Yes Please by Amy Poehler

In Amy Poehler’s highly anticipated first book, Yes Please, she offers up a big juicy stew of personal stories, funny bits on sex and love and friendship and parenthood and real life advice (some useful, some not so much), like when to be funny and when to be serious. Powered by Amy’s charming and hilarious, biting yet wise voice, Yes Please is a book full of words to live by.

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This is perhaps the best audio books I have ever listened to. In fact, even if you have already read Yes Please, I highly encourage you to go back and listen to the audio book version because Amy has created quite the listening experience with her book. She has enhanced her audio book not only with her unique voice and personality, but with guest commentators who add further dimension to the narrative.

I found Yes Please to be highly entertaining and it made the minutes (sometimes hours) of my daily commute home pass that much more quickly. The narrative is pure Amy and is presented in a humorous, but real and honest way. I enjoyed it from start to finish and highly recommend that you check it out.     

Ready-to-Use Resources for Mindsets in the Classroom: Everything Educators Need for School Success by Mary Cay Ricci

Ready-to-Use Resources for Mindsets in the Classroom provides educators with tools they need to help students change their thinking about their abilities and potential. The book features ready-to-use, interactive tools for students, teachers, parents, administrators, and professional development educators. 

Parent resources include a sample parent webpage and several growth mindset parent education tools. Other resources include: mindset observation forms, student and teacher “look fors," lists of books that contribute to growth mindset thinking, critical thinking strategy write-ups and samples, and a unique study guide for the original book that includes book study models from various schools around the country. 

This book is perfect for schools looking to implement the ideas in Mindsets in the Classroom so that they can build a growth mindset learning environment. When students believe that dedication and hard work can change their performance in school, they grow to become resilient, successful students. This book contains many of the things that schools need to create a growth mindset school culture in which perseverance can lead to success!

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This is a great companion book to Ricci's Mindsets in the Classroom. I found the resources to be straight-forward and easy to understand. Most can be used as is, others will serve as a great starting point for modification. I found the video and book resources to be great. It's always nice when someone else does the "leg-work," especially as you prepare to begin something new in the classroom. The only think I would have liked is access to electronic versions of some of the handouts, which would make modification easier. However, with this book, Ricci provides several resources that will hopefully make creating a growth mindset environment that much easier. I'm looking forward to utilizing many of these resources in the upcoming school year.

No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission that Killed Osama Bin Laden by Mark Owen

From the streets of Iraq to the rescue of Captain Richard Phillips in the Indian Ocean, and from the mountaintops of Afghanistan to the third floor of Osama Bin Laden's compound, operator Mark Owen of the U.S. Naval Special Warfare Development Group--commonly known as SEAL Team Six--has been a part of some of the most memorable special operations in history, as well as countless missions that never made headlines.

No Easy Day puts readers alongside Owen and the other handpicked members of the twenty-four-man team as they train for the biggest mission of their lives. The blow-by-blow narrative of the assault, beginning with the helicopter crash that could have ended Owen's life straight through to the radio call confirming Bin Laden’s death, is an essential piece of modern history.

In No Easy Day, Owen also takes readers onto the field of battle in America's ongoing War on Terror and details the selection and training process for one of the most elite units in the military. Owen's story draws on his youth in Alaska and describes the SEALs' quest to challenge themselves at the highest levels of physical and mental endurance. With boots-on-the-ground detail, Owen describes numerous previously unreported missions that illustrate the life and work of a SEAL and the evolution of the team after the events of September 11.

In telling the true story of the SEALs whose talents, skills, experiences, and exceptional sacrifices led to one of the greatest victories in the War on Terror, Mark Owen honors the men who risk everything for our country, and he leaves readers with a deep understanding of the warriors who keep America safe.

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What always fascinates me when I read these types of books is the difference between what the participants and the politicians say about the same event(s). The raid conducted by the U.S. Military that killed Osama Bin Laden is a historically significant event. However, to the brave men and women who made it possible, it was just another "day at the office." They were given a job to do and they went out and did it. They weren't concerned with the historical or political implications. They were just trying to do their job and get back home safely.

I have read other reviews that criticize it's action-thriller approach to telling the story, but it didn't bother me. I didn't chose to read this book for a textbook account of the raid. I wanted to hear the "boots-on-the-ground" perspective, which is what this book gives. Was it a flawless literary work, no. But I don't think that was the point. In the end, I was left with a feeling of respect for these brave men. Not everyone has what it takes to become a SEAL and sacrifice the way they do. I enjoyed listening to this novel and would recommend the audiobook.  

2016 Reading Challenge: An autobiography 

Mindsets in the Classroom: Building a Culture of Success and Student Achievement in Schools by Mary Cay Ricci

When students believe they can that dedication and hard work can change their performance in school, they grow to become resilient, successful students. Inspired by the popular mindset idea that hard work and effort can lead to success, Mindsets in the Classroom provides educators with ideas for ways to build a growth mindset school culture, wherein students are challenged to change their thinking about their abilities and potential. 

