Between Two Worlds: Lessons from the Other Side

 Shirley J.           Adult Non-Fiction                    The life story of Hollywood Medium, Tyler Henry

Between Two Worlds: Lessons from the Other Side by Tyler Henry    224 pages

Hollywood Medium, Tyler Henry shares in this memoir how he experienced his "knowing" at an early age and how he came into the fullness of his psychic senses when he was 10 years old and he told his mother that his grandmother had just passed away.   He had always had psychic experiences even as a toddler, he just didn't understand what they were.   The revelation of his grandmother's death led him to study and research to find out what was going on with him.  He grew up in a religious home after all and no talk of ghosts or anything of that nature had ever come up.   His family were church goers every Sunday.  He grew up in a small town in California no type of supernatural talk around town till one day a man and woman opened a shop with incense, books on all sorts of topics new to him, herbal cures, auras, divination, developing your third eye, chakras, reiki, crystal healing, etc. and the couple offered tarot readings.  Tyler became a voracious reader learning as much as he could.  He eventually started doing Tarot readings himself then realized he was more in tune with his psychic abilities than he knew.  The owners of the shop allowed him to do readings and his intuitive talents had people coming from all over eventually as word spread about his uncanny abilities.  He soon found that just like when he was a young child and saw "people" in his room that he wasn't afraid of but didn't understand why they were there, he began to be able to intuit messages from the beyond for people he was doing readings for.  Soon messages started coming to him for people he would come in contact with out in the world at random.  He was eventually asked to do Hollywood parties and gained a following of prominent celebrities requesting him to come do readings for their parties which grew into the cable t.v. show Hollywood Medium with Tyler Henry.   If anyone has an interest in divination of any kind Tyler Henry's book would definetly be of interest.   His show is very interesting to watch to see his process for revealing things to friends and family of the dearly departed.   I would recommend this book to mature highschoolers on up.  I think younger might not be able to discern without being impressionable.

Who Will Take Care of Me When I'm Old?: Plan Now to Safeguard Your Health and Happiness in Old Age

Shirley J.                      Adult Non-Fiction                     Tips for Senior Adults living alone

Who Will Take Care of Me When I'm Old?: Plan Now to Safeguard Your Health and Happiness in Old Age by Joy Loverde    681 pages

Advice and tips to stay healthy, financially secure and happy to the end of your days.    Lots of good recommendations for those who have no plan in place for their well-being as they age.   Goes into depth of what is to come as we age.   Teaches seniors to be proactive to plan for their own lives rather than rolling over and letting family, neighbors, lawyers, caregivers, etc. decide their fate.   Shows how to put plans in place to cover all eventualities.   Good book.   I highly recommend this to middle-agers up through seniors, lots of good information, ted talks, reading and websites, etc. listed  Goes way beyond estate planning and wills.   Discusses what to do if diagnosed with dementia/Alzheimers, immobility, etc.  Great resource.
 

Necessary Endings: The Employees, Businesses, and Relationships That All of Us Have To Give Up in Order to Move Forward

Shirley J.                   Adult Non-Fiction            How to tell when it is time to end things and move on    

Necessary Endings: The Employees, Businesses, and Relationships That All of Us Have To Give Up In Order To Move Forward by Dr. Henry Cloud       238 pages

Excellent book on identifying problem areas in life, how to assess when it is time to sever toxic relationships (red flags), how to identify volatile work relationships and how to cope or fix issues or end employment (them or you).  So much good information here.   Things we see and deal with every day that can make life difficult, stressful and miserable then the good doctor offers situational ethics to get out of said situations.   He offers scenarios we definitely are familiar with and answers that are so understandable and doable you will wonder what took you so long to apply them.   High praise for Dr. Cloud and his clearing the fog on those gray areas.   I recommend this one to mature teens on up.  Everyone could do with his dose of reality and benefit from his advice.

                    

We Were the Lucky Ones

We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter 416 pages

 

In another review (for The Sunflower House), I mentioned that I was always surprised by the stories still left to be of World War II---and we’re still 20 years this side of the end of the war. While the former was about the baby factories, this one is the tale of a Jewish family’s struggle to survive, and to reunite.

 

I’m glad that author Georgia Hunter put a family tree at the beginning. I had to refer to it several times because of all the family members, the spouses, and the grandchild. Sol and Nechuma had five children, ranging from 31-year-old Genek to 21-year-old Halina. Without going back to look, each of the children has a chapter or more to tell their part of the story.

