Crazy For The Storm

I just finished one of the most compelling books I've ever encountered.

It is Crazy For the Storm - A Memoir of Survival by Norman Ollestad.

In this book, Ollestad alternates chapters between the story of the plane crash that he was the lone survivor of at age 11 with stories of his growing up that prepared him for the grueling climb down that ice mountain, the experiences that helped him stay alive.

He describes his dad as a larger than life, highly charismatic figure who pushed him hard to excel at surfing, skiing, hockey - all sorts of physical stuff. Norm Ollestad Sr. pushed his son way further than I as a mother ever could have tolerated. But who is to say how much is too much?

With clear prose that never sugar coats a moment of any of the incidents he describes, "Little Norm" - as he was dubbed growing up, paints amazing word pictures of his early life on Topanga Beach, near Malibu CA in the 70's. He offers glimpses into the life of the surfer culture at a time in history before eminant domain and government regulations changed the California landscape.

Then, in February 1979, in a small Cessna his dad had chartered to take them to go to the awards ceremony for a Ski Race championship that little Norman had just won, they hit the side of a mountain. The pilot, and Normans father, were killed on impact. Little Norman and his dad's girlfriend were both injured, but alive. His depiction of getting down off that mountain is burned into my brain.

The story of the trip young Norman took with his dad to Mexico the previous summer is also told with such riveting images I almost feel as if I was right along with them, slogging through the mud when they got stuck, feeling the salt on my skin at the beach.

This is an amazing book.

It raised so many questions for me.

How far should a parent push a child to do things he or she does NOT want to do if the parent believes it will ultimately be good for the kid?

How far does one parent allow another parent to discipline if (as is often the case) the two have different views on parenting styles?

Why do women stay with men who hit them?

In what ways have things my parents done or not done shaped the way I chose to parent my own kids? How much of that would I change now if I could?

To what extent am I willing to endure physical pain or fear in order to experience bliss or accomplishment on the other side?

What things have I missed out on because I was NOT willing to endure pain or fear?

This is hands down one of the best books I've sampled for a long, long time.

Not only is it a riveting story - his skill with words is amazing. I am convinced that Norman Ollstad would be a good writer telling any tale. But unfolding THIS story, his story, was nothing short of amazing as far as I'm concerned.

I hope he keeps writing.

But whether he does or not, he's given me much to think about.

Where were we??

Hey fellow page nibblers, how's your summer reading coming along? I must admit in the mad rush to finish up my job I totally lost track of what our agreed reading schedule was or even who picks next.

What are you guys reading now?

Here is what I've picked up and what I am recommending for whenever my pick happens to be... The Gursney Literary and Potatoe Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. I'm about half way through it right now and am finding it to be an absolutely delightful book.

It starts off giving the impression it would be a quick easy read, just a bit of whimsy between some of the more serious fare I had been slogging through. But as I read on I found there are moment of real substance and things that gave me pause to ponder along with plenty of chuckles and one or two outright belly laughs.

Have any of you read this one? I'd love to talk to you about this book!

My Sister's Keeper

I just finished reading "My Sister's Keeper" by Jodi Picoult. I started it last night. I was so totally engrossed by this book I literally could not put it down.

I liked a lot about it. I liked the way her characters were not one dimensional. I liked that it made me think and made me FEEL, even if I didn't always like what I was thinking or what I was feeling. I found it to be a very powerful book.

For me, it was powerful for many reasons, but most of all because I've spent time in a hospital ICU with a dying child. I stood by while one sibling was asked to give a stem cell transplant to his sister. The donor child was Troy, Larry's son who is developmentally disabled. So, while he was technically an adult, due to his disability "informed consent" for the procedure was essentially meaningless. He did what his parents asked him to do. Considering his inability to understanad the implications, was it right to ask this of him? I honestly don't know. I wrestled with it then. I wrestle with it now. Would I feel differently had the procedure been successful? I'm honestly not sure. In the end, it was not the cancer that killed Stacy. It was the stem cell transplant. It was a very gruesome, gruelling, awful thing to go through with her. Watching what she went through broke all of our hearts. Still, it was our only hope. So...yeah, I have lots of murky feelings about this.