The book includes a planning template, step-by-step description of a growth mindset culture, and "look-fors" for adopting a differentiated, responsive instruction model teachers can use immediately in their classrooms. It also highlights the importance of critical thinking and teaching students to learn from failure. The book includes a sample professional development plan and ideas for communicating the mindset concept to parents. With this book's easy-to-follow advice, tasks, and strategies, teachers can grow a love of learning in their students.

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Mindsets in the Classroom was my next step in my research on mindset. While Dweck's book was excellent for building a foundational understanding of the two different mindsets, it didn't provide a lot of practical strategies that could be taken from the page and brought into the classroom. 

Ricci's book does just that. It takes the mindset philosophy and shows teachers, administrators, and even parents how to use mindset to foster a growth mindset in children. The lesson plan ideas, tips and tools are easy to understand and are practical, which is always a plus. I hate when I attend a professional development that is full of great ideas, but has unrealistic or faulty application. I found many of Ricci's strategies and tools to be something that I could easily integrate into my current classroom structure. I also felt challenged to rethink some of my current classroom policies and practices, and felt that there were tools in this book that I could use as a jumping off point for redesigning things. I plan on trying several out in the upcoming school year as I attempt to foster a growth mindset in my students.

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck

Dweck explains why it’s not just our abilities and talent that bring us success—but whether we approach them with a fixed or growth mindset. She makes clear why praising intelligence and ability doesn’t foster self-esteem and lead to accomplishment, but may actually jeopardize success.

With the right mindset, we can motivate our kids and help them to raise their grades, as well as reach our own goals—personal and professional. Dweck reveals what all great parents, teachers, CEOs, and athletes already know: how a simple idea about the brain can create a love of learning and a resilience that is the basis of great accomplishment in every area.

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I have been a special education teacher for almost a decade now. Over the years, I have noticed that my students have struggled more and more with effort and motivation. In the instant gratification, blue-ribbon culture we live in, I find that many students are unwilling to put forth the effort it really takes to master new concepts and skills. Many have a "one and done" attitude and are unwilling to go back and make corrections and try again. They want to avoid the things that are hard for them and don't see the value in hard work. I have found this attitude to be especially prevalent among students with special needs.

So like any good teacher, I set out to discover new ways to change this and build a classroom environment and culture that fostered effort and better motivated students. I had heard of Dweck's book before and heard good things from my colleagues who had read it, so I decided it was as good a place to start as any other.

This book is life altering. While I was somewhat familiar with the concept of mindset before reading the book, I had always thought of it in relation to education. I never considered how a person's mindset could affect their parenting, business, or relationships. In this book, Dweck outlines the two different mindsets: growth and fixed, and provides information on various studies used to develop these mindsets. She also gives several examples from various fields - business, sports, education, domestic life - that exemplify the two different mindsets. She gives information on practices for implementing a growth mindset and talks about several studies that show the power of having a growth mindset.

I had several mind-explosions throughout the reading of this novel and found myself  underlining and flagging pages for future reference. After reading this book, I truly believe that developing a growth mindset in my students, as well as myself, will make a difference both inside and outside of my classroom. Reading this book as energized me and changed how I think about a lot of things in my personal and professional life. I think this is a book that everyone should read.

13 Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happened in Benghazi by Mitchell Zuckoff

13 Hours presents, for the first time ever, the true account of the events of September 11, 2012, when terrorists attacked the US State Department Special Mission Compound and a nearby CIA station called the Annex in Benghazi, Libya.

A team of six American security operators fought to repel the attackers and protect the Americans stationed there. Those men went beyond the call of duty, performing extraordinary acts of courage and heroism, to avert tragedy on a much larger scale. 

This is their personal account, never before told, of what happened during the thirteen hours of that now-infamous attack.

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"It [13 Hours] is not about what officials in the Unites States government knew, said, or did after the attack, or about the ongoing controversy over talking points, electoral politics, and alleged conspiracies and cover-ups. It is not about what happened in hearing rooms of the Capitol, anterooms of the White House, meeting rooms of the State Department, or green rooms of TV talk shows. It is about what happened on the ground, in the streets, and on the rooftops of Benghazi, when bullets flew, building burned, and mortars rained. When lives were saved, lost, and forever changed."

I think that thing that I most appreciate about this book is what it's not. It is not just another political diatribe about the events surrounding the 2012 Benghazi attack. While it is certainly not entirely free of bias and does have an agenda, it is clear from the beginning what that agenda is and the narrative doesn't deviate from it. In other words, this book doesn't say it's one thing when it's really something else.

