My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In Grandma’s Fingerprint Ann Griffiths tells the story of her Grandma Mabel and how she impacted and influenced her life.

The story begins when Ann was six. She recalls her mother driving her and her siblings away from their father one night and how frightening that felt until they reached their destination and she discovered it was Grandma’s house. Then she knew everything would be okay.

Grandma providing a refuge for Ann, her mom, and siblings wasn’t the only way she helped. Her unconditional love soon had Ann in a tug-of-war as she found herself preferring Grandma’s peaceful, well-ordered home to the chaotic, stormy home of her parents. Grandma believed in her and challenged her to be her best self. She influenced her to attend church and modeled a life of service and hard work that made a lasting impression. She passed on to her granddaughter a rich legacy: a strong work ethic, a spirit of perseverance, the habit of putting her all into every task no matter how small, compassion, consideration and care for others, contentment in serving her family, and more.

Griffiths tells the story in first person. She fills in Grandma’s history as needed and supplements her own memories with material from letters, diaries, journals, newspaper clippings, and interviews. Her keen eye for sensory details adds interest and color to the telling. Here, for example, is her description of what met her each time she entered her parents’ home:

“To enter the house, we didn’t use the front door that usually was blocked by boxes or a piece of furniture. Instead, we walked through the carport … Once in the house, we walked through the laundry room to the kitchen.

Finding our way through the laundry room was like maneuvering a maze or obstacle course. The first hurdle was a Doberman dog named Whiskey, who often was scratching himself and complained when he was rousted from his spot on the outside step or just inside the door. When we made it inside, we had to choose carefully where to step on the gritty plywood floor, while a myriad of smells assaulted our senses—the powerful odors of wet dog, piles of stinking laundry that hopelessly waited to be washed, and the overpowering stench of sweat-ridden shoes and socks that my mom used to say could stand in the corner by themselves” – Grandma’s Fingerprint, p. 82.

A special feature of the book for me was its setting. It takes place in the area where now I live, so it was interesting to read about life here in earlier times–things like Grandma making a weekly three-hour one-way trek to clean house for relatives in West Vancouver, Ann’s involvement as a drummer in the Surrey School Band, the founding of Johnston Heights Church, and other local events and places to which I could relate.

The author begins and ends the book with letter-like chapters to her own granddaughter, so that we almost get the feeling we’re eavesdropping on a special conversation between her and her own family. But this is definitely more than a family keepsake and memoir. It has takeaway value for all grandmas (in the way it shows how the life of one simple woman continues to ripple through generations) and would be especially encouraging to grandmothers (and grandfathers) tasked with raising their grandkids for whatever reason.

The “Introduction” contains a list of people and the milestone dates of their lives (births, deaths, marriages, moves) so it’s easy to keep track of who everyone is. There are also four sections of black-and-white photographs that help bring Grandma, Ann, and the story’s other characters to life.

I first found out about this book when Griffiths gave a talk about the influence of grandparents and specifically her grandmother at a seniors’ lunch. She speaks often on that topic as well as the topic of mentoring, and has co-written A Mentor’s Fingerprint (with Donna Inglis). Check out their website Fingerprint Ministries.

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My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Joni & Ken is the story of the relationship of Joni Eareckson Tada, the famous author, quadriplegic, and champion of the disabled, and her husband of 30 years, Ken Tada. Based on primary documents (articles, messages, blogs, interview, emails, radio transcript, out-of-print books of Joni’s are all listed in the “Acknowledgments” chapter) the story is told in third person, orchestrated by co-author Larry Libby. The telling goes back and forth between Ken’s and Joni’s points of view, making us privy to aspects of the events that the other person would not necessarily have been aware of at the time they happened.

The book skips around a bit chronologically but there’s no danger of confusion because each section is dated. The ten chapters deal with different periods in Joni and Ken’s relationship, and are titled descriptively (e.g. “At the Altar,” “The Testing Years,” “Reflecting on the Journey”). There is a middle section of colored photos.

This is a frank and touching love story. It shows this public couple who, from outward appearances may seem to live above the fray, to be human, vulnerable, brave, and above all committed and obedient Christ-followers.

The challenges Ken faced in caring for his quadriplegic wife while teaching school full-time (though he had help), are not glossed over. In the course of the book we see both him and Joni grow in maturity and love for each other.

