Book Review: All That We Carried

As the eldest of four females in our family, I know how fulfilling and enriching sisterhood is and how blessed I am to have these women in my life. However, I also am aware of how painful relationships with sisters can be at times. When words are wielded like weapons, they can tear the heart and scar the soul. The people with whom you are closest and share some of your earliest memories can hurt you the most.

Book Review: Something Worth Doing

One hundred years ago, American women were granted the right to vote. However, this right was not won quickly or easily.

In 1848, the women’s movement was launched at The Seneca Falls Convention with women’s suffrage being the primary demand. The movement gathered momentum through the 1850s; however, with the onset of the Civil War in 1861, women’s suffrage lost its steam. Four years later, with the end of the war, the suffrage movement began again. Unfortunately, it took 55 more years before American women were granted the right to vote.

Book Review: The Edge of Belonging

As a genealogist, I learned long ago that there is the family into which one is born, and there is the family that one chooses. The novel, The Edge of Belonging, written by Amanda Cox, is all about the family that is chosen.

Book Review: The Orphan Collector

One hundred years ago, during the final days of the First World War, a microscopic menace attacked humanity on a global scale: the Spanish Influenza. The conditions of the war (overcrowding and global troop movements) hastened the rapid spread of this disease. Because of the lack of reliable healthcare and sanitary practices in the public-at-large, this disease quickly escalated into a public health crisis.

Book Review: The Book of Lost Names

Heroes in real life don’t wear masks and capes. Sometimes they don’t stand out at all. But real heroes can save a life—or many lives—just by answering the call in their heart. ~Victoria Arlen