October 2018 Reviews

My Mother's Kitchen: breakfast, lunch, dinner, and the meaning of life by Peter Gethers

Peter Gethers grew up around good food. His mother Judy's family owned Ratner's in New York and his father worked in the entertainment business so he was always wining and dining friends and clients. When Judy was in her 50's and living in L.A. she decided to learn how to professionally cook and became a well-respected chef and mentor. She was particularly close with Wolfgang Puck. Once Judy started cooking and working in the food business her life really blossomed. She was the youngest of five children and always felt overshadowed by her family, but out on the West coast doing something new that she loved really changed her. In her eighties after two strokes she could no longer cook, but Peter hired professional chefs to cook for her once a week and he also started talking to his mother more about cooking and food. While he always loved eating, Peter wasn't a gifted cook like his mother. But, he had the idea to cook her a meal with all of her favorite foods as a way to bring everyone and everything she loved together. Unfortunately she died before that meal could take place, but then it became her memorial instead. Throughout the book Peter combines family history with food and memorial meals they experienced. As he puts together this "ultimate meal" he provides the recipes he used and his often-hilarious attempts at cooking each part of the meal. At times funny and at other times serious or sad, this is a loving tribute to his mother and how her love of food shaped Peter and their family.

I did find it incredibly sad that Judy's oldest brother tried not once or twice, but three different times to cheat her out of family money from Ratner's (the family restaurant) and the buildings their father had owned. Then the same thing happened to her husband Steven when his siblings cheated him out of his rightful portion of the family business when it was sold. It made me feel a little better to know my family isn't the only one who has people on both sides stealing/cheating/whatever family members for money though...

Some quotes I liked:

[After Judy's brother tried to steal the rights to the Ratner's cookbook that she wrote and published] "I was a bit awed by the courage it took for my mom to stand up to her brother - and for herself - the way she did. Her anger and firm sense of right and wrong overrode almost seven decades of familial deference. It was a turning point in her life. I don't think she was ever bullied or cowed by anyone ever again." (p. 49)

"A year after my mother started working in the restaurant kitchen, Patrick erected a new building on the restaurant's parking lot and opened Ma Cuisine, Ma Maison's cooking school. My mother became its first manager and main teacher. She was now cooking and teaching alongside Julia Child and Paula Wolfert and her new friend Maida, the stars of that era's food universe, as well as with the new generation of great California chefs: Jonathan Waxman, Nancy Silverton, Mark Peel, and so many others." (p. 186)

"When I was around seven years old, television commercials began running that warned of the dangers that tobacco engendered. Because I saw how much my dad smoked, these commercials scared me. Before my eighth birthday, my dad asked me what I might be thinking about as a present. I said that I wanted him to stop smoking - that would be the perfect gift. So on my eighth birthday, my dad stopped cold. He never had another cigarette for the remaining twenty-eight years of his life. But the damage had been done [he died of lung cancer]." (p. 217)

The Weight of Him by Ethel Rohan

Billy Brennan has always been comforted by food - food for a reward or food for comfort from a bad day or disappointment. But when Billy's oldest son Michael kills himself there is nothing that can comfort Billy. While working through his grief Billy remembers all the ways he failed Michael and all the ways he's disappointed himself as well. Then Billy decides that while he can't bring Michael back he can save himself. He decides to lose 200 pounds - half his body weight and organize a fundraiser and march to bring awareness to suicide. Along the way Billy gets a lot of resistance from his family, but this time he is serious and he perseveres and slowly starts losing weight. As he reconnects with himself he finds that he can still make a difference with his remaining children and finally feel better about himself. You will find yourself cheering Billy along as he gains confidence and grows as a person. While he often feels alone in his crusade, he starts to see how many people he is helping and affecting. A heartbreaking, but hopeful novel that explores some difficult issues.

Boundaries by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend

I had heard a lot of good things about this book and it's principles, but hadn't actually read it. When I saw that there was a new edition out I decided to finally read it. While a lot of the information was great a lot of it seemed repetitive. There were also a lot of examples, but the examples didn't play out so you only got part of that story which seemed odd. In some of the reviews I read people made fun of the first and last chapters - a day in a boundaryless life and a day in a life with boundaries, but I thought these were over-simplified ways to make their overall point which is the importance of boundaries in all areas. While there is a lot of helpful information it did seem somewhat simplified - create boundaries because that's what God models and you'll be happier and healthier. But, they didn't really get too much into how hard it can be to do that and that's where I would have liked to see some of the example stories more fleshed out into what the rest of that story looked like. Overall, definitely solid, good ideas, but a little over-simplified.

Some quotes I liked:

"Alcoholism causes massive boundary confusion in the child. Adult children of alcoholics never feel safe in relationships. They're always waiting for the other person to let them down or attack them unexpectedly. They keep their guard up constantly. Setting limits is traumatic for adult children of alcoholics. Saying no might bring respect, or it might bring rage...They are uncertain about what they are and aren't responsible for." (p. 82)

"Today we call a person who continually rescues another person a codependent. In effect, codependent, boundaryless people 'cosign the note' of life for the irresponsible people in their lives. Then they end up paying the bills - physically, emotionally, and spiritually - and the spendthrifts continue out of control with no consequences. They continue to be loved, pampered, and treated nicely...Confronting an irresponsible person is not painful to him; only consequences are." (p. 87)

"Boundaries are a 'litmus test' for the quality of our relationships." (p. 110)

"This is why individuals with injured boundaries often are shocked by the rage they feel inside when they begin setting limits. This is generally not 'new anger' - it's 'old anger.' It's often years of nos that were never voiced, never respected, and never listened to. The protests against all the evil and violation of our souls sit inside us, waiting to tell their truths." (p. 114)

"Many times to set boundaries with someone is to risk losing the love that you have craved for a long time. To start to say no to a controlling parent is to get in touch with the sadness of what you do not have with them instead of still working hard to get it. This working hard keeps you away from the grief and keeps you stuck. But accepting the reality of who they are and letting go of the wish for them to be different is the essence of grief. And that is sad indeed." (p. 283)

Whiskey in a Teacup by Reese Witherspoon

I've always liked Reese Witherspoon as an actress and now I appreciate her even more as she's working hard to produce more women-centered TV shows and movies. She seems like she would be a super fun friend, so when I saw that she had this book coming out I was excited. A friend and I tried to get tickets to her book tour event in our town, but all the reasonably priced tickets sold out in minutes. I think seeing her speak in person would be great, but I was pretty disappointed with the book. It seemed to feed into a lot of old stereotypes about Southern women - that it's better to wear dresses and chewing gum is vulgar. I love the South and I grew up and live in the South, but this just seemed less like an ode to the South and more like a long J Crew ad for what it looks like to be ultra wealthy in the modern South. While some of the recipes included look good there was nothing new - fried chicken, biscuits, sun tea, etc. Overall, it was disappointing and I'm glad I checked it out from the library instead of buying it.

