a brilliant journey of devastation and loss
344317
a brilliant journey of devastation and loss, love and hysteria, loneliness and belonging.  all whilst in the desert, city and around the world.  Epic.
1114003
I received a free Advanced Reader Copy of this book from the publisher.  The review was optional.  I sat down to read a few chapters but couldn't put this memorable book down. The writing gives voice to the heartbreaking reality of the vulnerability of love while celebrating  the resilience of the human spirit to mend and heal.  Artis opens herself to loving completely.  In doing so she opens herself to unfathomable grief and pain as well.  The book sheds light on the military/government process as she struggles for answers and justice for her husband.  The reader follows  Artis Henderson's journey from meeting the love of her life, grieving the loss of him and on to surviving such a loss.  In the telling of her story I felt she was right in the room with me.  The book begins with a dream her husband has of his impending death then moves the reader back through time to when the courtship began.  We then follow the life of Artis and Miles through heartbreak, joy, death, grief and healing.  The end of this book  found me shedding more tears and wanting for more!  Her journey has not ended.  I hope the author will publish a follow up on where her journey is taking her now.  I applaud her for taking us into the intimacy of her heart.
997446
Wow!  This book is no mere travel guide!  I had intended only to riffle through the pages.  Instead, I read the entire book, unable to resist being carried along on a most remarkable tour. Jewish Heritage Travel is rich with information about the geography, culture, religions, architecture, and thousands of years of history in a part of the world that has deep significance for the human story.  For, let's face it, shockingly horrible things happened here.  While the book is organized like a travel guide, its dramatic impact is unmistakable and resonates with the reader long after the book has been set down.

Ruth Ellen Gruber is a most compelling guide.  Her descriptions of specific towns, synagogues, cemeteries, and "evocative remnants of shtetls" are not warmed-over fifth-hand accounts.  She is forever scrambling over walls, swimming through weed grown fields, tramping through shin deep snow, knocking on doors, crawling through holes in ruined walls, and striking up conversations with strangers.  One trusts her reports utterly.  And she knows everything.  Why Jews were invited into this area, or driven from that one, and when, and by whom, and who these people were, how they worshiped, how they differed from one another, and what their destiny became.  She tells us about their land, their history, their architecture, their persecutors, their champions.  She finds their cemeteries, describes their headstones, and reads us the inscriptions.  If people were taken by the thousands into the woods outside their towns, shot and dropped into ditches, she tells us that too.

Gruber's narrative style is intriguing.  The prose is always crisp and objective with a reportorial attention to detail and an allegiance to fact, but sometimes it rises to pure lyricism.  The result is a deeply evocative, richly detailed account and the reader finds himself on a journey that is both informative and poignant.  The small black-and-white photos are remarkably clear and helpful, and are placed near to the relevant text.  They are of an excellent quality.  This is small thing, perhaps, but important in its effect.

There is a good map at the front of the book.  Within each chapter, and at each chapter's end, are numerous additional resources - publications, web sites, addresses of note, and more.  The index is stellar.

In the final analysis, this book is destined to become a classic of travel literature because it is illuminating in so many ways.  Its readership should not be limited to a specific, relatively small group of travelers, and at the small price the book is offered, it needn't be.
1864137
This book is not just a story, it's a journey. It's a journey of self discovery and pulling yourself out of the fire. I can't explain in words why this work of art is so important, but it is. Everyone can benefit from the message of Davi's struggle. The vivid imagery jumps off the page and takes your mind on the journey. It's eloquently written, based of the amazing true story of an even more amazing woman, and quite honestly one of the best books I've read in a long time. I plowed through the book in a few days, greedily absorbing all of the lessons and emotions it has to offer. Get it now, you won't regret it.
2143190
Wonderful book! Both a wrenching story of love and loss and a riveting chronicle of the author's life. Intensly revealing, beautifully rendered memories kept me turning pages into the night. Yes, you cry - you sob with sadness for the author's loss and the beauty of their love for eachother. Ultimately deeply healing and fulfilling - this book left me with a profound respect for the power of love and a lingering taste of the sweetness of a life fully lived.
4832720
Song of the Mountains is a work that comes from the heart. The authors connection to her dearly departed is keenly felt on nearly every page  not only her loss, but also her love and her cherished memories. Each scene is rendered in beautiful detail, transporting the reader to the mountains to witness their serenity firsthand.

Song of the Mountains is a tale of loss, but it is also a tale of perseverance and rebirth. Even though the author is over 70 years old, her strength is evident from the start: both the outer strength to complete this grueling pilgrimage through the Himalayas, and the inner strength to seal this chapter of her life, bid farewell to her beloved, and begin anew.

