One Year in Coal Harbor

One Year in Coal Harbor

I have no idea why I never before read anything by Polly
Horvath. It's a mistake I am profoundly grateful to have just
rectified. Her Year in Coal Harbor manages by chapter and even page
to swing between touching and very very funny. She is quite talented
at giving just the right details that make a story spring off the
pages and come to life.
In this sequel to Everything on a Waffle (which I will totally
have to read) Primrose is back home. Her formerly lost at sea parents
have safely returned. She finds everything about Coal Harbor to be
perfect...
...except the lack of peer companionship. The few other kids
her age have paired up, leaving her with Eleanor Milkmouse (Gotta love
that name) "...only a friend of convenience. And maybe even
desperation, because it was so embarassing to have no friend at all.
We really didn't understand each other..."
...and the adamant refusal of the other inhabitants to accept or
even acknowledge her superior wisdom. Her Uncle Jack, and restaurant
owner, Miss Bowzer, fight all the time instead of realizing that
romance wise they're made for each other. Some of her favorite old
growth forest is threatened by loggers with clear-cutting in mind.
And no one, even people who come to care about him, will fight to keep
Ked, a foster child who has been bounced around in the system, in a
potential forever family.
Needless to say, Primrose does not accept the status quo. She's
out full force to rectify injustices of all kinds. This makes for a
very lively tale.
This is a perfect intergenerational read aloud. Horvath has
accomplished a rare thing. Her scenarios have elements both children
and parents will find amusing. Take the scene where Primrose has
invited Uncle Jack and Miss Bowzer for supper. Kids will enjoy the
element of awkwardness in every aspect from clothes to conversation.
Adults will savor lines like "Uncle Jack alone retained his savoir
faire as if he were completely at home with people who would really be
better off highly sedated.". Both generations, having experienced
people who think this way, will be amused by Primrose's assessment of
the situation:
"Why couldn't everyone just be themselves? I really felt
frustrated by not being able to choreograph everyone's behavior. I
liked everyone at the table and I couldn't believe how wrong they were
all getting it. I felt I should hand out scripts."
Oh, yeah, there is also another really cool feature. At the end
of each chapter is a very interesting recipe spelled out in Primrose's
narrative voice. I've marked a few I plan to attempt.
On a personal note, I was really struck by a spot on observation
Primrose makes about friendship: "...And it didn't seem to matter how
many so-called friends she had, she never connected especially with
one person, and if you cannot connect especially with one person,
maybe you can't connect really with anyone. This is the kind of
lonliness that existed for her, different from the just-not-knowing-
anyone lonliness..." The observation has to do with face-to-face
interaction, but social media, anyone?
A great big shout out goes out to the teachers, staff, admin, and
students who are returning to school after a storm extended February
break and the college students in last week before spring break crunch
time.
Julia Emily Hathaway



