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Writing, Reading, and Rural Life With a Border Collie

Category Archives: Book Reviews – Non-Fiction


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Fresh Approach to Thorny Topic Shines in ‘Forgiving Like God’

Forgiving Like God: A Conversation with Frank, an AI Persona

By David Wyatt, Indie Author

Genre: Christian Non-Fiction

Pages: 99, including Appendix

Via: Author Request

Back when her Momness was a young whipper-snapper – shortly after the discovery of fire – one of her fave authors was Dr. Lewis Smedes. He was a professor of theology and ethics at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California.

Smedes wrote 15 books. But Mom’s fave is Forgive and Forget: Healing the Hurts We Don’t Deserve. Now deceased, Smedes was one of few authors who takes the time and effort  to think and dig deeply into the topic of forgiveness. 

So this book reminded us of good ‘ole Doc Smedes. The author has actually done the hard legwork of thinking, sifting, researching, reflecting, and ruminating on the topic of forgiveness. There’s none of that knee-jerk fluff stuff here. How refreshing.

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Hiking Memoir Hard to Peg

Force of Nature

Three Women Tackle the John Muir Trail

By Joan M. Griffin

Black Rose Writing, 2023

Pages: 378

Genre: Nonfiction – Memoir/Travel/Outdoors

Via: Blog Tour

Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

So Her Momness and I came back from chugging all over hill and dale the other day and checked the mail. We found Joan Griffin’s hiking memoir, Force of Nature, waiting for us. Cool, we thought. Besides. Who can resist that luscious cover?

Well. Mom and I agreed to join a blog tour for this book for three main reasons: 1) One of us has been hiking since she was knee-high to a bean-sprout (back when dinosaurs roamed the earth); 2) One of us is a native Californian and knows the John Muir Trail (JMT); 3) Mom’s private chocolate stash was running low and I, Kimber, promised her a refill if she finished this book lickety-split-ish. (Yea, verily. It’s amazing what some peeps will do for free chocolate. Selah.)

Okay. Where was I. Oh yeah. Force of Nature. I’ll let Mom give ya some deets:

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Looking for Peter J.

One of the most inspirational “travel” books I’ve ever read is Peter Jenkins’ A Walk Across America (Harper Collins, 1979).

Do you remember?

Remember?

Disillusioned and cynical about society, newly minted college graduate Jenkins decides to hit the road with his faithful half Alaskan Malamute and “fur-ever friend,” Cooper. (The book is even dedicated to Peter’s “forever friends”: Cooper the Half Malamute and Barbara Jo.”)

Together, Peter and Coop discover America. The resulting tome, A Walk Across America, is the compelling, uplifting account of the reawakening of Jenkins’ faith in himself and his country. It topped the New York Times Bestseller list for months and remains a beloved classic.

A Return

Weary of plowing through a mountain of mawkish drivel posing as “hiking memoir,” I recently decided to return to the Real Deal. The “Grand Daddy” of the genre and its trail-blazing author: Peter Jenkins.

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

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‘Loose on the Landscape’ Reels in a Winner

Loose on the Landscape: An Ecologist Looks for Meaning in the Wildest Places

By Joel Everett Harding

Indie author, 2023

Genre: Non-Fiction – Memoir/Anthology/Nature/Ecology

Pages:  430

Via: Author Request

Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Pssst! Buddy, can you keep a secret? Good. Cuz I’m about to let you in on one. Sort of. Here it is:

One of Mom’s favorite movies is A River Runs Through It. Not necessarily because of the story, although the movie parallels Norman Maclean’s Pulitzer Prize-nominated novella pretty close. But the movie is a Mom fave for two other reasons: 1) Mark Isham’s masterfully moving musical score, and 2) The spectacular landscape and scenery of Montana.

 

 

Maybe that’s why Mom had the movie’s musical score in her head on auto-play when she opened this book. I’ll let Mom fill you in:

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‘Emerging’ Offers Hope, Authenticity

Emerging: Stories from the Other Side of a Cancer Diagnosis, Loss, and a Pandemic by Nancy ...EMERGING: Stories from the Other Side of a Cancer Diagnosis, Loss, and a Pandemic

By Nancy Stordahl

Independently Published, 2023

Genre: Memoir/Breast Cancer/Grief & Bereavement

Pages: 120

 

Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Some books are meant to be sipped and savored slowly, like fine wine. NancyStordahl’s EMERGING: Stories from the Other Side of a Cancer Diagnosis, Loss, and a Pandemic is one of them. Profound and powerful, Emerging takes readers on a deep dive into the lifelong process of healing and self-acceptance as learned by a self-described “average sort of worrier.” It’s a terrific read!