This is where the story becomes more than just one womans journey; it becomes an incredible source of inspiration. For if the author can overcome the obstacles that she has, and find the will to put one foot in front of the other with a smile on her face, what excuse can the rest of us possibly have?
2651924
Somewhere Out There is a highly charged, emotional book about three women, Jennifer, Brooke, and Natalie. When Brooke was 4 and Natalie 6 months old, their mother, Jennifer, was destitute, raising her daughters in a car, stealing to keep them fed. When Jennifer makes a heart-wrenching decision, their little family is ripped apart, creating consequences and upheaval that still impact their lives over 30 years later. This is such a poignant story, as we follow the journeys of all three women...moments of heartbreak as well as determination, strength and weakness, love and loss and fear. Each of their stories are told with both brutal honesty and empathy in a gripping novel that keeps us turning pages.
521998
I don't know how the author was able to recover from such a tragic loss and I am still reeling over the magnitude of her courage to heal.  From the first page I could not put this autobiography down, even though each chapter was filled with so much personal pain and every emotion imaginable -- from shock, disbelief, rage, depression, suicidal thoughts -- she was able to put in writing all of these as she tells her story of profound devastation and gradual survival over time.  On boxing day, 26 December 2004, Ms. Deraniyagala and her family -  husband, children and parents -,  as well as best friend and her best friend's family, were victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami the day after Christmas in 2004.  They tried to escape their hotel but did not have time.  I feel like I remember reading about this when it happened-- how she survived by grabbing on to a tree. In her memoir she is able to share her story, and you can feel the rawness of pain this woman has managed to live through.  It is a book of heart wrenching sadness, yet is engaging, given its baseline premise of a mother/wife/daughter's love, loss, and hope for recovery.
3246319
Katie Ganshert paints vivid portraits of women in pain, suffering from loss and longing but in the throes of glorious healing.  If that sounds a bit complex, then I captured the essence of the complication that is a Katie Ganshert novel.

 Her word choices are so crisp and alive that the reader experiences every drop of emotion right along with the characters.  If abandonment, expect to feel lost and alone.  If abused, expect to feel pain and confusion.  And, as with Carmen, you'll walk through the valley of infertility and feel every drop, whether you've given birth or still struggle.

 The beauty comes in the powerful resolution to the suffering.  Each page is another step on an exquisite journey of discovery, healing, and redemption.  In "The Art of Losing Yourself" you'll witness healing of multiple relationships, while one or two remain in the process.  As Carmen makes peace with Gracie, you'll be tempted to pick up the phone and call your own sibling(s).

 The power comes in the telling of the story.  The reader cannot turn the final page and not understand in a visceral level the struggle of infertility, or of abuse, or of neglect.  Each novel is a journey, with captivating scenery along the way.

 Katie writes with power, and her stories linger long after the final page turns.  Her characters become long lasting friends that you'll recall from time to time, and you'll wonder how Carmen is doing and how Gracie's grades are.  You might even be tempted to pick up the phone and to give her a call...

 ...until you realize she only lives in your imagination.

 My thanks to my friends at Waterbrook Press for my complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.  I love Katie's gift of story, and I highly recommend "The Art of Losing Yourself".
1492068
A wonderfully written heartbreaking tale of loss and survival. Inara's character encompasses a part of so many and her own self awareness and ability to see other possibilities is inspiring.
4244626
Fragile Dreams encompasses the spiritual and psychological journey of a man named Matthew, who becomes trapped beneath rubble in the brutal aftermath of an earthquake. The story revolves around his journey in the darkness, clinging on to life and reliving several aspects of his past while also experiencing vivid and terrifying hallucinations in the process.

In the less-than-one-hundred pages of this chronicle, readers are stricken with lucid and eloquently-written sensations of claustrophobia and isolation. Where most authors would be challenged in writing a storyline that, at its epicenter, is small in scale and concise, Fracassi finds a way to transform the blackness and lack of discernible environment with haunting execution. Matthew's past and present share equal attention, grasping the readers and allowing them to care for the protagonist as more than just a man buried beneath rubble, but as a father, a husband, and a man with real-life trauma and authentically-crafted behavior.

Readers will find themselves gripping the spine of this book, white-knuckled and turning page after page with increasing speed, not even realizing they have reached the climax once that final page presents itself. With parallels to the visceral eyewitness accounts from survivors of 9/11, the fierce and unforgiving qualities of mortality are put on display. The eventual psychosis of Matthew is terrifying and filled with morbidity, his nightmares exhuming dread and mournful aspects of the main character's life.

