Two little people in my family have birthdays this month. I set out a couple of weeks ago, after we'd spent some time with these littles this summer (they live far away from us), to write a birthday poem for each. Well, I got one written, and then a long break and finally last week,… Continue reading A birthday poem
Let's Pretend We're Normal: Adventures in Rediscovering How to Be a Family by Tricia Lott Williford My rating: 5 of 5 stars “Mr Responsible died, suddenly and tragically. He was sick for only twelve hours. ... A thief named sepsis stole his breath and his heartbeat, and his spirit slipped right through Curly Girl’s fingers,… Continue reading Let’s Pretend We’re Normal (review)
Miracle at the Higher Grounds Cafe by Max Lucado My rating: 5 of 5 stars After Chelsea Chambers discovers that her NFL husband Sawyer has been cheating on her, inheriting the family café and coffee shop in San Antonia is the perfect out. She, with 12-year-old Hancock and six-year-old Emily move into the upper floor… Continue reading Miracle at the Higher Grounds Cafe (review)
It's here at last--the project that's been in the works for over a year! And just in time for Christmas too. Borrowed Gardens Authors: Bertoia, Jeannine; Fisher, Tracie; McNulty, Del; Nesdoly, Violet Publisher: SparrowSong Press (printed by First Choice Books), December, 2014, Paperback, 128 pages ISBN: 978-1-77084-501-5 About the Book (cover text) "A collection of… Continue reading Borrowed Gardens – new poetry anthology
Tina Janz feels torn between her parents’ wishes that she marry an upstanding (but boring) Mennonite boy and her desire for the man she loves—Frank Warkentin, the son of a Mennonite father and Gypsy mother. But the tug-of-war in Elma Schemenauer’s novel Consider the Sunflowers is more than between just Tina and her parents. For… Continue reading Consider the Sunflowers (review)
No Place to Hide: A Brain Surgeon S Long Journey Home from the Iraq War by W. Lee Warren My rating: 5 of 5 stars Dr. W. Lee Warren arrived at the 332nd Theater Hospital in Balad ab, Iraq in late 2004. His term of duty as a neurosurgeon ended four months later at the… Continue reading No Place to Hide (review)
It's Christmas Eve, the time our thoughts turn to all things holy—and presents! How crass. But how real, especially if you're a kid. A few weeks ago when I was cleaning out some papers, I came across a picture book I wrote and illustrated way back when. It was one of my course requirements at… Continue reading A Child’s Christmas in Saskatchewan
Stones for Bread by Christa Parrish My rating: 5 of 5 stars Running her own bakeshop, the Wild Rise, will finally fill the void in 30-something Liesel McNamara’s life—won’t it? She sure has wagered all her dough on it—and the array of artisan sourdough starters, some as old as her history itself. An artisan bakery… Continue reading Stones for Bread (review)
A Garden to Keep by Jamie Langston Turner My rating: 4 of 5 stars Elizabeth Landis makes the decision to become a Christian on a Sunday just hours before she discovers her husband is having an affair. Jamie Langston Turner’s novel A Garden to Keep is the story of the next four months. It is… Continue reading A Garden to Keep (review)
BABY SHOWER I sit in a circle of women, exclaiming over sleepers, booties and bibs, careful not to startle the porcelain doll – soft unaccustomed weight in my arms. I glimpse, across the circle, my baby almost 17 and beautiful laughing with her friends. © 2004 by V. Nesdoly **************** Happy Birthday to my… Continue reading I sit in a circle of women …
Violet Nesdoly 