The Road to Grace by Richard Paul Evans

 

"I suppose if I were completely honest with myself (which I've already established I'm not), I'd have to admit that I'm not really walking to Florida. Key West is as foreign to me as any of the towns I've walked through on the way. I'm walking to find what life may hold. I'm looking for hope. Hope that life might still be worth living, and hope for the grace to accept what I must live without."

              -Alan Christoffersen's thoughts

This is the third book in The Walk series and the third I have read. I guess I am hooked. Another 5 rating.

Our sojourner, Alan Christoffersen, began walking in Seattle with the goal of making it to Key West. In this installment, he started in Custer, South Dakota, where he met a woman from his past. She ended up stalking him (6 chapters!) seeking his forgiveness. Near the Badlands, Alan visited Wall Drug, a famous place I'd never heard of.

When Alan became extremely ill on the road, he was aided by a good Samaritan, a Polish fellow by the name of Leszek, who got him to the ER and then took him in until he recovered. During that time Jewish Holocaust survivor Leszek told his amazing story of escape from the Nazis and spoke to Alan of forgiveness. A very poignant part of the novel.

I was amused by Alan's brief meeting with ladies of the Red Hat Society in Sioux Falls. I was once a Red Hat member.

When Alan reached Sidney, Iowa, he figured he was about halfway to Key West. A lonely woman named Analise invited him to her home. Later he met Israel, a self-professed tramp with a "most unfortunate view of God."

Alan enjoyed some tourist time in Hannibal, Missouri, home of Mark Twain, but nearing St. Louis, he became very ill again and ended up in St. Lous University Hospital. When he woke, he was surprised to see Falene, his former employee and good friend from Seattle. She had to give him difficult news.

Now I can look for Book 4, A Step of Faith. I surely hope Alan makes it to Key West!

Missing on the Gulf Coast by Andi Lodge

 "Aunt Pearl sometimes teases me about my 'strays' but she has one of the biggest hearts around. We're not saints, nor do we want, or expect praise. When it does come, we try to deflect it to the ones who have earned it. We make it understood these people earned it by making the choice to work hard and improve their lives."

         -Hilda Mae Palmer, from the novel

I selected this book because it was a mystery and set in Florida, where I live. At first, I liked it. Main character, Hilda Mae is an amateur detective and a down-to-earth, rather quirky young woman and I found her amusing. But the last quarter of the book was very confusing and, I felt convoluted, not very believable. Also, I found a number of typos or other editing errors that bothered me. Guess I am just that much of a grammar geek. Anyway, I rated the book a 2, which is rare for me. I won't be looking for another in this series.

Cinder Bella by Kathleen Shoop

 

I selected this book because of the title---my youngest granddaughter is called Bella and the cover made it look like a Christmas story. I only read a few chapters because it quickly seemed like a mix of romance and magical realism, my least favorite genres! So, no rating on this one. No quote either.

The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans

 

"And to this day, the Christmas Box remains a source of great joy to me. For though it appears empty, to me it contains all that Christmas is made of, the root of all wonder in a child's eyes, and the source of magic of Christmases for centuries to come."

             -from the Epilogue

Why did I choose this book? It is December so I was in the mood for a nice holiday story plus I have gotten into The Walk series by this author. I feel The Christmas Box is a memoir and one of Evans's earlier writings. It was very short---less than 150 pages, inspirational but perhaps too sentimental for my taste. I would say his writing is vastly improved from 1995. I am generously rating it a 3.

Evans tells the story of moving his young family into a mansion to be of help to the elderly owner, Mrs. Mary Anne Parkin. In storing some of their things in the attic, he comes across the Christmas Box of the title which is part of a collection of Mrs. Parkin's late husband. Evans and his wife, Keri, discover that the box has a poignant secret and one that leads to an important life lesson for Richard. (I could never find a preferred first name for him.)

One humorous part of the book is when Mary Parkin tells the others about a collector's item called the "wicked Bible" because in Exodus the seventh commandment reads "Thou shalt commit adultery." A pretty shocking misprint! Coincidentally, I had just seen a "Jeopardy!" episode on TV where that Bible was the subject of a clue.