Though an intentionally closed-in and isolated work of fiction, the relationships displayed, most notably with his best friend Robbie and the other survivor Dee, are spotlighted with realistic interactions and often heartwarming moments. Fracassi crafts an often poetic verse, combining realism with disturbing detail and frighteningly cosmic moments of horror.

The only minute flaw that this novella holds, is in pace and structure, though these are easily overlooked and hardly noticeable amidst the graphic storytelling and engaging plot. These small flaws could also be attributed to length constraints, but for most readers they will be too lost in the beautiful language that Fracassi illustrates to notice.

In Fragile Dreams, readers are offered the fragility of the human psyche and the vulnerability of the human body; both are explored and investigated with stunning prose and visceral description, offering a tale that is as endearing as it is evocative.

We recommend this novella to lovers of horror, especially fans of the more psychological aspects of the genre. If this piece is any foreshadowing on the rest of Philip Fracassi's works, we are delighted to traverse further into his meticulous and creative mind.
3018908
Reading Shellee's biography is to experience more than just another personal journey; it is to see the course of life played out in excruciatingly beautiful condensed format, covering the darkest most injurious, to its eventual reconciliation and return to full peace. It is a display of the terrible agony all humans can relate to in one form or another, and the awaiting joy that many still aspire to embody. Shellee's conversational style adds remarkable ease to passages that would otherwise lend themselves to drama and heaviness. This affords a subtle teaching in itself, as the reader takes in her complete lack of judgment and then gently warms to an even more stunning realization - gratitude for life's every unfolding trick. This is after all the path we all go through - and often mistakenly battle with along the way.

In summary, Shellee's life story is as gripping as it is relevant, whether or not our past is composed of similar circumstances. Reading her tale made me feel deep human kinship and life appreciation despite never having lived any of her actual experiences. I strongly recommend reading the book and seizing the opportunity to consult with Shellee in person.
3575825
This is not another 9/11 account, but rather an story of a family's journey through pain and grief, using the event as the catalyst.  The characters are richly drawn and wholly believable, and almost everyone will find someone here to whom they can relate.  Kinsella is a beautiful writer.  There are many passages of pure poetry as he tells of feelings, places and moments of simple observation.  The depiction of Catherine's emotional ride through her grief are particularly moving and dead-on.  In the end, this is not a book of sadness, but one that is uplifting and affirming of the resilient nature of the human spirit.
639259
WAVE is a brutally honest portrayal of a grief that surpasses ANY and ALL understanding. Sonali Deraniyagala takes us with her as the Tsunami waves roil and churn and smash anything in its wake, while carrying her along on this most horrifying of rides, and then depositing her "safely" away from the brunt of its murderous path. But her relief is so short lived, as the same tsunami, in its few brief minutes of devastation, has taken from her everyone she has loved -- her family, husband Steve and two sons, Vik and Malli, and her mother and father ("Ma and Da").

Her grief, which fills the pages of this book, is palpable, primal, ripping, and beyond the scope of our undertanding, even when we feebly try to put ourselves in her place.

The December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami killed more than 200,000 people. It is incomprehensible for us to even think of judging Sonali's ways of dealing with her grief -- cutting, drugs, liquor, fits of rage, suicide attempts, "visits" to her father's house, which was emptied of all that was loved, special and familiar to her, and is now occupied by a Dutch family -- when we realize that millions of others -- who lost loved ones to that Tsunami in the twinkling of an eye --  were also going through a similar grieving process of monumental proportions -- each in their own way.

The first several chapters are a horrendous scream, enraged grief, a striking out and also a self-induced hibernation from life -- and our hearts are taken by the sense of total loss, a woman set adrift in a world now-emptied of all that she knew, cherished snd loved. Relatives and well-meaning folk in her village try to comfort her, saying what usually amounts to the wrong words -- hiding her liquor (and rationing her sleeping pills) -- yet faithfully and presistently keeping a watchful eye on her -- saving her from herself, trying to help a woman who is understandibly "out of her mind" with grief.

Yet, there is a spark, and there are memories, and this is what keeps Sonali focused while tottering in her brutally torn-apart world, memories that she binds to herself like a well-loved robe, which comfort her and keep her going - and so she shares with the reader many anecdotes that filled her heart with joy -- her family, her father's house, her mother's stories. These stories are uplifting, to us, and also to her, as those ties that once lovingly bound her may be physically severed but remain firmly and alive in her heart and her soul.

As the book ends, 8 years later, has there been a healing? Would we even dare to think that such a tragedy could be healed? Of course not. But Sonali, who was, in the past, so very much aware of her precarious balance, now tells us  "I trip up constantly, between this life and that." Her Steve, Malli and Vik, are what keep her in balance-- very much alive in her memory, they give HER more life by the very palpable existence of these memories.

