The Pull of The Stars by Emma Donoghue

Last summer, some friends and I zoomed with our friend Dr. H., who is an anesthesiologist at a local hospital. He was preparing to begin the night shift, and we were eager to hear what his job was like during the pandemic. When we asked what kind of patients he would see, he said, “It’s very quiet. I’m just waiting for the babies to be born.” And that is when it first hit me: Women would be delivering babies, as usual, during the pandemic. This is the territory of Emma Donoghue’s book, “The Pull of The Stars,” which details a maternity ward during the 1918 influenza outbreak an urban hospital in Ireland. The author’s note describes the novel as “fiction pinned together with facts,” and was completed before our Covid hit. The story centers around Julia Power (a midwife), Dr. Kathleen Lynn (a doctor with a criminal past) and Bridie Sweeney (a kind-hearted volunteer raised in the orphanage system). Short-staffed with hospital beds filled, the three women must treat patients in the “fever and maternity” ward, which includes pregnant women suffering with influenza symptoms. Armed with only the basic essentials (whiskey and chloroform), the three women must do the best they can to keep the patients comfortable. Like her 2010 bestseller “Room,” Donoghue is a specialist when it comes to describing details and emotions within the space of one room. At first glance, the early 20th century hospital ward might seem like an old-fashioned story, but the common thread of a pandemic, then and now, is chilling. Yet, as the death toll numbers continue to be counted around the world today, so do the stories of hope and survival. “The Pull of The Stars” provides an inspirational tale, and a testament of admiration to all those healthcare workers putting their lives on the line every day. We must be grateful for all that they do. Thank you, Dr. H., too. To buy this book on Amazon click here

The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor

On Inauguration Day, there was a breakout star in attendance and her name is Amanda Gorman, the 22-year-old National Youth Poet Laureate. When she stood on that podium with her fierce yellow coat and bright read headband, she read her poem, “The Hill We Climb” with the skill of a more seasoned performer well beyond her years. Her poem was not only exciting, but also unifying. Her words provided hope and confidence, a road map for reconciliation. She gave us what we needed most: a sense of community. When she said, “and the norms and notions of what ’just’ is isn’t always justice” reminds me of this book, “The Women of Brewster Place.” Written by Gloria Naylor and first published in 1982, the book is comprised of seven stories about women living in urban housing development in an undisclosed city, such as New York or Chicago. The stories about Mattie Michael, Etta Mae Johnson, Cora Lee and others depict these women as they try to survive while holding fast onto their hopes, dreams and desires. The women’s stories seem unique to their surroundings, but are at the same time, stories that continue to happen across America every day: Economic struggles made harder by family pressures from parents and spouses, while raising young children. The fact that the women remain open hearted in the face of neglect and abuse makes the reader feel there is always hope, if only one remembers to continue to dream outside your own four walls. As Amanda Gorman concluded, “If we’re to live up to our time, then victory won’t lie in the blade, but in all the bridges we made. That is the promise to glade the hill we climb. If only we dare, it’s because being American is more than a pride we inherit. It’s the past we step into and how we repair it.” To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

Sitting Pretty: The View From My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body by Rebekah Taussig

Having been the mother of twins with Cerebral Palsy for now nearly 26 years, I would have given myself high marks for disability awareness last month. However, this month everything changed when I read “Sitting Pretty” by Rebekah Taussig. Her memoir took everything I thought I knew about being disabled, and threw it out the window, in an exciting and enlightening way. Taussig was paralyzed at the age of 3 following a lengthy-cancer treatment regimen. She chronicles how her disability led to early discrimination as a child and later uphill battles to obtain employment, housing, health care and even love. She confronts “stigma, isolation, erasure, misunderstanding, skepticism, and ubiquitous inaccessibility.” As she recounts so many painful experiences, some stories are just cringe worthy. For example, the time she was at a clothing store, and a young couple selfishly commandeered the handicapped dressing room so they could try on clothes together, while she waited outside. Even after they saw she was in a wheelchair, and even after she calls them out for using a dressing room meant for the disabled, they defiantly continue to carry on, undeterred. Her message is loud and clear: We as a society can do better. We are not putting enough energy into becoming a flexible, all-inclusive community of people who welcome everyone. Today she is a disability rights advocate with a doctorate, as well as wife and mother to a young baby boy name Otto. Taussig calls for changes in movies, television, books and other forms of media to demonstrate a greater understanding of how disability affects all of us. Her words are not only relevant and timely, but also logical and lyrical at the same time. “I’m not ‘wheelchair-bound’ or ‘confined to a wheelchair.’ My wheelchair is as precious and liberating as a tongue, fin, or airplane.” You can follow Taussig on Instagram @Sitting_Pretty. To buy this book on Amazon click here.

