“With Love From the Inside” Captivating

A baby dies and the mother is found guilty and imprisoned.  It is a heart-wrenching scenario, and begs the question: what happens to the family who have been torn apart by such tragedy? In With Love From the Inside, author Angela Pisel attempts to answer that question through the viewpoint of the mother, and the […]

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“Beautiful Affliction” Resonates

The riddle closes in.  I can hear its heavy footsteps, echoing in my ears.  The dark brings out that which the day hides. (Excerpt from Beautiful Affliction) Lene Fogelberg knows what it is like to live with an undiagnosed medical condition and to be turned away time and again from doctors.  In Beautiful Affliction she […]

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“The Sound of Glass” Entertaining

Karen White’s The Sound of Glass is an entertaining read, or in my case, listen.  While many of the messages put forth are cliché, the storyline provides adequate twists to keep the reader engaged. A recently widowed Merritt finds herself inheriting a stately Southern home from a Grandmother she never knew existed.  The draw to […]

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Morton’s “The Lake House” Masterful

Kate Morton has mastered the art of writing a timeless novel:  a compelling setting,  well-developed characters, the weaving together of unforgettable storylines, and flawless description.  The Lake House is a delicious read, the kind of book you don’t want to put down. The Lake House centers around a beautiful estate abandoned under tragic circumstances:  a mystery […]

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“The Nest” of Entitlement

The Nest, by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney is an ambitious work weaving together many diverse characters and their overlapping storylines.  The central plot focuses around a family of four adult children all awaiting their slice of the coveted “nest”: trust money set to be released on the fortieth birthday of the youngest sibling.  Predictably something happens […]

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“The Wiregrass” Sweet Read

Reminiscent of lazy summer days, right down to the flip-flops, The Wiregrass is a delightful read.  Author Pam Webber has captured the innocence of childhood and those undefinable moments when awareness begins to shift. Nettie and her cousins congregate every summer at the small town home of Ain’t Pitty, who aids and abets the children […]

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“I Swear I’ll Make It Up to You”: A Review

Explosive, sometimes irrational, anger is a steady companion of addiction.    Anyone who has lived with or been an addict will recognize the pattern played out in the pages of Mishka Shubaly’s memoir :  I Swear I’ll Make It Up To You. Shubaly holds nothing back in the telling of his story, subtitled:  A Life On […]

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Inspired by Goldfish

Occasionally, I come across a book that I deem worthy of sharing (well, worthy in my humble estimation).  Please understand that as most of my day is spent in the horizontal position, I typically have three to five books on the go at any time.  Most of what I read does not merit attention here, […]

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“A Little Life” Big Read

As an audio book, A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara, runs for over 32 hours.  I passed by it several times, but lured by the recommendations on Audible.com, finally committed. A Little Life is an admirable undertaking: the author has spared no details in weaving this tale:  establishing first the framework of relationships that form […]

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Inner Voice of Autism

Just finished listening to “Carly’s Voice” by Arthur Fleischmann with his daughter, Carly.  Carly, unlike her twin sister, did not develop normally, and after a barrage of tests and consultations was determined to be developmentally delayed and mentally challenged – autistic, non verbal. Having stumbled across ABA, Carly’s parents hired one-on-one therapists to work with […]

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