August Reads

My August reads consisted of one fiction and four memoirs. Through my reading I spent time with Bec in Madison Wisconsin who while caretaking a young woman with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) learned not only how to make scrumptious new dishes but something about herself along the way; I spent time accustoming myself to the countryside with Jeanne and Alex in rural Pennsylvania; Carolyn Jourdan took me on a journey back to her home and her father's rural medical practice in the hills of east Tennessee. Then I went back in time to the Great Depression wtih Mildred Kalish to her farm outside of Garrison, Iowa and to her grandparents' home in Garrison) as I learned how to do everything from making sweetbreads to gathering honey to butchering chickens and making pillows (adding to the enjoyment of this book was the discovery, after I finished, that one of my coworkers is from Garrison, and that her family goes back several generations in this little town) And finally, I spent time with Kate Braestrup in Maine as she ministered to the families of those lost in the wilderness. I saved the best for last as this was by clear favorite read of the month. Complete reviews of all books can be found below and in the August archives. I have also posted reviews at www. amazon.com and urge you to take a look there and if the review is helpful to please say so.

I thought I might get a few more books read this month as I was off for four extra days, but it wasn't to be. It is clear I continue to be on a memoir kick as after Here if You Need Me I have tried to get into fiction but have found myself drawn to yet another memoir to begin September.

You're Not You - Michelle Wildgen - B

Fifty Acres and a Poodle- Jeanne Marie Laskas - B+

Heart in the Right Place - Carolyn Jourdan - A

Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression by Mildred Armstrong Kalish - B-

Here if You Need Me - Kate Braestrup - A

In the end I don't think you can go wrong with any of these books. But if I were to recommend any one book to own, to mark up, to highlight, to refer to for inspiration, to keep on my nightstand for re-reading, it would be Here if You Need Me. I really hope we hear more from this author and her enlightening essays soon.