The Promised Land by Barak Obama

I was at work when the insurrection began on Wednesday, far from a TV or radio. But I knew something was wrong because the Apple watch my husband gave me for my birthday was buzzing like a bee with breaking news updates. When I finally got home and saw the alarming images of thugs storming the Capitol, I could not believe my eyes. It was ironic because the day before I had finished listening to this memoir, “A Promised Land” by Barak Obama. It felt blissfully nostalgic to look back on a time when  we had a different man in the White House, and a nod to the fact that we will soon have a different man and a woman in the White House, too. Like Michelle Obama’s memoir “Becoming,” this book focuses on the early years of their marriage, the campaign trail and his first term in office.  According to the “New York Times,” nearly every president since Theodore Roosevelt has written a memoir. This one provides a look at the presidency that is both honest, intimate and groundbreaking. When he won the election of 2008 in the middle of an economic crisis, one of his friends said to Obama, “Two hundred and thirty-two years, and they wait until the country’s falling apart before they turn it over to the brother!” He lets us follow him around the White House which begins with breakfast and the delivery of the “President’s Daily Brief,” which Michelle called “The Death, Destruction and Horrible Things Book.” The stress of the job, the responsibility to a nation, is something that motivates and inspires him to find answers whether the questions are about health care, an oil spill, the economy or the hunt for Osama Bin Laden. There is just one word I kept thinking about while I was listening to him read this book, and that word is dignity. The state of being worthy of honor and respect is what Obama personified during his eight years in office, and it was sorely missed this week. Let’s hope Joe Biden is ready for the challenge, and follows in Obama’s graceful footsteps. To buy this book on Amazon click here.

Conversations With Friends by Sally Rooney

As I look back on this strange year, in addition to being grateful for my family, friends and hospice job, there is one thing that stands out as a shining light in this disappointing year: “Normal People,” both the book and the Hulu series. I have neither read nor watched anything as magical as “Normal People” in a very long time. So, it was with much anticipation that I ended this year by reading Rooney’s book “Conversations with Friends.” Her debut novel, this story also take place in Dublin and involves two friends who met in high school. This time it is not Marianne and Connell, but rather two women named Frances and Bobbi. After graduating from high school they go on to Trinity College together, and soon became lovers. They also write and perform spoken word poetry. One night at a performance, they meet an arty married couple named Melissa, a photographer, and Nick, an actor. When the married couple invites the two girls back to their house for a night cap, the dynamics begin to change. Initially Melissa and Bobbi are attracted to each other, but over the next few weeks it is Frances and Nick who begin an affair. Attraction and infidelity in the hands of Rooney often take such unexpected twists and turns. On the night they first have sex Frances says to Nick, “We can sleep together if you want, but you should know I’m only doing it ironically.” Like “Normal People,” the characters in this book are blessed by love but also tortured by it, which makes the story so beautiful and poignant. According to Google, Rooney is only 29 years old. So, the good news for the new year is that we have more Sally Rooney books to look forward, too. Here’s to a beautiful and bright new year ahead! To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