Virtually Perfect by Paige Roberts

Lizzie Glass had a show on the Food Network and a cookbook deal, but after just a few years her show is canceled and she is barely scraping by living in New York City working as a private chef. When she decides to move home to Philadelphia she ends up landing a summer job as a personal chef for a wealthy family at their summer home on the Jersey shore. Going from her normal life to working as the hired help in a lavish home is quite an adjustment, but things are working out and this job is paying the bills. But when Lizzie meets her employer's 20-something daughter Zoe things start to change. Zoe runs a popular "clean living" and wellness website, but soon Lizzie realizes things aren't what they seem with Zoe and her site. Lizzie has to decide if it's worth confronting Zoe and how that might impact her current job and her future. 

This is a quick and mostly light read. I did like Lizzie's character and the antics with the family she's working for and definitely entertaining. It wasn't the best book I ever read, but it would be a good beach read especially since most of the story takes place over the summer.

The Book of Books by Jessica Allen (PBS)

I wasn't sure what to expect with this book, but it was definitely worth reading. Each of the Great American Read top 100 books are profiled with info about the book and the author. Throughout the book are a few literary-related articles about everything from book reviews to literary terms and previous jobs of famous authors. At first I was just going to read the entries for the books that I had read, but there is so much interesting information that I ended up reading the whole book. I've read 35 of the Great American Read titles and this book definitely inspired me to add some other titles to my to-read list and maybe re-read some of the ones I've already read and enjoyed. There was a lot of unique information I didn't know like S.E. Hinton signed the contract for The Outsiders on the day she graduated from high school or that James Patterson has a team of co-writers helping him churn out up to 9 hardcover books a year! Overall, a really interesting book, but I do wish it was physically smaller.

A great quote from the book:

[From the section about book reviews] "Salman Rushdie unabashedly expressed his scorn for Fifty Shades of Grey(2011): 'I've never read anything so badly written that got published. It made Twilight look like War and Peace.'" [And ironically in this book Twilight and War and Peace are side by side entries...]

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn (Evening Edition book club)

Dr. Anna Fox is agoraphobic and can't leave her house after some unspecified trauma. She lives in a huge house in New York City and spends her days drinking wine, watching old black & white movies, and watching her neighbors. When a new family moves into one of the nearby houses Anna is especially curious about them. One night she sees someone get stabbed in their house and calls the police. But the police find nothing and the neighbors deny anything happened. Due to Anna's past, she is written off as having hallucinated the event - and even she finally sees that. Until she doesn't. Once she realizes something DID happen it might be too late for Anna as well.

OK, I had VERY low expectations going into this book. My book club picked it, but after discussing The Flight Attendantlast month I was not really super excited about reading yet ANOTHER book with a female who drinks too much unreliable narrator. But, this one really surprised me in a good way. There are 2 huge twists in the story that I did not see coming at all. Nearly everyone in the story is an unreliable or suspicious character that anyone could have done anything or nothing - you're just not sure. The ending is kind of over-the-top, but definitely made for a great thriller. My only real complaint is that the first half of the book is pretty slow, but I think the author is trying to really paint the picture of Anna's character and all her routines that come back to work against her in the end. I wouldn't be surprised if we see this as a movie in the next few years. This should make for a great book club discussion.

September 2018 Cookbooks

Canning in the Modern Kitchen by Jamie Dement

When I put this book on hold I didn't realize the author was from North Carolina. She lives on a farm and grew up learning gardening and canning techniques from generations of women in her family. This is a collection of canning recipes from her family and ones she's created herself. The book starts with an overview of canning, but PLEASE if you haven't canned before work with someone experienced or take a class first! I like that the recipes are organized by type of product - fruits and vegetables, jams/jellies/preserves, pickles, etc. There is also a chapter on things you can make that can't be canned, but can be frozen and enjoyed later in the year. Overall, a GREAT book with lots of good ideas. This might be one I buy because there is so much I want to try.

The Taco Tuesday Cookbook by Laura Fuentes

I love tacos so when I saw this book I definitely wanted to check it out. I like that is starts with a section called "the essentials" that covers making guac and salsa, sauces, even your own tortillas. Then the biggest section is of course "tacos" that is further broken down into breakfast, vegetarian, chicken, beef, pork, and tacos del mar. The final section is "beverages" to go with your taco nights. Overall, there are some recipes I want to try, but there were a lot of recipes that seemed similar just with a different protein. Still if you're wanting to up your taco night this is a good one to check out.

Pie School: lessons in fruit, flour, and butter by Kate Lebo

I like pie as much as the next person and have managed to make a really great pumpkin pie and some a few other kinds, so I thought I would check out this cookbook. I did like that she had a chapter on different types of pie crust, but I felt like the majority of the recipes were just fruit pies when there are a lot of other kinds out there. I also felt like it would have made sense to include a few savory pies/quiches too. Overall, there were a few recipes I'd like to try, but it wasn't quite what I was expecting.

Southern From Scratch: pantry essentials and down-home recipes by Ashley English

The idea of this cookbook is to help the reader create a Southern pantry and then recipes to go along with or made from these pantry staples. So each chapter is a type of pantry staple with a recipe for how to create that staple and then a few recipes to use it or go along with it. Some chapters include: pickles & relish, fruits & vegetables, dry good & sundries, etc. English also reiterates the importance of canning fresh produce and using it year round - again if you don't know how to can PLEASE work with someone experienced or even better take a class through your local extension office. Overall, I really like the unique focus of this Southern cookbook and there are definitely a few recipes I plan to try.

Weck Small-batch Preserving by Stephanie Thurow

When I took a canning class a few years ago the instructor reiterated that even if we grew up watching relatives can some of the old ways are not considered safe any longer. I didn't have anyone in my family that canned, so I didn't have any bad habits to unlearn. I'm not saying these Weck jars don't work, but it was very much reiterated in my class that you do NOT want to reuse lids/seals when canning and that's basically what you do with these jars. Even though I didn't intend to can with Weck jars I figured I could still get some new canning ideas from the recipe part, but not really. There wasn't really any recipe that I wanted to try, which is very rare for me with cookbooks or canning recipe books. The illustrations and jars and beautiful, but I can't recommend this one.