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Words with Wings

Words with Wings

Juvenile fiction
In our No Child Left Behind/Race To The Top pressured school
system kids who day dream rather than excel in memorizing facts and
filling in bubbles on standardized tests are often misunderstood. If
they only focus, get down to business, become organized... Too often
they'd seen as defective, drugged, and labeled. In a system where
standardized test scores are increasingly tied to the fates of
teachers, admin, and even entire schools, it's understandable, but not
right. We need people who can think both ways: out of the box
dreamers as well as incrementalists...
...so I was delighted to read Nilki Grimes' Words with Wings,
told very appropriately in graceful free verse. Protagonist Gabby was
named after the Angel Gabriel in a compromise between her parents. In
a very short poem she muses:
"Mom names me for a
creature with wings, then wonders
what makes my thoughts fly."
Her sensible mom and dreamer dad have broken up. She wonders if
she'll be teased and ostracized by her peers and misunderstood by her
teacher in her new school. You see many words come alive for her with
vivid memories and associations. Other people just don't get it...
"...To these kids,
I'm not Gabby yet.
I'm just Shy Girl
Who Lives
Inside Her Head.
No one even knocks
on the door
for a visit.
They don't know
it's beautiful
in here"
What a wonderful affirmation for kids (and adults) who dance to the
music of a different orchastra!
On a personal note, I'm probably the person Gabby would grow up to
be. Words carry me away too when I'm doing tedious stuff like cooking
or dishes. It's why I sometimes forget to make a phone call or don't
realize the rice is about to burn. It's also why I'm a good poet and
and why I'm gifted at book reviewing and op ed writing. I can bring
words and concepts together in ways most people wouldn't think to do.
I can also look beyond what is happening to see what has the potential
to happen. That's why, in my mind, Gavin being Veazie School
Committee Chair and me being Vice Chair is the perfect leadership
combo. Gavin is highly skilled in budget and finance and other
matters involving very big numbers. He has an incredible memory for
detail and protocol, taking care of business. In other words I can't
think of anyone more suited to navigate through budget season. I, on
the other hand, am best with words and people and stepping back to
look at a really big picture. That's why my subcommittee domains are
policies and professional discussions which is a fancy way to say
teachers and board members talking about matters of mutual interest
and concern. That is also why I was the one to choose us for the
roles and get people to vote that way. Actually when we were part of
the RSU I chose all but the first Chair. That's why they called me
the kingmaker. Pretty good for a growed up Gabby.
A great big shout out goes out all thinkers of both kinds who realize
we can really work together.
Julia Emily Hathaway



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Angeli Perrow

Angeli Perrow

Picture book and juvenile fiction
If Maine author Angeli Perrow were to never speak to me again
she'd be amply justified. Late last year she sent me review copies of
her latest books. Only the house was in the chaotic state of make
room for Christmas tree. The package sort of disappeared. Then every
time I looked for it something came up. Today starting spring
cleaning I found it! Yay! And the books are totally excellent.
Angeli is a lighthouse lover par excellence. Her earliest
stories were about the adventures of lighthouse dogs. Her newest
picture book: Love from the Sky: Seamond and the Flying Santa takes
readers into the life and longings of a beautiful little girl growing
up on an isolated island In a lighthouse keeper's family in an era
when television and materialism hadn't exerted a corrosive grasp on
kids' souls and one special toy in connection with an active
imagination could mean the world. What makes the story even more
magical and enchanting is that it really happened.
Like other lighthouse children, Seamond dreams all year of a
visit from Flying Santa. One year she writes a letter asking for
something really special. Sadly, the china doll she receives is
dropped on a rock and breaks.
Despite initial disappointment, Seamond makes the best of
things. With the help of her dad she bandages Molly who becomes her
constant companion. They and Rex (Angeli does have a thing for dogs)
help with chores and lighthouse maintenance, explore the ocean, and
play make believe. Then one day she receives heart breaking news.
The lighthouse is condemned and scheduled to be torn down.
How will Santa ever find her when Christmas rolls around?
The book cover claims it's for children from 4 to 10. I'd
expand the category a little--4 to 104. If you have a human soul you
will be touched deeply, even if you're closer to collecting social
security than starting first grade. If you look at the back lower
left hand corner you will notice that profits from the book go towards
flying Santa flights. If that isn't the total cat's pajamas, I don't
know what is.
I hadn't guessed that Angeli had expanded into chapter books.
(Of course those years when I was on a team working on building a
regional school unit out of three separate towns a lot flew under my
radar.). Not surprisingly she has made the transition with grace and
class. I can't imagine a mystery loving child not savoring The
Buccaneer's Key which combines a good adventure with an intriguing
glimpse into Florida's pirate past.
A transparant looking man dressed in old fashioned attire who
disappears more quickly than a mortal could, a little boy whose
invisible friend has the same name as a pirate's young son, a key that
may be connected with missing treasure: cousins Nick and Mandy
quickly learn that their vacation trip to Florida will be anything but
ordinary. Oh, yeah, the kid with the mysterious chum is sure his
treasure hunter parents are captured, not dead. The kids have a lot
to accomplish and not much time.
Readers in the target age (8-12) are often quite partial to
series fiction. So it's a good thing The Buccaneer's Key is the
fourth featuring the intrepid duo. :)
On a personal note, Angeli and I go way back to when my kids were
little and she was getting her first books published. I remember her
sending Katie birthday gifts. So I can say that in addition to being
a gifted writer, she is one of the most down-to-earth, funny, kind
people you could ever hope to meet. Those are traits I plan to take
advantage of. I am going to bug the Orono librarians to tell me when
this year's children's wing Christmas party will be. If I can get
Angeli to read her book and I can come up with cookies in a relevant
shape and reprise my role as Santa's little elf, won't that be the
total cat's pajamas?
A great big shout out to all kids living in remote areas of the world
due to parent's careers.
Julia Emily Hathaway