The way Joni handled her quadriplegia, combined with her continuing siege of excruciating pain, then topped with a fight against cancer had me speechless. I’m glad God knows what He’s doing with lives that seem so unfairly burdened with tragedy. However through it all Joni is a glowing testimony first to Ken, and then to those whose lives she touches personally, in ministry, and now as readers of this book, of God’s sufficient grace.

Ken was a rock. Even through the hardest times, he was determined to keep his marriage vow. The part of the story that tells of his deepening relationship with God and how his heightened spiritual sensitivity became crucial during Joni’s fight against cancer is a heads-up to all of us. We never know when the next trial will come. If we press into God during the ordinary times (though I don’t know if you could label any of this couple’s experiences ‘ordinary’), He will prepare us for the challenges beyond.

Joni & Ken is not only an interesting and well-told story but a great unofficial guidebook for any couple. Let me leave you with some wise words from Joni herself:

“Thirty years have passed since Ken and I began our journey together, and God has used every trial—every hurt and heartache—to entwine us far more intimately than we ever dreamed on the day we married.

… nowhere else—and with no one else—will you have quite the chance to experience union with Christ than through a heard-fought-for, hard-won union with your spouse.

… If I were sitting next to you … I would say ‘Oh, please pray for your partner.’”

… It’s trials that really press you into the breast of your Savior” – Joni & Ken, pp. 177-179.

I received this book as a gift from the publisher for the purpose of writing a review.

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My rating: 5 of 5 stars

How do you view your retirement? As a time of relaxation and indulgence? As a dreaded time of uselessness and idleness? Or as an opportunity to rediscover your passions and live them out in the years you have left?

In Reimagine Your Retirement: How to Live Life to its Fullest and Leave a Lasting Legacy, author Joyce Y. Li challenges new and soon-to-be retiring members of the baby boomer generation to tackle this phase of life with reflection and intention.

Parts One and Two of the book (“Recognize the Many Possibilities” and “Living Your Best”) provide a background to help readers consider what retirement means in North American culture, how the process of aging impacts one’s latter years, and why it’s important to approach this time with a plan.

Part Three (“Discovering Yourself”) discusses the Bible’s view of life in general and old age in particular. It includes numerous self-tests designed to help readers discover their gifts, strengths, and interests with a view to setting a course and defining goals that will give meaning and purpose to retirement years.

Parts Four and Five (“Vision and Calling” and “Put Legs to Your Plan”) lay out an action plan that challenges readers to visualize the future they want, put it into words as a mission statement, and live it out.

Li’s experience as an event planner comes through in this logically organized how-to book. She bases her findings not only on her own experience but also on the expertise of others and includes many studies and research results. Real life examples add interest and show us that retirement can be the exciting, meaningful climax of a well-lived life. Her Christian outlook focuses the reader’s attention on what will matter for eternity and is buttressed by many Bible verses and motivational quotes.

Though I read the book quickly, it contains much that invites rereading and further thought. Readers who answer all the questionnaires and complete all the analyses will come away with invaluable self-knowledge and a blueprint for going forward, designed to give direction and focus to the remaining years of life. Li’s methods will be especially attractive to the retiree who has a good amount of health, drive, and energy.

Reimagining Your Retirement would be a great read for people preparing for, or in the early stages of retirement. I can also see younger folks benefiting from its wisdom and practical advice. All in all it’s a powerful and convincing debut work authored by someone I’m sure we will hear from again.

Book trailer for Reimagine Your Retirement

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Zaccheus in the sycamore tree – By James Tissot

The landscape is changing with the coming of spring. A big part of this change is brought about by the blossoming and leafing of trees. Almost overnight a row of dull brown twigs becomes a lively green canopy that gives shade, privacy, and beauty. You can’t help but notice trees in the spring.

There are at least two dozen varieties of trees mentioned in the Bible, many of which are familiar to us: almond (Ecclesiastes 12:5), apple (Song of Solomon 2:3), palm (Exodus 15:27), cedar, pine and cypress (Isaiah 41:19) and willow (Isaiah 44:4).

Trees played a part in many Bible events:

• A tree held the tempting fruit that tripped up Eve (Genesis 3:1-7).

• God met with Abraham by the terebinth trees of Mamre (Genesis 18:1).

