Book Review: Faraway and Forever-More Stories by Nancy Joie Wilkie

When it comes to reading and writing book reviews, I do have several genres I am drawn towards again and again. I like to read novels and memoirs. I like to read about various subjects from pop culture to politics and fashion to food. But it is rare that I read science fiction or about religion. And it’s even more rare when I read a book that crosses the genres of science fiction and religion. Perhaps that is why I was drawn to reading Nancy Joie Wilkie’s book Faraway and Forever: More Stories, a book that combines both science fiction and the issues of faith and Christianity. Reading and reviewing this book would get me out of my comfort zone.

Faraway and Forever: More Stories, is more than a collection of short stories. It is a collection of novelettes. In the opening novelette, “Once Upon a Helix,” the protagonist, Gunther Trent is the head of a program in search of extraterrestrial life. Unfortunately, Gunther is in a field that isn’t exactly popular. After being told by his assistant about a possible message beyond planet Earth, Gunther has a by chance meeting with a biologist named Catherine Arkette. Catherine has discovered former unknown nucleotide. Through this meeting both Gunther and Catherine find out their discoveries are actually related.

In the second novellette, “The Goldfire Project,” Edwards is dying of pancreatic cancer. But he is desperate to find a way to “live” despite being near death’s door. To live beyond his death, Edwards trying uploading his conscience into a computer. Through this, he meets Goldfire. Despite being artificial intelligence, Goldfire wants to experience what it’s like to be in Heaven. Edwards learns of Goldfire’s loneliness of being a mere computer. And he decides to backtrack on his treatment, and vows to bring Golffire back with him.

My favorite novelette, is probably the third installment, “Half the Sky.” In this novelette, Madison Mills is about to turn eighteen and leave the orphanage, which has raised her since she was very young. Madison lives on a planet called Prox. One side of of Prox, faces the sun, and the other side is in darkness. Madison’s father was from the sun side and her mother was from the shade side. Through a nun at the orphanage, Madison finds out her parents are still alive. Madison goes on a journey to find her parents and to seek out the reasons why they left her in an orphanage. Madison meets her mother, and the reunion does not go well. As for Madison’s father? Madison questions if it is worth to find him to learn more about her and her parents’ past.

The fourth novelette is called “Wishbringer.” In “Wishbringer,” a reporter named Jonathan visits another world where he meets a unique farmer who instead of planting corn or tomatoes, plants and harvests people’s wishes. Jonathan decides to plant a wish. However, the outcome doesn’t exactly meet Jonathan’s standards, and he’s desperate to undo this wish of his. Yes, be careful what you wish for; you just might get it.”

The final novelette is called “The Last Sunday of Summer. ” Summer is not the season, she is the protagonist who lives on the colony planet Solus II. The Catholic church is no longer as powerful when a new religion based on gossip that a new Christ is to revisit the old Earth. This new religion apparently has a much different gospel. A nun is murdered when she gets involved over a religious text. It is up to Summer to deliver the religious text to Vatican Prime, the text being hearsay on Solus II.

Wilkie’s stories are intriguing and thoughtful. I definitely kept thinking about these characters and their situations long after I finished reading the novelettes. And I liked the way Wilkie was able to combine both science and religion, especially in a time when both topics are considered to be diametrically opposed. I believe Faraway and Forever: More Stories is an ideal book for people who are interested in worlds beyond their scope and how it can combine with faith.

Book Review: Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner

In Jennifer Weiners expansive novel Mrs. Everything, she tells the intricate tale of two very different sisters and their lives change, diverge, and merge together from the staid and sober 1950s through the upheaval of the 1960s and 1970s and onto the modern day.

Meet the Kaufman sisters, Josette (Jo) and Elizabeth (Bethie). Despite being related, Joe and Bethie couldn’t be any more dissimilar. Jo is a tomboy who loves to tell wild tales and dreams of travel and adventure. Bethie is pretty and charming. She loves singing and acting in both school and temple productions, and seems destined to be the proper wife and mother.