Once Upon a Chef, the Cookbook by Jennifer Segal

Jennifer Segal went to culinary school and worked in professional kitchens, but found the professional kitchen atmosphere very stressful and overwhelming. She stopped cooking professionally once she had children, but still loved to cook. After starting a children's cake business she decided to start a blog and use her professional cooking skills to help others learn to cook quick, but good meals. Once her blog took off she had the opportunity to create this cookbook. And there are SO MANY great recipe ideas that this is one I might have to buy! There are so many easy, but delicious looking recipes I want to try. The cookbook is organized like many cookbooks with starters/snacks, salads, main dishes, etc. but with each recipe there are "pro tips" and "sourcing" ideas for how to source the best quality ingredients. There are also a few pages between each chapter with "pro tips from my kitchen" talking about something that is common knowledge to professional chefs, but might not be to home cooks. Overall, a VERY impressive cookbook. I'm looking forward to trying some of these recipes!

Farmacy Kitchen Cookbook by Camilla Fayed

I don't mind if people want to be vegan or vegetarian, but don't be a bully about it. No one likes a food bully and that's what this book is. The first 50+ pages are all about how terrible meat and dairy are for you and if you're a good person who cares about animals and the planet you will be vegan - NOPE! I 100% disagree with that philosophy. I do think factory farming of both animals and plants is terrible for everyone involved, but there are other ways to circumvent the industrial food system like supporting your local, small farmers. After reading the first 50 pages I knew I wasn't going to like this book, but I still flipped through the recipes to see if anything looked good - nope again. If you enjoy being a holier-than-thou vegan this is the perfect book for you, if not give this one a pass.

One Pan Whole Family: 70 complete weeknight meals by Carla Snyder

I can usually find something I want to try from most cookbooks, but there wasn't anything in this cookbook that I wanted to try. In theory it should be a good cookbook because it's supposed to be easy, healthy meals in 45 minutes or less. I just wasn't impressed.

September 2018 Reviews

Unforgettable: the bold flavors of Paula Wolfert's Renegade Life by Emily Kaiser Thelin

I didn't know what to expect with this book and I will admit I didn't know who Paula Wolfert was either, but after reading this memoir/cookbook I feel like I should have known who she was because she was a pioneer in the food world. The book is organized around her life with recipes at the end of each chapter, but it's not really a cookbook - more of a memoir with recipes included. Wolfert is now suffering from dementia, but cooking and eating bring back many fond memories. Wolfert was living abroad when her husband left her with two young children. She pretty much created a career for herself exposing Americans to, at the time, rare and exotic cuisines. She even worked for Columbia House creating subscribers monthly boxes with recipes and ingredients to create a dinner party with a specific country theme - an idea well ahead of it's time. She would travel to various countries and embed herself with local women and then create a cookbook around that country's cuisine. The author of 9 cookbooks she was the main impetus of bringing now-common ingredients and cuisines to Americans. While the book is huge and the print somewhat small, her story is truly Unforgettable and worth reading.

Some quotes I liked:

"[Columbia Records] The music subscription service was about to launch an epicurean program called International Home Dining. Paula was promptly hired to help run it. A kind of Blue Apron or Sun Basket of its day, the service sent subscribers a box every month or so containing everything they'd need to throw a dinner party from a different country: an album of music from that country (of course), plus a half-dozen illustrated recipes, printed invitations, a four-page newsletter, a battle plan for the cooking, and a half-dozen harder-to-find ingredients and necessary equipment (think a basic cleaver and wok). Each box cost $9.95 plus shipping and handling, about $60.00 in today's dollars - a bargain now but a bit steep in 1969." (p. 61)

Paula embraced technology, "...she developed unparalleled recipes for all of them tailored for the Cuisinart. For years to come, Cuisinart founder Carl Sontheimer sent new models of his machine to Paula from time to time." She also purchased one of the first word processors, "Paula spent $4,000 (about $14,500 in today's dollars) to purchase a Lexoriter from Otterson's husand, who helmed the Lexor Corporation, an early computer company." (p. 120)

"She wished people would be a little bit more willing to cook, if only to preserve all the bounty. She told Edible San Francisco magazine, 'When I lived in Morocco, all summer long people were making food for the winter. That's something that we don't even think about anymore - making jarred food.'" (p. 267)

Shunned: how I lost my religion and found myself by Linda A. Curtis

Linda grew up in the Jehovah's Witness religion. From the age of 9 she would go on weekly preaching trips going door to door trying to talk to people about their faith. When she's in her early 30's on one of these weekly preaching trips she shows up at a coworker's door. In doing through her normal spiel she feels like the words are hollow and condescending. That encounter starts the process of Linda leaving the Witness faith. In leaving Linda divorced her husband of almost 10 years and is cut off from everyone in her former life - friends, family, everyone. When you denounce the Witness faith you are "disfellowshipped" or shunned, meaning you are now an evil person and a bad influence so everyone needs to stay away from you. Twelve years after leaving her whole life behind Linda finds out there is a small exception when her father calls to tell her his mother is dying and lets her know she can come see her dying grandmother. That visit allows about 24 hours of normalcy with her immediate family, but then once again cut off until another death. 

I personally believe that the Jehovah's Witness faith is a cult and Linda was right to get out of it. But, it was sad to see her go from having faith in God to nothing. She did rebuild her life and find love and happiness, but I guess once you leave a cult it's hard to be able to buy into any other religion. I also found the way her family seemed to allow a "death exception" was so odd - so during that brief time she's not a threat? But the rest of the time she is? Also, her father wasn't a Witness for most of his life only converting shortly before she left the faith. I don't understand why it was OK for her to grow up around her dad who wasn't a Witness, but when she leaves the faith she's totally cut off. Is he seen as a potential convert, but she was in and chose to leave so she's worse? Cults are crazy for a reason. It was a very quick, engaging read, but it was sad and I just felt bad for her that she couldn't see that God is not this cult and still have faith in her life outside of the Witness cult.

Seasons at the Farm: year-round celebrations at the Elliott homestead by Shaye Elliott

I was expecting more of a cookbook, but this was more of a seasonal look at the Elliott homestead. The book is divided by seasons and each section has sub-sections about the garden during that season, recipes, what's going on in their home, and celebrations. I guess because "celebrations" is in the title I expected more from these sections, but instead of describing specific celebrations it's more about celebrating that season which is more my speed anyway. Overall, it was a nice book with lots of photographs, but I have no idea how she has so much time to spend decorating her house with a farm and 4 kids she's homeschooling. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I did like reading through it and as some other reviews said it did feel like reading through a blog in book format.

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn (Evening Edition book club)

American college student Charlotte "Charlie" St. Clair is pregnant and unmarried and on her way to get an abortion in Europe when she escapes from her mother to try to find her cousin Rose who no one's heard from since the end of WWII. Her search brings her into contact with Eve Gardiner who worked as a spy during WWI and the demons from her time as a spy still haunt her today. These two unlikely allies come together for the common goal of finding Charlie's cousin and also Eve's goal of revenge for someone who betrayed her during her time as a spy. 

