More Blog Reviews for Home Another Way, Take One
Well, Home Another Way is making the rounds in the blogsphere. Here are some of the reviews I’ve read:
Lynetta at OPEN BOOK writes:
This is a stunning book. Well crafted, beautifully written, and characters that will linger with you long after you finish the last chapter. Usually when I think of Christian conversion stories, I think “cheesy,” but this novel is far from it. Hard-hitting, real, and right where you live, this story is about a lost girl finding her way home.
Mama2Boys at OUR HOMESCHOOL JOURNEY writes:
…This book is a great read! I can see the characters, hear their voices, and experience the setting. It’s people are real, with real faults and shortcomings. So far, none of the characters are superfluous, as I find in so many novels anymore. They all add to the story in one way or another. I really like how the story changes from first person to third person, which give a fuller view of the story. Somehow the author does this and still makes the reader involved in the story! I still cringed at Sarah’s attempt at seducing Mr. Portabella, I still cried when Beth sang at the Christmas Pageant, I still chuckled over Doc’s patients and their idiosyncrasies, and I still hurt for Sarah as she tries to maintain her “kevlar shield” that protects her heart from caring for people. And by the way, I want a neighbor like Memory!! What a woman!!… Read the full review here.
Tishia at TISHIA’S THOUGHTS writes:
…I forgot that these people were not real and I cried when Sarah cried, I felt frustrated when Sarah felt that way and I understood her because I could see myself in her. I think this is the success of Christa’s book- she poignantly wrote a girl that a part of every one of us can relate to or bring us to understand someone else in our life. We all know a Sarah… that difficult stranger that waltzes into your life and blows everyone off, yet feels as if she deserves the world… Read the entire review here.
Ashley at SIMPLE GIFTS writes:
…I was delighted to read vivid, honest descriptions of believable characters who were flawed and human. I was pulled into the plot easily, because I easily identified with all the complicated layers of ugliness in the main character. To date, this is the only work of faith based fiction that I’d recommend to a non believer, or a believer, for that matter…I giggled and cried my way through it’s gritty honesty about the road to emotional healing, and the strong and honest tug of God’s real grace shown through imperfect people… Read the entire review here.
Susan at NEW EVERY MORNING writes:
I am only half way through this book, and I am anxious to finish it. Christa Parrish has an amazing way with words. Each sentence is a masterpiece — descriptive yet concise. She spins a story like a spider spins a web — not a movement is wasted, and when viewed all together it is an ingenious work of beauty and function. I want to know what happens at the end of the book, and I want to read this one slowly, speaking the sentences aloud in my head. It is fascinating to read.
Janis at THE NEARSIGHTED BOOKWORM writes:
This is Christa’s first book and I definitely hope that it will not be her last. Finding your way home emotionally is very important and sometimes it does not occur in the way you think. This book is a beautiful portrait of this. From the first page to the last page, I found myself rooting for Sarah to find the love that would make her into the person that God wanted her to be. If you are looking for a good read with great meaning, this is it.
Janna at CORNHUSKER ACADEMY writes:
I found this book refreshing in a very unusual way. As a reader it is almost impossible to figure out what happened in the past or to predict how the book will end. I was impressed by the growth of the characters and how the storyline progressed. It is not often that you almost hate the heroine, but there are always exceptions and this is one of them. For a fresh read where not everything gets wrapped up in a pretty bow this book is a nice change of pace.
On My Nightstand…
The “Now Reading” application hasn’t been updated to work with the new Wordpress, so I thought I’d share the books I’m working though now, since I can’t post them on the sidebar.
For the writing and literature classes I teach, I’m reading Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox, and God’s Smuggler by Brother Andrew.
To satisfy my cerebral urges, I’ve been working through Christ and the Decree: Christology and Predestination in Reformed Theology from Calvin to Perkins by Richard Muller.
In a challenge to my preconceived notions, I’m reading The Mystic Way of Evangelism: A Contemplative Vision for Christian Outreach by Elaine Heath.
With Jacob, our bedtime book is Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher. I’m surprised at how much he’s enjoying it.
And for fun? Birds of America by Lorrie Moore. It’s her definitive short-story collection, and I’m reading it for the third time.
Second Tuesdays – The Lydia Project
As many of you know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, so I wanted to highlight a ministry that specifically comforts those dealing with the affects of the illness. The Lydia Project does just that. Named for the seller of purple in Acts, this organization makes beautiful fabric tote bags for women undergoing cancer treatments. The totes are always free, and “come with a network of support and prayerful encouragement reaching women throughout Augusta, nationwide, and beyond.”
You can, of course, donate monetarily to the ministry, but the Lydia Project also lists specific needs that can be sent to them:
1. “FOREVER” Postage Stamps. These stamps are good even when postage rate increase. (One book communicates to twenty women; one roll communicates to one-hundred women.)
2. Small size hand cream (tube size, 2-4 oz, no hotel samples, please.) These are placed in every tote.
3. Note Cards (such as packages of 10 blank notes) (Lydia volunteers monthly write encouraging notes to hundreds of woman needing encouragement).
