Mother Swamp by Jesmyn Ward

Mother Swamp by Jesmyn Ward latches on to the psyche and won't let go. I couldn't stop thinking about this story. It enthralled me in ways I really didn't expect. The clinging to the old ways and the desire to break free battling in this story of survival demonstrate the lengths people will go to to survive and to propagate. When First Mother develops a plan to keep her lineage alive and follows through with it, it's a risk that starts a ritual that feels at once necessary, uncomfortable, and unsustainable. Ward writes beautifully of the world she creates in the woods and the relationship/non-relationship between the two communities with similar goals. Mother Swamp explores how rituals can become traditions that stymy the recognition of options to achieve goals with a subtly and brilliance that never get in the way of the story itself.




Check back soon for my thoughts on other books I'm reading including:


Positivity: Top Notch Research Reveals the 3-to-1 Ratio That Will Change Your Life by Barbara Fredrickson
Killing It on Kobo: Leverage Insights to Optimize Publishing and Marketing Strategies, Grow Global Sales and Increase Revenue on Kobo by Mark Leslie Lefebvre
Meditation: How to embrace mindfulness, inner peace, and happiness in life by Rafik Osker
A Certain Smile: The Donnelly Cabin Inn by Joanne Pence
This Has Everything To Do With My Life by Tony Haynes
Like the Heart, the World by Sage Cohen
Above the River: The Complete Poems by James Wright
The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook by Kristin Neff and Christopher Germer



Reviews will be posted as I finish these books. (Technically, I'm a few books behind on writing reviews right now, so I have already finished reading several of these.)


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