Be Still My Soul by Joanne Bischof

Books take me to thousands of places around the world. This week I traveled to Patrick County, Virginia, with the characters of Joanne Bischof's debut novel "Be Still My Soul".  I dug my bare feet into the side of the mountain, and felt the cold wind whip at my shawl. I heard the gruff voices of the back country men, and watched as the women scrubbed their floors with creek water and sand.  I lived briefly with gracious hosts, Lonnie and Gideon, Jebediah and Elsie.  Lonnie told me the story of her abusive father, and of her forced marriage to Gideon. How she and Gideon never thought they would be happy, as each longed for love in their own way.  She shed a few tears as she described the birth of her children, and the loss of her baby girl.  Gideon, Jebediah, and Elsie sat quietly in the cabin kitchen as she spoke. Pipe smoke drifted around the men, and Elsie fanned it away from the sleeping baby in her arms.  I asked Lonnie what it was that she would tell the world, if she could, and she said "tell them His eye is on the sparrow. That's what my Aunt told me, but it took a lot of hurtin' to truly understand."

Grab some coffee from the wood stove, there's a tin mug or two up on the shelf, and sit down at the table with "Be Still My Soul". Lonnie and Gideon will put aside their chores for a little while. They want you to know what God has shown them. "There's a lesson to be learned in this...but you ain't learned it yet" (p.127)

Read the first chapter, listen to the podcast by Joanne Bischof, or order the book at: http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/blog/tag/be-still-my-soul/

This book was provided to me free of charge by Waterbrook Multnomah for review purposes.

One Glorious Ambition by Jane Kirkpatrick

I am a total history nut.   Don't let that get back to my assorted History teachers from past years, the ones who listened to me complain on a daily basis about how much I hated their assignments.  It's different when you don't have to write a paper on it, people.  Anyway, before or shortly after I start a historical fiction novel, I go do a Google search about the topic. It's important to me to know the facts before I delve into the fiction.  It's with that knowledge that I applaud Author Jane Kirkpatrick for the incredible amount of research she must have done for her newest book "One Glorious Ambition: The Compassionate Crusade of Dorothea Dix".

"One Glorious Ambition" drew me right in. While I appreciated the writing style, and the flow of the narrative, it was the topic that I enjoyed the most.  After working for five years as a psychiatric nurse with the institutionalized mentally ill, I could definitely relate to Dorothea Dix and her crusade to bring "moral care" to the suffering masses.  I was unaware that it was Miss Dix who turned the system of mental health care upside down. One woman, traveling thousands of miles, stepping outside her "position" as a woman in 19th century society and opening doors to humane treatment for so many.

While I loved the book, I also found it exhausting. How one woman could experience so much pain and loss,  interspersed with long periods of devastating illness, and still travel around the world seeking to do God's will in her life wore me right out.  I almost couldn't finish reading.  It was as if I traveled with her.  Thank you, Author Jane Kirkpatrick, for a job well done.

"One Glorious Ambition" is due to be released on April 2, 2013. A pre-launch copy was provided to me free of charge by Waterbrook Multnomah for review purposes.  You can learn more about the author's goals in writing this book via a podcast at http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/blog/tag/one-glorious-ambition/

Download Chapter 1, or pre-order at http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?work=204725

"Wishing On Willows" by Katie Ganshert

Have you met Katie Ganshert? No? Then you should.  You don't have to meet her in person.  You'll find her on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and her blog, BUT even if you never visit social media, you will still find her.  Her personality and her love for her family and the Lord spill over into the pages of her books.  She has a real heart for the grieving.  I felt it in her first novel, and I can certainly reaffirm that from the second.

"Wishing On Willows" is Katie's second novel. It is due to be released March 19, 2013.  Her first, "Wildflowers From Winter", has since been deemed "my favorite read of 2012".   "Wishing On Willows" takes us back to the town of Peaks, a struggling riverbank community in Iowa.  "Single motherhood. A ministry to save. A struggling cafe. And a businessman all too eager to knock it down." (p.76) It's Robin's story.  A widowed mother, trying to navigate life through grief and fear.  Striving for the new, but unable to release the old.

The characters are people who you would expect to find in any small town.  They're your neighbors, your community workers, the businessmen passing through.  All with stories of their own.  All with their own griefs to bear.  They will find their way into your heart, and leave you with the desire to meet with them again.

You are invited to come and meet Robin by way of an excerpt available online. Go to www.katieganshert.com and click on "books" then "Wishing On Willows". Read the sneak peak, and when you are done and are looking for more, click on the tab to pre-order.  When you pre-order, you will also receive a free set of devotionals also written by Katie Ganshert. These are ONLY available for pre-orders. You can also get information via podcast through Waterbrook Multnomah       http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/blog/2012/11/13/podcast-wishing-on-willows-by-katie-ganshert/ 
                                                                                             
I'd love to have you join my Facebook event as well, at https://www.facebook.com/events/318852898225415/?fref=ts  Share the event and be entered to win a free copy of either of Katie's novels!  There will be a book signing in Davenport, Iowa, on March 23, 2013. If you're in the area, come and say "hello"! https://www.facebook.com/events/391827337578079/?fref=ts

Want some extras?  Go to the "Wishing On Willows" Pinterest page to meet the cast of characters and get recipes from the Willow Tree Cafe  http://pinterest.com/katieganshert/wishing-on-willows/

"Wishing On Willows" was provided to me free of charge by Author, Katie Ganshert and Waterbrook Multnomah for review purposes.

A Clearing In The Wild by Jane Kirkpatrick

Here in rural America, it's a big deal when the UPS truck pulls up out front. Which then leads to a dive for the front door to see who the package is for. "Boooook!", we yell. "We" being my fourteen year old daughter, and myself.  Never mind that it's "mine". If it has words and she beats me to it, I'm sunk. And so it was that said daughter got to read "A Clearing In The Wild" first.