Fast forward a few years to when my grandson was having his THIRD open heart surgery when he was about 10. I paid close attention to how the whole family responded to that crisis...and we are not out of the woods with Austin yet. Doctors implanted a cow valve, since the two prior attempts to repair his own defective valve had not been successful. So far it seems to be working...but he will most definitely need another surgery as he gets older because his heart will grow, but the dead cow valve will not. So more hospitalizations are looming. This book reminds me all over again how very, very important it is to NOT lose sight of the OTHER kids needs when we huddle together when A. goes back under the knife.

Also it raises another aspect of medical ethics. How do I feel about Xeno-transplants, putting animal tissues or organs into people? As grateful as I am to have my grandson mostly well, I do wonder. Is it any different to put a piece of cow in my grandson's heart than it is to eat a burger? Those of us who eat meat sustain our lives at the expense of animals every day. Still...it feels different. Would I feel any different if it were a different kind of animal that we do not typically eat? I think of the little girl who got a baboon heart. Would I sign off on that?? If it were MY kid who was critically ill, where would I draw the line at what I would or would not do in order to save my child?

I think the author did a good job of raising issues about medical ethics without getting too heavy handed with answers. I also think she did a good job of portraying the complexities of what it can be like for a family wrestling with the serious illness of one child and losing sight of the needs of the others.

As for the ending - I really did not see it coming. I had heard it had a "terrible ending", but that was a twist I did not expect. I've heard the movie has a completely different ending. I'm glad to hear that, although in truth I can accept the book's version of ending as another reminder that life is complicated, brutal, beautiful and seldom turns out how you thought it would.

All in all I found it a very engrossing book. I plan to read more from this author.

My Heart is Made of Stone (except for when it isn't)

I wasn't sure what the official vote for the May was so I read both, "The Middle Place" and "My Sisters Keeper".

Let's start with "The Middle Place". I watch the video that Amber sent and I was very excited to read this book. What I got from the video and what the book was actually about were a bit different than I expected. I thought that this book was going to be about a group of friends and their friendships over time (that's not what it was about).

As I began the book and read the part about how The Middle Place is "that sliver of time when parenthood and childhood overlap" I could identify. Although my "Middle Place" feels like a boulder of time when adulthood and childhood overlap. Continually seeking the approval of parents yet still trying to figure out how to live my life regardless of what my parents think (for the record they would always love me even if I was a street rat).

I thought this book would make me cry, it didn't. I thought this book would touch my soul given that one of my dearest friends has breast cancer, it didn't. I thought I would have some kind of emotional connection, but I didn't. Well, that is not entirely true, I did love her dad.

I enjoyed reading the book and I would call it a quick good read. Unfortunately, I expected it to be about one thing and it was about another. Another one of those 'don't set your expectations to high and you won't be disappointed' type thing.

ONWARD . . .

"My Sister's Keeper" was a good read that I thought would make me cry, it didn't. I am very much looking forward to watching the movie to see how the screen writers adapted it for the movies.

Usually, I don't like books that are written by multiple characters perspective because the story generally becomes repetitious. However, the Author did a WONDERFUL job. When one character's perspective ended the next character seamlessly continued the story.

The ending was HORRIBLE. I felt like the Author didn't know how to end it so she took the easy way out. After dragging (not sure if that is the right word because I really liked the book and the word "dragging" implies that I didn't like it) the book out it ended too quickly.

. . . .and that is how I am ending this blog.

FYI don't forget to vote for June's book!

June Read

It's my turn to choose a book for June, and I have no idea how to go about it, so here's the deal. I went to the library this morning, chose three books at random (from a list of books recommended on a blog I frequent), brought them home, and plan to read all of them this month. You choose which you'd like to read with me! Here's your fair warning: I don't know anything about any of them. Could be interesting. Here they are:

1. The Thirteenth Tale - Diane Setterfield (I started reading this one first because it has the earliest due-back date. I'm on page 13 right now, and so far so good.)