This is how she continues to heal, to survive; a loss as great as hers will be part of her healing journey for the rest of her life. Truly their memories support and sustain her.

Those of us who have lost family members can empathize with her. Having lost most of my family, I understand LOSS and sadness -- but all my family members had a quiet death in a hospital -- not a tragic sudden violent end to their lives, and so I am in AWE of this woman who bore so much trauma -- and to herself as well (as a physical aftermath of the Tsunami).
3707930
This is a brilliantly written heart wrenching book about love and loss, set in an Abbey and built around a woman's battles to survive bereavement and come to terms with her faith.

Dr Michelle Stewart looses everything when her life partner dies of cancer. She is adrift and lost in a world she no longer feels a part of. More than anything losing her partner makes her question the point of her vocation as a cancer surgeon, and her faith. She finds St Bridget's Abbey by chance, feels pulled towards it and the peace it seems to offer.

So she gives up career, possessions, friends and family to see how monastic life will fit. And in doing so takes us into a world of women, isolated, cut off to a large degree, and choosing to take vows of poverty, chastity, silence and obedience. From of this life choice we see the nuns and novitiates struggling to overcome themselves, everything from chatting to being nosy to gossiping to wanting closeness and falling in love. As Micky goes through these emotions herself we are shown how even the women who have been in the Abbey for years struggle - it is clear the battle is never won, and even the elderly nuns can fall prey to pride and jealousy.

All of this is done by a combination of internal monologues, subtle interactions and flashbacks to Mickey's life and loss. The flashbacks show us the powerful woman Mickey was in her profession and her life, they throw into stark relief how much the loss of her wife has changed and undermined her, destroying her belief in her work and herself.

The characters of Mickey and the nuns around her, as well as the small family connections, are wonderfully drawn. Built up over layers of time and small interactions we get to know the core of many of the women. This one is jealous of her place, this one homophobic, another struggling with abstinence and so on. Each one a whole, but delineated by a battle. Ms Werlinger pulls out the essence of each character and reveals it with the thoughts and actions of women caught in an enclosed space and microcosm of society.

Despite the small setting there is a strong plot, following Mickeys internal journey, but also her external change. From the flashbacks we get to see her bigger life story, from the gradual integration in the community we see her become a central figure in the life of many and an important part of the fabric of the Abbey.

This is not a happy story, however. It is dominated by loss, doubt, struggle and self-confinement. For those of us who do not understand or empathize with the decisions these women have made it is an interesting read, but I found it a profoundly uncomfortable one. For me personally I found myself repeating the thought "Why" throughout the book. Not why did the author write that, but why would these women choose this life. And the ending was, for me, extremely painful. Not all stories end well, and I suspect others would say we should take the joy somebody finds as enough. But for me it was a difficult read.

However, don't let my personal reaction put you off. It is a very interesting story, well thought through and profoundly moving. The characters are exquisitely drawn, subtle, emotive and sympathetic. The writing is quite beautiful, fine brush strokes on a small piece of ivory. And if nothing else it made me look at my own life choices and appreciate my freedoms.
3634638
This is an evocative and moving book about love, courage, loss, longing and the power of continued connection between mother and son. With a whole new realm of connection possibilities to consider, it beckons the mind and heart to stretch wide open.  Its an emotional, often mysterious, heart crushing AND heart lifting account of a young life extraordinarily well-lived and the loving and energetic bond that continues still between Melody and Dev.  This story is an intimate and emotional journey that invites the reader to sit still and contemplate whats possible. Bring a box of tissue and also prepare to smile through your tears as the power of love does its magic.
2269821
Roxane Gay captures the trauma, tragedy, and intimacy of close relationships in this story.

While people may say this is a difficult book to read it's really a fantastic story about love, loss, and empowerment. The book is certainly dark, and the story captures the darkness and lostness that Miri is feeling. There are passive chapters between the flashbacks and narration but it tells a story that shows how complicated relationships are, and how finicky people can be, and what it can take to be a family. The relationship between Miri and Michael is fascinating and fragile and the story articulates so many things about recovery and friends that aren't often talked about.

Also the parallels, between Miri and Michael, between Florida and Haiti, between Miri and her mother, and so many other comparisons really carried through the narrative. We see how much these people change in just a few pages and how different life is for them all by the end. The parallels that Miri draws as well to a 'before' and 'after' mimic the 'before' and 'after' setup of the book that somehow manages to condense so many thoughts on sexual assault, identity, and safety.

By not wrapping up everything nicely at the end it's a harrowing, enlightening story that everyone should read.