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Crappy New Year

Crappy New Year

YA fiction
Meg Wilson's Crappy New Year is a must read for the anyone who
has been through the reshufflings of parental marriage. Whether it's
going on now or you experienced it decades ago, you will certainly
feel for Wilson's protagonist, Tess.
Tess is a talented poet. The first chapter starts with one of
her pieces that is just too good to paraphrase.

"Happy New Year
Crappy New Year
The house shakes and quivers
From my slamming door.
He just popped the question.
She just gushed her answer.
And now my life's ruined
For.
Ever.
More."

The she in question is Tess' recently widowed mother. The he is
Rob, a suitor who is moving in on her a bit too quickly. There is no
question how Tess feels about this. She has just witnessed the
proposal and stormed up to her room. Are they too self-centered to
care how she feels?
Then there's also Fishface (Felicity), Rob's daughter who stays
with them in Tess' room frequently. Tess finds everything about her
repulsive. They are scheduled to be maids of honor for her mom. Then
after the wedding they'll be stepsisters. The blended family may end
up moving which would mean Tess would have to change schools and leave
her friends.
Tess' friends, though, are confusing her. Best friend, Janie,
is hanging out with another girl, Kelly, a lot lately. She went to
Kelly's New Years Eve party after telling Tess her parents were making
her stay to home. Next door neighbor chum Ian makes a move that puts
Tess way out of her comfort zone.
Crappy New Year is a moving portrayal of a girl who is trying to
survive in a world where just about everything that's important to her
seems out of her control. The poems that reflect her changing moods
are poignant and perceptive.
On a personal note, I can relate to that. In honor of Tess, I'm
putting this in free verse:

I was simple minded enough
To actually believe
After I raised my kids
I could get a decent job.
As that fails to pan out
And the gates of retail Hell
Gape closer and closer
I ask myself WHY
Didn't anyone tell me the truth
While there was still time
To save myself?

A great big shout goes out to all kids and adults who had to navigate
the confusing circumstances of their parents' relationship.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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Kennedy's Last Days

Kennedy's Last Days

YA non fiction
I think I had been sent to run an errand. This was back in my
old school days. I saw a terrifying sight. My huge, ancient, tough
as nails maiden lady principal who could scare sixth grade boys into
behaving was crying. When I got back to the classroom my teacher was
sending the class home early without saying why. Now remember this
was in the cold war days. We were taught to duck under desks in case
the Russians dropped a bomb like the ones we'd used to end the war. I
was sure it had been decided we should get to say good bye to mom and
dad before our young lives were cut short by nuclear annhialation. I
admit to breathing a sigh of relief when my mom explained that
President Kennedy had been assassinated, the alternate prospect being
so much more scary.
Bill O'Reilly was in high school religious class when he and his
peers received the news via loudspeaker. Along with his parents he
experienced the nation's mourning via tv. But sports and took up a
lot more of his attention back then. It wasn't until later that he
developed an interest in politics--an interest that led him to write
Kennedy's Last Days: The Assassination That Defined A Generation.
Actually the book covers a lot more than Kennedy's last days.
O'Reilly, in his epilogue, says: "...He was president for only 1,036
days. Who knows what he might have accomplished if he had lived? His
death filled the country with sorrow because he represented a grand
American vision of pride, fairness, and service to his country.". The
text goes back to his childhood and service in World War II. A number
of the issues he dealt with and difficult divisions he had to make in
his all too short presidency are covered. An underlying thread
throughout the text is the factors that contributed to Kennedy's
strength of character.
I think this is a really good book with which to introduce young
people to Kennedy's presidency. He is shown not only as the Chief of
State who faced the potential of war with the Soviet Union, but as the
proud father who treasured time spent with his family. Generous
background gives kids a good idea of what it was like growing up back
in the day.
On a personal note, I'm greatly enjoying having Adam home for February
break.
A great big shout out goes out to teachers, staff, and admin who
hopefully are enjoying this week...and of course their students.
Julia Emily Hathaway



