Losing Yourself

Still Alice by Lisa Genova
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was so poignant. Some things I wondered about were:

Is Alice a true representation of a person with Alzheimers (ie: is someone really cognizant of what's going on). This article about Pat Summit seems to confirm much of her early experiences.

I found much in the story that struck me as sad, which I guess is to be expected when you are losing the person you love to Alzheimer Disease. One of the saddest things ever was when Alice said: "I miss me". Heart breaker.

The story depicts the changing relationships between Alice and her husband and Alice and her children, and even, really, Alice and herself. It must be so hard and scary to know you are losing parts of yourself. There are so many good lessons for real life - be patient and kind to each other, accept each other and love each other no matter what. How fleeting might be our own memories, or the memories of another. What if this happened to me? My husband?

One thing the book didn't talk about, and that I wonder about, is the financial implications. This family could afford a nurse, and to care for Alice. The story would be so different if a family could not afford that type of care.

It feels funny to call this a "good" story,because it is a hard story, but still, it is worth the read.


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Historical Fiction At It's Best!

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a really good book that will give you enjoyment, but will also cause you to reflect. What makes it even better is that this fictional book is based on the true story of two southern sisters, Sarah and Angelina Grimke. Not only were the sisters abolitionists, but they were forerunners for women's rights and the equality of women. We need to celebrate women like this more--it's on their backs that we are able to work, write and love freely!

I loved how the author imagined the sisters lives, and depicted the lives of the slaves who worked in their household.

The slave issue is not minimized. The situations depicted in the story reflect the anguish of a people being separated from loved ones and the reality of having to submit to the whims of their white masters, even to physical cruelty. Basically, cruelty, whether it is to slaves or each other, is the attempt to extinguish the light that we all carry within us. Handful and her mauma, two of the main slave characters in this story, work hard to keep their light. Of her mauma, Handful says

"Everything she knew came from living on the scarce side of mercy"

In the novel, Sarah struggles with her belief that slaves should be free and her family and southern society's beliefs that they should not. Sarah is a brilliant scholar, and her father ultimately shuts all the doors of learning to her. (Doesn't this just make you mad!) We meet Sarah on her birthday at age 11 when her parents give her Handful as her slave. This is when her struggle begins. We are able to grow up along with her as she learns what is denied to her as a woman, as an abolitionist and as a feminist.

The story moves between Sarah and Handful. We're able to see what they think about themselves, each other, the slavery situation and their relationship with each other.

One of the things that I really enjoyed about the story was the quilting theme. Mauma and Handful are the seamstresses for the Grimke family. In the evenings and in time stolen during the day, they worked on quilts. The description of Mauma's story quilt was inspired from the quilt work of a slave woman named Harriet Powers which is now on display at The Smithsonian.

Do read the Author's note at the end of the story so you can understand the historical bits and the fictional bits of the story. I enjoyed doing some research on the Grimke sisters as much as I did the book!



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Dystopia to Utopia?

Lighthouse Island: A Novel by Paulette Jiles
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am conflicted on how I feel about this book. I struggled to get through the first seven chapters, but I kept going because the review I read talked about the beautiful prose. I am a huge fan of beautiful prose. At Chapter 7, I was still waiting for it. I persevered though. On Chapter 13 I had to force myself to put the book down so I could go back to work. Still, for me, the book is really between 3 and 4 stars.

The beginning chapters describe the current world. If it was a movie, I would compare it to maybe The Matrix, or The Book of Eli. The world seems to have been annihilated and people struggle to survive. Water is rationed, people disappear, and there is little hope in this world. However, our heroine, Nadia, is both resourceful and audacious. She has a goal beyond just surviving, and that is to get to Lighthouse Island. She has books and poets to encourage her on her journey.

In her quest to go north, Nadia meets a man, James. They are instantly intrigued with each other. James uses his skills as a cartographer (illegal in this new world) to guide Nadia on her journey. Can Nadia make it on her own? Will James re-connect with her? Is there really a Lighthouse Island?

I did run across some beautiful prose:

"Small traveling elements of joy passed through her like x-rays and lit up all her bones."

and

"an elegant small skiff rocked on its painter as wave after wave boiled up under the trackway, impatient, as are all craft, to be at sea."

are two examples.

I would recommend this book, but know that it will take a while to get drawn into the story.





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