Friday Book Pick: A SOUND AMONG THE TREES by Susan Meissner

Frequently we, as humans, use our pasts as an excuse not to live in the present. Could a house do the same?

In her newest book, A Sound Among the Trees, Susan Meissner explores how a family's past is connected to the history of the house in which they live. It is a haunting story full of twist and turns and seemingly unanswerable questions. Long after I finished reading, I found myself revisiting the story and its characters in my mind.

Here is a summary of the book, courtesy of Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers:

A house shrouded in time. A line of women with a heritage of loss.

As a young bride, Susannah Page was rumored to be a Civil War spy for the North, a traitor to her Virginian roots. Her great-granddaughter Adelaide, the current matriarch of Holly Oak, doesn’t believe that Susannah’s ghost haunts the antebellum mansion looking for a pardon, but rather the house itself bears a grudge toward its tragic past. 

When Marielle Bishop marries into the family and is transplanted from the arid west to her husband’s home, it isn’t long before she is led to believe that the house she just settled into brings misfortune to the women who live there.

With Adelaide’s richly peppered superstitions and deep family roots at stake, Marielle must sort out the truth about Susannah Page and Holly Oak— and make peace with the sacrifices she has made for love.

I always enjoy Susan Meissner's style. Her ability to mix together both contemporary and historical stories together amazes me. In this new novel, she not only combines two time periods, but inserts the house--Holly Oak--as a character. I found myself pondering how (and why) we chain ourselves to our past "baggage" instead of choosing to live free.

Meissner's characters are memorable and thought-provoking: Adelaide, the elderly matriarch who "does penance" by stitching confederate uniforms for reenactors; Marielle, the young bride who discovers that she has married into a family legacy of suffering and sacrifice; Susannah, living in Civil War Virginia, and haunted by her divided loyalties; and of course, Holly Oak--the house, itself--hiding its owners' secrets while bearing the scars of the war.

A Sound Among the Trees is a great October read. The house's secrets and ghosts are a perfect match for the season. Enjoy!

Read an excerpt from A Sound Among the Trees, courtesy of Waterbrook Multnomah.


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for the purpose of review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

11 Reasons Fall Makes Me Happy

In no particular order...

1. Toddlers wearing costumes around town...weeks before Halloween.
2. Hearing the marching band from the HS stadium, 1/4 mile away.
3. The color of the sunlight as it filters through the golden leaves.
4. Kids (in rubber boots) going on pumpkin patch field trips.
5. The first leaf-raking afternoon (I don't so much enjoy all the other leaf raking afternoons that follow).
6. Carmel apple lollipops.
7. Pumpkin pie.
8. Crisp breezes.
9. Pulling sweaters out of storage.
10. Pumpkins on the porch and my traditional mini pumpkin on the mantle.
11. The last glimpses of sunshine before Oregon's winter rains begin.

What are your favorite things about Fall?

Crossed Wires

The robot spun helplessly in circles as the kids turned and looked at us (their coaches) in panic. Our LEGO robotics team had been practicing for months for this event. Ten students (4th-7th grade) and three coaches had come together to design, build and program a robot to compete in the First LEGO League tournament. Now our robot pirouetted like a mechanical ballerina while the opposing team's robot accomplished task after task.

The clock showed no mercy. At the end of the allotted two minutes and thirty seconds a loud buzz signaled that our time was up.  

"Stupid robot." One student muttered. "It's broken. We've lost."

We gathered the team for an emergency meeting and they put their heads together. After several discouraging minutes, one of the kids discovered the problem. The cable connecting the motor to the wheels was out of place. A quick adjustment and the robot sprang forward and rolled across the floor to the sound of the team's cheers.

One tiny cord out of place had caused the entire problem.

Does that ever happen in your life? It does in mine.

We try to teach the LEGO kids to go down a checklist of possibilities when the robot is "misbehaving." I think it applies to our lives as well. 

• Is the battery charged? 

  If we so busy that we never take time to recharge, we can end up dead in the water.

• Is the right program running? 