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Red

Red

YA fiction
"Felicity suddenly realized what they were talking about, and
she drew in her breath sharply. How could this Sienna girl openly
admit to having dyed her hair? This was a public place, and anyone
could be listening..."
Felicity, protagonist of Alison Cherry's amazing debut novel,
Red, lives in Scarletville, a town that calls itself a National
Redhead Sanctuary. In fact it was founded for that exact purpose.
Deep red heads hold all the power in school and town. Folks with
other hair tones, even strawbies, strawberry blondes, are shunned and
treated as second class citizens by the copper tressed elite. Woe be
to arties who are found to get their acceptable color from dye, not
genes!
The highlight of the town social life is the annual Miss Scarlet
Pageant. This year the hype is even bigger. It's the town's seventy-
fifth anniversary. It is also the year Felicity is of age to compete,
a role she has been relentlessly groomed for since birth. Ginger,
Felicity's mother, won the title on the fiftieth anniversary.
Director of the Pageant Committee, she is determined that her crowning
achievement will involve seeing her only daughter follow in her high
heeled foot steps.
At first when Felicity is announced as one of the twelve
contestants it looks like Ginger's plan will come to fruition. Then
Felicity receives an ominous note in her locker. Someone knows her
secret and is willing to use this knowledge to blackmail her.
You see Mommy Dearest, frustrated at giving birth to a strawbie,
has been taking her to have her hair fixed at a top secret dye place
since she was two. If they're exposed...
In addition to the suspenseful plot and believable protagonist,
Red is really thought provoking. Felicity speaks to the plight of so
many young people who have to lead lives of deception because an
innate trait would leave them shunned and disadvantaged in their
communities--unable to achieve their dreams.
On a personal note, red is the color of hearts which gives me a nice
tie in with Valentines Day. It was wonderful. To start with a big
overnight storm slammed us with over a foot of new snow and cancelled
school, even the University. Katie and Adam wanted chocolate chip
pancakes. I found an amazing recipe on the Internet and we had a
lovely early celebration. Hubby gave me a card and a huge box of
chocolates. I baked him chocolate chip cookies by his mother's recipe.
A great big shout out goes out to all the people including the hubby
who will head out soon to deal with the latest storm which is raging
now even as I write this.
Julia Emily Hathaway