But as they grow older and come of age, Jo and Bethie’s lives take completely contradictory paths. Jo gets married, has three girls, and tries to be the proper and contented suburban housewife. Meanwhile, Bethie goes off the rails, gets involved in the counterculture, and ends up living in a commune.

Jo and Bethie’s story begins in the 1950s where they are being raised by their widowed mother in Detroit. Both have deep, dark secrets. Jo is a lesbian and she is trying desperately to keep this hidden. And Bethie is being molested by a very sleazy uncle.

It’s when both girls go to college their lives take unexpected twists and turns. Jo has an affair with the love of her life, Shelly, who later breaks Jo’s heart when she marries a man. Jo gets involved in the civil rights movement and other social issues. After graduation, she wants to be a world traveler. Bethie, on the other hand, finds flirting and having a boyfriend more important than studying and getting good grades. And she becomes quite the campus party girl.

But tragedy hits Bethie when she is brutally raped and ends up pregnant. Jo, who is now traveling overseas, cuts her vacation short, comes back to the States, and helps Bethie procure an illegal abortion. This becomes a secret that must remain only with the sisters.

As the 1960s turn into the 1970s, the Kaufman sisters’ live take on more disparate turns. Despite being gay, Jo marries a man, has three daughters, and struggles to find contentment in suburbia. Bethie is fully entrenched in the counterculture, belongs to a commune, but finds success selling homemade jam.

The go-go yuppie 1980s arrive, and both Jo and Bethie discover they have an entrepreneurial spirit. Jo has started teaching the neighborhood ladies fitness routines and aerobics. Bethie goes from the counterculture to boss babe when her jam making business takes off.

Jo and Bethie’s personal lives also go through some changes. Jo finds out her husband is cheating on her with one of her (former) best friends, and goes through a very messy divorce. And Bethie finally settles down with an old high school friend. However, she and her husband do face some hostility due to Bethie being white and Jewish, and her husband being Black and the son of a preacher.

As the 1990s and the 21st century come around, the Kaufman sisters are still facing challenges but all come to grips with their lives and the women they have become. Jo may even find love again with someone from her past, and Bethie’s marriage is in it for the long haul.

For the most part, I appreciated how Weiner captured the changing lives of women from the 1950s to the modern age through the lives of Jo and Bethie. However, I do have one quibble. The section that takes place when both sisters are at college was really off. I wasn’t around in 1962, but I hardly think boys back then were wearing their hair past their shoulders, girls were adorned in hippie-like outfits, people were protesting the Vietnam War, and hard drugs ran rampant. These scenarios seemed more out of the late 1960s, than the early 1960s. This was a glaring misstep on Weiner’s part.

Still, Mrs. Everything is a very engrossing read with two very fascinating characters.

Book Review: The Social Climber by Amanda Pellegrino

Social Climber: One who attempts to gain a higher social position or acceptance in fashionable society.-Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Eliza Bennett appears to live the ideal life. She has a glamorous career with a New York PR agency. Her closet is filled with designer frocks. She works out at the best boutique health clubs. And she lives in a gorgeous penthouse apartment with her fiancé Graham Walker who comes from very rich old money family. Their high society wedding is just a week away.

So what’s the catch? Well, Eliza isn’t exactly what she claims to be, and some much of this unfolds in Amanda Pellegrino’s delicious novel The Social Climber. And as this story unfolds, people in Eliza’s well-heeled circle aren’t exactly what they seem either.

Unlike Graham, Eliza did not grow up wealthy and privileged. She grew up quite the opposite. Born Elizabeth, Eliza came from a deeply religious and some would say backward farming family. Money was tight, and Eliza was often clothed in hand-me-downs and poorly fitting clothing sewn by her mother. Mostly homeschooled, Eliza dreamed of a better life and this comes to fruition when she goes to Covenant College.

Now Covenant College is hardly Berkeley. It’s ultra religious and very conservative. There is a slew of rules and regulations the students must abide by or else they will receive demerits. Of course, the students do find away to have their fun. Eliza’s roommate is Ruthie. By Covenant’s standards, Ruthie is a bit of a rebel. But she and Eliza become true blue friends. Ruthie helps Eliza break out of her shell, and her less than stylish wardrobe. Eliza does well academically, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t get up to all kinds of merrymaking-partying, drinking, smoking weed, and losing her virginity. But the fun and games end when Ruthie disappears. Eliza is crushed, not knowing what has happened to her bestie. Will she ever know?

