| A Cottage by the Sea |
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 This is the third in Macneal’s mystery series set in World War II London, and as in the case, Germany. Each one has been a good read with an endings not quite as I’d expect. Maggie Hope doesn’t quite pull it all together and live happily ever after, but she is heading in a positive direction. Her complicated family, as well as her varied group of friends, continue to pull out of difficulties and move on.
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 What a great story, this sequel to Bear Town. Be sure to read them in order, and be sure to read them. Backman gets under the skin of each character and then weaves parts of their stories together. By under the skin I mean the honesty of human beings beyond the surface. And with this the level of my compassion for all people reaches a new bar, because being brought up to ‘be nice’ implied that I not scratch the surface of human longing, fear, anger, and other ‘negative’ possibilities.  If you are white and ready to understand and confront how your history as a white, privileged person is complicate in creating racism, read this book. Debby describes how her upbringing perpetuated while power, and asks us to honestly look at how our own has done the same. But that’s not all we must do. We must keep observing how our conditioned behavior continues to be racist, and then work on ways to change the story. This is tough work. Breaking Free, How I Escaped Polygamy, the FLDS Cult, and My Father, Warren Jeffs, by Rachel Jeffs6/25/2018  Wendell Barry says that we have to imagine people lives that are not like ours. I certainly can’t imagine the polygamist life Rachel Jeffs lived until she walked away from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Her riveting, honest, and courageous tale ends with hope. It is a ME TOO book extraordinaire. Breaking Free fills me with compassion. Although Jeffs describes a life quite unlike mine, I am human enough to feel deep compassion, and, as I keep reminding myself, that is why I keep reading.  I may not agree with all the decisions Jim Comey made along the way, but I came away believing that he is an honest man. He loves his country and always tried to do the right thing. I hope there is still some place for him in public life. His reporting of his personal conversations with President Trump are fascinating, not as windows into Comey, but into Trump. As far as I’m concerned, I learned nothing new; rather I received confirmation that Trump is narcissistic and a dictator.  This book will definitely make my top ten list for 2018. As the daughter of Ann Richards, governor of Texas, Cecile Richards learned early to seize opportunity after opportunity to work for freedom for all human beings. As president of Planned Parenthood she repeatedly demonstrated deep compassion for the basic rights for women. This memoir is serious, humorous, hopeful, and provocative . Hmm, if a woman is on the ballot, I will be hard pressed not to vote for her. This would be making good trouble.  This story, set in the 13th century during Rumi’s life, and in 21st century America, gave me compassion for women and men, no matter what the century. My first vote for compassion, however, goes to Muslim women, with the men coming in a close second. Such strict rules for the sexes. If you don’t follow them, you’re emotionally or physically dead. That being said, The Forty Rules of Love is a compelling story, with insights into the life and times of Rumi, and interspersed with a contemporary love story. The forty rules of love are there, but get lost in the narrative.  What compassion did I glean from this latest novel from one of my favorite authors? I ask that question to remind myself that during this time of political unrest my purpose in reading is to gain compassion, to gain understanding of the Other, and to give me hope. This book didn’t disappoint me in living into my goal. Compassion for the immigrant, whether legal or not; for what they left behind and what they have entered into. Many come here just to stay alive. Most have left hardship, terror, poverty, corruption, and truth be told, they find the same here. But, in the midst of this, Allende weaves threads of love, friendship, caring and hope.  Good read. Contemporary setting of white privilege, but behind the greed and ‘me first’ these people are human beings. I felt compassion for some more than others, but as the story continued, I came to care for even the most despicable (in my opinion) characters. Isn’t this what we are called to do in life? Love our enemies!  Elizabeth Smart is all about compassion. She is a household name to many of us. We recall from the news her horrendous abduction in 2003 and miraculous release nine months later. However, I trust that many of us, including myself, are not aware of what a amazing woman Elizabeth has become; in no particular order, a mother, wife, harpist, equestrian, writer and advocate of hope. www.elizabethsmart.com/ For this book Elizabeth interviewed people who had remained hopeful after experiencing terrible tragedies in their lives. She tells their stories and shares what keeps them going. In the midst she weaves her own heartrending story and the hope that sustained her then and that remains with her today. Although it is clear that Elizabeth’s strong Mormon faith and close family are the foundation of hope for her, she does not evangelize. This is a book for people of all faith traditions, and for those who take other paths. |
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