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Every Soul A Star

Every Soul A Star

Juvenile fiction
Having recently enjoyed three books by Wendy Mass, I picked up
one of her earlier works. Good move! I found her Every Soul A Star
enthralling. It follows the lives of three teens who in ordinairy
life would never have met. Their destinies converge as they await an
extremely rare event.
*Ally's folks run the Moon Shadow campground where hundreds of people
will gather to experience a total eclipse of the sun. She loves
everything about her home and its remote location. So she is not a
happy camper when she learns that her folks are turning over running
the place and moving to civilization. She'll have to deal with the
intricacies of the public school system and peer group immersion.
*Bree is upset for the exact opposite reason. Her family will be
taking over the campground. A future model, she is doing all she can
to pursue her career from brushing her hair a hundred times every
morning to doing fifty sit-ups before bed. She works equally hard at
maintaining her popularity. Her science focussed family embarasses
her. How will she survive isolated with them, away from friends and
malls?
*Jack spends a lot of time in his treehouse. At school he tries to be
as invisible as a clumsy, overweight it can be. He enjoys science
fiction and drawing...a little too much it seems. Not concentrating
has caused him to flunk science. Much to his surprise, his teacher
calls with a proposition he can't refuse. If he helps him run a two
week excursion culminating in the viewing of the eclipse he won't have
to go to summer school.
It would seem they have nothing in common. However, as they come
together in the intricate web of Mass' creation they start to
transform. If you like realism served up with just a touch of
enchantment you will find Every Soul A Star to be a must read.
On a personal note, I really identify with the despair Ally and Bree
felt at the beginning of the book. Not that I'm going anywhere. In a
little over a year the beings who bring magic and enchantent to my
life, my children, will be gone. How will I survive the joyless quiet
and predictability of a childless house in a town where I just don't
fit in and never will?
A great big shout goes out to eclipse enthusiasts and other folks
fascinated by the beauty and mystery of the universe.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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Seven Stories Up

Seven Stories Up

Juvenile fiction
One of my favorite literary sub genres is stories in which the
protagonist goes back in time to meet a disliked person in her or his
younger years and learn to appreciate or at least understand her or
him. So when I read on the book jacket blurb of Laurel Snyder's Seven
Stories Up that protagonist Annie travels back to 1937 to meet up with
her gandmother nothing could have stopped me from joining her. It was
a journey well worth taking.
As the story begins Annie and her mother travel to the hotel
that her family has owned for decades. Her grandmother is dying. Her
mother is going to say good bye. Annie knows very little about her
mom's mom. She comes face to an angry, bitter woman.
When she wakes up the next morning the room she's in looks
subtly different. A girl with brown eyes and unruly curls is looking
at her and inviting her to stay for breakfast. It's still August 18,
only 50 years earlier. And the grinning girl, Molly, befriending her
is grouchy grammie.
Molly, it turns out, spends much of her time alone in her room
on the hotel's seventh floor. Living with asthma in an age lacking
modern treatments, she's also endured a recent bout with the flu. Her
doctor feels she must be treated as if she's extremely fragile. Her
family obliges. They fly around in their professional and social
orbits, leaving her in what she calls her lonely room.
Molly is thrilled to have someone her age to hang out with. She
has been wishing on stars every night for someone, anyone...so much so
that she isn't bothered in the least to learn that Annie has come to
her from the future. Annie is eager to introduce her to a more
adventurous life style. However,
*Can she do this without getting her sick or hurt or in trouble with
her very strict father?
*Can she do this in a way that won't alter the future, possibly making
her own birth not happen?
*Will she be able to ever get back to her own time and mother--or even
remember them?
Seven Stories Up is a wonderful read for historical fiction
loving kids on two levels. One is that it has a great plot and
believable characters. The other is that, without getting preachy, it
shows the feelings and concerns that motivate its characters in not
always obvious ways. The father who isolates Molly has been told by
the doctor whom he trusts that this is necessary to restore her health.
Interestingly, although Snyder always loved old things, she did
not enjoy studying History. In her mind memorizing dates of major
world events was boring. When she decided to write a story about the
hotel in which her grandmother grew up, she ended up doing a lot of
historical research to get her details right and capture the spirit of
an era that happened before she was born. Because of this need for
research, writing the book took her three years. In my mind that was
time well spent.
On a personal note, in the front of the book there is a wonderful
quote that really got me thinking.
"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until
they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born."
--Anais Nin
In my experience this is so true about those friendships deep enough
to be authentic. I can see this with my friend Darcie with whom I
journeyed through one of the biggest challenges of her life. I can
see this with my gentle friend Christine whose passion for helping
homeless students touches my heart. I can see this with Leah as we
work to bring my poems and her graphic art together to create our
first book. As for my friend and mentor, Dr. Betsy Webb, I see a
universe and hear the music of the spheres. YOWZA!
A great big shout goes out to people creating, treasuring, and
honoring their precious worlds of friendship.
Julia Emily Hathaway