Years later, Eliza is kicking ass and taking names in the Big Apple. She’s made the best connections, and has a big rock on her left hand. But she is still haunted by Ruthie’s disappearance, and has something up her designer sleeve. Hmm, could it be revenge?

The Social Climber’s chapters take turns telling of Eliza’s background and college life at Covenant and the current time leading up to her wedding to Graham. Though Eliza is desperate to hide her past even though she’s gone to great lengths to ingratiate herself to the upper crust, and appears to move in their circles nearly seamlessly. Yet, as the wedding date approaches, Eliza soon realizes there is something not quite right with the family she’s marrying into, and possibly her fiancé, Graham. And in the end, there was a twist that I did not see coming.

Though Eliza is probably not the most upfront protagonist you’ll come across, you are compelled to learn more about her and how her story plays out. And though at first The Social Climber comes across as just another chick lit book, it ends up being a very satisfying thriller.

Reading to Reels: Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret

It’s been over fifty years since the Judy Blume classic book Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret was released to making it to the silver screen. And I’m telling you; it’s well worth the wait.

Not surprisingly, Judy Blume was a bit hesitant about making Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret into a film. And I can’t blame her. This book is a touchstone for generations of women and girls covering topics like wanting to fill out a bra, worrying about getting your first period, religion, family, school, and discovering boys. The film adaptation had to be made with the right touch, and with director Kelly Fremon Craig, and a wonderful cast it has.

When the film version of Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret begins, 11-year-old Margaret Simon (Abby Ryder Forston) is finishing up summer camp and going to back to her parents, Barbara (Rachel McAdams) and Herb (Benny Safdie),in New York City. But there is a surprise in store for Margaret. Due to her father’s job, the Simon family is packing up and moving from the hustle and bustle of the Big Apple to the bucolic suburbs of New Jersey. Margaret is horrified. She’s going to miss the city, her friends, and her devoted bubbe Sylvia Simon (Kathy Bates).

Just as the Simon family is settling in their new home, Margaret is befriended by neighbor girl, Nancy Wheeler (Elle Graham). It turns out Margaret and Nancy will be attending the same sixth grade class at the local elementary school. Nancy wants Margaret to join a super duper secret club along with new friends Gretchen Potter (Katherine Kupferer) and Janie Loomis (Amari Alexis Price). This secret club has quite a few rules, including not wearing socks, which causes Margaret to get some painful blisters.

Margaret and Nancy, along with Gretchen and Janie, are all in the same sixth grade class. Their teacher is Mr. Benedict (Echo Kellum), and the girls are thrilled to find Philip Leroy (Zack Brooks), a total grade school hottie is in their class. They all have a crush on him. But sadly, the girls also slut shame Laura Danker (Isol Young) for developing earlier than the other girls. There are horrible rumors that Laura lets the older boys have their way with her, and unfortunately the girls believe them.

While traversing the trials and tribulations of sixth grade, Margaret and her friends deal with the various growing pains of getting older. Nancy tells the girls they all must wear a bra to be in the club, and yes, they all chant, “We must, we must. We must increase our bust!” I wanted to get up in the theater and shout at the screen, “Stop! Don’t do that. It doesn’t work. Believe me, I’ve tried!”

The girls worry about getting their periods and once they do, they must tell the others exactly what it’s like. In one funny scene, Margaret and Janie (who want to be prepared for when the time comes), buy pads at the drugstore and nearly die from embarrassment when a teenage boy rings up their packages of “Teenage Softies.”

And yes, the girls are also obsessed with the opposite sex. They get a gander at the male anatomy by looking Gretchen’s doctor father’s anatomy books. And they wonder if they’ll ever be stacked as the playmates in Margaret’s father’s copies of Playboy so they can attract boys. As previously mentioned, all the girls crush on Philip Leroy. And when Margaret is kissed twice by Philip during a party game she is on cloud nine. Sadly, Philip acts like a jerk and later makes fun of Margaret’s small boobs.

