An Alaskan Life and Lovin' It

Take Good Care of the Garden and the Dogs: Family, Friends, and Faith in Small-Town Alaska by Heather Lende


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
It's not that death has no mysteries for someone who writes obituaries, it's that the writer has turned death' mystery into a way of meeting and celebrating life.
Lende survived a serious bike accident and went on to not just cope with life but to enjoy the good with the bad. Along the way she has written about her life in Haines, Alaska and her friends and neighbors--both the living and the dead. An Episcopalian, she draws on a great wealth of spiritual tradtion to tie life together.
I had enjoyed her first book If You Lived Here, I'd Know Your Name, which came out just before her accident, and I must say that I've enjoyed this one just as much.

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A Three Dog Life

A Three Dog Life by Abigail Thomas


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is Abigail Thomas' account of her life after her husband Rich was hit by a car and suffered massive brain damage. Her life changed and she had to plan for the future, while her husband remained living in the ever-present now. In addition to Harry, the beagle who was with Rich at the time of the accident, she acquires Rosie (half whippet, half dachshund) and the beagle Carolina Bones.
I empathized with her, almost to the point of reliving my own years following my husband's long bout with a brain tumor. While there are some differences (as a neurologist was quick to point out), I still saw many of the same behavior in my husband.
The amazing thing is that I did not find this book to be depressing, nor was it full of Pollyanna-ish cheerfulness.

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GoodRead Seasonal Reads Summer Reading

Once again I've been lured into the GoodReads Seasonal Reading Challenge.
This summer there are 56 tasks, with most of them requiring one book to be read for completion.

Of the several hundred people who have taken up the challenge, most don't plan to finish all the tasks--they have a life that revolves around work, family, recreation, and other things. They pick the tasks that dovetail with their list of books they want to read and get on with it.

Some of us create our list of books we want to read from the list of tasks. My actual TBR list never seems to have quite what's required for the challenge, but I've discovered some great books along the way. I'll be sprinkling those titles through here the next three months.

(And if you'd like to try GoodRead try here http://www.goodreads.com/. The Seasonal Challenge is under Groups. Tell them I sent you.