2. The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards

3. These Is My Words - Nancy E. Turner

If anyone has a better idea let me know - I'm no good at this sort of thing.

Good luck!

-Andrea

Their Eyes Were Watching God

I am currently reading Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. This is what it says on the back cover:

One of the most important works of twentieth-century American Literature, Nora Neal Hurston's beloved 1937 classic, Their Eyes Were Watch God, is an enduring Southern love story sparkling with wit, beauty and heartfelt wisdom. Told in the captivating voice of a woman who refuses to live in sorrow, bitterness, fear, or foolish romantic dreams, it is the story of a fair skinned, fiercely independent Janie Crawford, and her evolving selfhood through three marriages and a life marked by poverty, trials, and purpose. A true literary wonder, Hurston's masterwork remains as relevant and affecting today as when it was first published--perhaps the most widely read and highly regarded novel in the entire canon of African American literature.

About the author: Zora Neal Hurston (1891-1960) was a novelist, folklorist, and anthropologist whose fictional and factual accounts of black heritage remain unparalleled. Her many books include Dust Tracks on a Road; Jonah's Gourd Vine; Mules and Men; Seraph on the Suwanee; Moses, Man of the Mountain; and Every Tongue Got to Confess.

I'm just getting started with the book, but so far I'm enjoying it. It took me a little while to adjust to the phonetic spellings of the southern dialect. For example, when the main character is telling her friend about the day she ran away from slavery she describes it like this:

"She flounced on off and let her wintertime wid me. Ah knowed mah body wasn't healed, but Ah couldn't consider dat. In de black dark Ah wrapped mah baby de best Ah knowed how and made it to de swamp by de river. Ah knowed de place was full uh moccasins and other bitin'snakes, but Ah was more skeered uh whut was behind me. Ah hide in dere day and night and suckled de baby every time she start to cry, for fear somebody might hear her and Ah'd git found. Ah ain't sayin' uh friend or two didn't feel mah care. And den de Good Lawd seen to it dat Ah wasn't taken..."

I'm enjoying getting caught up in the world of these charaters, this time period.
I just wish I had more time to just get lost in my reading instead of having to scramble for stolen pockets of time between so many other things...




"

What I read/what I am reading

My favorite author of all times is Malcome Gladwell. He wrote my favorite book of all time "The Tipping Point, How little things Can Make a Big Difference". He also wrote another good read "Blink, The Power of Thinking Without Thinking". When "Outliers, The Story of Success" came out, it was a no brainer to me. I purchased the book hardback and all.

I am only on pg 98 of this book but once again Malcom Gladwell simply amazes me with his original thoughts, his research, and his writing ability. Malcom Gladwell makes his points by telling a series of stories. In my opinion, his writing is smart, entertaining, and makes you think about things in a way that you never thought before.

So far the item that stuck out the most to me is the age that parents put their children into Kindergarten. This is particularly interesting to me because I entered kindergarten at the age of four; the youngest person in my class. People who graduated a year after I did were older than me. His thoughts on this literally covers two pages so it isn't what the entire book is about, the main point of the book is what factors influence success.

I recommend to everyone to read all three of his books. They are quick reads that will surprise you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I just completed "Out of Captivity, Surviving 1,967 Days in the Colombian Jungle".

In Feb. 2003 a plane crashed in the Colombian Jungle filled three civilian contractors from America. The minute they landed they were taken captive by the FARC (columbian terrorist organization). They remained in captivity for five years.

I first heard of their story in 2008 when they were all over the news after being rescued. However, their story was overshadowed by the news story of Ingrid Betancourt, a French-Colombian politician, who was also held prisoner and rescued in the same rescue mission. Needless to say when I saw that the three men had written a book I eagerly purchased and dove into the story.

Even though I essentially knew the story, this book was another good read that I highly recommend.