Eve's story is based on the real Alice Network of spies during WWI and is a MUCH more interesting story. Although I was pretty put off by her basically prostituting herself to get information - I'm sure that did happen, but I wish that hadn't been part of the story here. Charlie's character is basically a spoiled brat who discovered that sleeping around makes her pretty popular - she is not really a sympathetic character at all and her part in this book could have been so much better. I could think of a few different ways to create a fiction book around the real Alice Network that were better than this one. Also for the time period of the two story lines I was really surprised at how much sex and abortion was in the story. But it should make for a good book club discussion. I did like this one better than The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah, but there will never be another war historical fiction book better than All the Light We Cannot See, so everything else just pales in comparison.

The Year of Less by Cait Flanders

Before the age of 29 Cait Flanders had (finally) stopped drinking and paid off $30,000 in consumer debt. But, as she turned 29 she knew she could do better with her finances so she decided to spend her 29th year in a shopping ban. She could only buy certain things, she could replace something that broke (but only after discarding the original), mostly she could buy consumables - food, gas, etc. Each month she works through not shopping and while it does get easier as she goes along, she had no idea at the beginning of this year that she would face some very difficult times ahead that would seriously try her resolve. But, she did it and even decided to do it for another year. I wasn't familiar with her blog or her really before this book, but I was really in awe of how honest she was about her struggles and opening up about how she used shopping and other consumer-related things to fill voids in her life. I think everyone does that, but not everyone talks about it so honestly. A very inspirational book that shows you can do a lot if you put your mind to it and make yourself accountable.

Some quotes I liked:

[After a breakup] "I felt things and I kept living. I didn't numb myself with food or alcohol. And I didn't shop. It wasn't going to help. It had never actually helped before, and it wasn't going to help this time either...The real thing to celebrate was that I had felt things and I kept living." (p. 49)

"Over the years, I have come to believe there are two types of friends in this world: the friend who will save you from going home with the random person you met at the bar, and the friend who will celebrate your sexual escapade over Bloody Marys the next morning. The one who will never miss a scheduled date to go to the gym, and the one who will congratulate you for eating two cheeseburgers, an order of fries, and a milkshake after a bad day. The one who will stop you from spending $300 on a bag you don't need, and the one who will drive you to the nearest store to buy it." (p. 61)

"I knew I was eating my feelings. I would place the order and walk into the stores knowing I was buying things that would allow me to eat my feelings. I didn't do it every night, and I didn't eat it all in one sitting. These weren't the same binges I'd done before. I didn't want to overdose on cheese or go into a sugar coma. I simply wanted a little comfort, every few days, and finding it in food seemed like the healthiest option." (p. 126)

All We Ever Wanted by Emily Giffin

I had the opportunity to see Emily Giffin on the first stop of this book tour in Charlotte, NC. At the time since the book wasn't technically out yet the talk was more generalities and ideas/themes from the book than specifics. But I remembered part of the talk when I was reading the book and got to the part where Nina sees the white velvet chaise lounge in her bedroom and how ridiculous it is and how it suddenly represents where her life has gone off the rails. Nina married into old Nashville money and lives a very wealthy, pampered life, but she didn't grow up that way and she doesn't want her son Finch to be an entitled brat. Tom lives on "the other side of the tracks" in Nashville and is raising his daughter Lyla as a single father. When Lyla gets a scholarship to Windsor Academy, a prestigious prep school, he thinks they've won the lottery. Then during her sophomore year Lyla and Finch's lives collide and the aftermath fuels gossip and blame all around town. What really happened that night with Lyla and Finch? Has Nina lost the battle over her son? Is Finch really a bad guy or did he make a dumb mistake? In the aftermath of the #metoo movement, Giffin's timely novel explores issues of consent, love, truth, money and power, and relationships. A quick read that will stay with you long after you finish the last page. Another wonderful novel by Emily Giffin!

Living Large in Our Little House by Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell

Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell was unintentionally at the beginning of the tiny house movement. When she was a teenager her parents bought their dream home, but within five years their circumstances had changed so much that they had to sell it. Kerri could see how devastated her mom was to have to sell that house and when Kerri and Dale married they immediately bought a large, split-level house and filled it with new furniture and collections. When they had been married almost 20 years they had the opportunity to build a small lake house on some family land in the Ozark mountains. Their intention was to build a small vacation cottage and later build a larger home to retire to. But, when Dale was laid off at the beginning of the recession in 2007 they realized that financially it made more sense to live in their lake house and sell their house in town. So, out of necessity they started tiny house living in their 480 sq ft cottage that became their full time home with up to 6 dogs at any given time. As they started their journey Kerri discovered the tiny house movement and began to embrace their small house living. They did eventually build Kerri a writing cottage for working out of and also a shed for tools and other equipment. Since then Kerri has connected with many other small house lovers and she shares many of their tips and tricks for living large in a small space. While Kerri and Dale started living tiny out of necessity they both quickly realized this way of life made things so much easier - their expenses were less and they both had more time to pursue their passions. This is a great book if you're interested in possibly downsizing or just want to see other people's tiny home success stories and there are lots of photos as well.

Every Note Played by Lisa Genova

Richard is an accomplished concert pianist when he's diagnosed with ALS. In deep denial at first he tries to go on living a normal life, but his illness progresses quickly and soon he's lost the use of both of his arms. Karina is Richard's ex-wife and said that the day he moved out was the happiest of her life, but when she sees how quickly he is deteriorating she becomes his caregiver and he moves back into the home they shared when they were married. It's obvious that they did not have a good marriage and probably should have never been married. As their background unfolds you see the mistakes they each made in their marriage and in their lives and how it led to this point. Richard is not a sympathetic character for the first half of the book and I was wondering if Genova was ever going to get to the point of reconciliation and forgiveness between Richard, Karina, and Grace, their daughter. Then the last few chapters of the book totally sucker-punched me with how powerfully everything that needed to happen did. Seriously DO NOT read the last 4-5 chapters at work or out in public! I was full on crying for the last 2 chapters. 

Genova does an amazing job of describing what it's like to have ALS and to care for someone with ALS. But she also did an amazing job of exploring all the layers of sadness these characters had to work through during the progression of the illness. By the end of the book you feel such sadness for Richard and Karina and see how things could have been different for them. But, you also wonder if they would have been able to change or see things differently outside of this devastating illness. An amazing book about a horrific disease.

