Remember

The importance of working on our relationships through the use of our memories is the premise of Remember by Karen Kingsbury. This book is the second in the author's Redemption series. This story focuses on Ashley, the middle daughter of the Baxter family, and her struggle to remember how to love fully. Four years after a humiliating experience in Paris that left her questioning whether God and others could continue to love her, Ashley turns to a special job working with Alzheimer's patients. Is it best to just live in the present or is it just as good to live in a time that is best remembered? The patients show her how humiliation tears down what we believe in and how love can bring one's faith back. Landon Blake plays a key role in Ashley's return to her faith in God, trust, and love. The story also continues telling of the recovery of her sister Kari from a struggle of her own which began in the first book. And, once again, many story lines are dropped and left unanswered so as to be developed in the later books of this series. The main themes of honor, first love, memories, trust, commitment, and straying from one's faith are found throughout this story. The story takes place during the September 11 tragedy and Kingsbury does a beautiful job weaving it into the characters' lives. I was at first leery of this being just another September 11 story, but it definitely was not. I especially liked how she told the story of the dedicated and loyal volunteers working all hours of the day and night just to find any remains of lost loved ones. I look forward to continuing the Redemption series, finding out how Luke will deal with his falling from faith, how Ashley will continue to rediscover her love of family, God and painting, and how the other sisters will use their individual strengths to begin new endeavors.

Redemption

Recently a friend recommended the Redemption Series by Karen Kingsbury. I decided to give it a try as I occasionally enjoy reading Christian fiction. The series is a collection of stories based on the fictional family of John and Elizabeth Baxter. Their five adult children grew up in a close knit, Christian family and have since found their separate ways in life. Each book is based on a different member of the family. The first book is Redemption. This story is based on the second daughter Kari and her husband Tim. The entire family is introduced, along with a few friends, many past memories, meaningful scripture, and several hints of stories yet to come. Kari and Tim's marriage has fallen apart due to an affair. But Kari refuses to divorce and stands true in her faith that marriage is "for better or for worse." Kari has a very strong belief that love is a decision. With much prayer, advice, and support from her family and pastor, Kari struggles through the challenges of mending her marriage and trusting her husband once again. Plot twists of past love, miscommunication, tests of faith, alcohol, and an unexpected pregnancy add to the complexity of the story. As I continued to read, I questioned if the book was going to have a nice tidy ending. To my surprise, the ending was just that... a surprise. And it left me wanting the next book in the series, which is now sitting next to me waiting to be read! The themes of forgiveness, love as a decision, family, and acceptance are all strong throughout the story. The Redemption Series was written by Karen Kingsbury with Gary Smalley to give readers a series of novels that would illustrate what God teaches about relationships. I am looking forward to reading more about the relationships in the Baxter family as I continue this series.

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou is an autobiographic account of the author's childhood. Focused on her formative years, age three to sixteen, Maya tells the story of growing up in Stamps, Arkansas, living with her mother in St. Louis for a short time, and living her teen years in California. Maya's life was not an easy one, but faith, family, and education gave her a better chance than most to succeed in a world that was extremely challenging for a negro female.

The fact that the adult American Negro female emerges a formidable character is often met with amazement, distaste and even belligerence. It is seldom accepted as an inevitable outcome of the struggle won by survivors and deserves respect if not enthusiastic acceptance. (p.265)

I read this book for the Banned Book Challenge of Pelham Library. It is a story that I have wanted to read since high school and an author that I have never read but felt a need to experience. I enjoyed this story and gained a new insight on the struggles of growing up under the severe prejudices of that time.

It would be true, the accusations that we were lower types of human beings. Only a little higher than the apes. True that we were stupid and ugly and lazy and dirty and, unlucky and worst of all, that God Himself hated us and ordained us to be hewers of wood and drawers of water, forever and ever, world without end. (p.131)

But Maya had a strong grandmother that instilled the importance of faith and education in her grandchildren from the beginning. Maya's mother instilled the importance of living life by hoping for the best, prepared for the worst, and unsurprised by anything in between. These, along with some very life changing experiences in her early life lead Maya into a determination to be a strong and independent woman.

So, why would this inspiring story be a banned book? Maya does not shy away from the views of prejudice in this book. She is open and honest about the ways prejudice affected her world. Also, there are very frank descriptions of a childhood rape and of her discovery of womanhood in the story. I sadly feel this could challenge some people's decision to allow the book on the shelves of their libraries.

Maya ends the book with some inspiring words from her mother: See, you don't have to think about doing the right thing. If you're for the right thing, then you do it without thinking.

The Undomestic Goddess

The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella gave me exactly what I needed most this weekend... a light-hearted, fast and fun book that had me laughing out loud while I was reading. Grinning from ear to ear, I enjoyed the adventures of Samantha and her change in occupation. I could relate to some of her "challenges", for I was once an undomestic person myself. I guess that is why I laughed so hard the first time she tried to use a washing machine or make a simple meal. And what would the story be without a handsome gardener who catches on the first time he sees her that she is a fake, and then catches her heart before she knows it. So can this big time lawyer make it as a housekeeper? Can she learn how to hoover a room? Will she ever learn the proper way to prepare chickpeas? Can she learn to survive without her BlackBerry? The story ends (of course) with a happy ending, but not without a few twists and turns first. I took special pleasure in watching Samantha find herself, deciding that she will no longer "be someone who doesn't look out the window", as she begins to see the simple pleasures of life and love around her.

a lotus grows in the mud

A Lotus Grows In The Mud by Goldie Hawn with Wendy Holden is an autobiography that reads more like a scrapbook of memories, lessons, and philosophy. It is not your ordinary biography by any means. It's a collection of Goldie Hawn's experiences, journeys, and "left-hand turns". She shares her views on family and on the various "obstacles" in her life's journey. Included in the story are poetry, quotes, photos, and several words of wisdom. The book is a happy one to read, but it occasionally made me wonder about the honesty in the "bubble of happiness" that she claims to be born with. Overall, the book is an enjoyable read and I especially liked the bits of wisdom by both Goldie and her father, Rut, that were shared throughout the journeys. The title is an interesting one and Goldie explains it in a postcard at the end of the book:

The lotus grows in the mud? What does that mean?

The lotus is the most beautiful flower, whose petals open one by one. But it will only grow in the mud. In order to grow and gain wisdom, first you must have the mud --- the obstacles of life and its suffering. ... The mud speaks of the common ground that humans share, no matter what our stations in life. ... Whether we have it all or we have nothing, we are all faced with the same obstacles: sadness, loss, illness, dying and death. If we are to strive as human beings to gain more wisdom, more kindness and more compassion, we must have the intention to grow as a lotus and open each petal one by one.