Dona's Book Blog

Thank you to the author Brittany Means, publishers Zibby Books, and NetGalley, for an advance digital copy of HELL IF WE DON'T CHANGE OUR WAYS. All views are mine. Opening Quote: I can tell you that having certainty is sometimes a mirage you create for yourself so you can keep taking steps through the sand. Loc.1875 Three (or more) things I loved: 1. At the end of this book, a lot of readers may hold that Brittany's mom doesn't deserve her children's forgiveness, especially Brittany's. A lot of people in my life have told me in my life that my mother doesn't deserve mine. But our mothers do deserve forgiveness. I forgive my mother. It is a courageous act I engage in ever day. Brittany shows the same courage. This book does many things, including importantly that it instructs deeply on the universal gift of forgiveness.  2. The opening page of chapter 1 is one of the most beautiful and haunting things I've ever read. I make note of my weight p...

Thank you to the author Anne Gudger, publishers Jaded Ibis Press, and Get Red PR Books, for an advance paperback copy of THE FIFTHCHAMBER. All views are mine. Opening quote : Field Guide to Christmas Grief: ...27. Find 12 flattish round rocks and nestle them at the base of your blue tree. Gifts. Moons. One for each month you've kept you and your boy alive. Write words on the bottom of the rocks, where they're hidden, where they're just for you. p106 Three (or more) things I loved: 1. Sometimes the way she cuts time is incredible, like the transition from the bottom of p55 to the top of p56. The narrative moves from a very visceral first person account of a near drowning directly to the panic that narrator feels when going to grief therapy for the first time after her husband died.  2. The headache descriptions are so accurate and I felt connection with the narrator because of this trait. I too get terrible headaches, and I wondered while reading what the pain...

Thank you to the author Sherry Sidoti, publishers She Writes Press, as well as BookSparks, for an advance physical copy of ᴀ sᴍᴏᴋᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀ sᴏɴɢ. "'Practice listening.... [your dad's] just a man. And men have limits.... Remember, his truth may not be your truth or the truth at all, for theat matter. Everyone has their side of the truth."p66 Sidoti's memoir grabbed me and wouldn't let go. I felt so connected to this young girl, growing up in the 80's, whose parents were uninvested in a child's affairs, especially their emotions. I grew up in the same decade, and it's true: parents of that era just didn't care about the same things that they do now. That was, "my daughter's my best friend" and "stop crying or I'll give you something to cry about" era. When Sidoti wrote about trying to make her parents and sisters happy, and how elusive that goal was, I felt the potency of the scenes. How could adults expect ...