The Forgotten Garden

     A little girl stands alone on a dock with a suitcase and a book of fairy tales.  The dockmaster and his wife adopt her and raise her as their own.  On the eve of her twenty-first birthday, the man she thought was her father tells her the true story of her arrival.  The secret devastates Nell.  She spends the rest of her life trying to unravel the secret of her childhood and the authoress who haunts her memories.  The secrets lead to Cliff Cottage, but she gives up the search to raise her granddaughter Cassandra.
     When Nell dies, Cassandra is shocked to find out about Nell's past and even more surprised to learn about her inheritance of Cliff Cottage.  She travels to England to unravel the secrets and dark mysteries of her family that stretch through three countries and a century of time.
     This is a beautiful story that reads like a fairy tale.  It is one of my favorite books.  The writing was exquisite.  The world came alive in every location and every time period.  The characters were well developed, interesting, and believable.  I loved the way the decisions, mistakes, and tragedies of each generation impacted the next generation so profoundly.  It made the tragedies more heartbreaking and the grace in the face of evil even more beautiful.  This book changed me and made me a better person.
     This book has limited action and tells the story from many perspectives and time periods, so it may be frustrating for some readers.

The Mermaid Chair

     Jessie Sullivan had an idyllic childhood on Egret Island until her father died.  As soon as she could, Jessie left the island.  When Jessie's mom deliberately cuts off her finger, Jessie leaves her husband Hugh and returns to the island.  While caring for her mother, Jessie falls in love with Brother Thomas who is months away from taking his final vows.  Their affair destroys her marriage and tears brother Thomas' faith in the life he has chosen.
     While on the island, Jessie rediscovers the mermaid chair that she loved as a child.  The legend of the mermaid who becomes a saint has always resonated with Jessie.  She doesn't know that the chair is intricately linked to her father's death and her mother's self mutilation.  Jessie needs to find the truth that will set her, and her mother, free.
     I liked this book, but it wasn't one of my favorites.  The affair with Brother Thomas was difficult for me to understand, and made me look at biases I was not aware of having.  Brother Thomas was an interesting character and I liked his thoughts about God and religion.
     The legend of the mermaid chair was beautiful.  It was an interesting way to bring the past and present together in the story.    

Have a Little Faith

    This book fell into my life a few years ago, but I apparently wasn't ready to have faith because it kept falling further down in the pile of unread books.  Suddenly it reappeared at the top and I picked it up again thinking, "I could use a little faith."  A coincidence that fell into place at just the right time.
     I often love Mitch Albom, but sometimes I feel like he takes the easy way out by minimizing the difficult questions he starts to ask.  This was one of those kinds of Mitch Albom books for me, but there were still golden nuggets of truth that made me think in a new way.
     Have a Little Faith is Mitch's first nonfiction book since writing Tuesdays with Morrie.  When the book begins, 82 year-old Rabbi Albert Lewis asks Mitch to give his eulogy.  Mitch agrees on the condition that he get to know the "Reb" as a man, rather than rely on his childhood memories.  Although Mitch left the Jewish faith years ago, he is intrigued with discovering the foundation of the Rabbi's faith.  The Reb is bigger than life for Mitch.  He is all that is good with the world.
     His foil is Pastor Henry Covington.  This man is a former convict, drug dealer, and recovering addict.  He now preaches to the homeless people living in the church.  Mitch has every reason to not have faith in the pastor's intentions.
     Though the men are opposites in all the least important ways, they never vary from their faith in something bigger than themselves.  Through their life lessons, sermons, and actions, Mitch learns to have faith again.
     Although the story seemed contrived and forced in parts, I truly liked the Rabbi and the Reverend.  These men had great lessons to teach.  I wish Mitch would have let their words speak for themselves rather than trying to convince me of their profoundness.
     One line that struck me the most was a line by Rabbi Lewis.  After being treated poorly by a doctor because of his religion, Rabbi Lewis made s condolence call when he learned the doctor's brother died.  When Mitch asked why, the Rabbi replied, "In this job, you don't retaliate."  I loved this view of life and the flawed humans that live here.  What a wonderful way to see everything in our lives.  In this job, family, marriage, religion, country...we don't retaliate.  What a world we would live in.
     When a Catholic priest became enraged over a parking situation and spat out, "They didn't exterminate enough of you," the Rabbi manages to walk arm in arm with the priest around the playground of the Catholic school during recess.  Because of his ability to forgive the man, the people in both congregations grew to accept and understand one another.  No one would have blamed the rabbi for being bitter and angry, but  instead he used the moment to teach an unforgettable lesson of forgiveness and love to everyone else.
     Another life-changing moment for me came from Mitch.
 I used to think I knew everything.  I was a "smart person" who "got things done," and because of that, the higher I climbed, the more I could look down and scoff at what seemed silly or simple even religion.  But I realized something as I drove home that night; that I am neither better nor smarter, only luckier.  And I should be ashamed of thinking I knew everything, because you can know the whole world and still feel lost in it.  So many people are in pain - no matter how smart or accomplished - they cry, they yearn, they hurt.  But instead of looking down on things, they look up, which is where I should have been looking, too.  Because when the world quiets to the sound of your own breathing, we all want the same things: comfort, love, and a peaceful heart.
     I have many flaws, one is thinking too highly of myself.  I need to be continually reminded that I am not better or smarter, only luckier.      

The Next Thing on my List

     I picked up this book because I could relate to the title - The Next Thing on my List.  I am a list keeper: to do lists; store lists; bucket lists.  As soon as one thing is finished and crossed off, I'm on to the next item.  I don't take time to celebrate the accomplishments.  I don't even give it a conscious thought anymore.  I, too, move on to "the next thing on my list."
     When we meet June Parker, she is slowly recovering from a car accident that killed her passenger, Marissa.  June and Marissa were not friends; they were barely acquaintances.  The women had just met at a Weight Watchers meeting.   June finds a list of twenty things Marissa wanted to do before she turned 25.  Plagued by guilt, June decides to complete the list before Marissa's birthday. 
     Some of the items on the list were stereotypes and could have dragged the book down into cliches.  However, Jill Smolinski never let the characters or plot follow the predictable route. 
     I enjoyed the characters and found their flaws made them more lovable.  Although the ending was a bit abrupt, I enjoyed the conclusion of the list. 
     Since finishing the book last week, I have been thinking about what would be on my list and how someone else would go about finishing it in their own way.  Interesting thoughts to ponder.