Compilation: A Baker's Dozen Books About Writing Perseverance

This compilation was quite challenging. I've read scores and scores of books on writing, but I wanted to hone in on the ones that hammer the specific message of perseverance. I'm sure many of the other writing books I've read mention the importance of "Butt in chair. Do the work." However, these seemed to stand out:

1. The Soul Tells a Story by Vinita Hampton Wright
2. The Forest for the Trees by Betsy Lerner
3. Before We Get Started by Bret Lott
4. Letters and Life by Bret Lott
5. Good Advice on Writing by William Safire and Leonard Safir
6. Do the Work by Steven Pressfield
7. The Writing Life by Annie Dillard
8. Think Like a Five-Year-Old by Len Wilson
9. Daily Writing Resilience by Bryan E. Robinson, PhD
10. Wild Words by Nicole Gulotta
11. Five Pages a Day by Peg Kehret
12. Still Writing by Dani Shapiro
13. Daily Rituals by Mason Currey

Book Review: The Lost Airman

After a couple of poor choices for audio books, I secured this title from the library, The Lost Airman: A True Story of Escape from Nazi-Occupied France. While the start was slow, once I got into the story, it was engaging. This true tale of Arthur Meyerowitz is a testament to the goodness of some people during the devastating horrors of World War II. On only his second mission in the air, they shot down his bomber and he parachuted into enemy-occupied France. Thanks to the brave souls in the French Resistance group Morhange, Meyerowitz faced down many obstacles but made it safely back onto neutral ground. While novels can submerge the reader into war-time suffering, there is nothing like a true story to elevate the experience tenfold. I'm so glad his official version of the story made it into the light of day, thanks to his grandson's research.

Book Review: The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise

If you like road trip books, then The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise is for you. If you can tolerate the gratuitous language and sex most modern books seem to think everyone wants, maybe you'll go for this one. The sad thing is that it had every opportunity to be a wholesome, light, and funny book. Thus, my use of "gratuitous" - none of the language or sex seemed necessary for the plot line. The book would have been delightful without those elements. Yes, it is a convoluted plot. But the characters are a bang (if caustic). It offers plenty of small humorous lines.

Tanner is sure her life is over before she's even completed college. She always lives by the rules (until influenced by Louise). Thus, she cannot accept the fact that one stupid accident lost her the soccer scholarship and the ability to complete her education. When she takes a live-in job, shuttling Louise Wilt around to doctor appointments, she sees it as an opportunity to drill down to oblivion in constant gaming. Yet, for Louise, life may be over soon. Saddled with Parkinson's and crippled by a fall, her family insists she take in Tanner as a live-in caretaker. Thus, the unlikely duo forms.

Louise wakes Tanner in the middle of the night demanding they flee. Tanner only agrees to drive the getaway car when bribed with the exact sum she needs for college. She's clueless as to who, why, or where they're fleeing. Yet the longer she spends with Louise, the more dangerous and interesting life becomes. Their relationship warms with every passing mile. Maybe Louise isn't who Tanner thought she was, but maybe she can help Tanner figure out who she is and what she wants from life.

So, not an entire waste of a reading experience. Characters grow and learn lessons. The story arcs well and the writing is almost compulsively readable. It had the feel of The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared. Ridiculous, but oh what a ride!

Content caution: language, sex 

Book Review: The Body Keeps the Score

I attempted to read this book a year ago. A friend had raved about it on Facebook. However, only a few pages in (though I cannot remember why), I returned it to the library unread. Now, I'm quite sure the stars were not yet aligned for the best absorption. Sometimes that's how it goes. You try and nothing clicks. Then, you try again and wonder why it didn't work out before. For this particular book, I fully understand the timing.

After my traumatic event in early June (followed by PTSD intrusive thoughts), I was ripe for this book. In The Body Keeps the Score, author Dr. Bessel van der Kolk shows how unhealed trauma wreaks havoc on the mind and body. Oh, how I wish this book had not resonated with me. But it did. The trauma stories are hard to read, yet fascinating. Whether trauma comes in war or in childhood, it does not leave the body unscarred. The marks are there. So often, they simply need the right person to interpret them and the right therapy to heal them. 

Doctors have long thrown pills at the aftereffects of trauma. This covers the wound but may not allow it to heal. Thankfully, a new method, EMDR, using rapid eye movement may hold promise to help individuals put the trauma from the front of the brain to the back of the brain. This book thoroughly explains why our bodies respond the way they do when experiencing trauma. Anyone who has been affected by trauma would benefit from reading this book.