4. Ink pens – (Placed in every tote for every woman receiving a Lydia tote).
5. Packaging tape (U. S. Post office approved) (50% of totes are mailed to women outside the CSRA area and in need of support)
6. Box of 100 mailing envelopes (12” X 15 ½”) (Used for mailing totes to women nationwide and worldwide).
7. Printer Cartridges – Lexmark 82 & 83 (Replenishes Lydia office printers).
8. Cutting Mats – small/ 24 X 18 size or large 36×24 size(Loaned to church and other sewing groups for group cutting days)
9. Rotary Cutters (2 ½ blades) (Used to cut material for Lydia totes)
10. Gift cards for Wal-Mart, Target, Office Supply stores, Hancock’s, JoAnn’s (Wal-Mart, Target, and Office Supply cards are used to purchase needed office supplies; Hancock’s and JoAnn’s cards assist with sewing purchases.)
There are other ways to help, too. If you’re crafty, the Lydia project needs people to cut fabric, sew and monogram totes – all which can be done at home – or make it a group thing! – if you have the right equipment and skills. Go here to check out the volunteer application or to contact the office directly.
Two other ministries aiding cancer patients and/or their families:
Kids Konnected - Kids Konnected’s mission is to provide friendship, understanding, education, and support for the children who have a parent with cancer, or have lost a parent to cancer. When a parent gets cancer, the entire family is affected. Children facing the same fears and similar experiences can be helped by others in a similar situation. Kids helping Kids is what we’re all about. With “Kids Konnected” you don’t have to be alone anymore! Our Hope the Bear Care Packages are sent to families experiencing cancer. Our packages are individually tailored to each family depending on the ages of the children, who has cancer, and what stage the cancer is in. Packages contain books, workbooks, brochures, and additional information to help the child or teen better cope with what cancer brings. Every package includes a “Hope” teddy bear for each child and our volunteers make security blankets for children under 5. Kids Konnected also has special bereavement packages for children and teens that have lost a parent to cancer. There are several other programs to support, too.
Breast Friends: Often, breast cancer patients, especially the newly diagnosed, are in the greatest emotional pain, but are the least able to ask for help. Breast Friends teaches the friends and family of cancer patients specific ways to offer support, helps them understand what the patient is going through, and suggests useful resources for the patient and her family. Addressing a woman’s cancer is a sensitive issue, but we all want to help. However, friends often worry about not doing it “right”. As a result, time passes, and to avoid doing it “wrong,” we often don’t do anything at all. Then, more time passes, and by then we are too embarrassed to pick up the phone and make the call. The message of Breast Friends is that it’s never too late to make contact and provide useful and appreciated support to those we love who are facing this terrible disease. Several programs, including the First I Cry packet, H.A.T.S. (Healthy Attitude to Survive) Project, and online Chemo Cards to send to a loved one losing her hair from treatment.
Those “Aha!” Moments
There are some things I know my kid gets – spelling, math, those quantitative things I can check to see are right or wrong. But the some of the most gratifying moments of homeschooling are when I see Jacob making his own connections between learning and life. What is knowledge without the ability to apply it to the world around us?
In the afternoons when we’re at home, Jacob can choose to watch a television show on PBS. Usually he picks Cyberchase or Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman, but the other day he picked Marc Brown’s Arthur. This episode was about one of the characters, Buster, trying to get his single mother back together with her ex-boyfriend. Buster wrote letters to each one, to lure them to the same place at the same time. Jacob said to me, “This is sort of like Shakespeare.”
Shakespeare? I have to admit the thought didn’t even enter my mind. “How do you mean?” I asked.
“Well, Buster’s trying to trick his mom to get her to love someone. That’s always in Shakespeare. Tricking people with letters, and everyone liking the wrong people. Just like with Viola acting like a boy, and the duke, and the girl the duke loves who loves Viola because no one knows she’s really a girl.”
“Twelfth Night,” I said.
“Yeah. And that other one we read first, when the one guy loved Julia, and the other guy thought love was stupid. Then both of them loved the same girl. And Julia dressed up like a boy in that one, too.”
“Two Gentlemen of Verona,” I said.
“Everyone is always lying in Shakespeare. I mean, why would you want to love someone who lies to you, anyway?”
“You wouldn’t. It’s just pretend.”
“Well, it’s boring. Love, love, love. Boring, boring, boring,” Jacob said.
Girls are icky to a seven-year-old. I get it. Of course, I’m secretly thrilled that he was able to draw the parallel between great literature and a cartoon. But I guess we’ll be reading a tragedy next.
Book Signing at Milk & Honey
I’ll be at Milk & Honey tomorrow, October 11, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. signing copies of Home Another Way. Stop by and say, “Hi,” if you’re around (the signing coordinates with the downtown Glens Falls harvest festival).
Milk & Honey
16 Exchange Street
Glens Falls, NY 12801
518.798.0700
