Home Another Way Review at Fathful Reader
Cindy Crosby is a full-time freelance writer for a variety of publications including Publishers Weekly and Books & Culture. She’s the author of BY WILLOWAY BROOK: Exploring the Landscape of Prayer (Paraclete Press) and editor of the ANCIENT CHRISTIAN DEVOTIONAL (InterVarsity Press). An avid backpacker and nature girl, she was an Isle Royale National Park Artist-in-Residence in 2005. She and her husband Jeff live in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. Of Home Another Way, she writes:
…In her poignant yet gritty first novel, Home Another Way, Christa Parrish tells the moving story of one woman’s healing from the scars of her past…. What sets Parrish’s novel apart are her beguiling descriptions and careful word choices. “It took me by complete surprise, how Memory and I had knotted ourselves together, one Sunday at a time one argument at a time — knit one, purl two — until we’d tangled ourselves into some ugly granny-square afghan, with misshapen edges and dropped stitches throughout.” Beautifully said. Parrish knows how to give her readers just enough background information about her characters to keep the pages turning, but without holding so much back that the audience feels cheated or becomes frustrated. Varying points of view (including using first person only for Sarah) help flesh out the characters. As Sarah’s story unfolds, we discover a childhood full of emotional abuse by her grandmother (“She called me her burden; She said I was her constant reminder that she raised her daughter to be a whore.”) and complicated and often checkered pasts for the people of Jonah….
Parrish has peopled her novel with engaging, interesting characters, from old Doc White who has his own skeletons rattling around in a closet to the mountain folks who are lightly sketched. She adeptly avoids the clichéd happily-ever-after ending while still leaving the reader satisfied. Hopefully we’ll hear more from the talented Parrish. Read the entire review here.
So Long, Moose
Anyone who knows me knows I am a huge baseball fan. I love the game, period. But, my heart belongs to the New York Yankees. Today, pitcher Mike “Moose” Mussina announced his retirement – the oldest 20-game winner and the first to retire after 20+ win season in good health. I liked Mussina; he’s a thinking man’s pitcher, not overpowering, relying on brains and control rather than a blazing fast ball, like Greg Maddox. He graduated early from Stanford and has a penchant for crossword puzzles (yes, I have a soft spot for the smart ones).
I appreciate Mussina wanting to go out on top, wanting to be home to spend more time with his sons. He was ready to be done. No regrets.
Okay, now that I’m done being sentimental, the Yankees have an even larger hole to fill in the rotation now. Hank and Cash better get to it.
Hello, My Name is Christa, and I’m a Geek
Yes, I admit it. I am fascinated by all things science, by numbers and words (sometimes together), and by random tidbits of worthless information. I went to a college where my friends’ favorite activities included Star Wars marathons, medieval reenactments, translating messages into tlhIngan Hol, and watching the Wizard of Speed and Time. (I only participated in two of those four things. Okay, three. But I only went to one reenactment. Honestly!) And, in Watch Over Me, I pay tribute to all those high school “brains” who feel like being smart isn’t cool. It is in my world.
That said, one of my favorite blogs to satisfy my geekness is Mental Floss. There’s also a store with some of the funniest t-shirts, like:
Remember high school biology class and the famous monk-turned-geneticist? I remember copying YY GG allele charts from the blackboard, and the definitions of homozygous, heterozygous, phenotype, and genotype are forever ingrained in me.
Okay, I’m sorry, but I chuckled out loud when I saw this one. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are one of my favorite chocolate-craving extinguishers (they have to be frozen, though!), and while you may find munching on monkeys in bad taste, it is a delecacy in some places.
Fibonacci numbers are a sequence of integers mathematically defined as F(0) = 0; F(1) = 1; F(n) = F(n – 1) + F(n – 2) for n > 1. Each number is the sum of the two preceding numbers: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34… Hence, the t-shirt. However, Fibonacci numbers are fascinating – they are closely related to the Golden Ratio, and they appear in everything from music, to financial market trading strategies, to the arrangement of pine cones. How can you not think, “Cool!” (If you can’t read the shirt, it says, It’s as easy as 1, 1, 2, 3.)
Here are a few more of my favorites:
The ENTROPY shirts reads, “It ain’t what it used to be.” And the yellow shirt with the pirate? ”When life gives you scurvy, make lemonade.” And, no, I’m not a Marxist. I just think the shirt is amusing.
Okay, I think I’ve gotten my fix for the week.
Good Reads?
USA Toady has compiled a list of the top 150 best-selling books in the past 15 years. It’s an interesting look at our culture; a few classics, a good mix of fiction and non-fiction, some children’s books, quite a few John Grisham. The Harry Potter series takes seven of the top ten spots, rounding out The Da Vinci Code, an Atkin’s Diet book, and Who Moved My Cheese?
Take a few minutes to browse the list. How many have you read?
I’ve heard of all but maybe 10, and I’ve read 44 – all fiction.
Home Another Way – Soli Deo Gloria
I receive emails from readers every week – people who enjoyed Home Another Way and would like to know if there’s going to be a sequel; people who have been touched by the story, or encouraged by the message; people who can relate to Sarah because they’ve been there, too. But, most recently, I found this encouraging letter in my inbox from a woman who chose Home Another Way for her book group. I asked her if I could post it here, and she graciously agreed.
As I’m laboring to finish Watch Over Me – and really not enjoying it at this moment – this email reminded me why I write. Soli Deo Gloria. For the glory of God alone. I think this shows how the Lord is using Home Another Way for His glory.
Our book club met last night and it was an amazing meeting. Some of the women I didn’t know very well and the discussion group questions really led us into some deep conversations. One of the ladies said how much she could relate to Beth in that she has felt led by God to reach out to another women who is an unbeliever and very difficult to be around in the same way that Sarah was. The story line between Beth and Sarah encouraged her to keep showing Christ’s love to this women despite the difficulty it caused her!
Another one of the ladies that attended is caring for her husband who had a virus attack his spinal cord and left him paralyzed from the waist down and in pain so much of the time that he is bed ridden. She also has two small children to care for. She expressed that Memory was such an inspiration to her to keep on going, and that what Doc said in the story – “Sometimes not enough has to be enough” – really resonated with her.
Another women that attended is an unbeliever, and I could tell from her responses to some of the questions that she is really searching. What a great way for us to be able to share the amazing power of Christ’s love and forgiveness than through the people of Jonah. I just wanted to let you know how much this book has impacted us in different ways. It wasn’t just reading for entertainment, although that was certainly part of it because we all enjoyed the book. It was also very inspirational to us!
Thank you so much for writing the book; God has given you a gift! Please keep on!
Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Writing novels absolutely fits into that whatever. Soli Deo Gloria.