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The Distraction Addiction

The Distraction Addiction

In his introduction to The Distraction Addiction: Getting the
Information You Need and the Communication You Want, Without Enraging
Your Family, Annoying Your Colleagues, and Destroying Your Soul (gotta
love the title!) Alex Soojung-Kim Pang describes a Japanese monkey
park and its macque inhabitants. They are smart and curious and
highly distractable...sort of like people under the spell of
electronic media. "...The monkey mind is attracted to today's
infinite and ever-changing buffet of information choices and devices.
It thrives on overload, is drawn to shiny and blinky things, and
doesn't distinguish between good and bad technologies or choices."
Sound like anyone you know?
Pang is not telling us we're headed to Hades in the proverbial
handbasket due to electronics. Throughout human history technology
changes have enabled life style changes. Way back in the day they
facilitated the shift from hunter-gatherer to a more settled life
style. The printing press with more wide spread literacy was another
real game changer.
What Pang cautions against is the indiscriminate use of
electronics where urgent sounding is confused with important, social
media are accessed constantly--even while driving a several ton hunk
of metal and glass at 60 miles an hour, and the term Internet apnea
had to be invented to describe how most people involuntarily hold
their breath when they open their email. He would like us to look at
how we currently use electronic media, think how we really want and
need to use them, and transition from the former to the latter.
That's what the book is all about. Each chapter gives more tools for
our kit. Simplify, for example contains ways to use a computer
without being sidetracked by a series of peripheral temptations.
Experiment ecourages looking at personal practices and the feelings
they engender.
My favorite chapter was the one on rest. It introduces the idea
of the digital Sabbath, a weekly day long total or partial unplugging
to reconnect with real world interests and friendships. Rather than a
deprivation, it can be a joyful time of embodied mindfulness, of
spiritual awakening. And I certainly plan to take up that
practice...except having my cell phone phone available if my kids need
to connect.
If you feel that you are a servant of your electronics instead
of vice versa, if you feel overwhelmed and exhausted at the demands
they make on your life, or if you see signs in this in someone you
love, The Distraction Addiction is a very wise investent.
On a personal note, one of the things I admire about my mentor, Dr.
Betsy Webb, is her ability to go off line to live mindfully in the
real word. We're both outdoor enthusiasts. We know that whether
it's ice fishing on a crisp January day, watching a summer meteor
shower, walking among the flame colored trees of autumn, or getting
eye to eye with an albino leaf hopper, nothing on the Internet can
beat Mother Nature for awe inspiring. Also because Betsy is mindful
of her electronics use my heart sings when I see that I have an email
from her. She has given thought and feeling to the message she has
sent me. In this day and age that is a precious gift indeed.
I am so glad that I was out of the loop electronics wise when my
children were young, using my computer only to type papers for
customers and rarely play a game or two of solitaire. I was fully
there to read to them and go sledding and bus to the library...no cell
phone, no email. I look at parents pushing a child on a swing while
texting and think how much they are missing.
A great big shout out goes out to all who seek to help us use
electronic devices as tools to help us accomplish tasks rather than
very demanding masters whose every whim must be surrendered to.
Julia Emily Hathaway