Killers of the Flower Moon: the Osage murders and the birth of the FBI by David Grann (Books & Banter book club)

In the 1920's some of the wealthiest people in America were the Osage Indian nation in Oklahoma. Their tribal land was on top of some of the richest oil fields at the time and they could lease out the drilling rights for big money. But soon members of the Osage tribe started dying - some by mysterious illnesses and some by murder. Mollie Burkhart had one sister murdered, another blown up by a bombing, and her mother poisoned. Then some of the people looking into the murders were also murdered or went missing. When the number of Osage deaths reached into the 20's someone contacted the fledgling FBI in Washington, DC. J. Edgar Hoover tasked former Texas Ranger Tom White with solving this case. White used dozens of undercover agents, but also had to constantly fight against widespread corruption, bribery, racism against the Osage, and "good ol' boys" ties within the community. White was able to solve the case, but the master conspirator only spent 20 years in prison before being released, a final favor from his vast network of cronies perhaps. After this Osage "Reign of Terror" was solved many felt like this chapter was closed, but as the author finds out in researching this book there were likely hundreds and hundreds of Osage Indians who's deaths were never investigated and while they weren't part of this one conspiracy, they were still murdered for their money and valuable oil headrights. Just another despicable chapter in the history books of how Native Americans have been treated in this country. A remarkable read that proves the truth is often stranger than fiction.

Some quotes I liked:

"At one congressional hearing, another Osage chief named Bacon Rind testified that the whites had 'bunched us down here in the backwoods, the roughest part of the United States, thinking, 'we will drive these Indians down to where there is a big pile of rocks and put them there in that corner.' 'Now that the pile of rocks had turned out to be worth millions of dollars,' he said, 'everybody wants to get in here and get some of this money.'" (p. 80)

"This so-called Indian business, as White discovered, was an elaborate criminal operation, in which various sectors of society were complicit. The crooked guardians and administrators of Osage estates were typically among the most prominent white citizens: businessmen and ranchers and lawyers and politicians...In 1924, the Indian Rights Association, which defended the interests of indigenous communities, conducted an investigation into what it described as 'an orgy of graft and exploitation.' The group documented how rich Indians in Oklahoma were being 'shamelessly and openly robbed in a scientific and ruthless manner' and how guardianships were 'the plums to be distributed to the faithful friends of the judges as a reward for their support at the polls.'" (p. 155)

[Following the Reign of Terror] "The Osage, meanwhile, had taken their own steps to protect themselves against future plots, persuading Congress to pass a new law. It barred anyone who was not at least half Osage from inheriting headrights from a member of the tribe." (p. 223)

"In 1947, while Earnest was still in jail [for a subsequent crime], Hale was released, having served twenty years at Leavenworth. Parole board officials maintained that their ruling was based on the grounds of Hale's advanced age - he was seventy-two - and his record as a good prisoner. An Osage leader said that Hale 'should have been hanged for his crimes,' and members of the tribe were convinced that the board's decision was the last vestige of Hale's political influence." (p. 248)

"These cases underscored that the murders of the Osage for their headrights were not the result of a single conspiracy orchestrated by Hale. He might have led the bloodiest and longest killing spree. But there were countless other killings - killings that were not included in official estimates and that, unlike the cases of Lewis or Mollie Burkhart's family members, were never investigated or even classified as homicides." (p. 279)

"To get a better sense of the decimation, McAuliffe looked at the Authentic Osage Indian Roll Book, which cites the deaths of many of the original allotted members of the tribe. He writes, 'Over the sixteen year period from 1907 to 1923, 605 Osages died, averaging about 38 per year, an annual death rate of about 19 per 1,000. The national death rate now is 8.5 per 1,000; in the 1920's, when counting methods were not so precise and the statistics were segregated into white and black racial categories, it averaged almost 12 per 1,000 for whites. By all rights, their higher standard of living should have brought the Osages a lower death rate than America's whites. Yet Osages were dying at more than one-and-a-half times the national rate - and those numbers do not include Osages born after 1907 and not listed on the roll.'" (p. 283)

"Garrick Bailey, a leading anthropologist on Osage culture, said to me, 'If Hale had told what he knew, a high percentage of the county's leading citizens would have been in prison.' Indeed, virtually every element of society was complicit in the murderous system. Which is why just about any member of this society might have been responsible for the murder of McBride, in Washington: he threatened to bring down not only Hale but a vast criminal operation that was reaping millions and millions of dollars." (p. 291)

The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian (Evening Edition book club)

** spoiler alert ** Cassie Bowden is a flight attendant with a drinking problem. Her life revolves around getting blackout drunk and sleeping with random men - often in cities around the world thanks to her work. One morning Cassie wakes up in a strange hotel room, but this time the man in the bed beside her is dead. Making the split second decision to flee without contacting authorities, Cassie has to decide whether to tell the truth or not and what the consequences of her decision might be.

Chris Bohjalian is kind of hit or miss for me with his books and this one was a huge miss. The storyline is so ridiculous that it's barely believable as you're reading. Also, the fact that a train wreck of a person like Cassie Bowden would suddenly realize she's being followed is even more ridiculous. But, what takes the ridiculous cake is the end with Cassie now working as a spy for the Russians and that's AFTER she had a baby from her encounter with the dead guy in the UAE. Really?! This story was just ridiculous.

August 2018 Cookbooks

Jam Session: a fruit-preserving handbook by Joyce Goldstein

I'm always looking for new canning recipes and ideas. In Jam Session Joyce Goldstein gives a brief overview of canning and how she got into canning and preserving. Then the recipes are organized by season, which is great because especially with fruit it's best when it's peak season. While I haven't had a lot of success with canning jelly (it doesn't set and then I have to do it all a second time), I would like to try jams and other fruit preserving. There are definitely a few recipes I'd like to try. A good book for an experienced canner looking for new ideas with fruit.

August 2018 Reviews

American Fire: love, arson, and live in a vanishing land by Monica Hesse

Between November 2012 and April 2013 eighty-six fires were started in Accomack County, Virginia. This was a rural area with few local residents and most of the fires were started in abandoned houses or buildings. With local, state, and federal law enforcement involved as the fires continued it seemed like the arsonist would never be caught. Multiple profilers were brought in and yet still no one could catch the arsonist. Until the night of April 1, 2013 when two state troopers on their last night of surveillance caught the arsonist pair red-handed. Charlie Smith and Tonya Bundick were locals who had grown up in the area. Charlie had a criminal past, but definitely wasn't the mastermind. Their relationship and lives were very stressful - living paycheck to paycheck, but just barely. The fires somehow eased the stress for them, but there was never a real explanation of why they did what they did. Monica Hesse does a great job of laying out both Charlie and Tonya's personal histories, the history of the area, and the arson investigation. Not only is this the story of a crazy arson case, but the story of one couple trying to survive in a poor, rural area and how they unfortunately turned to crime to ease some of their stress and tension. A very quick, well-written read about a very interesting case.

Nourished: a memoir of food, faith, and enduring love by Lia Huber

Nourished follows Lia Huber's journey of how food and cooking shaped her life. Starting in Greece while studying abroad in college she discovers that food is more than just fuel for your body, food can nourish your soul. In her early twenties she was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and also had to have a hysterectomy. These physical challenges inspired Huber to change how she ate to help heal her body. As she and her husband travel abroad and move around the US, food always brings Huber back to her roots and her passion.