My purpose in reading the book was to get a better understanding of the events that occurred over the thirteen hours when terrorists attack US safe holds in Benghazi. Now I realize that as a civilian, there are parts of this story that I will never know. I am a firm believer in government transparency, but I am also aware that there is a delicate balance between transparency and national security. In the days, weeks, months, and years since the 2012 Benghazi attacks much has been said on both sides of the aisle in Washington, D.C., but what appealed to me about this book was that it was written in conjunction with the brave men who were on the ground and lived these events.

Overall, I found the book to be well written. It's narrative style made the text accessible and easy to follow. The downside to this is that it is easy to forget that this isn't some work of fiction. Yes, the narrative was as exciting, intense, and dramatic as an action movie, but I had to stop a few times and remind myself that this was not just another series of plot events and characters, but real-life events that actually happened and people who exist. This seems to be an ongoing challenge between civilians and the military. We are so bombarded with images of war in movies, video games, TV shows, and in news media that we forget that there are real people behind those images. Technology has further widened the gap between soldier and civilian, making it possible for the average American to go through their entire day without once pausing to think about the men and women who serve in the military and make our way of life possible.

For me, the brave men of the Annex security team, their fellow operatives, and our government officials serving in Benghazi are the heart of this story. It takes a special type of person to not only see danger and not run from it, but willingly chose to put yourself in harm's way to save the lives of others. My respect and awe for these men and women are deepened each time I read or hear about events like Benghazi, or meet a veteran in person. It saddens me to know that their life of service and sacrifice does not get the respect it deserves. It's so hard to understand how people can continue to use religion to justify violent actions and a lust for power. While this narrative did make some things clearer, it in no way even attempts to answer some of the bigger questions posed by the conflicts in the Middle East.

In the end, what remained with me the most were the stories of the security team operatives. I am in awe of them and their fellow service men and women and feel nothing but profound pride and gratitude for their service. I pray every night that God would bless and keep them and their families wherever they are.

2016 Reading Challenge: A New York Times bestseller

Bossypants by Tina Fey

In her acceptance speech for Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, Tina Fey announced that she was proud to make her home in "the 'not-real America'". It is perhaps that healthy sense of incongruity that makes the head writer, executive producer, and star of NBC's Emmy Award-winning 30 Rock such a cogent observer of the contemporary scene.

Bossypants, her entertaining new memoir, shows that strangeness has been her constant companion. Fey's stories about her childhood in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania are only appetizers for LOL forays into her college disasters, honeymoon catastrophes, and Saturday Night Live shenanigans. Most funny read of the month; the best possible weekend update.

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I find Tina Fey to be very funny and I thought Bossypants was an enjoyable read/listen. Not every author makes a good narrator for their book, but I thought Tina’s narration was well done. It made it feel like we were out for a drink at a bar and she was telling me the story. It was interesting to hear about some of the challenges Tina faced as a woman in a male dominated profession, and I was even able to relate to some of her experiences. Tina covers a wide range of topics in this memoir, from dealing with heartbreak, to learning how to be a producer, to motherhood. I thought the memoir was funny, insightful, and engaging.

2016 Reading Challenge: A book written by a comedian

Unashamed: Drop the Baggage, Pick Up Your Freedom, Fulfill Your Destiny by Christine Caine

Shame can take on many forms. It hides in the shadows of the most successful, confident and high-achieving woman who struggles with balancing her work and children, as well as in the heart of the broken, abused and downtrodden woman who has been told that she will never amount to anything. Shame hides in plain sight and can hold us back in ways we do not realize. But Christine Caine wants readers to know something: we can all be free.

In Unashamed, Christine reveals the often-hidden consequences of shame—in her own life and the lives of so many Christian women—and invites you to join her in moving from a shame-filled to a shame-free life.

In her passionate and candid style, Christine leads you into God’s Word where you will see for yourself how to believe that God is bigger than your mistakes, your inadequacies, your past, and your limitations. He is not only more powerful than anything you’ve done but also stronger than anything ever done to you. You can deal with your yesterday today, so that you can move on to what God has in store for you tomorrow—a powerful purpose and destiny he wants you to fulfill.

Join the journey. Lay ahold of the power of Jesus Christ today and step into the future—his future for you—a beautiful, full, life-giving future, where you can even become a shame-lifter to others. Live unashamed!

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Christine Caine is perhaps one of the most powerful speakers I have ever seen in my life. My church partners with her A21 campaign, whose goal is to end human trafficking, and I recently had a chance to see her speak at church. She is an amazing woman, who has overcome many obstacles and turned her struggles into a powerful testimony.

In her new book, Unashamed, Christine takes on the giant, shame. Shame is something that we have all experienced. We experience shame because of things we have done, our shortcomings, and because of things that have been done to us. We live in a shame filled world. We are constantly criticized for how we look, what we do, what we don’t do, our race, our religion, etc. The comparison game and trying to “keep up with the Jones” is a never ending, exhausting battle. 