  We always reminded the kids that the robot isn't "out to get them." It can only do what it's program tells it to do. So who is doing my programming? Is it God? Way too often it's ME.

• Is everything plugged in correctly? 

  The wires allow the robot brain to communicate with its parts. Am I keeping my lines of communication opened with God? With my family? With my church? 

• Are the wheels aligned?  

  We learned early that our robot was prone to veering off course if the wheels were not pointing the right direction. What am I pointing toward? What's my focus? My goal? Am I off course?

The kids were primed and ready for their next turn at the competition table. They were proud that they had overcome this hurdle and didn't give up and go home. They still talk about it a year later. The team didn't win any trophies that year, but I think they learned some valuable lessons that they are going to carry with them for a long time. 

Keep trying.
Don't panic.
Go through your checklist.
Try again. 
And again. 
And again.

Surprise!

Have you ever noticed God's gifts sometimes show up in strange places or at surprising moments in time?

This past summer, we fostered a dachshund puppy. She struggled with potty training and no matter what we tried, she would wake in the middle of the night and NEED to go out to do her business. Yes, yes...we tried crate training--it just didn't work for us/her. We probably didn't do it right.

So most nights this summer, we'd wake up in the wee hours of the morning to the sound of a whining puppy. If we ignored it, she'd have an accident.

We've been done with the 3 AM feeding stuff for quite a few years, so it was tough to get used to waking up and caring for another when I'd rather be sleeping. And it certainly wasn't the time of day I'd expect a gift from God.

But sometimes that's just the way it works out. I think He likes to surprise us.

Our summer schedule was a bit hectic. But at 3 AM, things are quiet. Slow. Beautiful. Walking the dog out into the yard in the middle of the night, grumbling, I discovered something amazing.

Stars. "Billions and billions" as Carl Sagan used to say.

What a gift. I wouldn't have thought to take a moment out of our busy summer schedule to step outside and look at the stars. It took puppy whines to MAKE that happen.

And I got to do that many times this summer. Wake up, grumble, walk out and stare in wonder at the sky.

Of course, the pup usually finished her business quickly and wanted to go back in. Then she grumbled.

As I stared at my gift.

Friday Book Pick: OVER THE EDGE by Brandilyn Collins

The winner of the Book Of Dreams contest is...
Pamela J.

Congratulations Pamela! I'll be contacting you by email to find out your mailing address.You will be receiving a new copy of Davis Bunn's Book of Dreams courtesy of Howard Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

The Book Pick for today is Brandilyn Collins' Over the Edge. In her newest suspense novel, the weapon of choice for the bad guy is a tiny insect--loaded with lyme disease. This book had my skin crawling but my imagination fully engaged. Collins tackles the medical debates over lyme disease head on and who better to write such a book than someone who struggled personally with Lyme Disease?

Though it tiptoes around being an "issue book," and a few times it threatened to cross the line into educating rather than entertaining, I never felt like I lost the story. I was intrigued by the characters and carried along by the twists and turns of the plot.

Here is the back cover copy, courtesy of BrandilynCollins.com

Janessa McNeil’s husband, Dr. Brock McNeil, a researcher and professor at Stanford University's Department of Medicine, specializes in tick-borne diseases—especially Lyme. For years he has insisted that Chronic Lyme Disease doesn't exist. Even as patients across the country are getting sicker, the committee Brock chairs is about to announce its latest findings—which will further seal the door shut for Lyme treatment.

One embittered man sets out to prove Dr. McNeil wrong by giving him a close-up view of the very disease he denies. The man infects Janessa with Lyme, then states his demand: convince her husband to publicly reverse his stand on Lyme—or their young daughter will be next.
But Janessa's marriage is already rocky. She's so sick she can hardly move or think. And her husband denies she has Lyme at all.

Welcome to the Lyme wars, Janessa.

You can read an excerpt of Over The Edge here.

Have a great weekend...and watch out for ticks!

What's Your Kraken?

A few years ago I remember finding my son sitting straight up in bed in the middle of the night, eyes wide.

"What's wrong? Nightmare?"

"Kraken," he croaked.