Based on a true story, it follows the journey of young and spirited Emma Wagner as her life unfolds among the people of Bethel, Missouri.  Never one to "conform", Emma was the only woman in a party of ten sent out as a scout to find a new home for her communal society in the Oregon wilderness.  Very well researched, it sent me scurrying to the internet to learn more about who Emma Wagner Giesy was, and what happened later on in her life.

That was after my daughter had had her turn with the book. Which went something like this:  "ummm, I don't really like this book, she marries some old guy". "Then why are you reading it?".  "ummm, because I want to see what happens between her and the old guy"?

I enjoyed "A Clearing in the Wild", plus it made for a nice discussion between my daughter and I after we had both read it. I'm always encouraged to know that there are good books out there that are "clean" enough for me to share with my fourteen year old daughter. Bravo, Jane Kirkpatrick!

"A Clearing In The Wild" is available from www.waterbrookmultnomah.com
Read an excerpt at:  http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?work=93262

This book was provided to me free of charge by Waterbrook Multnomah for review purposes.

My Big Bottom Blessing by Teasi Cannon

I got up this morning, and I didn't stand on the scale.  True story.  If you said "who cares?", then don't bother reading the rest of my book review.  I got up this morning, and I looked in the mirror, and I thanked God for my surgery scar, and the pregnancy fat I never lost, and for seeing me as beautiful every time He looks at me.  Really. Did you say "who cares?" again? Then, you've read far enough.  I was up during the night thinking about what has occurred during my lifetime to cause me to look at myself with Satan's eyes, instead of God's eyes.  To think about emotional wounds, and forgiveness, and the way I picture God.  Then, I slept for a while, and got out of bed this morning, and reminded myself to live like the child of the King. Because I am one. I am a Princess.

Teasi Cannon brings us face-to-face with who we are, not who we think we are. With brutal honesty about the emotional wounds of her own life (including childhood sexual abuse), she leads us though an examination of our own hearts and minds in an attempt to help us overcome our wrong views of our female bodies.  She gives us permission to be free of the scale, and the horrors of the mirror, and instead to examine our hearts, because "man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart". "Oh, a 'feel good' book?", you're thinking. Nope. You won't feel good after you read each chapter. You'll answer the questions, and say "ew, that's ugly, have I really been thinking and behaving like that? Wow, that needs to change. Right now".

I always manage to find my "favorite quote" when I read. This one is on page 62, when Teasi is being prayed over, and "feels nothing".  "The prayer is not working", she says. "I thought for sure he was going to tell me that I wasn't feeling anything because I was desperately lost. That mine was a case like none other, and that there truly was no hope for me. But that's not what he said. Although what he did say wasn't much better, it got me to thinking.  He simply said, "It doesn't matter if you feel it or not. The truth is still the truth."  

"My Big Bottom Blessing: How Hating My Body Led to Loving My Life" is just that. Truth.  It's time to bury the lies. Forever. It's time to put Satan's words where they belong. Buried. Forever. It doesn't matter if you feel it or not when you read the book. The truth is still the truth.

Take a peek at the first chapter, and the book trailer here:https://www.facebook.com/teasicannon/app_208195102528120

When you're done reading the first chapter, I hope you're craving more. Don't just buy the book for yourself.   Share it with a close friend. Someone you can talk to over tea and cookies (yes, I said "cookies", not low-fat, air-filled puffy things with 0 points). If you're going to examine your life, you definitely want to have cookies. Chocolate cookies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6pS5HCkgPI

Fearless by Eric Blehm

Fearless was provided to me free of charge by Waterbrook Multnomah for review purposes. I must admit, when the book arrived, it sat for a few days as I decided whether or not I had the stomach to read it. Knowing from the dust jacket that the strong, young Navy SEAL on the cover had lost his life in battle made for the difficult choice. Did I really want to get to know this man, his family, his friends, his struggles and triumphs of life, knowing the outcome before I even began? Then, if I did read it, would I be able to write an unbiased review, or would I feel like I had to write "nice things" so as not to offend the family left behind? Flipping a coin seemed like a cop-out, so I did the next best thing. I decided that I would read the first chapter, see how I fared, and then make my choice.

Chapter one quickly turned into two, then three, then a night of unending reading as I did find myself pulled into the story of Adam Brown's life.  The author did a beautiful job of introducing the reader to Adam and his family. It wasn't always easy to experience the joys and triumphs of his life, remembering the loss that lay at the end of the book.  The good news is that there is much to learn between the pages about persevering in all situations.  Some of Adam's trials were so great that they seemed they could not possibly be overcome, but God is faithful.  Through the many phases of Adam's life, you can see God's hand in everything that happened.  It's a rare look at life from the other end.

I greatly appreciated the chance to get to know Adam Brown through the eyes of his family and friends.  I found it to be a fitting tribute to an American hero, as well as a reminder to all of us that life is brief. How do you want to remembered when someone writes your story? And when they read it, will they see God in the pages?

Where Lilacs Still Bloom by Jane Kirkpatrick

I struggled with "Where Lilacs Still Bloom". I picked it up and put it back down at least five times. I started it, and it seemed like a book I would enjoy, but the story travels from one character to another and I found it confusing. There may very well be one of those "tie it all together" chapters toward the end, but I never made it that far. I had a similar experience with another one of Jane Kirkpatrick's books, so it may be that I just don't mesh with her writing style.  Thank you to Waterbrook Multnomah for allowing me the opportunity to preview this book for free. Below you will find a link to dowload the first chapter of this book:
http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/blog/2011/12/09/sneak-peek-where-lilacs-still-bloom-by-jane-kirkpatrick/