Living with shame can impact your entire life, your relationships and be passed down to future generations. In her new book, Christine talks about her experiences and her own battle with shame. She offers advice on how to change your thinking and begin to move towards living an unashamed life. I found the book to be a powerful testimony and an inspiring read.

2016 Reading Challenge: A book published in 2016

Fresh Air: What Happens When You Discover the Powerful Secrets of a God-Breathed Life by Chris Hodges

We've all gone through times in our lives when we feel like we need a fresh breeze to breathe new life into us--in our work, in our marriages, with our kids, in our friendships, and maybe at church. We've all been drawn to people who exude a kind of positive, life-giving spirit. We've also seen the difference between environments that exude a fresh air-like atmosphere and those that don't. But what is it? What is that energy-giving, life-breathing force that draws you, inspires you, and empowers you to be all God made you to be? And how do we get it? How do we put the wind in our sails again, so we can get unstuck, reclaim our compass, and redirect our course? 

In Fresh Air, Chris Hodges, founder and senior pastor of Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, Alabama, reveals how breath--the breath of God--is the essence of life as it's meant to be. Fueled by the breath of God, we are not only refreshed in spirit ourselves; we have the power to create a life-giving environment of freedom and joyful purpose around us. Both practical and inspiring, Fresh Air offers "breathing lessons" for those who long for a cool breeze to resuscitate their spirit, bring them closer to God, and move them toward becoming the people He made them to be.

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I have had the pleasure of seeing Pastor Chris Hodges, senior pastor of the Church of the Highlands, preach a few times when he visited my church. I like his style and his easy to understand messages, so I bought Fresh Air the last time he preached at my church. 

Any Christian understands the concept of seasons. Sometimes you experience a season of prosperity and sometimes you experience a season of hardship. Sometimes you experience a season of prosperity in one area of your life, but a season of hardship in another area simultaneously. In the book, Fresh Air, Pastor Chris Hodges, addresses several areas where you might experience what he refers to as the “doldrums,” or times of struggle or stagnation. He then goes on to provide practical steps to take to bring “fresh air” into that area of your life.

Pastor Hodges offers a free online study guide through his website, which I would encourage you to download if you read this book. I found the guided questions (there were about 2-3 for each chapter) to be thought provoking and good for reflection. Overall, I found the book to be encouraging and I came away with some new insights and tools to use in my own spiritual life. 

2016 Reading Challenge: A self-improvement book

Bomb: The Race to Build - and Steal - the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin

In December of 1938, a chemist in a German laboratory made a shocking discovery: When placed next to radioactive material, a Uranium atom split in two. That simple discovery launched a scientific race that spanned 3 continents.

In Great Britain and the United States, Soviet spies worked their way into the scientific community; in Norway, a commando force slipped behind enemy lines to attack German heavy-water manufacturing; and deep in the desert, one brilliant group of scientists was hidden away at a remote site at Los Alamos.

This is the story of the plotting, the risk-taking, the deceit, and genius that created the world's most formidable weapon. This is the story of the atomic bomb.

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Those who enjoy history will enjoy this book. It retells the story of the development of the atomic bomb and the spy networks that ultimately led to the secret project being leaked. This book reminded me of a YA version of an Erik Larson book. It takes the stories of all the various people involved and weaves them together to create an entertaining narrative, lacking all the dryness of a typical textbook. The book was well researched and I can see why it has won so many awards.

Stronger: How Hard Times Revel God's Greatest Power by Clayton King

When we think of success, we think of words like "bigger," "more," and "better." Bigger paycheck, more security, better reputation. But what if God's perspective on success was radically different than our own? What if the things we seek to avoid--pain, suffering, weakness, insecurity--were the very things he used to mold us into his image?

With insights born from his own difficult journey, Clayton King offers readers a truly liberating understanding of weakness and suffering--not as God's punishment, but as his pruning. Revealing the God who is a companion in our most difficult seasons, King shows us that when we are in Christ, our deepest pain becomes the source of our greatest power, and our times of testing become our strongest testimony. Anyone who struggles to make sense of seemingly hopeless situations will find in this book not only hope for a brighter future but purpose in their imperfect present.

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The message that I came away from this book is not to be afraid of my scars. All of us have scars because we have all experienced pain and setbacks that have left marks, physically and spiritually. But it's our weaknesses and our scars that make us the strongest. Such a counter-intuitive idea. How can weakness be strength? I've learned that it's our weaknesses that draw us closer to God, because it is only in those moments that we realize that we need something bigger than ourselves.

I heard somewhere that there is purpose in pain, and to be honest, there were many years of my life where saying this very idea to me would have earned you a dirty look. I do not believe God causes us pain. It is against His character. The pain we experience comes from living in a fallen world, and often times from our own mistakes. The idea that there is purpose in pain, or that God uses our pain for a greater purpose is a concept that I have only recently come to understand (not completely) over the last few years.