Mid-Month Mention: Further Joseph Loconte

Did you know there is an International Tolkien Reading Day? It is March 25th. I was unaware. In seeking an image to accompany my last book review, I stumbled upon an outstanding 2019 lecture given by Joseph Loconte at the National WWI Museum and Memorial in celebration of that day. I watched the whole hour-long YouTube video and highly recommend it if you can't snag the time to read Loconte's book, A Hobbit, A Wardrobe, and a Great War. Even if you don't watch the whole thing, the first four minutes are a treasure thanks to the effervescent woman who introduces the author and outlines his many accomplishments.

 

At the end of the video, Loconte shares a four minute trailer for a documentary version of his book, then in the works. I visited his author website seeking more information, but cannot find any current news on the progress or anticipated availability of such a documentary. You can find a one minute trailer for his book. I also recommend his recent article, "The Decline of the King's College Reflects Western Civilizational Decay."

Book Review: A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War

I'm grateful for D'Ann Mateer's recommendation of Joseph Loconte's A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War. This book combines my two favorite subjects, history and literature. While at Wheaton College, I spent hours working in The Wade Center, a museum dedicated to the writings of seven Christian British writers. What a privilege to transcribe C. S. Lewis' personal letters! Then I was fortunate enough to travel with the director in Scotland for an oral history interview with Lewis' first cousin. Indeed, that cemented my desire to pursue a Master's degree in history. So I was eager to get my hands on this book devoted to the influences that shaped the writings of two Wade Center writers.

The fires of adversity forge influential writers and form lasting friendships. J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis have both written books that have touched many. Yet we might not have books from either author without the other. Tolkien prodded Lewis' faith. Lewis propelled Tolkien's persistence. 

Loconte shows how God used war's devastation to shape the faith and writings of these two outstanding authors. Their lives and perspectives changed forever. They both sought to embody their stories with small, average people tackling intense battles of good against evil. Tolkien's hobbits became heroes. Lewis' children became kings and queens.

That Tolkien and Lewis found each other in Oxford is a testament to God's grace and purpose in their lives. I loved reading about the power of friendship in the Inklings, a group of like-minded Christian writers. As Lewis remarked, "What I owe them is incalculable. Is any pleasure on earth as great as a circle of Christian friends by a good fire?" That truly sounds heavenly. I would love an opportunity to sit with a circle of Christian friends by a good fire! Loconte observes, "Their experience reminds us that great friendship is a gift born of adversity: it is made possible by the common struggle against the world's darkness."

I only recently encountered Tolkien's term "eucatastrophe" in another book. It is "a decisive act of Grace that promises to overcome our guilt, restore what has been lost, and set things right." Then, I heard it again on the When There Are No Words podcast. This concept is intriguing. It is what we see at the end of their books and what we can expect at the end of our world. Come, Lord Jesus, come! Both Tolkien and Lewis teach us we are part of a great story playing out in time. It is an "epic story of sacrifice and courage and clashing armies: the Return of the King... a day when every heart will be laid bare. We will know, with inexpressible joy or unspeakable sorrow, whether we have chosen Light or Darkness." 

What have you chosen? Do you deny the King? Or do you belong to the King? Will the horrors of this battle between good and evil leave you disillusioned? Or will you cling to the hope of our Savior who promises the ultimate eucatastrophe?

If you find this topic appealing yet lack time to read, stay tuned for Thursday's Mid-Month Mention.

Book Review: A Walk in the Woods

I remember rocking with laughter while reading this book years ago, waiting for my husband and oldest son to emerge from a Yu-gi-oh card tournament. Since it held such rollicking memories for me, I decided to revisit it in audio form during my treadmill time. I think my tolerance for crudity and crass humor has dried up. I hadn't remembered those bits. Still, it was a fun listen and I'm always interested in books that explore walking journeys. And, well, it is Bill Bryson. Despite his sometimes raunchy humor, I find him delightful and funny.

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail recounts Bryson's attempts to hike with his friend, Stephen Katz. The two were pals back in childhood days in Des Moines, Iowa, but time has taken them in different directions. Bill lived in England for two decades and Stephen sunk into alcoholism. As travel buddies, they are hilarious. Bryson teaches while you laugh. This time around, you learn about the Appalachian Trail (an over 2000 mile trek with a fascinating history).

