The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

"When a war is over, you stop discussing the cost. The reality. The blood-soaked soil or the grave markers or the collateral damage. The ways we kill our enemies in order to claim victory. History is written by the men who live. Not the ones who die."

   -from the novel

This is the July Page Turner selection, an historical fiction which, as you may know, is a favorite genre of mine. I also enjoy a good murder mystery, and this novel is both. The story was inspired by a real-life midwife of the 18th century, Martha Ballard. The geographical setting is Hallowell, Maine

In her line of work, Martha is privy to many secrets of the townspeople and brave enough to take risks in standing up for justice for those she cares about. At this time period, a woman's word meant very little, so she was ahead of her time. 

At the story's beginning the body of a man is found frozen in the Kennebec River. When asked to examine the body for cause of death, Martha determines homicide, by hanging specifically. It turns out the dead man is Joshua Burgess, one of two men accused of a brutal rape. His accused accomplice is Colonel North, a judge and very influential man of the area. Martha is especially close to their victim, Rebecca Foster, and takes it on herself to find justice for her and perhaps discover the murderer, as well.

I was between a 3 and 4 rating and decided the latter. The writing is excellent; I wouldn't rule out reading another by this author. I enjoyed the historical references, especially the mention of Martha's husband's friendship with Paul Revere. I liked learning about an unsung heroine who, according to the Author's Note, left a legacy of women pioneers in the medical field. I felt the novel was longer than it needed to be, a little tedious for the last 75 pages or so and I was disappointed that I couldn't find any outstanding quotes. 

Wonder what the Page Turners will think....

The Book of Joy by Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu with Douglas Abrams

 

"Ultimately, joy is not something to learn, it is something to live. And our greatest joy is lived in deep, loving, and generous relationships with others."

     -from The Book of Joy

"Do nothing from selfish ambition or empty conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests but to the interests of others."        -Philippians 2:3-4

The following is what I wrote in September of 2017 after my first reading of The Book of Joy.

Wow! This book is a treasure of insight and inspiration, chock full of profound thoughts and pithy statements. I have read it electronically, borrowed from the library, and now have to give it up. I will be buying a copy to "have and hold" because I have a feeling I should read it at least once a year. Such beautiful life lessons!

The meeting of these two ultimate religious and moral leaders took place in Dharamsala, India on the occasion of the Dalai Lama's 80th birthday. Author Douglas Abrams facilitated a weeklong discussion of joy---essentially how to find it and keep it. Both of these holy men have won the Nobel Prize and are respected and loved by most of the world. Both are extremely wise and have had to overcome great adversity in their lives.

At the beginning of the book, there is discussion of the obstacles to joy such as sadness, fear, anger and frustration. Later much of the conversation between the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Tutu centers around "The Eight Pillars of Joy": perspective, humility, humor, acceptance, forgiveness, gratitude, compassion and generosity. The two friends are excellent examples of all these traits. Each has a wonderful sense of humor and they love to tease each other and laugh together.

I learned the term Ubuntu from the Archbishop. It means humanness or "I am what I am because of who we all are." The necessity of connections with others is stressed numerous times. There are also many Buddhist terms explained along the way.

I chose a brief quote to begin this post ("Joy is much bigger than happiness. While happiness is often seen as being dependent on external circumstances, joy is not." Archbishop Desmond Tutu), one I think points to a major theme and one of the first I highlighted. However, I marked something deeply significant on almost every page!

I am rating this book a 5. There is a good chance it is already changing my life! 

And now for an update on my second reading....

I added quotes to this post/repost because the first encompasses an important theme of this book and the second is from the Bible, a passage I read recently that seemed to echo themes from The Book of Joy. 

I mentioned in my earlier post that I should read this once a year. That didn't happen---it took 8 years to get back to it but I'm so glad I gave myself this refresher! Hopefully, I will put at least some of it into practice! It still gets a 5 rating from me.

In the past couple of years, I have been doing yoga a couple of times a week. In some of the practices listed at the end of the book, I noted similarities like deep breathing, quiet and meditation.

I googled the two spiritual leaders and found that Desmond Tutu died in 2021, and the Dalai Lama still lives at age 90.

The Woman with a Purple Heart by Diane Hanks

 

"Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger. With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph, so help us God. I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire."

       -from President Roosevelt's address to Congress and the nation

I enjoyed this WWII historical fiction and more than that, I learned some things. I have read many stories of the European side of the war but not so much about the Pacific. My rating is 4.

First Lieutenant Annie Fox, veteran army nurse, is transferred from the Philippines to Hickam Field on Oahu in November of 1941. Like almost every American I knew of Pearl Harbor but had never heard of Hickam Field, the army airfield adjacent to Pearl Harbor. The Japanese attack did tremendous damage to both military bases. 

Courageously, Lt. Fox gets her team of nurses busy trying to save as many injured soldiers as possible. She even goes to town to garner supplies and medicines and to recruit nurses. She includes Japanese American nurses which could be a problem and also finds prostitutes who are willing to give blood.

One of the nurses, Kay, becomes a close friend of Annie and when Kay is taken into custody as a suspected insurgent, she works very hard to get her released. (It is discovered that Kay's husband is a military officer in Japan.)

This is the story of courage in the face of danger, friendship dangerously tested and a shameful time in America's history. Thousands of Japanese Americans from Hawaii and the west coast were relocated to centers in remote areas for the duration of the war. I personally knew a man who experienced this relocation with his family, making this part of the novel even sadder to me.

In 1942, Annie Fox became the first woman to receive a purple heart for her valor in time of war. Later when the Purple Heart was reserved for those injured in the line of duty, it was rescinded and in 1944 replaced with a Bronze Star, with the same citation. Annie Fox was quite a woman!