Reviews with TLC

I really wanted to love She Persisted by Chelsea Clinton, but I have to admit I only liked it. I saw a fundamental flaw with it in that she equates persistence with not taking no for an answer by opening and closing the books with phrases about not taking no for an answer. How can we be teaching that no means no on the one hand and that we shouldn't take no for an answer on the other hand?  There are far too many people who have used this attitude in harmful ways. If we want men to take no for an answer, then we, as women, have to also be careful about how we teach persistence.  I think it's important to teach persistence and to demonstrate how women have had to overcome doubters and those who refused them so much as a chance.  When I got past Clinton's focus on the phrasing of not taking no for an answer, I found the stories of the women who persisted and refused to be shut down inspiring and interesting. If I were reading this to a child, I would skip times she used ...

The Last Cut by Josh Armstrong is a short story filled with layers of emotion in which Armstrong managed to remind me the importance of human connection, the importance of reaching out, and the importance of communication. As Carmen cuts Jude's hair, he talks about his plans to commit suicide. Carmen becomes involved in the conversation and as their connection grows, she begins to feel a shift within herself. All throughout the story, I kept wondering whose last cut it really was... The Last Cut left me feeling connected to both Jude and Cameron as their stories unfolded in a way that reminded me just how interconnected we all are and much we can influence one another, whether for the better or the worse is up to each of us to decide.

Write the Town 2016: Poem from Sites in Salem, Oregon by Poets of the Mid-Valley Poetry Society is a short collection filled with poems that offer a taste of Salem, Oregon through the eyes of several poets who participated in Write the Town. The chapbook is divided into sections based on the sites the poets visited to find inspiration over the Summer of 2016. Reading Write the Town reads like a tour of Salem through the eyes of several quite talented poets. Some poems spoke to me on a deeper level than others but all the poems offered unique perspectives. I enjoyed reading Write the Town 2016 and look forward to Write the Town 2017. Limited number of copies available at  CC Willow Art Etsy Store .

I bought Borrowed Time: An AIDS Memoir by Monette because it was recommended by a class on AIDS I was taking as research for a book I'm writing. I thought the book might help me better understand the AIDS patient and even AIDS itself. Monette tells a story that is a heartbreaking mix of love, family, and loss. Not just the loss of his life partner but loss of a way of being in the world. He demonstrates eloquently the devastation fear wreaks when knowledge is minimal while showing the immense power of love to hold people together. At times, Monette's self-deprecation felt a bit too much, but it showed a glimpse into how insecurities can push us to both our best and our worst. He talked with graphic detail about the physical havoc AIDS brought not only to the bodies of those who suffer with it but to the lives and the communities where AIDS became such an accepted part of life that people talked about when instead of if. Monette talks about his and the gay community's res...

Death Makes No Deals by David L. Hoof offers the reader a nonnegotiable deal filled with intrigue, suspicion, and complicated relationships. Hoof’s characters feel like someone you could meet at your favorite coffee shop or strike up a conversation with in a bar and never guess the depths of the secrets they hold, the struggles they face, or the world they live in all while assuming far too much in common or far too many differences. Death Makes No Deals coaxes the reader to accept that humans have a tendency to create a reality we can accept even when everything around us screams our reality is little more than fantasy. Hoof aptly demonstrates that the past will haunt the present and both will inform the future based on our interpretations and decisions. Death Makes No Deals is filled with deadly deals that demonstrate the power of death over the living. Note: This review is based on an unedited ARC provided by the author.

Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver parallels flights taken for preservation by juxtaposing a housewife's need to spread her wings with the migration of Monarch butterflies. Kingsolver demonstrates the feeling of not belonging in one's own life through Dellarobia's interactions and internal thoughts and the exploration of what would cause the Monarch butterfly to overwinter in an area that could cause its extinction rather than its usual habitat. My heart ached for Dellarobia as the lack of real communication combined with financial hardship complicates every part of her life. Kingsolver brings the consequences of changing environments to the forefront in this exploration of migration patterns, climate change, self-discovery, and life changes. Interspersed throughout Flight Behavior is the conflict between religious beliefs and science in both Dellarobia's life and community. Flight Behavior creates a microcosm of the world in which we live demonstrating how inte...

Lift Off: From the Classroom to the Stars by Donovan Livingston is a small book with quite an impact. The words of Livingston take us on a journey through the history and the importance of education. Lift Off reminds us that the way we change the world is through education that teaches us where we came from, so we know where we're going. As I read I couldn't help but think about how important it is that we get education right, that we stop playing politics with education, and that we give all children an equal chance at an education that prepares them for the future. Lift Off inspires in its honesty and its hope. Note: Lift Off was a spoken word poem given by Donovan Livingston as the convocation at Harvard Graduate School of Education in May 2016. Below is the video if you'd like to watch it.