The Patron Saint of Second Chances
a debut novel by Christine Simon
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on my weekday commutes to school
i listen to quite a few books
and this
was the first one in a long time
that had me laughing out loud while driving
while i may have looked a bit crazy
it was so worth it for the belly laughs
all from this book
set in a small italian village
filled with larger than life, passionate, eccentric characters
who you will absolutely fall in love with
a community who finds a way
where no path is clear
using the power of optimism, love, and fate
(along with a few pleas to obscure patron saints)
to overcome all obstacles.
you simply will not want this beautiful story to end.
bella.
—
“my optimism wears heavy boots and is loud.”
-henry rollins
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image credit/publisher: atria books
on this special day
i brought out
an old treasured story
written by
my former student, nicole
who i taught for grades k-2
(in a school where we were known by our first names)
a story about me sharing stories
made me cry happy tears to read
how much she enjoyed the stories
what ginormous heaps of praise
from a fellow roald dahl fan.
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happy roald dahl story day!!
—
“words are our most inexhaustible source of magic.”
-albus dumbledore (j.k. rowling, harry potter series)
oh, how i love these tiny places
filled with books are just waiting to be discovered.
—
“i have lived a thousand lives and have loved a thousand loves.
i’ve walked on distant worlds and seen the end of time, because i read.”
-george r.r. martin
—
glen arbor, michigan, usa – summer 2022
i first crossed paths
with this brave and amazing future author (trish kearney)
years ago on her blog:
“my thoughts on a page”
https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/8642668
where she wrote about
her family, her careers, her loves and losses, her daily life in ireland
when i later traveled to ireland
we met in person
(even though her children warned her i might really be a male serial killer)
we spent a great afternoon at an outdoor pub
near the water on a beautiful day
getting to know each other
i had no idea what her whole story was
until she began writing posts about her childhood
floating the idea of writing her memoir
including painful buried trauma she had endured
as a young championship swimmer
over time she gained confidence
decided to tell her story
to find personal peace
to hold her tormentor responsible
to no longer be a victim
to help others who might not be ready to speak.
what followed was
her book, “above water”
a podcast, “where is george gibney?”
and unforeseen consequences
both good and bad.
this is a book of truths
of regaining power over one’s own life
of bravery
of survival
of living to tell the tale
of an unbroken spirit
of healing
of helping others.
i give it my highest personal recommendation
here’s to you, tric, and to all who suffer in silence
you are their brave voice for each and every one of them
and i’m so proud to call you my friend.
—
“you don’t drown by falling in the water; you drown by staying there.”
-Edwin Louis Cole
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amazon uk – available now
Happy 92nd birthday to Nancy Drew! The first volume in the long-running girl detective series, “The Secret of the Old Clock,” was published 92 years ago under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. In a tribute to the iconic sleuth, author Theodore Jefferson writes, “Agency. It is that which forms the foundation for any hero’s ability to save the day. In America, agency for teenage girls in literature made its debut in 1930 in the person of Nancy Drew.” This original Mighty Girl character paved the way for many more heroic female characters and inspired generations of real-life girls and women.
Ghostwritten by Mildred Wirt Benson and later revised by Harriet Stratemeyer Adams, the first volume of Nancy Drew had a huge influence on young readers. Nancy Drew provided them with “stories of someone like themselves who had a positive effect on the world instead of passively sitting at home… She is a character with that magical ‘what if’ question woven into her identity, and one that effortlessly captures the imaginations of readers by allowing them to participate in a world where the answers to that question are just as entertaining as the stories themselves.”
At the time, some viewed Nancy Drew as a poor role model, “contradicting adults while she squared off with the villains… she is mechanically inclined and at the same time doesn’t act like most people in the 1930s would have expected a teenage girl to act.” In fact, many libraries and bookstores refused to carry the Nancy Drew stories. Despite — or because of — that disapproval, kids collected the books voraciously, and in the midst of the Depression, used copies were shared and traded like trading cards are today. As a result, “any kid, even those who couldn’t afford new books, would very likely get to read every adventure starring their favorite character.”
The tremendous influence of Nancy Drew continues to this day asserts Jefferson: “It is difficult to overstate how powerful Nancy Drew’s presence remains in literature and in other media. She has influenced film, comics, video games and animation for [90] years, and will continue to do so as long as teenage girls take the lead as our heroes in the imaginative worlds of adventure.”
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i loved this book series and it inspired me to be part of a neighborhood gang of childhood detectives
(the four crows – see my post below)
and i am still a huge fan of true crime, not as a criminal,
but in trying to solve the who’s, why’s, and how’s.
—
https://ididnthavemyglasseson.com/?s=four+crows
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On leaving work, at work…
“I don’t promise to forget the mystery, but I know I’ll have a marvelous time.”
-nancy drew
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credits: theodore jefferson, the mary sue, mighty girl
treasures
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“there is space on everyone’s bookshelves for books we’ve outgrown but can’t give away.
they hold our youth between their pages.”
-enid blyton
some may never think of this book as great literature
yet it is clearly one of my favorite books to read aloud
while this family is different from most
they accept absolutely everyone without judgement
always making the best of things
and seeing the good in other people
the kinder think back on this
learning to say ‘it’s just topsy-turvy’
when things change, are different than they expected, or don’t go as planned
they just smile and take it all in stride
for this reason i do find it to be pretty great indeed
and i think what a beautiful lesson and way to be.
“all really good picture books are written to be read 500 times.”
-rosemary wellls
(not me, just someone who also loves summer reading, but probably does not nod off like i do)
—
“here is this delicious book and the whole day, both yours.”
the true pleasure or summer reading lies not so much in the novel itself, the writer hildegarde hawthorne explained in 1907, but the choice to devote oneself to it. summer reading as we now know it emerged in the u.s. in the. mid-1800s, buoyed by an emerging middle class and the birth of another cultural tradition: the summer vacation.
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Art credit: Couch on the Porch, Cos Cob, Frederick Childe Hassam, 1914
thanks to artist david zinn, for his lovely sidewalk chalk ode to the library
—
the day has arrived at last
the library has reopened
after what seemed like such a long, long time
our community couldn’t be happier
it has been so greatly missed by so many.
—
‘Libraries: The medicine chest of the soul.’
—Library at Thebes, inscription over the door
I didn't have my glasses on.... 