• A tree held the ram that became Abraham’s sacrifice (Genesis 22:13-14).

• Absalom’s thick hair got caught in the branches of a great terebinth tree. The Bible describes him hanging between heaven and earth and in that helpless state he was easy prey for David’s general Joab (2 Samuel 18:9,14).

• Zaccheus climbed a tree to see Jesus (Luke 19:1-4).

• Jesus died on a cross, made of wood from a tree.

The Bible refers to trees not only in literal ways but in symbolic ones too.

• I’ve always been haunted by the picture of the silent harps of the grieving Babylonian exiles, hanging in the willows (Psalm 137:1-3).

• John’s vision in Revelation makes references to several trees in mostly symbolic or picturesque ways:

- There is a tree of life - Revelation 2:7
- Two prophetic messengers are referred to as olive trees – Revelation 11:3-6.
- There is a healing tree with leaves that heal nations and a different fruit each month – Revelation 22:2,14.

Here is your TREE writing challenge for April:

For writers of fiction:

You might make a tree a key part of your setting like author Julie Chantrell gives her main character Millie “Honey,” a sweet gum tree that operates almost like another character in her novel Into the Free (review here).

Or tell a children’s story from the tree’s point of view, like Kimberley Payne does in Trees of the Book (review here).

For writers of non-fiction:

Research a specific tree to write an informational piece, or tell a personal experience with a tree and use it as an illustration in a devotional or motif in a personal essay.

For poets:

Dig deep into your connection with trees to come up with some truth about life using tree imagery. Psalm 1:-1-3 is a great example of this.

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

In Shaded Light I felt like I was reading a game of Clue. Author J. A. Menzies (the new ebook edition is published under the author’s pseudonym; original edition under N. J. Lindquist) sets up the game board and player pieces in the first part of the book as members, wives and various hangers-on of the Toronto law firm Brodie, Fischer & Martin meet for a relaxing weekend at the lavish new home of senior partner George Brodie and his wife Ellen. The cast of characters is large. Menzies delves into the past and present of each just enough to get us caring for them but not to the point of distraction. (The Kindle edition I read had a linked table of contents which included a list of characters—most helpful in keeping everyone straight through the information-heavy first part of the book.)

Once the body is found the glue of the series, middle-aged investigator Paul Manziuk and his rookie partner Jacqueline Ryan arrive on the scene. They bring with them their own goals and issues.

The questioning of each potential perpetrator (basically everybody, for everyone is a suspect) and the reaction of the cops to each other kept me busy as I tried to figure out who did it and worried these investigators wouldn’t be able to get past their own sensitivities to solve the crime before another redhead got knocked off. Provisional solutions kept me occupied till Menzies’ investigators solved the crime and all the other loose ends got tidied away at the very end of the book.

Though most of the characters have a pleasure-seeking, self-absorbed outlook (fueled by lots of alcohol) one character, Lorry Preston, lives her life as a committed Christian. She acquits herself well and makes the book a worthwhile read for the mystery lover who enjoys a serving of faith alongside generous helpings of intrigue and red herring.

Shaded Light and a second book in the Manziuk & Ryan mystery series—Glitter of Diamonds—are available as ebook downloads from J. A. Menzies’ website and as Kindle editions on Amazon.

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You might also want to shop for Mother’s Day:

• My book Destiny’s Hands (2012) will be on sale for only $10.00 that night (regular $15.00 & 17.99 online).

• Family Reunion (2007, poetry)  -  $5.00!

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“Fighting is as intrinsic to marriage as sex. The goal for both is to do them well. That’s why we’ve dedicated this book to helping you fight a good fight” write Drs. Les and Leslie Parrot, husband-and-wife-team authors of The Good Fight: How Conflict Can Lead to Greater Intimacy in Marriage.

A quick overview of the table of contents gives an idea of the scope of the book. The nine chapters include How can a fight be good?; What a good fight will do for you; Rules of the Fight Club; Uncovering your personal fight style; and Fighting through the Big Five.

The Parrots name four elements that keep a fight healthy: Cooperation, Ownership, Respect, and Empathy (CORE). They show how differing perceptions of a situation can cause friction, give insight on how you can tell whether an issue is likely to turn into a fight, and how to habitually consider points of view other than your own to head off a fight at the pass.