 

The Kruc family was a happy one, living their lives in the Jewish traditions of 1938 Poland. They were well aware of the rhetoric spewing from Germany and the possibilities of another war. This time with Adoplh Hitler leading the charge.

 

One thing that really sets this novel apart from the others is that it focuses on one family, and the piece de resistance (no pun intended) of the provided timeline. Between each chapter, Huner provides historical facts about major news events. These factoids are no more than a page in length, most no more than half a page.

 

Given what each individual experiences, the stories, which flow well and in a chronological manner, can be intense, so it is nice to have that small break.

 

As the family breaks apart, they scatter to various other countries like France, Siberia, Persia, Argentina to escape the Nazis and find a safe place to live until the war was over. Still each and every one of the characters has two goals: to survive Hitler and to reunite. Is that too much to ask? Sometimes, it seems so, and almost impossible to achieve.

 

I understand that this novel has already been made into a series on a streaming channel, but I don’t have that so I’ll probably never see it.  I’m sure the book is better anyway. We Were the Lucky Ones receives 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

 

The Sunflower House

The Sunflower House by Adriana Allegri 336 pages

 

I’m always surprised by the topics or slant writers use when I pick up a new World War II novel. There are so many stories left to be told, and so many atrocities that need to be brought to light, even all these years later.

 

The Sunflower House tackles the baby factories. I have not come across a book about this aspect of the Nazi debauchery before but found it fascinating, sweet and horrific. I learned a bit about the factories and the experiments Himmler enjoyed conducting on adults in Martha Hall Kelly’s fabulous novel, The Lilac Girls. If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it.

 

Katrine is the contemporary voice (2006-2010) who is caring for, or trying to care for, her mother after she fell and wound up in the hospital. Katrine discovers a wooden box beneath her mother’s closet floorboards. Pulling it to light, Katrine is shocked to see that is marked with a swastika.

 

Now let’s time travel back to a sleepy German village in 1938. Allina Strauss lives with aunt and uncle after the parents are murdered. They are hiding a secret; a secret no one can ever, ever, ever uncover. All three of their lives depend on it. After her uncle dies from cancer, the Nazis brutally murder her aunt. They arrest Allina, but her Aaryn features and blond hair save her from beatings and a bullet.

 

Allina is sent to Hochland Home to serve the Führer as a nurse. Hochland is one of the “Lebensborn homes for the sole purpose of perpetuating the Aryan population…The women of “pure” blood stayed in Lebensborn homes for the sole purpose of perpetuating the Aryan population, giving birth to thousands of babies who were adopted out to “good” Nazi families.” 

 

Allina is shocked at what she learns, but even more shocked when a high-ranking SS Officer, Karl, wants to become her patron. However, he has secrets of his own that must never be revealed. Eventually Allina and Karl have a sweet romance.

 

This novel at times repulsed me with the mere thought of the baby factories and made me smile when Allina and Karl fell in love.

 

The Sunflower House receives 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

The Remarkable Rescue at Milkweed Meadow

The Remarkable Rescue at Milkweed Meadow by Elaine Dimopoulos; illustrated by Doug Salati 192 pages

 

I’ll admit it; I’m a sucker for books about animals. Especially rabbits. That love has nothing to do with that five pounds of fluff I have at home (And she’ll never forgive me if I don’t mention that her name is Gracie.).

 

Butternut is the main protagonist of this little tale of friendship and bravery---and storytelling. She lives in a burrow with her mother, grandmother and nine siblings. Every day Mother gives lessons to her babies and every night one of the bunnies takes a turn telling a story. But the most important lessons Mother teaches are the ones that will keep them alive.

 

The rabbit family seldom ventures too far from its burrow on the edge of the meadow, where the bunnies fill their stomachs with the variety of grasses growing there. One day, Butternut witnesses Blue, a bully of blue jay, steal an egg from Mother and Father FirstFledge Robin’s nest.

 

After the remainder of the eggs hatch, Butternut becomes fast friends with a spunky little guy named Piper. Piper encourages Butternut to become braver, to not worry so much about keeping to herself as Mother taught her, and the two of them begin to help other forest animals.

 

The story is fast-paced and fun. Doug Salati’s illustration help bring the story to life. I cannot wait to get copies for the granddaughters! The Remarkable Rescue at Milkweed Meadow receives 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

The Museum of Ordinary People

The Museum of Ordinary People by Mike Gayle 336 pages

 

What do you do with your mom’s stuff after she is gone? It’s a predicament that many find themselves in these days. Or maybe I feel that way because my own mom cannot live at home anymore. But what the heck am I going to do with all that stuff! Sixty years worth of life!