What I know for sure is that there will be pain in this life, and that we will all end up with our fair share of scars. However, there is no pain too great that God cannot bring you through if you place your faith in Him. And in the end, your scars will help tell your story, empathize with others, and help you reach those far from Jesus. That is the purpose in the pain. To leverage it into strength and use it to reach others. God works all things, including our pain, for our good.

I have had the privilege to see Clayton King preach a few times at my church, LifePoint. I like his style and appreciate his humor. The tone of this book is much more serious than what I have seen from Clayton in the past, not that his sermons are not serious, it was just a new level. The narrative of this book is extremely vulnerable and raw. Clayton doesn't sugarcoat his pain or shy away from it. He is honest about it. He exposes his own scars, and in so doing, his pain serves a higher purpose. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to grow in their walk with Jesus. 

Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson

On May 1, 1915, with WWI entering its tenth month, a luxury ocean liner as richly appointed as an English country house sailed out of New York, bound for Liverpool, carrying a record number of children and infants. The passengers were surprisingly at ease, even though Germany had declared the seas around Britain to be a war zone. For months, German U-boats had brought terror to the North Atlantic. But the Lusitania was one of the era’s great transatlantic “Greyhounds”—the fastest liner then in service—and her captain, William Thomas Turner, placed tremendous faith in the gentlemanly strictures of warfare that for a century had kept civilian ships safe from attack.

Germany, however, was determined to change the rules of the game, and Walther Schwieger, the captain of Unterseeboot-20, was happy to oblige. Meanwhile, an ultra-secret British intelligence unit tracked Schwieger’s U-boat, but told no one. As U-20 and the Lusitania made their way toward Liverpool, an array of forces both grand and achingly small—hubris, a chance fog, a closely guarded secret, and more—all converged to produce one of the great disasters of history.

It is a story that many of us think we know but don’t, and Erik Larson tells it thrillingly, switching between hunter and hunted while painting a larger portrait of America at the height of the Progressive Era. Full of glamour and suspense, Dead Wake brings to life a cast of evocative characters, from famed Boston bookseller Charles Lauriat to pioneering female architect Theodate Pope to President Woodrow Wilson, a man lost to grief, dreading the widening war but also captivated by the prospect of new love.

Gripping and important, Dead Wake captures the sheer drama and emotional power of a disaster whose intimate details and true meaning have long been obscured by history.

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Dead Wake tells the story of the the passenger liner, Lusitania. The narrative takes a slight deviation from Larson’s usual style. Instead of weaving together two distinct historical events, Larson weaves together the perspectives and experiences of those connected to the Lusitania and its fateful last journey, including the captain of the Lusitania, William Thomas Turner; the captain of the U-boat, Schwieger; the British intelligence office in charge of tracking the activities of the German U-boats; President Wilson of the United States; and the passengers and crew who would lose their lives when the ship foundered. The result is an exciting and suspenseful narrative. I even learned some new things about the Lusitania! Definitely worth a read.

Hana's Suitcase by Karen Levine

In 2000, a suitcase arrived at a children's Holocaust education center in Tokyo, Japan, marked "Hana Brady, May 16, 1931." The center's curator searches for clues to young Hana and her family, whose happy life in a small Czech town was turned upside down by the invasion of the Nazis.

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My fellow English teachers and I decided to read this book as a companion novel to Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl as part of our narrative nonfiction/identity unit. Our students responded well to this book, especially since it has a detective novel element to it. The book has two parallel timelines - Hana's story and Fumiko's (curator of the museum in Japan) quest to find out who Hana is and what happened to her. 

It is a quick read and has lots of photographs, which helps bring the story to life. I liked the back and forth between the different timelines. It added a level of suspense which drove the story forward and kept it interesting. Hana's story also provides another perspective to help students better understand the Holocaust, and generated some really great discussions with my students who made connections to current events. While I love Anne Frank's diary, I believe that Hana's Suitcase is an excellent addition to any school/classroom library.

Ashley's War: The Untold Story of a Team of Women Soldiers on the Special Ops Battlefield by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

From the author of the New York Times best seller The Dressmaker of Khair Khana comes the poignant and gripping story of a groundbreaking team of female American warriors who served alongside Special Operations soldiers on the battlefield in Afghanistan - including Ashley White, a beloved soldier who died serving her country's cause.

In 2010 the US Army Special Operations Command created Cultural Support Teams, a pilot program to put women on the battlefield alongside Green Berets and Army Rangers on sensitive missions in Afghanistan. The idea was that women could access places and people that had remained out of reach and could build relationships - woman to woman - in ways that male soldiers in a conservative, traditional country could not. Though officially banned from combat, female soldiers could be "attached" to different teams, and for the first time women throughout the army heard the call to try out for this Special Ops program.

In Ashley's War, Gayle Tzemach Lemmon uses exhaustive firsthand reporting and a finely tuned understanding of the complexities of war to tell the story of CST-2, a unit of women hand-picked from across the army, and the remarkable hero at its heart: 1st Lt. Ashley White, who would become the first Cultural Support Team member killed in action and the first CST remembered on the Army Special Operations Memorial Wall of Honor alongside the Army Rangers with whom she served.