I was really tracking with the first half of this book. Huber became a Christian after college, but had a non-traditional life - married, but childfree. Never wanting children helped her cope with having to have a hysterectomy since now she biologically couldn't have children anyway. Then all of a sudden she "realizes" she really did want to be a mother and suddenly so did her husband. So, they adopt in Guatemala - one of the countries they stayed in during a driving trip to Costa Rica. And so now that she's back in the Christian homemaker stereotype her life is complete. As a Christian woman who's childfree by choice, it just bothered me how quickly this switch was flipped for her and how perfectly everything worked out. I feel like this just reinforces the stereotype that every woman REALLY does want to be a mother deep down. After that part I really lost interest in the book and just skimmed the last few chapters.

Tamed & Untamed: close encounters of the animal kind by Sy Montgomery and Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

I've read two of Sy Montgomery's books (The Good Good Pigand The Soul of an Octopus), so I couldn't wait to read this one. While this one is different in that it's a collection of essays by Montgomery and Elizabeth Marshall Thomas it does not disappoint. The book is divided into six categories: animals and people, birds, dogs and cats, wild animals, tiny animals, and animal abilities. The essays cover everything from animal intelligence, skills in the wild, how our pets view us, and more. A perfect book for any animal lover out there!

A few quotes I really liked:

"Why is it more fun to adopt a particular, named animal than to simply make a donation for conservation of a species? Because, as researchers confirm, no matter the species studied - be it puffins or snow leopards or even sharks - animals are individuals, just like we are. And their stories can be as compelling as our own." (p. 55)

"An adult hummer visits an average of 1,500 flowers in a day. If the nectar were converted to a human equivalent, that would be fifteen gallons a day. But few people realize that insects are equally essential. Each hummingbird needs to catch and eat six to seven hundred bugs a day. (So spraying insecticide in your yard is like hiring a hummingbird exterminator.)" (p. 64)

"When humans get involved with other species, especially if they try to manage another species, things often get messed up. Ever since a dog's appearance made a difference, breeders have been manipulating what dogs look like no matter what this does to health and longevity." (p. 76)

"Arizona professor Con Slobodchikoff has documented that prairie dogs - gregarious ground squirrels - use specific sounds to communicate to others that a human has been spotted. (They also discuss the dangers of cats, badgers, hawks, and ferrets, as well as announce the comforting presence of harmless species like cows and pronghorns, who signal safety.) Not only that, but the little mammals can communicate what color shirt the human is wearing, whether he is tall or short, and even whether the human is carrying a gun!" (p. 165-6)

Silence in the Age of Noise by Erling Kagge

In 1993, Norwegian explorer Erling Kagge spent fifty days walking solo across Antarctica. He was the first person to reach the South Pole alone and while he did have a radio with him he had removed the batteries before he started his journey so that he could truly be alone and silent for the entire trek. In this book he explores what he learned on that solo journey of silence, but also through other experiences and from other philosophers and thinkers about the value of silence and what we can learn about ourselves and our world through silence. In today's constant barrage of noise silence can seem like a luxury that few can afford, but as Kagge points out we must all find that silence within ourselves to truly live and understand our world. This short book is a profound meditation on silence and why we so often fill our lives with noise to push back the truths that silence brings.

Some quotes I really liked:

"I believe it's possible for everyone to discover this silence within themselves. It is there all the time, even when we are surrounded by constant noise. Deep down in the ocean, below the waves and ripples, you can find your internal silence. Standing in the shower, letting the water wash over your head, sitting in front of a crackling fire, swimming across a forest lake or taking a walk over a field: all these can be experiences of perfect stillness too. I love that." (p. 26)

"Knitting, brewing beer, felling trees; these are activities that all have something in common. You set yourself a goal and carry it out - not all at once, but over time. You use your hands or your body to create something. By moving yourself, you move your mind. I enjoy experiences where the satisfaction travels from the body to the head, rather than the other way around. The results that you achieve - firewood to warm you, a sweater you have poured yourself into - are not things that can simply be printed out. The fruit of your labour is a tangible product. A result that you and others can enjoy over a period of time." (p. 30)

"The philosopher and boredom theorist Blaise Pascal promoted this type of exploration as early as the 1600s: 'All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.' So a discomfort with being alone, holding one's tongue and simply being did not start with the advent of TV in the 1950s, with the coming of the internet in the '90s or with smartphones: it has always been a problem, and Pascal was probably the first to write about this feeling...This disquiet that we feel has been with us since the beginning; it is our natural state. The present hurts, wrote Pascal. And our response is to look ceaselessly for fresh purposes that draw our attention outwards, away from ourselves." (p. 37)

"In a joint study from the universities of Virginia and Harvard, scientists left individuals alone in a room for six to fifteen minutes without music, reading material, the chance to write or their smartphones. They were left solely to their own thoughts. The participants ranged from eighteen to seventy-seven years old and were drawn from a variety of social backgrounds, yet the results were the same regardless. Most felt discomfort...The scientists then took the study one step further, in order to see whether the participants would rather do something unpleasant, such as receive an electrical shock, than sit alone in silence once again. Each participant had been subjected in advance to a similar electric shock so they would know exactly how painful the option was. And it was painful. Nevertheless, nearly half of the subjects eventually pushed on the button to administer an electrical shock in order to reduce their silent time...One of them pushed the electric shock button 190 times." (p. 42-3)

"Some users get a good response when they post something on social media, while most sit waiting for anyone to care. And the more unpredictable this interaction is, the more the user is addicted. You don't want to miss out on anything." (p. 49)

In the Middle of the Mess: strength for this beautiful, broken life by Sheila Walsh

Sheila Walsh's father committed suicide when she was 5 years old. She didn't remember her father when he was well and after his death her family never spoke about him. Because she was a child and nothing was explained she truly thought she was the reason for his suicide even into adulthood. Then as an adult she too suffered from clinical depression and suicidal thoughts. As a Christian, she believed that if she told people about her time in a psychiatric ward or her continuing thoughts of suicide it would be a bad witness because God hadn't "fixed" her. Finally Walsh started to realize that God was with her in her darkest moments and she didn't need to feel ashamed of her struggles with depression or suicidal thoughts. Thanks to therapy, a loving family, and a close group of "safe sister" friends Walsh is able to manage her depression better and realize that God is often the closest to us when we are In the Middle of the Mess as the title of her book says.