 

That’s the issue Jess is facing.  Her mother dies suddenly. Jess is an only child so the entire burden passes to her.

 

From the book’s back cover:

“Still reeling from the sudden death of her mother, Jess is about to do the hardest thing she's ever done: empty her childhood home so that it can be sold.  As she sorts through a lifetime of memories, everything comes to a halt when she comes across something she just can’t part with: an old set of encyclopedias.  To the world, the books are outdated and ready to be recycled.  To Jess, they represent love and the future that her mother always wanted her to have. 

In the process of finding the books a new home, Jess discovers an unusual archive of letters, photographs, and curious housed in a warehouse and known as the Museum of Ordinary People.  Irresistibly drawn, she becomes the museum's unofficial custodian, along with the warehouse’s mysterious owner.  As they delve into the history of objects in their care, they not only unravel heart-stirring stories that span generations and continents, but also unearth long-buried secrets that lie closer to home.

Inspired by an abandoned box of mementos, The Museum of Ordinary People is a poignant novel about memory and loss, the things we leave behind, and the future we create for ourselves.  

I really enjoyed this book and was intrigued by it. It takes place in a London suburb, but it could have taken place anywhere. I found the story rather sad and heartbreaking, but there are shining moments. This is a tough book to review as it is hard, for me, to articulate my feelings. Still, I encourage everyone to read it and give this challenge: Think about your home. What would donate to The Museum of Ordinary People and why. The Museum of Ordinary People receives 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

City of Girls

 

City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert 496 pages

 

Before author Elzabeth Gilbert took the literary world by storm with her mega-hit, “Eat Pray Love,” she penned a most charming and fictional tale of a group of eccentric theater people who lived and worked at the Lily Playhouse. The story takes place in the 1940s.

 

When the narrator of the story, Vivian Morris, was nineteen, she flunked out of Vassar. Her parents didn’t know what to do with her. So, they sent her to live with her Aunt Peg in Manhattan. Aunt Peg owned the Lily, which put on shows twice a day. They weren’t particularly good, but the local audience loved them and bought tickets. I would call it off-off-off-off Broadway.

 

Gilbert uses the epistolary structure to tell this story. Vivian, now eighty-nine years old, is answering a letter to the daughter of a friend after her mother passes, wanting to know what Vivian was to her father. That’s a little complicated, but Gilbert pulls it off.

 

The Lily was as much a character as any of the humans. It was rambling. It was rundown. It was magical. And the people who lived there were much the same. Olive was the general manager and Peg’s best friend. They served together during World War I. Also inhabiting the theater are the actors, the showgirls, the playwright and the composer. Vivian finds her place in this cast as a costume designer; her grandmother had taught her to sew, and she was excellent at it.

 

Vivian becomes BFFs with Celia, one of the showgirls. Together, they nightly paint the town. Every night. Stumbling through the doors in the wee hours of the morning, smelling of booze and sex. Those two slept with a LOT of men. Warning: there are a couple of scenes that are X-rated.

 

During one of those nights on the town, Vivian makes a horrible mistake and is banished back to her hometown and life with her parents in upstate New York. But it is just foreshadowing for what it so come---the soldier who served on the same battleship as her late brother becoming her best friend after she returns to Manhattan.

 

Gilberts writes about Manhattan as if she too had lived in the 1940s---one of my favorite time periods. It was a helluva time and a helluva town. I wish I could visit, but then again, I have through Gilbert’s words.

 

I loved these characters and this time. And to be honest, I miss them. City of Girls received 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

Dinner with Edward: A Story of an Unexpected Friendship

Dinner with Edward: A Story of an Unexpected Friendship by Isabel Vincent 240 pages

 

For fans of Ruth Reichl and Mitch Albom.

 

One of Isabel Vincent’s oldest and dearest friends, Valerie, mother has recently passed away. Valerie is worried about her father, Edward, who wants to follow her into the grave. Understandably, as Valerie lives in Toronto, her sister in Greece and Edward in New York City. She asks Isabel to check on her father, maybe have dinner. Valerie told her that Edward was a wonderful cook. Isabel was reluctant at first, but eventually she acquiesced. And thus began one a beautiful friendship.

 

Edward is ninety-three and learning to live without the love of his life, Paula. Isabel is much, much younger, with a young daughter, who is terribly unhappy in her marriage. They hit it off spectacularly during that first meal.

 

I liked that Isabel put the menu as each chapter’s heading but disappointed that no recipes were included. But then they were Edward’s recipes, and he never followed a recipe. Still, he wrote out one occasionally if Isabel asked.