They suggest rules for fighting fair based on the CORE elements, describe different kinds of fight types, provide tests to help you and your spouse determine what fight type you both are, and predict how fights between the different fight types will turn out.

Of course, all this is done using lots of story illustrations from the authors’ lives and practice as well as how-to instruction. Don’t let the easy read fool you though. There’s a lot of information and wisdom packed in this practical volume.

An especially useful chapter is Fighting through the Big Five which gives couples a heads-up on hot-button topics (money, sex, work, parenting and housework) that are the most likely to cause dissension.

A major component of the book is the interactive app for smart phones and tablets, downloadable for free with the purchase of each book. It would seem to be both helpful and fun. I say ‘seem to be’ because I didn’t get  it through my review copy. However, the activities (which the book describes) range from self-tests and quizzes to setting an alarm to alert the reader to perform a daily activity suggested in the book. I can see how the app would take the book’s application off its pages and onto platforms (smart phones and tablets) where people do a lot of living these days.

Even without the app, I highly recommend this book. Much of its wisdom about the physiology of anger, the elements of a healthy fight, and fighting fair could be applied not only to couples but to a variety of people who find themselves in disagreement: parents and kids, extended family members, friends, and colleagues.

A wealth of quotes included in each chapter along with an illuminating back-of-the-book essay on anger and its management round out the offering.

The Good Fight would be an especially helpful book to give newlyweds. But married couples of any age will find much that is useful and practical in its pages.

I received The Good Fight as a free e-book for the purpose of writing a review.

• Like the Parrots on Facebook

• Check out their website  Les and Leslie.com

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My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Millie Reynolds is nine when we first meet her watching her troubled world from the boughs of Sweetie, the gum tree that gives her comfort and escape. The place is Iti Taloa Mississippi, the year 1936. Author Julie Cantrell takes us through Millie’s growing-up years to the age of seventeen in this debut novel, Into the Free.

It’s a complex, coming-of-age story that explores heavy issues like spousal abuse, a kid’s relationship with dysfunctional parents, how someone who appears good on the outside may be anything but, first love, what is love, forgiveness, is there a God, if there is, what is He like and how do we relate to Him?

Cantrell writes the story from Millie’s point of view, first person, present tense, which gives it a feeling of immediacy and lets us see deep into this interesting, bright but conflicted girl. The writing is lyrical and gorgeous but still believably in character as filtered through the eyes of an observant, teen:

“Shame is the only thing I know that can be silent and loud, all at the same time” – p. 110 (Kindle edition).

“Diana sits next to me and tells me the story of Prometheus and Zeus. I pretend she is Mama. Her voice is like a long sip of sweet tea” – p. 204.

We see the other characters—her mom, dad, Sloth, grandparents, River, Bump—through her eyes. But she’s a pretty reliable narrator, more believable than the crowd who cheers her bull-riding father, or the women who gossip about her troubled mother. Of course all the people close to her are presented to us as mixed good-and-bad too, as one would expect from a kid reflecting on her parents, grandparents and the boys she falls for.

The setting is very 1930’s ‘40s southern USA, showing the attitudes and standards of the time, especially evident in the role of women, clothes (Millie experiences the freedom of her first pair of slacks when she is sixteen), and attitudes toward those of different races and ethnicity like the Gypsies and the Choctaw Indians.

All in all, it’s a dark, raw story but also hopeful as it explores some of a family’s and society’s secrets but leaves us with the aftertaste of survival, redemption, and hard-won faith.

Want more? Check out the author’s website for a wealth of extras—a Reader’s Guide (with spoilers; don’t read if you want the book to be a surprise), play lists of songs that inspired and are mentioned in the story, an article on domestic violence, recipes for food Millie would have loved, and more.

Cantrell’s second novel, When Mountains Move, will continue the story of Millie. It is scheduled to release in September of 2013 (David C. Cook publisher).

View the book trailer for Into the Free HERE.

(This book is part of my own Kindle collection.)

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My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Merrill Krause, the only girl in a family of boys, has fulfilled her promise to her dying mother and spent the last ten years taking care of her father and brothers. This has meant not only cooking and keeping house but also getting involved in the family business of raising draft horses and harvesting ice. The 21-year-old has had little time for the feminine pursuits of looking beautiful and batting her eyes at hopeful suitors (though she sure can cook up a storm). Visits to town (Waseca, Minnesota, 1895) and the not-so-subtle hints of Granny Lassiter and Merrill’s best friend Corabeth that she’s not getting any younger, only make her more aware of her lacks in the eligible young lady department.