Religion is also a central theme of Are You There, God” It’s Me, Margaret, and it’s one Margaret muses on for a year long research assignment given by Mr. Benedict. Margaret was raised without religion, yet has frequent talks with God. Her parents are of different faiths. Her mother was raised in a Christian home, and her father is Jewish. Barbara Simon is pretty much estranged from her parents for marrying a Jew. And though Sylvia at first wasn’t too thrilled with Herb marrying a shiksa, she does come around and is a devoted grandmother to Margaret.

Margaret decides to examine various religions. She goes to temple with Sylvia. She attends separate church services with Janie and Nancy. She even follows Laura Danker to confession at a Catholic parish. And Margaret continues to talk to God. Sure, she asks for bigger boobs, but she also wants to know is she Jewish? Is she Catholic? All of this leaves Margaret with more questions than answers. And when things come to blows when her maternal grandparents come for a visit, you heart breaks for young Margaret.

As the movie commences, Margaret has finished sixth grade and is looking forward to junior high and is about to go to summer camp. She has learned a lot and yet, has so much more to learn. And spoiler alert. Margaret gets her period.

Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret is completely delightful. I really appreciated that this movie sticks with its early 1970s timeline long before smart phones, Netflix, the internet, and doing dances on Tik Tok. Everything from the clothing to the furniture to the music is faithful to the time period. All the performances ring true. Kathy Bates is a treasure as Sylvia Simon. But Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret is truly Abby Ryder Forston’s film. She just embodies Margaret, endearing, awkward and oh, so relatable. And if you see this movie, keep your eyes peeled. The Judy Blume shows up as an extra.

Book Review: Factory Girls by Michelle Gallen

Meet Maeve Murray. In Michelle Gallen’s novel Factory Girls, it is 1994 and Maeve lives in a small town in Northern Ireland. She has just graduated from high school, and is anxiously awaiting her exam results. Maeve has big dreams to escape her small town, move to London, and study journalism at university.

But before she can do all that, Maeve needs to find a job. She, along with her best mates, Caroline and Aoife, gets a summer job at the local shirt factory. Maeve’s job is hardly glamorous, and it’s a million miles away from a career in journalism. Maeve is going to be ironing shirts at the factory all day. But she’s happy to make some money, and soon she and Caroline get their very own flat.

At the helm of the shirt factory is the very posh Andy Strawbridge. You know he’s posh because he drives a fancy Jag. Being Irish and Catholic, Maeve is a bit leery of the British and Protestant Andy. Plus, Andy has a bit of a reputation for being a total letch.

Andy seems to find some promise in Maeve, or maybe he’s just trying to get into her knickers. He does gift her with the Dale Carnegie classic book, How to Win Friends and Influence People. Maeve takes the book. Maybe Andy wants to mentor her. But at the same time she wonders if he has lasciviousness designs on her.

Working at the shirt factory is the first time Maeve finds herself working and conversing with Protestants. She has always lived among Catholics and went to Catholic schools. Protestants might as well have been from Mars according to Maeve. Remember. This is 1990s Northern Ireland. The Troubles were still brewing, and Catholics and Protestants often kept among themselves. And violence was a regular occurrence. So one can’t blame Maeve for being a bit wary of her Protestant co-workers. Though it isn’t long before Maeve realizes she has more in common with these Protestants than she originally thought, and they may have to join forces when things come a bit upended at the shirt factory.

And then there is the Murray family. Maeve and her family are still mourning the tragic death of Deidre, Maeve’s older sister who committed suicide. Deeply saddened, Maeve’s Mam (mother) and Da (father) are also racked by a serious lack of money, and they aren’t exactly supportive of Maeve’s ambition.

During this summer, Maeve starts to grow up a bit and she starts to see there is a lot o grey when it comes to the strict black and white between Catholics and Protestants, and the Irish and the English. She begins the notices the class differences between herself and her friend, Aoife, who comes from a much more well to do family. Maeve deals with family strife, unrequited love, and workplace shenanigans. quite a lot for someone who is still a teenager.