 

I also liked that at his advanced age, Edward still traveled the city to get the freshest and best ingredients when he was planning a dinner. No big box grocery store for him! When Isabel arrived for their meal, I swear I could smell the fabulous aromas wafting from Edward’s apartment. Ther was always music playing in the background, usually jazz, and often Ella Fitzgerald, whose voice created a relaxed atmosphere. Perfect for conversation.

 

I also like that Edward wrote poetry and would, on occasion, send some to Isabel through the mail.

 

I read this short book in two evenings. Edward departed his knowledge of the world to Isable in a manner that was subtle and interesting. I hate to entertain but reading this I want to call my friends and have them over for dinner. Knowing me, though, that isn’t likely to happen.

 

Dinner with Edward: A Story of an Unexpected Friendship received 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

The Lives They Left Behind: Suitcases From a State Hospital Attic

The Lives They Left Behind: Suitcases From a State Hospital Attic by Darby Penney & Peter Stasny 208 pages

 

In the Acknowledgements of Ellen Marie Wiseman’s “What She Left Behind,” Wiseman gives credit to this book and its authors for bringing that novel to fruition. And because I was also reading “What She Left Behind,” I had to read it.

 

This book tells the heartbreaking stories of ten of the people who were institutionalized in New York’s Willard State Hospital, the setting for Wiseman’s “What She Left Behind.”

 

From Amazon:

“When Willard State Hospital closed its doors in 1995, after operating as one of New York State’s largest mental institutions for over 120 years, a forgotten attic filled with suitcases belonging to former patients was discovered. Using the possessions found in these suitcases along with institutional records and doctors’ notes from patient sessions, Darby Penney, a leading advocate of patients’ rights, and Peter Stastny, a psychiatrist and documentary filmmaker, were able to reconstruct the lives of ten patients who resided at Willard during the first half of the twentieth century.

The Lives They Left Behind tells their story. In addition to these human portraits, the book contains over 100 photographs as well as valuable historical background on how this state-funded institution operated. As it restores the humanity of the individuals it so poignantly evokes, The Lives They Left Behind reveals the vast historical inadequacies of a psychiatric system that has yet to heal itself.”

 

As I was reading the book, I felt as if I was spying on people’s personal lives. It was disconcerting, and sometimes I could not finish the chapter; I could not finish snooping into everyone’s life.

 

Published in 2009, this book is an important one. One that not only gives us a glimpse into others’ troubles but could shine a light on our own life. The Lives They Left Behind: Suitcases From a State Hospital Attic receives 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

What She Left Behind

What She Left Behind by Ellen Marie Wiseman 368 pages

 

For fans of Ellen Marie Wiseman’s “The Lost Girls of Willowbrook.”

 

After reading “The Lost Girls of Willowbrook.” I knew I wanted to read all of Wiseman’s novels. This was the first one of the five that preceded Lost Girls. It also centers upon do mental illness and insane asylums.

 

There are two points so view that tell the story. First is Clara Cartwright’s story from the late 1920s through the early 1930s. The other, Isabelle (Izzy) Stone’s story, is from the mid-to-late 1990s.

 

Clara is caught between two men. First, the man, James, her parents (Henry and Ruth) have chosen for her, and whom she finds dull and distasteful. They insist that she marry him, not for love, but because he is mind-boggling wealthy. The second man is an Italian immigrant with whom Clara falls madly in love, and he with her. When she becomes pregnant with Bruno’s baby, she completely rejects James, but her father sends her to a nervous asylum for girls. After the Crash, and Henry and Ruth lose everything, Clara is admitted to a public asylum that is as bad, if not worse, than the private institution.

 

Image what the living conditions were like in an overcrowded, short-staffed institution. Wiseman’s descriptions were enough to make me gag beside Clara.

 

Fast-forward to the 1990s. Izzy Stone is sent to foster care after her mother brutally murders her father with no apparent motive. Her foster parents work for a local museum and have been assigned to catalog the items that had been left behind in the now-shuttered asylum.

 

Izzy is fascinated by the things they find, but what really intrigues her is a stack of unopened letters and a journal. These items send her on a quest to determine her mother’s act of violence.

 

To me, this novel is almost as wonderful as “The Lost Girls of Willowbrook.” Comparing the two novels, “What She Left Behind” seems a little predictable. But given that “What She Left Behind,” is only Wiseman’s second novel, I will overlook that part. There were parts that me cringe, and parts where I was cheering on both young women.

 

Therefore, “What She Left Behind,” receives 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.