This is something else I just learned! He would need to lighten his hair to a dark blonde, but I could see these two as a pair of twins in the story.
I think Bunny could be played by Owen Wilson, as he is a bit more comical. Owen would make a good Bunny, as he is the jokester in the group, and he knows how to make people laugh. I see that with Owen. Bunny can get serious when he needs to, though, and eventually his discontent with the rest of the clique is what leads to his demise.
Emma Chambers (left) or perhaps moreso Heather Matarazzo (Lilly in the Princess Diaries below) is who I pictured for Judy Poovey, the somewhat absent-minded neighbor who doesn’t enter the picture until a few (long) chapters in.
Richard was telling the story, and I imagine he would look like Eddie Redmayne since he grew up wearing freckles, with intentionally messy hair. He was not rich, so anything fancy came from years of hard work and savings. I found this picture of Redmayne on the left, which reminds me of Richard in the beginning of the story, while the one below would come later as he seems a bit disturbed by something he has just done.
Lastly, we can’t forget one of the premier characters, the one who started the school of Classics, and has a substantial influence over his very select group of students, Julian. Donald Sutherland is who I picture when I think of Julian. He is an extremely intelligent faculty, knowing several languages and works of philosophy as well as other classic literature. He can be endearing toward his students, while at the same time aloof and uninvolved. One might think he instigated the murder of Bunny, or at least encouraged the activities that lead to his death. But he doesn’t take accountability and removes himself from any connection. He is an interesting character, of which I could never fully resolve.
Okay, I’m showing my age. Most of these would not likely pass as a 20-something aged college student, so we’d have to get some much younger actors to play their roles. But it helped this old bird keep them straight! Anyway, you get the idea. If you’ve read the book, who would you cast as these characters?
I won’t tell you how Bunny died, or whodunnit or how they did it, or why, (although you will learn in the brief Prologue that Richard was an accessory and Henry was the instigator. You’ll also know how he died), but I will say if there is one moral to the story, it could be summed up in the following.
Bad Company Corrupts Good Character.
1 Corinthians 15:33
That’s all I have to say about that.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