One Day In December by Josie Silver

I recently completed Tayshia's season on the “Bachelorette.” I am rather late in joining the Bachelor Nation’s party, but I have to say I loved this season. And I'm not ashamed to admit it. It is called entertainment people! It gives me the same rush I used to feel racing home from school to watch “General Hospital.” There is a lot of repetition, but also small gems of spontaneity. One of the most fascinating moments in the series this year, was in the very beginning when the original Bachelorette Clare met Dale for the first time. Within seconds of their meeting, as he walked away, she said out loud, "I think I just met my husband." Was it fate? Was it magic? Was it love at first sight? It sure seems like it because after only a few weeks Clare only had eyes for Dale, and they left the show midseason together. "One Day in December" by Josie Silver is book about love at first sight. When the main character Laurie sees a young man standing at a London bus stop as her bus pulls away, she can’t get him out of her mind. She even wistfully visits that bus stop and other ones like it in the hopes of seeing him again. She wonders if he might have been her perfect match, and she will never get the chance to meet him. She continues to ruminate over this mystery man until she is introduced to her best friend Sarah’s new boyfriend Jack. He just happens to be the man from Laurie’s bus stop. Laurie can see in Jack’s eyes that he remembers their bus stop meeting as well. What next? How can she get into the middle of her best friend’s romance? Over the next 10 years we see the situation from both Laurie and Jack’s perspectives. Love at first sight can be dreamy but also complicated. I enjoyed this and found it to be a cozy read for a winter day. I’m excited to read more romantic books like this, and watch the upcoming “Bachelor.” Bring on Matt James! To buy the book on Amazon click here.

The Best of Me By David Sedaris

I have a very off-the-beaten-path sense of humor, probably unlike most people. When it comes to books, television shows and movies, I steer clear of anything silly, zany, wacky or foolish. I have never met a mime, clown or fart joke I ever liked. Specifically, the humor I love most is when David Sedaris writes about this mother and father. There is something about the phrases he uses to describe them, and the way he imitates their voices in his audio books, that cuts to the true core of what I think is funny. “The Best of Me” is collection of his previously published essays, hand-picked to highlight his 25-year-writing career. What this collection demonstrates is how much he enjoys and excels at writing about his family. Whether he is talking about his brother Paul’s dramatic weight loss, his sister Amy’s penchant for creating family spa days, or his sister Tiffany’s suicide, his essays make you laugh out loud and even cry, like most families tend to do to one and other. In addition to the essays about his family, there are fantastic stories culled from the airplane trips he often takes on his book tours. He takes the rude, swearing, ill-dressed passengers he meets on planes and turns them into stars of his essays. He mines their every mood and phrase for humor. He said recently one of his biggest laments of the pandemic is that he cannot travel, nor read his work out loud to audiences like he once did. He mused that he is not sure if his next book is funny yet, because he has not had the chance to read it out loud to an audience. Well, I for one, know it will be funny, and I will be the first one in line to buy it. Let other people read silly and zany books, I will pick Sedaris every time. To buy this book on Amazon click here.

Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

As we begin a second lockdown this week, I am starting to get yucky. That is a perfect word for how I feel, yucky. And I don’t want to keep my frustration inside because it makes me feel worse. My friend Chris sent me a picture the other day that said, “People Start To Heal The Moment They Feel Heard.” We all need to share our frustration and sadness, and poetry is one way to do it, and spoken word poetry can be even more cathartic for these turbulent times. “Poet X” is the debut novel by slam poet Elizabeth Acevedo, and explores the spiritual awakening for a young girl in Harlem when she finds her voice as a slam poet. The young girl, Xiomara Batista, struggles with the body changes and sexism that come with puberty, as well as the domination of her religious mother. When Xiomara joins a slam poetry club at school, a new door opens to a secret world that not only hears her, but also understands her. The poetry she writes in her leather-bound journal gives her strength, and new tools to understand her mother as well as her twin brother and distant father.  Residing in a world that wants to silence her, Xiomara rises above her oppressors and shouts her true feelings from the rooftops. When we are stuck, there should always be hope. We just have to keep reminding ourselves that where there is hope, there can also be growth, and a light at the end of the long tunnel. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