Rurik Jorgenson appears in Waseca to help his ill Uncle Carl in his furniture-making shop. He meets Merrill at one of the ice-harvesting work bees, feels an instant attraction and it looks as if it will be full-steam-ahead to love for the two of them. That is until Rurik’s longtime friend Nils Olsson and his sister Svea (Rurik’s former fiancée) arrive in town. What follows is a drama of Shakespearean-type complications with Svea pressuring Rurik to reinstate their engagement, Nils coming on to Merrill, and Merrill’s father and brothers doing their customary hover over her affairs and suitors.

The likeable characters’ very human flaws keep them in trouble and I had a hard time putting this one down (though the story’s main complications resolved at about 90% through the book and the last 10% dragged a bit).

Author Tracie Peterson tells the story simply with lots of solid description of home, food, and community life—a great read for those who would enjoy the vicarious experience of life in an 1890s immigrant community (Merrill comes from German stock, Rurik from Swedish).

The book’s themes of love, loyalty, and the necessity of truth are firmly grounded in the Christian faith—a faith to which the main characters give lip and life service. Nothing edgy here but a good, safe read.

For an enjoyable romance that takes readers back to simpler, slower times, and gives a glimpse into a trade that has long disappeared in the dust of progress, The Icecutter’s Daughter is a fine choice.

(I received this book as a gift from publisher Bethany House for the purpose of writing a review.)

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My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Though Lieutenant Laine Harkness is not committed to the religious beliefs of Miriam’s Mission, she is a nurse, committed to alleviating pain and suffering. And so it makes perfect sense for her to accompany devout Eshana in her quest to rescue the teenage girl about to give birth in the prostitute hut near Amritsar’s Hindu temple. That rescue gets Captured by Moonlight — Christine Lindsay’s second book in the “Twilight of the British Raj” series — off to a riveting start.

Just days later Laine finds herself on a train to a less prominent posting until the brouhaha dies down, but not before she and Eshana manage to spirit away with them the young girl they have helped.

The place of Laine’s new assignment near Madras contains more than one surprise. For her part Eshana has never imagined the things that await her after leaving the 14-year-old ex-prostitute at the Ramabai Mukti Mission to return to Amritsar.

This well-crafted and beautifully written story held me captive from beginning to end. The Indian setting came alive with colors, smells, sounds, and a multitude of Indian words that lent it a feeling authenticity: “Laine’s nerves calmed somewhat and she began to eat of the pachadis and sambars, rasams and curds” (Kindle Location 2987).

Lindsay places the story firmly in history, dating the beginning “Late October 1921” and referring to various historical people and events including the Christian convert Sundar Singh, the Vellore Hospital, the Ramabai Mukti Mission, the rise of Gandhi and his non-cooperative movement, the riots surrounding the visit of the Prince of Wales, and the cholera pandemic of 1899-1923, that ended up killing more than 800,000 people in India.

The inspirational aspect of the book is subtle but deep and foundations the entire story. I found the character Eshana especially compelling. She struggles with the meaning of a difficult circumstance (“I have much work to do. Why do you lock me away when I could be working for your Kingdom?”- Kindle Location 2236) but ends up demonstrating the kind of selfless love that reminds us of the Saviour she follows.

There are romances too, but as romances go, the two here are not saccharine but tough and grounded, with resistance from most parties. Perhaps the most compelling romance is the love the characters sense from their creator, seen here through the eyes of Eshana’s friend, the young Sikh doctor Jai Kaur:

“What sent an arrow of fear into his heart was the sensation that he was being unceasingly pursued by someone other than these gentle women. Someone far greater …” (Kindle Location 2576).

For a captivating yet thoughtful historical, populated by strong interesting characters that will sweep you away to the India of the 1920s, Captured by Moonlight is hard to beat. Though it is the second book of a series, it easily stands alone and readers do not need to have read book one (Shadowed in Silk) to understand the story. Discussion questions at the end of the book make this an excellent choice for book clubs.

Captured by Moonlight Book Trailer

My review of Shadowed in Silk.

This review was first published on Blogcritics.

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