Beautiful Affliction Lene Fogelberg

Beautiful Affliction is the story of Lene’s struggle to get help with her medical condition. IN her native Sweden her claims of ill health are dismissed, but when she moved to the United States when her husband takes a new job she is given a fresh start to try to find the answers to her problem. The story is one of courage, love and fear and persistence as Lene and her family journey though the darkness and uncertainty of her illness. It made me laugh, and hope, and cheer, and cry. An emotional roller coaster. I must note that I found her description of the Wild Mouse at Hershey park particularly detailed and correct having made the mistake of riding it with my son and reading her recollection of the ride had me laughing and remembering my own wild ride. A touching story told beautifully.

Satisfaction by Andee Reilly

Bree and Ginny kick up their heels and follow the stones from concert to concert while they take a break from life.  Ginny is at a point in her life where she wants to make major changes, but once they come she is at a loss.  Bree knows she needs to reevaluate her life and face her obligations, but she is not quite ready to make those changes so a road trip becomes a way for her to have a last hurrah of sorts.  Ginny and Bree have an instant connection and a lot of fun while they figure out the next step.

The Legacy of Us Kristin Contino

A beautiful story of mothers, daughters, love and family.  Liz is heartbroken when her grandmother passes away unexpectedly.  Along with her mother Lilly she and her sisters must say goodbye in their own ways and carry their grandmother forever in their hearts.  Liz is given her grandmother’s desk which seems  less than wonderful compared to her sister Cate’s diamond earrings, but she finds her grandmother’s secret past in the desk and learns about a side of her she never knew.  The book alternates between Liz’s story and her grandmothers, but both of them are looking for the same things.  Beautifully woven and heartfelt.

Below the Water Line Getting Out, Going Back, and Moving Forward in the Decade After Hurricane Katrina Lisa Karlin

The harrowing and touching tale of one family’s struggle to escape hurricane Katrina and rebuild their lives. A tribute to those who must face the damage and rebuild their lives. This book ran the emotional spectrum for me I laughed I cried and I was left ultimately with a feeling of hope. A personal story that hits home.

 

Patience and Fortitude: Power, Real Estate, and the Fight to Save a Public Library by Scott Sherman

This book caught my eye because what book lover goes to New York and does not visit a branch of the public library? May-be it is just me because I worked in a public library system in college and the love of libraries has stayed with me since then, but I found the history and the struggles of the library very interesting, again may-be it is my personal history with libraries, but I found the differences between the types of branches neat and I understood the different types of funding probably from years of wondering how the changes to the county budget were going to impact my personal one. What I was most affected by was the struggle to keep books in a public library, I know the digital age is here and e readers abound, but I can’t imagine a future where a human will live their lifetime without touching a paper book or entering a library and experiencing that paper aroma that is unique to book depositories. I was glad to see the outcome of this battle, but if and when this battle reemerges it may mean a loss of all of us, not just New York.

Katrina: After the Flood by Gary Rivlin

Like most of the nation I couldn’t tear myself away from the story of Katrina and New Orleans in the summer of 2005.  I was also pregnant and constantly hot that summer so my air conditioned house had it’s perks, but I was shocked by the devastation and desperately wanted to help.  I continued to follow the storm long after it was gone as it appeared in books and television programs.  Katrina does two things I have not seen another book do yet.  It starts before the storm and follows the story for years, through rebuilding, which I know is still going on, and I know lots of things will never be the same, and it not only follows for longer, but it follows the same group of people.  Families, local business owners, political staffers.  It gives us a frank and unique look at this event that changed New Orleans and the US forever.

The Witch of Bourbon Street Suzanne Palmieri

If you haven’t read one of Suzanne Palmieri’s witch books, by all means go get one and read it.  The Witch of Bourbon Street introduces us to the Sorrow family, and at the center is Frances Green Sorrow who tries to lead a normal life and ignore her magic, but her magic falls apart and she retreats into herself, but she must face her past and rejoin the world to find her son.  A deftly woven tale of love, heartbreak, redemption and you guessed it sorrow.

 

 

Trail of Broken Wings by Sejal Badani

Sonya reluctantly returns to the family she fled years before when he father is in a coma. Along with her mother and sisters she must deal with their family history and establish new relationships without her father’s influence. A story of a family of survivors who can now start again.

The Road Home by Kathleen Shoop

The Road Home is a touching story about a mother trying to do what is best for her children, and how her children are impacted by those choices. It is touching and warm and funny, and each character has their own distinct voice. A sweeping novel about love and family and choices, a great summer beach or vacation read.