And then there is Maeve’s eagerly awaited exam results. Will her results be favorable and she’ll end up at university? Or will her results me dismal and she’ll be stuck in her small town working a shite job with no future. Scary how so much is dependent on these exam results.

Maeve Murray is an interesting lass with a lot of layers. One moment she’s a partying teenager, drinking to much and cussing up a storm. And then she’s a struggling young woman who seems to have the whole world on her shoulders. But still she’s a protagonist one roots for.

Now one warning. There is a lot of Irish slang is this book that I wasn’t too familiar with. So thanks to O’Lord McGoogle, I was able to look up some Irish slang. FYI-craic means “a good time,” Prods are Protestants and Taigs are Catholics, and weans are children. Also, if you’re not familiar of the Troubles, I highly recommend doing so research.

Factory Girls takes place in 1994, but I can’t help but wonder where Maeve Murray and her mates are nearly thirty years later. Is Maeve a globe-trotting journalist? Is she still friends with Caroline and Aoife? Is Maeve married? Does she have children? I do think a sequel is necessary.

Book Review: Karma-A Yogi’s Guide to Crafting Your Destiny by Sadhguru

Karma. It’s a word we’re familiar with but what does it mean? To me, karma has to do with our actions and how they affect our lives, either good or bad.

According to Sadhguru, yogi, mystic, and founder of the Isha Institute, karma is a bit more complex. And he tries to explain this in his book Karma: A Yogi’s Guide to Crafting Your Destiny.

In Karma, Sadhguru describes destiny as “action or imprint of action, which remains within us.”

For over 250 exhausting pages, Sadhguru goes more in depth about various aspects of karma and how we get wrapped up in it. Karma, apparently, affects us in ways that goes beyond the simple concepts of reward and punishment.

Knowing about karma is supposed to empower us to reach a desired destination. The concepts are supposed to be easily understood. But are they?

Though karma is praised by the likes of Tom Brady, Deepak Chopra, and Rosanna Arquette, I could not get into this book. I found Karma to be repetitive and arrogant. It may have been more feasible if it was a magazine article. And maybe I couldn’t get into it because I’m not Hindu.

However, the “crafting” in the title reminded me I need to get back into crafting.

Book Review: Educated by Tara Westover

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A fan of The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls I was looking forward to reading Tara Westover’s book Educated, another memoir about rising above and beyond a hardscrabble childhood.

And let me state this: I read The Glass Castle. I know The Glass Castle. I even met Jeannette Walls at an author event. And believe me Educated is no The Glass Castle.

Born and raised in Buck’s Peak, Idaho, Tara Westover was the youngest of her mother and father’s seven children.

To say Westover’s childhood was less than typical is an understatement. Her parents, Gene and Faye (pseudonyms), strived to live off the grid, isolated from society. They shunned the government, doctors, and public schools. Instead, they treated ailments with homemade cures often using essential oils and tincture. And Faye homeschooled her brood in a very haphazard manner.

Still, as a child, Westover desired a more normal life. She wanted to go to school and get involved in activities other kids her age were involved in. Her father forbid her going to school to get some “book learning.” Yet, somehow Westover was allowed music lessons and ended up playing lead in a local production of the musical ” Annie.”

Getting involved in local theater and hanging out with kids from more “normal” backgrounds opened up new worlds for Westover. Yet, her family, for the most part, weren’t very impressed with Westover’s theatrical pursuits. Especially her father who put the kibosh on his daughter going to school.

Fortunately, Westover had an older brother, Tyler, who encouraged his little sister to envision a life beyond Buck’s Peak. Incidentally, Tyler escaped Buck’s Peak and achieved an education, including a Ph.D.

Sadly, Westover had another brother Shawn who was very abusive both physically and emotionally. He even shoved her head in a toilet!

Because of her lack of formal schooling (and needing to escape her dysfunctional family), Westover chose to educate herself. She scored very high on the ACT and was admitted into Brigham Young University.

BYU was like going to another planet for the sheltered Westover. Until then she never had heard of the Holocaust among other historical moments.