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I Am Malala

I Am Malala

"I heard a man behind me saying 'I will kill you.' I quickened
my pace and after awhile I looked back to see if he was following me.
To my huge relief I saw he was speaking on his phone, he must have
been talking to someone else." In this passage from I Am Malala,
Malala Yousafzai describes walking home from school. Throughout her
eloquent autobiography she pulls readers into a world more chilling
than anything Mr. Stephen King ever penned. Can you imagine:
*going to school when schools for girls are being blown up;
*living in an area where the army and Taliban are fighting and
civilians are in grave danger from both sides;
*falling asleep to the sound of gunfire and waking up to the sight of
corpses, some beheaded,
*having to leave your home in a stream of nearly two million, hoping
you will find refuge in a private home and not end up in a dreaded
refugee camp...
And, of course, being shot at close range and nearly dying for the
crime of speaking your mind?
And there are the intangibles:
*the terrible toll on girls of illiteracy and too early marriage;
*the confinement of women behind the walls of their homes;
*the destruction of beloved religious statues;
*the banning of music, dance, and movies;
*the devastation of areas of natural beauty.
Malala despises injustice in any form in which she encounters
it. One day she sees a little girl with matted hair and filthy
clothes sorting rubbish in the dump where she lives. When she asks
her father to give the child tuition to the school he runs he has to
explain that even free education would be out of her reach, her meager
contribtion being needed so her family will not starve.
However, Malala is also a kid like ours: fighting with her
brother, watching favorite shows, repenting misdeeds, negotiating the
intricacies of friendship, and striving to be the top student in her
class. Her story is haunting and rightly so. It is a must read for
each of us who can truthfully claim to possess a soul and a human heart.
On a personal note, I could not read this book and not do something.
The least I can do is raise some money to help further Malala's dream
of education for all children. In a little over seven months I can
celebrate my birthday with a fundraiser. Sound like a plan?
A great big shout out goes out to all folks like Malala and her father
who have the courage risk their lives to speak up for what they
believe in. I'd be too much of a coward.
Julia Emily Hathaway



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Pieces Of Me

Pieces Of Me

YA fiction
Wednesday (in advance of the predicted monster storm that would
wreak havoc with Red Cross operations) I donated blood. I donate five
times a year, as close as possible to: Valentines Day, Mothers Day,
my anniversary, my birthday, and Thanksgiving. It's my way to say,
"L'chaim!" (to life). It's also a way to take a little time to rest
up. When I get home I collapse on the sofa with books, replenishing
snacks and beverages, and my companion cat Joey. No one dares to turn
on the tv. :)
In what I call a beautiful instance of serindipity (amazing
grace disguised as coincidence) the top book on my stack was Amber
Kizer's Pieces Of Me. I was in the frame of mind to dive right into
the spell binding world Kizer created. You see it has to do with
organ donation. Jessica, a high school student who sees herself as
invisible to both her parents and her peers, becomes an organ donor
when she dies. She becomes an unseen presence in the lives of four
teens who are recipients, able to experience not only their actions
and words, but their underlying emotions, the complexities of their
beings. Through her musings you get to know:
*Samuel. His pre transplant life revolved around regular dialysis and
a miracle focussed blog and gaming community he created to feel hope
and a reason for being. It's hard for his mother who has centered her
life around care taking to realize that he is capable of and needing
the increased autonomy of growing into adulthood.
*Vivian. She has grown up with cystic fibrosis. A frequent hospital
inpatient, she's come to know other medically fragile kids. Too often
she's attended their funerals. Her painful awareness of her
potentially short life makes the "normal" finish high school, get into
college scenario her parents envisage seem really pointless. She,
however, can't stand to look far enough into the future to know what
she wants.
*Leif. The athletically gifted son of two sports superachievers, he
is being groomed for football greatness. A serious injury sustained
in a game requires donor tissues to repair his joints. His father is
certain he'll rebound as good as ever from his injuries and be able to
get his life back on track. Leif, however, is not sure this is what
he wants. Maybe the injury is a blessing in disguise, giving him the
chance to discover where HIS passions lie.
*Misty. Her family is desperately poor. The only reason she gets a
transplant when her liver fails is that her little brother sees how
sick she is and calls an ambulance. Her father thinks they should
never have authorized the life saving operation. He grandmother
thinks she is demon possessed. There is so much bitterness and anger
in the home she lives in a library and thinks she might have been
better off dying.
Now you have to remember that even as she experiences their
lives, Jessica is also grieving, for her life being cut short, but
possibly even more for her parents not getting to really know her
while they had the chance. One of her thoughts seems to sum up the
gist of the book: "There are a thousand million miracles that when
done right make a human being live. And yet none of these turn a
living body into a life worthwhile. Lives are lived beyond the
numbers. In the space between the miracles.". YOWZA!
Pieces Of Me was not a book I could just zip through. It
engaged me, touched my heart, made me think. It made me wish the
author lived in Veazie so I could invite her over for a supper of my
homemade soup. If you can deal with a book that might have you seeing
and treasuring life in a whole different way you will find it a real
blessing.
Kizer believes very strongly in the importance of organ and
tissue donation. I love it that she reminds us one needs no cape and
superpowers to save lives. Even the easy act of giving blood can
qualify. There are also ways of giving of self that don't involve
even needles. Jessica feels invisible to her peers and parents. A
lot of people feel this way. Maybe they're shy. Maybe they have
disabilities like my sister, Harriet. If you keep your eyes open and
take the first step you may very well be the one who can help another
feel seen and valued, living as well as existing.
On a personal note, that is why I am open about the role anorexia has
had in my life. After 14 months of maintaining a healthy weight and
relationship with food and my body, you can't look at me and tell.
People say I can put it behind me, let people who meet me be
clueless. In my mind that's a mandate for openness. That person
might be struggling with it or love someone who is. One day I was in
a lounge at the University. Someone said something about stupid
people starving themselves. I explained how, as someone in recovery
from anorexia, I found that comment inappropriate and hurtful. After
the person left two students came up to me. They said they are
struggling with eating disorders. One told me that to her I look like
hope. How could I not want to look like hope?
To my readers, have a Happy Valentines Day!
A great big shout out goes out to all in the donor family and those
whose professions hook our gifts up with those who need them. A
prayer for healing goes out to the person or people who, thanks to our
Maine Red Cross nurses, get a very little piece of me. :)
Julia Emily Hathaway