I sighed and made a note to not let him play any more "Ocean Hunter" at the pizza place.

The Kraken is a mythological creature attributed to Norse sailors in the 13th century. (Read an interesting article about it on ABC News' Science Blog by Ned Potter).  It's also the stuff of legend, pirate movies, video games and my son's vivid imagination.

Since then, I've come to think of it as the stuff that haunts my own nightmares. Anxious thoughts. Aching worries.

Is it just a headache or is it a sign of some deeper medical issue?
Should I be pushing my child harder about his schoolwork?

(or on the opposite night) Am I pushing him too hard?
Is my husband happy with me?
Should I confront my friend about her behavior?

What are yours?

My son has since conquered his Kraken phobia. We talked it out. He watched several documentaries about collosal squid. He read books about mythical sea monsters. He tried calamari. And he invested enough quarters to demolish that evil beast on Ocean Hunter.

How do I conquer my own Kraken?

Like my son did, I take steps to control my fears. I talk with my family and friends and let them set me straight. I try to educate myself on the subject--is there any real basis for my fear? I pray about it and let God re-align my thoughts (Phillipians 4:6).

And then when I've done all that, I try to cut that silly kraken down to a manageable size. Whether that be with deep fat frying (calamari) or quarters... humor often helps take the edge off of my fears.

So, what is your Kraken? How do you battle the beast?

Speaking of dreams and nightmares--have you entered my blog contest to win a free copy of Davis Bunn's new novel, Book of Dreams? Scroll back to Friday's post to learn how. The contest ends Thursday at 12:00 pm Pacific Time.

Friday Book Pick and CONTEST: Book of Dreams by Davis Bunn

Davis Bunn's newest novel, Book of Dreams, releases this week to a world struggling with economic woes. Appropriately enough, Book of Dreams focuses on corruption within the banking industry and a select team who, because of dreams and visions, feel called to challenge the status quo. Book of Dreams is a thrilling page-turner that kept me reading (rather than dreaming) until late into the night.

For a chance to win a copy of Book of Dreams, see the instructions at the bottom of this post!

Here is the book summary, courtesy of Howard Books, a division of Simon & Schuster.

For Dr. Elena Burroughs, life is divided into two chapters—before and after the death of her husband. Today marks the point that her span of being a wife is equal to her span of being a widow. Even her success as a psychologist and her worldwide acclaim for a book on the interpretation of dreams is dimmed by an unspoken “If only.”

Then a new patient arrives, one so private only her first name is given. Impeccably dressed and escorted by two bodyguards, Sandra recounts a frightening series of recurrent nightmares. Elena agrees to consider her case more carefully, convinced that something ominous may be at work here. 

Elena's interpretation of Sandra’s dreams confirms that, indeed, the new patient and her family confront a powerful global network of dangerous forces. As the story unfolds, they face a key question of the Christian life: How do you understand and fulfill the will of God? 

The characters in Book of Dreams seem to actually live and breathe amongst the lines of this beautiful story. Bunn is a master story-teller, making the settings of Oxford and Rome spring to life as his characters struggle with extradordinary inner turmoil and outer conflict. I love how he used dreams and nightmares to bring his characters together and have them seek after God's will for their lives.

Now for some great news! I'm excited to announce that Simon & Schuster is offering my blog readers the opportunity to win their own copy of Book of Dreams. To enter, leave a comment which includes your name, e-mail address, and a description of a silly (or scary) dream that you've experienced. The winner will be chosen randomly from the entries. The constest will close on Thursday, October 13th at 12:00 pm Pacific Time and I will notify the winner (by e-mail) on Friday. I suggest spelling out your email address in this format: "name (at) at place (dot) com" to protect you from address collecting programs.

To start off the conversation...I frequently experience a dream where I'm wandering through my house and discover that it has all kinds of extra rooms that I never discovered before. Each room is decorated and furnished and I have a grand time exploring these new treasures.

So what kind of crazy dreams have you had? And I don't have to warn you to keep it clean, right? ;)

To learn more about Book of Dreams, read the first chapter here.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book for free from Simon & Schuster for the purpose of review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”