I once owned a big house in Sea Cliff where I lived with my twin girls and their dad for seven years. The house at 2910 Lake was grand but when the marriage ended, we sold it and moved on. The day I left, leaving behind my wedding silver and china, I got into my car and blasted Nirvana’s “Come As You Are” so loudly that my car shook. I did not look back, and the four of us proceeded to build new lives. A friend had told me you can’t love a house, but you can certainly love and miss the people inside that house. This is the theme of Ann Patchett’s beautifully crafted novel “The Dutch House.” The best way to read this book is to listen to Tom Hanks perform it on audio. His voice is so well suited for Danny the narrator, that I wish Hanks could win an award for it. The pairing is perfect. I literally cheered at the end. “The Dutch House” is the story of Danny and his sister Mauve, who following the disappearance of their mother, are raised by their father, Cyril, in a mansion in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. Danny and Mauve’s happy life inside the house with their dad is turned upside down when Cyril re-marries a woman named Andrea with two daughters, Norma and Bright. Shortly after the marriage, Cyril dies suddenly and Andrea, triumphant as the evil step-mother, forces Danny and Mauve to move out. Together, the siblings use the only resource they have: a college fund, which Danny can use to go to medical school. Danny eventually marries and discovers he does not want to be a doctor, but rather craves a career in real estate like his father. Danny and Mauve drive back to the Dutch House often to sit in the car to revisit their childhood and their past, and the grand life they once had inside that house. Their relationship to the house, and the bond they share, provides the landscape for this beautiful, poignant family saga.  To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

Paris for One and Other Stories by Jojo Moyes

Last spring, in the beginning of the pandemic, I decided to do something crazy: I subscribed to “Travel + Leisure” magazine. I decided that if I could not travel for a while, then at least I could use the time wisely to research where I would want to go next. Places like the Maldives, that had never been on my radar before, moved up the list because I saw the most beautiful pictures in the magazine. I also added destinations to my travel agenda including Croatia, Bermuda, Peru and Majorca. I started reading books about travel such as this one, “Paris for One and Other Stories” by Jojo Moyes, the best-selling author of “Me Before You.” In this volume, Moyes offers a novella, along with a series of other short stories about women juggling relationships, both good and bad. In the title novella, we find an English schoolgirl named Nell, who has planned a fabulous getaway with her boyfriend to Paris, a city on her bucket list. When her boyfriend does not show up as planned, Nell is forced to have-a-come-to-Jesus talk with herself. Should she cancel the trip and go home? Or should she continue the trip as she designed, but do it by herself? The later scenario is completely out of character for her, but she decides to forge ahead anyway, offering herself a much-needed period of growth and genuine relaxation.  The rest of the stories follow a similar pattern of women searching for hope and new adventures when stuck in a relationship that is less than perfect. For readers looking for a literary getaway, or just time well spent with Moyes and her lovely characters, this is the book for you. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

The Stranger by Albert Camus

LLP Week 247: “The Stranger” by Albert Camus

Today is my dad’s birthday. He died in the summer of 2016, so celebrating his birthday without him is not as shocking as it once was. He was a complicated man. He wore very expensive dress shirts but nearly every day carried a dime-store red duffle with the name of his high school, DeWitt Clinton. He drank Coors beer from a yellow can when I was in high school, but in his 70s would go to the Polo Lounge once a year to share a $400 shot of Cognac with a close friend. He was very sick as a child, but also overcame many ailments to compete in basketball and softball up until the week before he died. He flew first class but had a pen pal in prison who made him a wallet which he often carried. He was allergic to dozens of condiments, like mustard and vinegar, but found great joy in eating spoonsful of guacamole during the last few years of his life. He was a comedy writer, but a man who loved talking about books by existentialists. One of his favorites was this book: “The Stranger” by Albert Camus. The book opens, “Mother died today. Or maybe yesterday, I don’t know.” The story follows the protagonist and narrator Meursault as he learns of his mother’s death, becomes tangled in a series of unfortunately events, and eventually commits murder. The story contains themes of indifference and insensitivity in the face of an absurd world. What is free will? And how do we pursue our own interests in the world we have been given? Garry often quoted Franz Kafka who wrote, “The meaning of life is that it stops.” But Garry also said, “family is important,” “learn to use a cash register,” and “you cannot die of embarrassment.” Like Camus and his fellow existential writers, Garry found stories with complicated characters and multiple layers of meaning, not only entertaining, but also thrilling and challenging. Perhaps the point of “The Stranger” is not to fully understand its meaning, but to debate it, too. Happy Birthday, Pop! Here’s to you and Camus. To buy this book on Amazon click here https://amzn.to/3ppUM1h