Transporting readers into this little-known world of fierce women bound together by valor, danger, and the desire to serve, Ashley's War is a riveting combat narrative and a testament to the unbreakable bonds born of war.

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I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this story, and found this book to be fascinating, as I had never heard of the CST program prior to listening to this book. While Ashley White's story was the centerpiece of the book, I liked how the author weaved together several of the women's stories to provide a much more holistic view of the CST program and its participants. These women are inspirational. They came from all across the United States, all with a single-minded goal: to serve their country in the most meaningful way possible. 

Prior to this program, positions on the front lines had been largely closed to women, despite the fact that women have proven both their ability and willingness to serve in the most dangerous environs of war. These women, carefully selected, were in essence pioneers, tasked with proving themselves in a male dominated field resistant to change. They not only had to prove themselves in the moment, but set a prescient that would impact the lives and careers of generations of female soldiers to come. They pushed themselves physically, mentally, and emotionally to serve at the highest standard they could achieve.

Yet, they were human. It could have been really easy to portray these women as "other," something beyond what anyone could hope to achieve, but I think the author did a good job humanizing them. She wrote about their flaws, challenges, hopes, and dreams. She made them unique and ordinary at the same time. This made their characters relatable and I found myself draw in by their stories because I could relate to them and their experiences as women on a personal level.

You don't have to be overly interested in military stuff to get hooked by this book, as the focus is less on that and more on telling the stories of these incredible women. In my opinion, this book is well worth a read (or listen!). 

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life. 

With no experience or training, driven only by blind will, she would hike more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State — and she would do it alone.

Told with suspense and style, sparkling with warmth and humor, Wild powerfully captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her.

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I found this to be a remarkable narrative. I had never heard of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) and I am not an outdoorsy girl. I enjoy nature and the occasional hike or bike ride, but I am not the type of girl who likes camping outside with no access to a shower and indoor plumbing. I much prefer "glamping," or glamorous or luxurious camping. Picture something along the lines of a giant RV with an indoor shower, satellite TV, running water, refrigerator, stove, fireplace (optional), and fold-out Queen sized air mattress and you have a inkling into what I define as my version of "camping."

The idea that anyone, let alone a female on her own, would set out into the wilderness carrying all their supplies on their back and walk for miles and miles across unforgiving terrain and be at the mercy of the elements just seems insane to me. No thanks! But I can see why it was appealing to Cheryl at a time when her whole life seemed to be unraveling around her. I admire her courage in undertaking such an endeavor. I felt sympathy for her plight - losing her mother, estrangement from her stepfather and siblings, her divorce. I didn't necessarily agree with how she went about dealing (or not dealing) with her grief. I think in many ways, she was the cause of her own suffering. Nevertheless, I can see how undertaking a solo journey in the wilderness could help one find their way back to themselves. A journey such as the one Cheryl takes strips you of all pretenses. There is nothing and no one to hide behind or distract you from yourself. You have no choice but to face yourself head-on as you push yourself to your limits.

The narrative was humorous and exciting, and I enjoyed hearing about all the people Cheryl met along the way. Cheryl is not a perfect person, as none of us are, and there were certainly decisions she made that I would not make. However, I found myself forgiving her for her folly and recognizing the humanity in her story. Which of us is perfect? Which of us doesn't make mistakes? Who among us is brave enough to face our demons, our imperfections, head on? Who among us hasn't lost their way? Which of us hasn't made excuses for our actions?

I don't know if I can say I felt inspired by Cheryl's story. I will probably never feel an urge to backpack by myself through the wilderness, but I did enjoy her story, one human being to another. 

Resilience: Hard-Won Wisdom for Living a Better Life by Eric Greitens

You cannot bounce back from hardship. You can only move through it. There is a path through pain to wisdom, through suffering to strength, and through fear to courage if we have the virtue of resilience.

In 2012, Eric Greitens unexpectedly heard from a former SEAL comrade, a brother-in-arms he hadn't seen in a decade. Zach Walker had been one of the toughest of the tough. But ever since he returned home from war to his young family in a small logging town, he d been struggling. Without a sense of purpose, plagued by PTSD, and masking his pain with heavy drinking, he needed help. Zach and Eric started writing and talking nearly every day, as Eric set down his thoughts on what it takes to build resilience in our lives.

Eric's letters drawing on both his own experience and wisdom from ancient and modern thinkers are now gathered and edited into this timeless guidebook. Resilience explains how we can build purpose, confront pain, practice compassion, develop a vocation, find a mentor, create happiness, and much more. Eric s lessons are deep yet practical, and his advice leads to clear solutions.