Sent from my iPod

God Of Beer

God Of Beer

YA fiction
There are times I see a book I read from a very different
perspective than the writer of the jacket blurb. This was certainly
the case with Garret Keizer's God Of Beer. I agree that it's a
testimony to "the dangerous force of ideas and the searing power of
friendship". I also see it as beautifully descriptive of the forces
acting upon and decisions made by small town high school seniors on
the verge of the biggest transition in their young lives. Among
others you get to know:
*Kyle, the narrator, who resists pressures to go to college and get
out of his hometown and gets along with just about everyone;
*Quaker Oats, his brilliant best friend, who often operates in the
ephemeral world of intelligence and intellectual curiosity;
*Diana, who sees Kyle as a brother despite his crush on her and who is
known not only for her basketball achievements, but for her tender
mentoring of younger girls on the team;
*David who excels at hunting and fishing, and struggles, much to his
chagrin, with the most basic of math;
*Condor, California transplant for whom David exemplifies all that he
despises about their small New England town...
Together they face a number of crises, some stemming from their
previous actions. Both plot and characters are poignantly credible.
I highly recommend this book to discriminating fans of the reality
fiction genre.
On a personal note, two quotes almost bookending the story remind me
of my mentor, Dr. Betsy Webb, and how she encourages me. Both are
about basketball and taking foul shots. however, both could equally
apply to acting on ideas and following dreams. The first is, "Just
take your shots, babe, and if they go in, great, and if not, you're
great just the same." Don't we all need to hear that? The second is,
"They belong to you, and you should just take them and let everybody
else worry about whether or not they go in." Sweet!
A great big shout out goes out to Betsy and all her superintendent
colleagues as we go through one of their most challenging times of the
year: budget season.
And all you other peeps: have you hugged or at least shaken hands
with a school superintendent recently. They deserve lotsa good
vibes. Just saying.
Julia Emily Hathaway


Sent from my iPod