Across That Bridge by John Lewis

My friend and author Colleen Weems recommended this book on social medica this week, and I literally ran to my phone to download it from my library. Within minutes I was listening to the wise voice of the late, great, civil rights leader and statesman John Lewis, who passed away earlier this year. He served in the House of Representatives for Georgia’s 5th district from 1987 until his death. He was one of the “Big Six” who organized the 1963 March on Washington, and he led the first of three Selma-to-Montgomery marches across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. One of the highlights of pandemic TV for me was watching David Letterman’s Netflix show called “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction,” and my favorite episode is in the first season when Letterman interviews Lewis. I didn’t know when I was watching the program that Lewis would die a few months later. I just knew I liked listening to him because he made sense in a world that does not to make a lot of sense right now. Lewis might be gone, but the hope that he outlined in this book is still possible. He broke his philosophy down into sections such as faith, study, truth, act, peace, love, reconciliation and most important of all, patience. Lewis recalled a time when a white woman and a black woman could not sit on the bus together. Things have changed, but there still is so much more work today. If you are looking for a book that gives you not only hope but also inspiration, then look no further than the profound words of John Lewis and this gem “Across That Bridge.” To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

Shade by Pete Souza

Last night, we finally watched the documentary “The Way I See It” about Chief Official White House photographer Pete Souza. He built his reputation as an ace photographer behind the camera, only to recently step in front of the camera to voice his opinions this year. We went to see Souza a few years ago when he was promoting his book “Obama: An Intimate Portrait.” I saw him speak in San Francisco and he described his eight years taking photographs in the Barak Obama White House. He spent nearly every waking hour with the president. What many people do not know is that he was a White House photographer when Ronald Reagan was in office, and shares fond memories of that experience, too. To have taken photographs during the presidency of not only an iconic Republican president, but also a Democratic living legend, is impressive in anyone’s career. What happens after Obama takes that final helicopter ride off the White House lawn is quite fascinating. Souza started posting his pictures of the Obama years on his Instagram account, and eventually paired them with Tweets, headlines and quotes from Donald Trump’s first 500 days in office. The juxtaposition is quite startling. Souza’s once silent photos and memories of the Obama years become a loud and biting conduit for throwing “shade,” or publicly criticizing the current White House Administration. His arc from a life-long photographer to an advocate for change is compelling and interesting to examine. No matter who you plan to vote for on November 3, just do one thing: VOTE. It is the single thing we can all do to make our voices heard. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

The Chiffon Trenches by Andre Leon Talley

Recently my sister, Kathleen, sent me a picture of a bottle of army green nail polish, and asked if it was a good choice for fall. Whenever I have a question about a style or a trend, I go right to my friend Jennifer because she is the doyenne of all things fashionable. I sent her the picture of the polish, and she texted “I wouldn’t do green. Too much!” without a moment’s hesitation. She not only knows about style, she also reads about it. Recently she let me borrow her copy of “The Chiffon Trenches” a memoir by Andre Leon Talley, an American journalist and former creative director of “Vogue” Magazine. Reading Talley’s book was like going to the hippest nightclub in New York and running into Andy Warhol, Karl Lagerfeld, Yves Saint Laurent, Oscar De La Renta, Anna Wintour, Diana Vreeland and more. Standing at 6 feet 6 inches tall, Talley started his writing career at Warhol’s “Interview” magazine. He then moved to Paris to be the bureau chief for “Women’s Wear Daily,” and was soon promoted to the creative director of “Vogue” under the notorious Wintour. His successful career in fashion was a far cry from his childhood in Durham, North Carolina, where his grandmother raised him and worked as a cleaning lady at Duke University. He never forgot where he came from and tried to approach life in New York and Paris with a kind, open heart and positive attitude. Unfortunately, people in the fashion world can be cruel, and Talley’s memoir details a series of broken friendships, cold shoulders, blatant racism, cruel body shaming and other disappointments. Despite the hard times he faced in fashion, you get the feeling he chose the right profession, rather than the French teacher he intended to become after getting his master’s from Brown University. At 72 years old, he seems to have few regrets. He is still standing tall, smiling and chic in his bespoke caftans. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