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‘Keeping the Watch’ (We Couldn’t Think of Something Catchier. Sorry. Sort of.)

Keeping the Watch: Caretaking The Hidden Value of a Family Heirloom

By Patrick Blau

Indie author, 2022

Genre: Non-Fiction/Memoir

Pages:  345 + Photo Gallery

Via: Author Request

Books are amazing. Sometimes they’re exactly what you expect. Sometimes they surprise you. You can’t always tell what’s inside by looking at the cover. Perusing the book blurb. Or even reading other reviews.

Memoirs can be especially tricky in this regard. Cuz let’s face it, Cupcake. Unless you’re famous, a celebrity, a Big Name or have an uber compelling life story with a transcendent theme that’s gonna resonate with lotsa folks, most people who don’t know you and have never heard of you aren’t gonna care. Sorry, Toots. That’s just the way it is.

Keeping the Watch is one of those. To be clear, Watch isn’t a “bad” book. It’s pretty well written and is a history of the Blau family. It’s based on true historical figures in the author’s ancestry. But we just could not get into it. We tried and tried and tried. Gave it so many second, third, fourth and more chances, we got whiplash.

We put off  reviewing this book for so long, our cerebral hard drive sprouted cobwebs. On the cobwebs. But we finally got down to brass tacks today. So here ya go:

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‘Heart-y’ New Memoir Doesn’t Waste a Second

Let’s get one thing straight right off the kibble, shall we? spake I, Kimber the Magnificent. Today’s book is From the Sidelines to the Finish Line by Emily Falcon. It’s a memoir about Emily’s lifelong journey with a congenital cardiac condition. 

Now, From the Sidelines to the Finish Line is a good book. You really oughtta read it. You know this is so cuz I’m telling ya it is. Got that, Cupcake? Cuz I wanna make another thing clear right off the football: There are some real stand-outs in this memoir-ish read. They have fur and four feet, if ya get my drift. And no, Toots, I’m not talking felines here. I’m talking Phoebe the therapy dog. Dual doggies Maxi and Blueberry. And Josie, chihuahua/Jack Russell terrier mix with the heart of a lion.

From the Sidelines to the Finish Line

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”Dance in the Meadow’ Offers Food for the Soul

Dance in the Meadow

Conversations of Self-Discovery, Clarity, and Love

By Cathay O. Reta

Pages: 148

Publisher: Keep Walking Publications, 2023

Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Solitude and quiet conversation are becoming a lost art n this often-frenetic, fast-paced world of “Double, double, toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble!”  Remember that game? When people got together and actually talked? Like, for real? Face to face? Instead of burying themselves in their devices and ignoring the real live person right next to them??

Those were the days.

And a new book by Cathay Reta gently draws us back to the art of conversation. Dialogue. Give and take. Learning. Growing. Sharing. Letting go.

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2 Woof-Worthy Reads (I’d Grab ‘Em Now ‘Fize You)

“Mom! Mom! I like THIS one!”

Kimber the Magnificent here. Telling you about how I nudged Her Momness in the direction of a book that looked really good the other day. “Oh, and this one , too!” I mean, hey. Who can resist these covers? We’re talking Serious Sweet Stuff here, right? Like, Canines R Us.

So I talked Mom into grabbing two woof-worthy titles. (It wasn’t hard, if ya know what I mean.) Here’s the 4-1-1:

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King of Narrative NF Shows How It’s Done With ‘Into The Wild’

Into The Wild

By Jon Krakauer

Genre: Narrative Non-Fiction/Biography/Autobiography

Via: Library

There’s a reason Jon Krakauer is a bestselling author of narrative nonfiction. If you’re unfamiliar with  Krakauer, then consider picking up a copy of his book Into The Wild. It’s an excellent introduction into the work of this crack investigative journalist as he pieces together the life and death of Christopher McCandless (aka: “Alexander Supertramp”).

The 4-1-1

The son of a well-off family, McCandless disappeared after graduating from college. He donated his $25,000 in savings to charity. Abandoned his car and most of his possessions. Burned all the cash he had. McCandless chose to become a “leather tramp,” relying on hitchhiking as his primary mode of transportation (as opposed to a “rubber tramp,” someone who travels on wheels).

Essentially divested of all connections to civilization, McCandless sets off across the country with his sights set on his “great Alaskan adventure.” Intending to spend the summer alone in the bush, living off the land, McCandless walked into the Alaskan wilderness in April 1992. Along with his meager possessions, McCandless carried a pair of borrowed boots, a guide book on edible plants, and a ten pound bag of rice.

He was found dead by moose hunters four months later. He weighed 67 pounds. What may have happened to McCandless and why makes up the balance of this riveting read.

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