We all face pain, difficulty, and doubt. But we also have the tools to take control of our lives. Resilience is an inspiring meditation for the warrior in each of us.

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I saw Eric Greitens give an interview on The Daily Show and was intrigued by the idea of his book. I added it to my "to-read" list and it quickly got lost in the shuffle. As a commuter, I spend a significant amount of time in my car and lose valuable reading time. I have always had mixed feelings about audiobooks. While I like that it allows me to "read" while driving, I miss having a physical book in my hands. However, since I am now spending so much time in my car, I decided to give audiobooks another go. I was pleased to see that my local library had the audio version of Resilience and decided it would be the perfect test subject for determining once and for all if audiobooks were for me.

I have always had the up most respect for our military men and women. I admire their bravery and their willingness to put their lives on the line to protect others. My heart breaks when I hear how they are left unsupported and hurt after they return from the battle lines. I have made it a point to support charities that provide services and help to wounded veterans. But as much as I respect them, the truth is it is hard for me to truly understand their hardships. In our modern era, the divide between civilian and soldier is vast and ever growing. Unlike in the past, our country can be at war without the average citizen ever experiencing one inconvenience. Even though our country is "at war," for the majority of the population it's almost as if the war exists only on TV. Because of this, the men and women who risk their lives for us face little understood challenges as they try to integrate back into civilian life. I fear that in many ways, we fail to adequately support these men and women, and give them what they really need: a purpose. We fail to recognize and utilize their skills, and because of this many of veterans find themselves homeless, unemployed, addicts, or suicidal. We owe these men and women so much, much more than what they get.

In truth, I had a mixed reaction to this book. I liked the idea of the structure, a set of letters written back and forth between friends, but was disappointed how it played out in the book. The book is in fact a set of letters, but it only contains the letters that Eric wrote to his friend, Zach, a soldier suffering from PTSD. The book does not include Zach's responses to Eric, so at times, I felt like I was only getting half of the story. I wanted to know more about Zach's experiences, thoughts, and reactions. While they were at times alluded to in Eric's letters, I was disappointed that the book turned out to be more of a one-sided conversation. 

I did not find anything in this book to be ground-breaking or even mind-blowing, but I think that was the point. Eric draws on the writings of ancient philosophers and past thinkers to discuss the idea of what it means to be resilient. The "wisdom" found in these pages is nothing new, because the idea of what makes a resilient person is not anything new. I think the biggest thing that stuck me is how Greitens talks about how we perceive our suffering. When faced with pain, we (meaning humans in general) often see our situation as unique and therefore incapable of being understood by others. But the truth is, our experiences are not unique. Losing a brother in battle is no different from losing a brother to cancer. The experience or circumstance is different, but the result and the pain is not. The idea that our pain is not unique is like a slap in the face. It's an idea that is harsh, but ultimately I have to agree with Greitens. It's true. It's a liberating truth, in my opinion. If our suffering is not unique, it lifts the burden of having to carry it on our own. It frees us to connect with others and share pain, making it easier to carry.

The other point that I found interesting is that Greitens says that veterans often falter after returning home because society gives them a free pass. We allow them to indulge in their suffering by removing any responsibility or accountability in an effort to "make things easier" for them. We make excuses for them, thinking that we are helping. Greitens says that in fact what we need to be doing is holding them accountable and helping them find a purpose. Our servicemen and women go from having a clear purpose, being part of team, with every minute of every day regimented and controlled, back to a life where the objective and the routines they are accustomed to no longer exist. Greitens goes on to say that anyone who lacks purpose will find themselves in a similar position. I thought this was a very interesting point of view that makes perfect sense when you stop and think about it.

In the end, I thought the arguments that Greitens laid out in the book where not particularly revolutionary, but I surmise that was not the intent. Many of the ideas in the book came across as common sense and universal, which seemed to be the point. One cannot escape suffering, this is perhaps one truth that we can all agree on, but how we chose to deal with that suffering is our choice. I am glad that I read the book, but didn't experience anything profound enough that will have me returning to its pages again and again. It was a good audiobook and I liked listening to the author read the letters. It felt more personal that way. Overall, an intriguing read with useful insights.

Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt

"When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I managed to survive at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood."

So begins the luminous memoir of Frank McCourt, born in Depression-era Brooklyn to recent Irish immigrants and raised in the slums of Limerick, Ireland. Frank's mother, Angela, has no money to feed the children since Frank's father, Malachy, rarely works, and when he does he drinks his wages. Yet Malachy does nurture in Frank an appetite for the one thing he can provide: a story.

Perhaps it is a story that accounts for Frank's survival. Wearing rags for diapers, begging a pig's head for Christmas dinner, and searching the pubs for his father, Frank endures poverty, near-starvation and the casual cruelty of relatives and neighbors yet lives to tell his tale with eloquence, exuberance and remarkable forgiveness.

Imbued with Frank McCourt's astounding humor and compassion — and movingly read in his own voice Angela's Ashes is a glorious audiobook that bears all the marks of a classic.