Westover also had a hard time adjusting to her peers and their different ways. And at times she was quite judgemental towards them.

Yet, she did bond with a few of her classmates and professors. Many of them supported and mentored her, often getting her out of a sticky situation.

Westover excels as an undergrad, which gives her a chance to study at England’s prestigious Cambridge University and Harvard later achieving her very own Ph.D.

Still, Buck’s Peak beckoned, and Westover found herself going back despite her family’s extreme dysfunction. Her brother Shawn had become even more abusive, especially towards his wife and children. And Westover’s parents were busy with their successful essential oils business.

Educated started out strong with a powerful narrative of Westover’s troubled upbringing.

But once she got to BYU, her story began to fall flat and sparked my cynicism. At times there were plot holes so big you could drive a semi through them.

Westover claims her family lived as survivalist yet they had modern convienences like TVs, computers, Internet access, and cell phones.

The family has horrific accidents and injuries, yet never receive proper medical care.

Westover gets away with things in college most students would not. And professors, classmates, boyfriends, and roommates bend over backwards for her. Not too mention a lot of her success seems to fall in her lap. She isn’t that brilliant.

And though she did get scholarships, I wondered where she got the money to pay for rent, bills, food, travel, and other assorted amenities.

I was also bothered by her refusing to report Shawn to the authorities. She definitely had the power to do so.

Though Educated is a compelling read, I found Westover to be humorless and cold. And I didn’t appreciate her lack of gratitude or her lack of paying it forward.

Thank goodness there are vastly superior memoirs I’ve enjoyed over the years, many I’ve reviews at this very blog.

Book Review: The View from Flyover Country-Dispatches from the Forgotten America by Sarah Kedzior

When not being ignored by the two coasts, flyover country is being celebrated as where the “real Americans” live, usually by conservative pundits. And to these pundits, real Americans are defined as white and for the most part living in the suburbs or rural areas who define themselves as conservative Christians.

But not so fast, living in flyover country, I know we are a much more diverse bunch and so does Sarah Kedzior, which she sums up in her collection of essays The View from Flyover Country-Dispatches from the Forgotten America.

A reporter for Al Jazeera America and residing in St. Louis, Missouri, Kedzior’s essays focus on such thorny topics as race, income inequality, the friction among generations, education, foreign policy, the media, women’s issues and so much more.

Kedzior starts off The View from Flyover Country with an introduction rolling out what her collection of essays is all about, giving the reader a clear idea on what to expect among its six parts.

In Part One, Flyover Country, Kedzior defines flyover country and topics such as how expensive cities are killing creatives and hipster economics.

Part Two, Post-Employments, explains issues of survival, how workers are paying a steep price, zilch opportunities and how sometimes these issues make people do extreme things like lighting themselves on fire.

Race and religion define Part Three, where Kedzior writes about the tragedy of Trayvon Martin’s murder, Black Lives Matter, and what happened in Ferguson in the wake of Mike Brown being gunned down by police.

In Part Four Kedzior examines the broken promise of a higher education, and how school debt has crippled countless smart, hard-working and talented graduates. She also decries the deplorable pay of adjunct professors who work tirelessly to educate our students.

Part Five is a careful examination of our media and how gaining access seems to be only available to the well-connected elite (don’t I know it!) and the problem of fringe media in the Internet age.

Foreign policy makes up Part Six when it comes to gender, Edward Snowden, the situation in Iraq and basic human rights.

Finally, Kedzior sums things up with a standout essay on the importance of complaining. If people didn’t complain, women wouldn’t have the right to vote, black people would still be at the back of the bus, and gay people wouldn’t be able to marry those they love.

While reading The View Flyover Country, I marked several pages with post-it notes and wrote down some key quotes and passages in my well-worn notebook. Kedzior writes in a down-to-earth way with smarts and clarity. She truly cares about these issues and implores us to also care about them.

The View from Flyover Country is a treasure of a book and is ideal for both the college classroom and book discussion groups everywhere.

