Blue Sky Kingdom: An Epic Family Journey to the Heart of the Himalaya
by Bruce Kirkby
So much more than a travelogue (10/10/2020)
Get ready to be inspired and transported to a buried place in your heart as Canadian writer-adventurer, Bruce Kirkby takes you with him on his family’s quest to flee the constant noise and pressures of society and slow the pace in a Himalayan Buddhist temple.
Addicted to scrolling the vast Social Media wasteland and drained from their oldest son, Bodi’s, autism spectrum diagnosis and treatment, Bruce and his wife, Christine Pitkanen, revive their sidelined “fantasy” with their two children: making the journey to 1000 year-old Karsha Gompa in Zanskar, India. The 3-month journey involved travelling by container ship, train, canoe, and miles of high-altitude trekking.
The family stayed with and were adopted by Lama Wangyal and bestowed with Tibetan names, an honor, but also necessary for communication. Kirkby and his wife became English teachers to the young monks living at the monastery as the kids disconnected from the tether of technology and connected with life in a natural way. Our hearts were lifted following along as Bodi was able to use meditation to control the anxiety caused by noise, people and changing routines
I was completely fascinated reading how Tibetan Buddhism is still practiced in its undiluted form, and so much about the Dalai Lama, India, Chinese territorial claims over Tibet and given many examples of prejudice against Tibetans in India
At the beginning, I wonder how the family will fare, but 6 months later as they return to Canada -less beholden to technology and much closer to one another-I find I've been uplifted by the tale.
Closing the final page, I realize that we, too, can find some peace if we distance ourselves from the constant clatter of our modern world and aim for a higher awareness. And that “permanently fractured awareness” can be restored.
Deep gratitude to Book Club Cookbook, Galley Match, Bruce Kirkby and Pegasus Books for the ARC
The Color of Air
by Gail Tsukiyama
Totally immersed in place and time (6/29/2020)
A welcome panacea to the times we are living in is how I would describe reading this story of Daniel Abe, a successful doctor in Chicago, as he returns home to Hilo two years after his mother Mariko’s death.
A secret has driven Danial home, though, and I was enchanted by the story Tsukiyama weaves switching between “ghost voices” and “island voices” as the prodigal son and his long-ago community are united again.
A Powerful story of love and pain, told so gently through the eyes of Daniel, Koji, Mariko and Nori, I felt as if I was there, in the lush and abundant fields of Hilo, sharing in the lives of the characters and becoming part of the community. Hoping with each turn of the page that the forces of nature will not destroy their homes and livelihoods and wondering if secrets held so tightly will ever be revealed.
Gail Tsukiyama is the author of six previous novels, including The Street of a Thousand Blossoms, Women of the Silk and The Samurai's Garden.
Today We Go Home: A Novel
by Kelli Estes
This book honors women who serve (8/21/2019)
I gained so much insight reading Today we go Home.
The story of two women soldiers, Emily Wilson, who, during the Civil War, fought with the Union Army disguised as a man and Larkin Bennett, a US Army soldier who was deployed to Afghanistan twice.
In the present-day, Larkin is trying to cope with PTSD, grief and guilt over the death of her best friend Sarah. We travel to the past as Larkin reads the Civil War journal kept by Emily chronicling her enlistment in Indiana's 9th Infantry as a male Union soldier.
I loved the historical detail and accounting of how women had disguised themselves as men to enlist in the service during the civil war. I also felt the flow between the two women in dual time frames was very easy to follow.
The stories helped me to understand the parallel struggles of female soldiers in the past and female soldiers from our own time in history. Also, it was important to be reminded of the fact that women who serve also suffer from PTSD.
I thought there were some inconsistencies in the language used during the Civil War period, but that did not affect my enjoyment of the book
Thank you to BookBrowse and Sourcebooks Landmark for this ARC.
Beirut Hellfire Society
by Rawi Hage
To understand the anguish of outcasts (6/14/2019)
Beirut Hellfire Society opens in war-torn Lebanon with Pavlov, then 16, accompanying his father into the mountains to participate in a bewildering burial ritual. Here we learn of the Hellfire Society.
I appreciated the book and the way the author carried me into the sorrow and anxiety of living in a war-torn country. I would recommend the book to all who are interested in reading another viewpoint on religious rituals and the rigidity of society. A book-club would enjoy this book for the many avenues of discussion that can be followed, from civil war, to religion and atheism to loneliness and despair.
Using humor and sorrow, Beirut Hellfire Society took me on a journey exploring the violence, loneliness, death and life during time of war. Thank you to BookBrowse for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.
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