What do I love about Bill Bryson? His humor is generally delightful. He describes scenes and events with great fervor and zest. Amid laughter, you're always learning. He is perhaps more fit for a trek along the Appalachian Trail than I am. Yet, he honestly shares his struggles. Leaving behind the comforts of home to walk endless paths full of trees, nature, and wild animals requires a certain hutzpah. How convenient to travel along by his side, vicariously experiencing all the enchantment and obstacles the trail offers! A 2015 film version of their journey is available, but may be just as crude. If you can overlook that, you will have a belly laugh or two.

Content caution 📒: language, crass humor

Book Review: All My Knotted-up Life

In 2009, I had the time of my life returning to my old stomping grounds in DeKalb, IL, for a women's retreat where we did a Beth Moore Bible Study. I have also read a few Beth Moore books. Way back in 2008, I read Feathers from my Nest. I've even dipped into her poetry, in Things Pondered and Further Still. It turns out that her earliest poetry book was self-published. In this book, All My Knotted-up Life, Beth calls it "an earnest attempt," but "embarrassingly poorly done." Yet, I enjoyed them and found her vulnerability refreshing and real. This memoir hit on a few things that I knew from the poetry books, but extended it with more specifics. In the previous ones, she hinted at childhood sexual abuse. In this memoir, she identifies the perpetrator as her own father.

For the life of me, I cannot understand this dynamic. Yet, it happens repeatedly to young girls. How could a man do such a thing to his own daughter? The damage, the confliction, the abuse of power... all of it is just despicable. One who is meant to protect, turns everything on its head and perpetrates emotionally scarring abuse? "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." (Jeremiah 17:9 KJV)

Then I read of the trauma Beth's husband experienced at the tender age of two, when his four-year-old brother was killed in front of his eyes in an explosion. My heart aches for Beth and Keith, trying to blend lives with enough baggage to sink a ship. And yet, they have endured. Internal conflicts, along with the external pressures of fame, did not drive them apart. They are to be commended.

This life-story was engrossing and disturbing, in equal measures. In the final chapters, Beth outlines the events and reactions that led her to leave the Southern Baptist denomination. It must have been excruciating to seek another church when your name is so well-known. Yet, they found comfort in an Anglican church and are healing their wounds. I appreciated Beth's vulnerability and honesty, her sincere transparency. It is clear she was not concerned with presenting a sanitized version of herself, the way some might. She lays it all out and admits her weaknesses and challenges. I pray people will cut her some slack and call off the dogs.  

Book Review: Please Sorry Thanks

Ever since I encountered In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day, I've been a fan of Mark Batterson's books. He turns a clever phrase. He drives home significant points through story. My goal is to become a better person and follow harder after Christ. His books always bolster that goal.

In Please Sorry Thanks, Batterson highlights three words that, when used honestly, can change people, situations, and relationships. We should all make use of these powerful words. As it states on the back cover, "Nothing opens doors like please. Nothing mends fences like sorry. Nothing builds bridges like thanks."

While please and thanks hold importance, for me the most significant passages fell to the word sorry. I appreciated his explanation for three levels of forgiveness: detached forgiveness, limited forgiveness, and full forgiveness. I know my tendency is to jump just far enough to offer detached forgiveness, but that is insufficient. What we need is full forgiveness, and that is only possible with the help of the Holy Spirit. 

I also appreciated the section on sorry because it articulated a difficulty I encountered with our traumatic event in June. He writes, "If someone is grieving, you don't have to solve the situation for them. In fact, you can't.... offer a sincere sorry. Give the gift of tears... of ears." The ones who ministered most effectively offered tears, ears, and prayers. They did so with no accompanying judgment or instruction. Thankfully, God loves us despite our sin and waywardness. Indeed, as Batterson observes, "The love of God is... not contingent upon our performance." And he further articulated something I learn from that trauma, "What God does for us is never just for us, it's always for others."

It is my prayer that I will build on the lessons learned in this book. I want to seek the kingdom success of a giving spirit that serves others. In that endeavor, I plan to implement these three magic words even more in my life. I will pursue with please and apologize sincerely with sorry. I will express gratitude in recognition of the miraculous in my life. Perhaps my words will help change the world. This civility (of please, sorry, and thanks) brings everyone to the table.