Miles to Go by Richard Paul Evans

 

"This is a story of contrasts---about living and dying, hope and despair, pain and healing, and tenuous, thin places between both extremes where most of us reside.

I'm not sure whether I'm walking away from my past or toward a future---time and miles will tell and I have plenty of both. As the poet Robert Frost said, I have 'miles to go before I sleep.'"

    -Alan Christofferson, from the novel

Well, I guess I am hooked on this series now. Book 2 of The Walk series was just as good as the first one. The author has an easy style, so readable, and I felt this one had more humor than the other. Our journal keeper Alan starts in Spokane where he is recovering from a beating and gets as far as Rapid City, SD in this installment. (I like that the author includes a map of Alan's current progress.) I'm determined to get him to Key West, so bring on Book 3!  

Alan meets several likeable characters in Miles to Go. There is a kind and encouraging nurse in the hospital, Norma. Angel is the woman he helped with a flat tire who turns up at the hospital and offers him her home as a place to convalesce. As they get to know each other, it becomes clear Angel has some secrets and eventually reveals her real name is Nicole. Together Nicole and Alan make a positive difference in the lives of two others. Alan's father reconnects with him when he hears of his serious injuries. 

When he can finally restart his journey, Alan meets teenager Kailamai when he saves her from an attack by some young men. She has run away from a foster home and has been hitchhiking but decides to walk along with Alan. They travel together almost as far as Yellowstone NP when Alan has a brilliant idea how to help her in a more lasting way. 

Some of the humor in this book came with the joke-telling of Kailamai and a memory of a Yellowstone tourist. I enjoyed mentions of places I've been like Old Faithful Inn and other familiar things like the Auburn-Alabama football game (I'm a long-time Auburn fan.) and Alan's mother's love of The Carpenters' music---I loved them, too. And I learned about the Crazy Horse National Memorial monument in SD.

All in all, I enjoyed the book, rating it a 5, and will definitely finish the series.

The Walk by Richard Paul Evans

 

"Above all do not lose your desire to walk. I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it."       

      -Kierkegaard, from Alan Christofferson's diary

Coincidentally, I finished this novel on the same day I saw "Extraordinary," a film about a runner who finished the Trans-American Footrace (California to New York) against the odds.

In The Walk, something of a riches to rags story, Alan Christofferson loses all that he holds dear, considers suicide but decides to walk instead---from his home in Seattle to Key West, Florida! I did not realize at first that this trek would be chronicled over several more installments. In book one he gets as far as Spokane.

During this journey, Alan meets some interesting and likeable characters like Ally, a diner waitress, and Colleen Hammersmith who runs a B and B. He helps a woman with a flat tire who is very grateful but later is brutally beaten by a gang.

The book was recommended to me by a friend. It was very readable---finished in a couple of days. With short chapters and frequent foreshadowing, it was a page-turner. I enjoyed Alan's diary entries at the beginning of each chapter. Evans's writing made "the walk" seem very realistic. I rate the book a 4 and the only reason it's not a 5 is: I must now look for the sequel!

The Art of Power: My Story as America's First Woman Speaker of the House by Nancy Pelosi

"I accept this gavel in the spirit of partnership, not partisanship. In this House, we may be different parties, but we all serve one country...this openness requires respect for every voice in the Congress. As Thomas Jefferson said, 'Every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle'...Let us all stand together to move our country forward, seeking common ground for the common good."

        -Nancy Pelosi, becoming Speaker of the House on January 4, 2007

I have greatly admired Nancy Pelosi for her spirit, courage and tenacity. In reading, I was reminded of many of her accomplishments in her 40 years of public life---addressing the 9-11 terrorist attack, and voting against the war in Iraq, addressing the economic crisis of 2008, the passing of the Affordable Care Act and helping the nation survive the global pandemic of 2020 and an attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Not to mention witnessing two presidential impeachments and dealing with an attack in her own home that seriously injured her husband, Paul.

I learned a great deal from the book and gained even more respect for Speaker Pelosi although I can't say I enjoyed the reading, and it was not a page-turner. There was some repetition and some people's names and political jargon I didn't quite get. I am rating the book a 3.