"The Jetsetters" by Amanda Eyre Ward

We cannot travel like we want to right now, but we certainly can read about travel until it is time to fly again. “The Jetsetters” by Amanda Eyre Ward is the perfect travel-filled novel to read right now. The story centers around matriarch Charlotte Perkins, who is understandably sad when her best girlfriend dies suddenly. A long-time widow, Charlotte’s new-found loneliness propels her to take a great risk: to write a sexy essay and enter it into the “Become a Jetsetter” contest. When, much to her surprise, Charlotte wins the contest she uses it as the perfect opportunity to bring her family together. She convinces her oldest daughter Lee (a struggling actress), her son Cord (a venture capitalist with secrets), and her youngest daughter Regan (a married mother of two who wants out of her marriage), to all join her on a cruise through Athens, Rome and Barcelona. What Charlotte hopes is a blissful reunion for the Perkins family, of course, turns out to be far more complicated than anyone imagined. Old rivalries, new revelations and life on the open seas, stirs up deep emotions for all four of them. They must deal with not only their feelings toward each other, but also their memories of the father who died too young. I hope one day I can dust my passport off again, but until then, we just have to live vicariously through wonderful books like “The Jetsetters.” To buy this book on Amazon click here.

Wild Iris by Louise Gluck

This week American Louise Gluck was awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature for her body of work, which includes 12 volumes of poetry. Previously, she won the Pulitzer in 1993 and served as the Poetry Laureate of the United States from 2003-4. The last American to win this Nobel prize was Bob Dylan in 2016. When giving her the award, the Nobel committee praised Gluck “for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal.” Her poems tend to be short, but extremely powerful, honest and true. The committee mentioned one of her books in particular: “Wild Iris,” first published in 1993. This book tackles the themes of time and mortality. One of the most famous poems in the collection is called “Snowdrops,” which is only 14 lines long. However, within those 14 lines is a story that metaphorically is pages long and filled with everything from fear and loss to joy and survival. There are other wonderful poems in this collection as well such as “Sunset,” “The Golden Lilly” and “Matins,” the last being about a service of morning prayer. As I was reading about the poet, I came across an interesting little fact about her. She thought in the beginning that a writer should just right, and not have another job. She believed a writer needed concentration and focus. But eventually, when she started teaching, she realized the opposite: It is important for a writer to have another job, so she can experience living while writing. Gluck is currently the adjunct professor and Rosenkranz Writer in Residence at Yale University. To buy this book on Amazon click here.

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

LLP Week #241: “American Dirt” by Jeanine Cummins

When I was very small, my dad started talking to me about story structure. This might seem an odd topic to pose to a little girl, but Garry liked to connect with people through creativity, and to him, understanding story structure was essential to life. He believed most plots could be broken down into three categories: Two people fall in love. A stranger comes to town. And one or more people get stuck in something – an elevator, a bathtub, a city or a bad situation with no easy way out. “American Dirt” by Jeanine Cummins falls into this third category which Garry called a “stuck-in-a.” Acapulco book-store owner Lydia and her 11-year-old son Luca, suddenly find themselves the only survivors of a family massacre, which includes Lydia’s husband, a local journalist reporting on the local drug cartel. Seconds after the knowledge sets in that all of their relatives have died during a family celebration, Lydia and Luca are faced with only one choice: to run. Thus, begins their odyssey as they attempt to migrate from Mexico to the United States on top of trains traveling north. The secret that Lydia carries along the way is that the leader of the drug cartel, Javier, was also a loyal customer at her bookstore, and a close confidant. I found this story fascinating and a suspenseful read from beginning to end. This book is, however, not without controversy. You can pause and Google it now. While a work of fiction, Cummins has been criticized for writing about the Mexican immigrant experience when she identifies as a American white woman. I will let readers form their own opinions about who can and cannot write fiction, but this book never pretends to be a memoir. It is a powerful, relevant, compelling page-turner of a story that explores what happens when a mother and her child must fight to survive and forge new lives for themselves. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

Smacked: A Story of White-Collar Ambition, Addiction, and Tragedy" by Eilene Zimmerman