Book Review: Braving the Wilderness-The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone by Brené Brown PhD, LMSW

I first head of Dr. Brené Brown when she was mentioned during a sermon at my church, First Union Society of Milwaukee several years ago. Intrigued, I decided to read Brown’s books and check out her now classic TED talk on “The Power of Vulnerability.” I’m now a huge fan of Brown’s work so I was only too happy to read and review Brown’s book Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone. *

Braving the Wilderness is about being courageous enough to strip us off all pretenses and face an often critical world being our true, authentic selves. It’s also a reminder that by doing this we might find ourselves standing alone is ways that may make us uncomfortable. To do this Brown gives us four practices to guide us, which include.

1. People are Hard to Hate Close Up. Move In.
2. Speak Truth to BS. Be Civil.
3. Hold Hands. With Strangers.
4. Strong Back. Soft Front. Wild Heart.

After several chapters summing of the context of Braving the Wilderness, which includes stories about Brown’s personal stories of a rough childhood and several notable luminaries, we get into the crux of the book.

The practices Brown advises are clear as can be. We often hate what we don’t know, especially people we deem as “others” so it’s important to move in and get to know then as living human beings. However, sometimes we must speak out when other tell lies, just don’t be a jerk about it. Don’t be afraid to extend a hand to someone you don’t know, and finally have a back bone, a compassionate soul and a heart that is brave enough to survive the rough and wild world out there.

In print, this seems easy, but in actual practice they might be quite difficult. So thank goodness for Brown’s wisdom in imparting her advice throughout Braving the Wilderness using her gifts as a storyteller and academic. She touches on the issues that divide us, but also reflects on issues that unite us.

While reading Braving the Wilderness I often found myself nodding my head, saying to myself, “Yes, I get this. This is my truth!” And at times I was faced with passages that challenged me in ways where I had to put down the book a take several moments to reflect on Brown’s words. I also read passages I wanted to revisit once I finished reading Braving the Wilderness long after I finished it, which is obvious from all the post-it notes I placed in my copy.

I must admit I was a bit hesitant in writing my review of Braving the Wilderness. I was afraid I’d come across an over-enthusiastic fan girl of Brown’s or this review might be more of a marketing piece than a legitimate review. I also didn’t want to give away too much of the book’s content either. It is a book that should be read and savored as personal experience.

Most of all Braving the Wilderness is a very important book in our modern age of “MAGA cap wearing deplorables” and “pussy hat wearing snowflakes.” We are so polarized. Is there a way we can become less “Us vs. Them” and more “We the People?” A very timely book, Braving the Wilderness is just one soothing and wise elixir that might make that possible.

*Braving the Wilderness is currently being sold at the Book Tower in the Common Room at First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee.

Book Review: Voices From the Rust Belt – Edited by Anne Trubek

Just what is the Rust Belt? In simple terms it stretches from Milwaukee to Buffalo with cities like Chicago, Detroit, Flint, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh inbetween, cities that were once known as vibrant communities of manufacturing that have fallen on hard times but are trying to recapture their former glory. The Rust Belt is also a place I call home.

Sometimes romanticized,sometimes looked down upon, and often ignored, the Rust Belt is a place rich in history and tales so I was only to happy to find Voices from the Rust Belt, a collection of essays by people of all kinds who deftly write about what it is like to live in the Rust Belt.

After a brief introduction, which describes what is the Rust Belt and why it matters, Voices from the Rust Belt is divided into four parts.

1. Growing Up
2. Day to Day in the Rust Belt
3. Geography of the Heartland
4. Leaving and Staying

I pretty much loved all the essays written by talented women and men of all kinds. Some stories I could relate and others opened my eyes to experiences completely foreign to me. These stories are written by journalists, immigrants, students, artists, business owners, activists and working stiffs of all kinds who call the Rust Belt home. Nearly every one of theses writers impressed me and I was thrilled to find brief bios of the writers, which gave me further insight to these people beyond their written words. I also pondered what it would be like to see a well-made documentary on the Rust Belt – Ken Burns, I’m looking in your direction.

If I have any quibbles with Voices from the Rust Belt it is there is no voice from Milwaukee. Hmm, maybe in the sequel.