While I don't have clinical depression or struggle with suicidal thoughts, I could still very much relate to her struggle. So often Christians hide their struggles because they don't want people to think badly of them or show how wounded they are, but Christ came to help the sick not the healthy and whatever your particular struggle might be He can help you heal those wounds. I wasn't familiar with Sheila Walsh before, but she's a well known Christian musician, author, and speaker. I mainly picked up this book because of the title and some things that I'm working through right now in my spiritual and emotional life, but it came to me at the right time and definitely gave me some new ideas and practices to put into place. 

Some quotes I really liked:

"This is the truth I would discover that night: Christ came to save us in the present moment. The gift of salvation is God's active, present gift to us, no matter where we are...If all our brokenness was healed the moment we came to Christ, we'd have no need to call on His name over and over again - but that's not my story, and I suspect it's not yours either...There is present-tense salvation, one that's offered to us right now in the middle of our mess. Salvation is far greater and more present than we imagine." (p. 8-9)

"When we don't say the true things, the things that might free us from secrets and lies, the poison seeps out of our lives and into the lives of others. The anger and sadness surface when you least expect it." (p. 24)

"Not all losses weight the same. Some disappointments may seem small measured against others, so we don't bring them into the light...They're not life-changing losses, but they are very real disappointments. Instead of speaking those out loud, though, we often stuff them inside because we don't want to seem small or petty before God. But hear this truth: Nothing that affects you is petty to God. He loves you and cares about everything that affects you. He wants to deliver you, to bring you present salvation. I don't know what losses you've had in your life. I don't know what you're walking through right now, but I want to say this: Don't hurry through it, and don't hide the pain. Don't let anyone tell you to get over it and don't hide it in secret, thinking the pain won't find you there. It will. I promise. Wouldn't you rather confess it to God, to feel Him taking your load and delivering you?" (p. 52)

"Just because a place has become familiar doesn't mean it's where you belong." (p. 139)

The Finnish Way by Katja Pantzar

Katja Pantzar grew up in Canada, but had two Finnish parents so some of the Nordic ideas and philosophies were things she grew up seeing her parents do. After being diagnosed with depression in her late 20's, Pantzar decided to move to Finland and try to reconnect with her family roots. This was when she was introduced to the idea of Sisu - a Finnish idea or resilience, fortitude, and not giving up. This philosophy plays out in all areas of Finnish life - food, exercise, work, family, etc. In the book she explores Finnish trends/cultural norms that exemplify Sisu like cold water swimming, sauna, being out in nature, bike riding, movement as medicine and more. While a lot of these ideas/ways of life seem wonderful, it would be much harder to do them outside of living in a coastal town. There is also the issue of Nordic countries designing cities around public transportation or making it easier to walk or bike to work. While Pantzar shows how you can still take these ideas and implement them to suit your situation, it's obvious that it would be a LOT easier if you lived in a Nordic country. But, there are lots of great ideas and ways to think about how you could incorporate more nature and more Sisu into your daily life.

The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown

When Brene Brown first started studying shame she saw some patterns in people who were more resilient and called these patterns "wholehearted." This book fleshes out those wholehearted patterns and ideals - a lot of which deal with authenticity and breaking away from who we "should" be and moving toward who we truly are. While I did like the book and there was a LOT of great information, it almost felt like you were dropped into the middle of a conversation. There is just a LOT going on right from the first page. I read Braving the Wilderness earlier in the year and really liked it so I wanted to go back and read more of Brown's work. Maybe she's improved with each book! While I did like this one and get a lot out of it, I was slightly put off by the cover - it was very Oprah-esque and probably not one I would have picked up if I wasn't already familiar with the author. But, you can't always judge a book by it's cover and there IS a lot of great info here. I'll definitely be reading more by her in the future.

Some quotes I liked:

"One of the biggest surprises in this research was learning that fitting in and belonging are not the same thing, and, in fact, fitting in gets in the way of belonging. Fitting in is about assessing a situation and becoming who you need to be to be accepted. Belonging, on the other hand, doesn't require us to change who we are; it requires us to be who we are." (p. 25)

"It's also pushed me to think about the important differences between professing love and practicing love. During a recent radio interview about the rash of celebrity infidelities, the host asked me, 'Can you love someone and cheat on them or treat them poorly?' I thought about it for a long time, then gave the best answer I could based on my work: 'I don't know if you can love someone and betray them or be cruel to them, but I do know that when you betray someone or behave in an unkind way toward them, you are not practicing love. And, for me, I don't just want someone who says they love me; I want someone who practices that love for me every day.'" (p. 28)

"In Jungian circles, shame is often referred to as the swampland of the soul...What I'm proposing is that we learn to wade through it. We need to see that standing on the shore and catastrophisizing about what could happen if we talked honestly about our fears is actually more painful than grabbing the hand of a trusted companion and crossing the swamp." (p. 36)

"Our stories are not meant for everyone. Hearing them is a privilege, and we should always ask ourselves this before we share: 'Who has earned the right to hear my story?' If we have one or two people in our lives who can sit with us and hold space for our shame stories, and love us for our strengths and struggles, we are incredibly lucky...We don't need love and belonging and story-catching from everyone in our lives, but we need it from at least one person." (p. 47)

"Children most often learn hope from their parents. Snyder says that to learn hopefulness, children need relationships that are characterized by boundaries, consistency, and support...To add to Snyder's work on hope, I found in my research that men and women who self-report as hopeful put considerable value on persistence and hard work. The new cultural belief that everything should be fun, fast, and easy is inconsistent with hopeful thinking. It also sets us up for hopelessness. When we experience something that is difficult and requires significant time and effort, we are quick to think, This is supposed to be easy; it's not worth the effort, or, This should be easier: it's only hard and slow because I'm not good at it. Hopeful self-talk sounds more like, This is tough, but I can do it." (p. 66)

Finding Gobi by Dion Leonard

Dion Leonard is an ultra-marathoner - running races that lasted days and were in extreme environments. While running a 155-mile race through China's Gobi desert Leonard encounters a small dog. The dog seems enamored with Leonard, but he figures there's no way the dog will keep up with him through the day's leg of the race, but she does and continues on the next day as well. Soon Leonard finds himself looking out for the little dog he names Gobi and even sharing his food rations with her. By the end of the race he decides to find a way to bring Gobi home to Scotland. He leaves her with one of the race organizers in China while he works out a plan, but Gobi escapes. Leonard ends up taking a leave from work to go back to China and find Gobi. Miraculously he does and that is still only the beginning of their adventure to get Gobi back home to Scotland. A wonderful happy story about the bond between dog and man. This is a quick, adventure-filled read with a very happy ending.