For the second time in my life, I have had a close friend move from San Francisco to London, and I really wish London would stop taking my friends away. I walked with this woman nearly every Monday and Thursday for more than 12 years, and I think I’m still in denial that she has left. I was pretending she was just on a trip, until I read this book. Then I really missed her. She and I share a penchant for books about drug addiction. This is not because we have experience with drugs, it is rather an unnatural fear that we will suddenly, one day even in our 60s, fall victim to heroin. “Smacked” by Eilene Zimmerman is exactly the type of addiction story that we used to love to talk about on our walks. Eilene, an experienced journalist, was married to Peter, a lawyer, and they had two kids, a boy and a girl. For various reasons they grew apart and eventually got divorced. Their lives after their divorce began quite typically, with them sharing custody, and sometimes even time together with the children. However, shortly after their divorce, his odd behavior began. He grew thin, was late for events, and sometimes, even when he was present, he seemed distracted and distant. He rose to become partner at a prominent law firm, but still his erratic behavior persisted. The children and Eilene attributed his behavior to work stress and carried on with their lives. However, she soon comes face-to-face with the reality that Peter is living a secret life filled with pills, opioids, cocaine and methamphetamines. This revelation forces her to reflect back on the man she knew for 30 years, and yet didn’t really know at all. The book is a fascinating read, and a true behind-the-scenes look into what the life of a high-functioning drug addict really looks like. To buy this book on Amazon click here.

The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver

Yesterday would have been Broadway actor Nick Cordero’s 42nd birthday. Last year, when he turned 41 years old, he had just moved to Laurel Canyon from New York with his wife, fitness guru Amanda Kloots and their baby, Elvis. Nick died of complications related to Covid-19 on July 5, 2020, in Los Angeles. I still follow Amanda on Instagram because I find her posts uplifting, positive and nothing-short-of-amazing. One minute she has this loving and talented husband, and the next minute he is gone. Yet, she is still working, taking care of her son and dancing as fast as she can. “The Two Lives of Lydia Bird” by Josie Silver, presents a similar, fictional love story cut short. On the way to celebrate Lydia’s 28th birthday, her long-time love and fiancé Freddie dies in a tragic car accident. Her best friend Jonah survives the crash, but Lydia’s world is suddenly shattered in a single day.  While she is trying to move forward with her life, something magical happens: thanks to participation in a clinical sleep study, she suddenly has the ability to travel back in time and be with Freddie, periodically. Like the best time travel romances, the rules are unpredictable, but the ability to once again see someone who has died is insatiable. Lydia toggles back and forth between the past and the present, trying to figure out which world is real and which one is not. When she begins to feel uncomfortable in the past, she must make a decision about her future. I love books that explore not only romance, but also the different levels of grief and this books does both. To buy this book on Amazon click here.

"This is San Francisco" by M. Sasek

It is going to take a lot more than smoke in the air to make me break up with San Francisco, because you see, we go way back. I moved here in August of 1989, two months before the Loma Prieta earthquake. The day the Bay Area shook, I was on the second floor of a building on the corner of Grant and Geary, working as an editor at a travel magazine. My co-workers and I clung to each other, and then gingerly tip-toed out of the building, watching each others’ backs. In the days that followed the earthquake, I knew I was not going anywhere. I had already decided that this was my city, and soon it would become my daughters’ city, too, because it is quirky, funny and friendly, just like us. I came into The City yesterday to walk with a friend, because that is what we do in San Francisco, we walk, a lot, even when there is smoke in the air. I then did a zoom yoga class in my apartment and in the middle of a triangle pose, I spotted this book smiling at me from Lily’s books case. “This is San Francisco” is a beautiful children’s book by M. Sasek with iconic images of The City. After my yoga zoom, I opened the book and read through it for probably the first time in at least 10 years. I smiled at nearly every page, and marveled at the drawing of the Embarcadero freeway that is no longer standing. There is a picture on page 44 of some telephone poles and it says “300 days a year the western sky is blue.” That figure might not be accurate any more, but there is still no other city I would rather live in. When the pandemic is over, when the heat wave is done, and when the fires have been tamed, I will still be on Turk, heading out on another walk. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.