I finished up 2020 with five books read in December. I received two books for Christmas, one of which I am reading now (Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman) and the other I am starting today called Wintering. Those were two of the books on my Christmas list! So on to my end of the year reading:
1) Keeping Lucy by T. Greenwood-I mistakenly bought this thinking it was by t. greenwood (a favorite author). It was a good book, despite my error. It began in 1969 when a woman's baby, Lucy, was born with Down's Syndrome, and the mother's powerful influential father-in-law arranged for Lucy to be put in an institution, over the mother's resistance. The family argues that it would be best for the family and for Lucy. However, two years later the mother learns of an expose' of the "school" exposed the horrors that were going on there. I don't want to tell anymore, but it was a good story.
2) The Orphan Mother by Robert Hicks-this is by the author who wrote The Widow of the South and continues the story by telling about Mariah, a former slave of the widow. The story takes place in Franklin, TN as did the first book. Mariah's grown child (her only child) was killed at a political rally and Mariah was determined to find those responsible for his death. Her search was, as to be expected, intense and dangerous, but Mariah was undeterred. I found myself liking this book very much! It was a good read!
3) Almost Everything: Notes on Hope by Anne Lamott-I love Anne Lamott's books and this was no exception. It is my favorite of hers that I have read so far. It is a short book of individual essays "that explore life's essential truths." The essay on "In the Garden" is about death and is profound.
"Of course, when certain people die, there is anguish. We will never get over their deaths, and we're no supposed to."
This really touched me...beginning with the first deaths that devasted me years ago when I lost my grandparents, then my brothers, then my parents, then good friends. This is a powerful, touching book and I highly recommend it!
4) The One-In-A-Million Boy by Monica Wood-Another really good book that I had put of reading for the past four years! "the boy" was eleven years old when he began doing Boy Scout hours by helping 104-year-old Ona Vitkus with chores around her home each week. The boy was very interested in the Guinness Book of Records and wanted Ona to set some records. Sadly, the boy died suddenly, so his father Quinn decided to finish up the boy's requirements and spend the next seven weeks helping Ona. Quinn was a musician who worked gigs and was not around the boy very much. He and the boy's mother were divorced (for the second time). Through-out the book, Quinn and Ona help and revive each other's lives. A good read.
5) Verity by Colleen Hoover-This book came very highly recommended by others in a Facebook Book Club, so once it came out in paperback, I got it. It's an interesting psychological mystery. Verity was a well-known writer, who was severely injured in a car accident. Her husband, Jeremy, hired Lowen Ashleigh to complete a book series that Verity had begun. Lowen went to stay at Jeremy and Verity's home to spend some time going through Verity's office and to read the series in order to have a sense of how to finish the series. And then things began to happen! It's a good read, although I figured some of it out early on.
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