We Are All Shipwrecks by Kelly Grey Carlisle

Kelly realized once she started school that her family wasn't like other families. Other families had a Mom and Dad and kids, while she lived with her Grandfather and his second wife. Other kids knew their parents, while Kelly's Mom was murdered when she was just 3 weeks old and her Father was in and out of jail. Other families had normal homes and jobs, while Kelly's Grandfather ran a porn shop and for most of her childhood they lived in a small boat in an Los Angeles harbor. Still while she was growing up Kelly idolized her Grandfather. He said he had served in WWII and ended up in a concentration camp, he knew lots of famous actors and musicians, and the reason he loved boats so much was because of his time in the Navy - but as an adult Kelly finds out most of her Grandfather's stories weren't true. So, who was Kelly's Grandfather? What really happened to her Mother? These are the questions Kelly struggles with as an adult once she realizes that she did grow up in a family of people who loved her and wanted the best for her even if they sometimes had a hard time showing it.

While Kelly's story is fascinating, I wish the book had been more 50/50 with her childhood and adulthood. It kind of felt like she jumped from high school over college and straight into being married and a mother herself dealing with these questions about her family. I would have liked more about how she was able to create a stable home life when she never had that for herself. I also wish she could have made contact with her Father as she found out he really did want a relationship with her and did love her Mother. Overall, a great memoir of a woman growing up in a crazy, dysfunctional family that manages to create the stable family she wished she had for her own children.

Homer: the ninth life of a blind wonder cat by Gwen Cooper

I LOVED Homer's Odyssey when it came out, so when I saw that there was a sequel I couldn't wait to see the next chapters of Homer's life. As Gwen Cooper explains, Homer's Odyssey covered 12 years and she felt like she didn't have enough content to make a second book equally long, so this is more of a "mini-sequel" that covers the time period after Homer's Odyssey was published and through his death at age 16. The first two chapters cover trying to get the book published and the media attention after it came out. The last two chapters are serious tear-jerkers that cover when Homer got sick and through his death. Homer was an amazing cat right up until the very end. He was diagnosed with kidney failure and not given any prognosis - his liver levels were so high he shouldn't have been alive at all - but he lived for another 4 months. It was very hard to read the second half because it was so sad and I just lost my 14 year old cat Roxy a little less than 3 months ago. But reading more Homer stories was great and as Cooper says in the introduction she got to relive all these Homer memories again while writing this mini-sequel. While definitely not as long, if you loved Homer's Odyssey make sure to read this follow up.

Sensing the Rhythm: finding my voice in a world without sound by Mandy Harvey

I first heard of Mandy Harvey when I saw the clip of her episode on America's Got Talent singing and playing the ukelele even though she's completely deaf. In this book she explains how she lost her hearing and how she managed to get back into music even with no hearing. Harvey was a music major in her first year of college when she suddenly started to lose her hearing and within a few months she was completely deaf. She went into a deep depression because music was her love and passion. Her father helped her try out singing again and she was able to continue singing through muscle memory, feeling music and vocal vibrations, and with help from a pitch app to make sure she gets and stays on pitch while singing. But, this is not the only adversity Harvey has overcome in her life - she had other physical and emotional struggles, including a failed marriage that helped shape her life and become the resilient person she is now. This is a very inspiring book about an amazing woman who's overcome a lot and revamped her dreams when the original dreams died.

Nomadland: surviving American in the twenty-first century by Jessica Bruder

Nomadland explores a unique segment of the US population - retirement age people who are essentially homeless, living in old RVs, vans or cars and traveling all over the US doing seasonal work and meeting up as a community of "vandwellers." While many people saw media coverage of the tent cities that popped up around the country during the 2008-9 recession full of out of work people who had been foreclosed on or evicted and were now homeless. While some of the vandwellers enjoy their lifestyle, most if not all were forced into this lifestyle and are now trying to make the best of it. Jessica Bruder buys a van to live out of for months at a time so she can truly get to know the vandweller culture and experience this lifestyle. Bruder interviews many people, but mainly follows Linda May, a woman in her late sixties who worked a variety of jobs in her lifetime, but yet couldn't seem to make ends meet paying rent, utilities, etc. but with no rent and much lower expenses she can work toward her dream of buying land and building an Earthship house one day. The most eye-opening part of this book for me was how many seasonal jobs are geared toward older adults as extra retirement income, but the reality is these people depend on these jobs and will probably never really be able to retire. Amazon is a huge recruiter of "camperforce," older people who have RVs/campers/vans to live out of and will travel to Amazon's huge warehouses as seasonal workers during the holiday rush between Thanksgiving and Christmas. This is extremely physical and demanding work that is needed round the clock. I also didn't know that many National Parks advertise for "campground hosts" who help rangers keep campsites clean, clean public showers and restrooms, and check in campers. While there's nothing wrong with either of these jobs, it just felt sad that many of these people can't find any other full-time work because of their age. It also felt somewhat predatory and while that shouldn't surprise me about a huge corporation like Amazon I guess it still does. This is a unique story about a hidden part of our population, but there is also just an undercurrent of sadness too. These people do have a genuine community and help each other, but there are many that fall through the cracks when they have a health crisis. Definitely a book I'll be thinking about for a long time.

Some quotes I really liked:

"Amazon had recruited these workers as part of a program it calls CamperForce: a labor unit made up of nomads who work as seasonal employees at several of its warehouses, which the company calls 'fulfillment centers,' or FCs. Along with thousands of traditional temps, they're hired to meet the heavy shipping demands of 'peak season,' the consumer bonanza that spans the three to four months before Christmas. Amazon doesn't disclose precise staffing numbers to the press, but when I casually asked a CamperForce manager at an Amazon recruiting booth in Arizona about the size of the program, her estimate was some two thousand workers [that was 2014]...The workers' shifts last ten hours or longer, during which some walk more than fifteen miles on concrete floors, stooping, squatting, reaching, and climbing stairs as they scan, sort, and box merchandise. When the holiday rush ends, Amazon no longer needs CamperForce and terminates the program's workers. They drive away in what managers cheerfully call a 'taillight parade.'" (p. 45)

[Talking about how physically demanding the Amazon temp work is on anyone, but especially older bodies] "Many of the RVs I entered [in CamperForce] were stocked like mobile apothecaries, with Icy Hot Pain Relieving Gel, tubs for soaking tired feet, Epsom salts, and bottles of Aleve and Advil. If the workers ran out of pills, that wasn't a problem - Amazon had wall-mounted dispensers offering free over-the-counter painkillers in the warehouse." (p. 55-6)

"Along with many of the wayfarers he came to inspire, Bob [Wells who created CheapRVLiving.com] saw things differently. He envisioned a future where economic and environmental upheavals had become the new American normal. For this reason, he didn't package nomadic living as a quick fix, something to tide folks over until society had stabilized, at which point they could reintegrate with the mainstream. Rather he aspired to create a wandering tribe whose members could operate outside of - or even transcend - the fraying social order: a parallel world on wheels." (p. 78-9)