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I am the type of reader who ALWAYS finishes a book once I have started it. Even if a book is horrible, I always hold out hope that it will somehow get better. I suffer through to the end, so I never have to wonder "what if?" Angela's Ashes was the one exception to this rule. No matter how I tried, I just could not get through this novel the first time I attempted to read it. Having grown up in a large, Irish-American family, there were many things I could relate to in Frank's story, but I just couldn't get past what I perceived as endless whining. I got it. Your life sucked, you were poor, your father was a drunk and unreliable. Join the club! I failed to see how Frank's experience was so different from my own and the millions of other's that came before him.

Because of my predilection for finishing books, no matter how terrible they are, there was only one option available to me if I was going to complete the 2015 Reading Challenge. I knew that I would have to finally get through Angela's Ashes. I decided to go with the audiobook, thinking that when my frustration level got too high, I could distract myself with the author's accent. I'm a sucker for accents. It worked, and I was finally able to get through the book.

I still don't love the novel, but I don't hate it as much as I did the first time I tried to read it. It didn't feel so much like a "woe is me" tale as it did the first time around, and I was able to appreciate the humor, disappointment, and determination of Frank's story much more. It is unlikely that I will ever recommend this novel as a "must read," nor am I likely to seek out its sequels, but I am happy to say that I made it through it and no longer have it hanging over my head as an unfinished book. I have a new appreciation for the novel, but it will still never make my favorite books list. 

2015 Reading Challenge: A book you started, but never finished

Faith is Not a Feeling: Choosing to Take God at His Word by Ney Bailey

In 1976 the Big Thompson River flood in Colorado took 150 lives, including those of seven women on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ International. Deeply grieved by the loss, survivor Ney Bailey embraced a journey of faith that led her to a life-changing truth: No matter how things look and no matter how we feel, God is in control.

In Faith is Not a Feeling, Ney reveals how life’s tragedies and challenges lead each of us to an important decision about how we will relate to God. Building on a foundation of experiences all believers can relate to, this well-loved speaker and teacher shows how you can take advantage of the endless opportunities life provided to deepen your trust in the Lord.

Faith is Not a Feeling has taught hundreds of thousands of people how to choose to believe God’s promises over their own personal feelings. Now you, too, can discover the secrets that will allow you to face painful experiences with a measure of objectivity, use your feelings to take you to God, and experience true peace in the midst of failure and trials. Best of all, you will learn how to obediently and confidently take God at His word as you never have before. 

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Because of the things I experienced in my childhood, trust is not something that comes naturally to me. A fact that often surprises people, especially when they remark on how many friends I have. Yes, I have always been social. Yes, I have always gotten along with a variety of people, and because of that, I have always had a large circle of friends. But I think many people would be surprised to find out how little they really know me. I can count on my fingers, and have plenty left over, the number of friends who truly know me.

Once trusted, my  loyalty is never ending. Once betrayed, forgiveness may be given, but trust is unlikely to be bestowed again. That's just the way I am built. As a child, I often prayed to God to change my difficult circumstances, and when I did not receive the result that I thought I should, my trust in God waned, and it eventually drove me from the Church. I never lost what I perceived as "faith." I never stopped believing in God; I never doubted His existence. I simply doubted His plan and love for me. As a result, I spent many years trying to do everything on my own and searching for answers to questions that had already been answered by God.

It was only years later that I was able to see "the forest through the trees." I had gained enough perspective to see that God had answered my prayers as a child. His answers just came in a different form than I expected, and in truth, far surpassed what I had requested. The biggest challenge for me and my faith boils down to one word: trust. I didn't trust God's Word, His promises. I had a misconception of what "faith" meant. It is more than just believing. It is taking God at His Word. It is trusting that He will do what He says He will.

That's what I got out of this book. "God's Word is: truer than anything I feel, truer than anything I experience, truer than any circumstance I will ever face, truer than anything in the world." God is the same today as He was yesterday and will be tomorrow. My feelings, experiences, circumstances, and the world change day to day, hour to hour, minute by minute. God is forever and He never lies. I can have faith, can take Him at His Word, because he always keeps His promises. Such a refreshing idea to someone who has experiences tremendous disappointment. And when I look back at my life, I can see example after example of God's faithfulness.

This simple truth is expounded throughout the book and the twelve week Bible study that is included. I found the Bible study to be very helpful in reflecting on what Ney talked about in the various chapters and appreciated the easily applicable tools included. In fact, I think I got more out of the book by doing the Bible study than I would have had I just read the chapters. The questions where often thought provoking and some required a great deal of thought and reflection to answer. Overall, I would say this book is worth the time.

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

David Sedaris' move to Paris from New York inspired these hilarious pieces, including the title essay, about his attempts to learn French from a sadistic teacher who declares that "every day spent with you is like having a caesarean section".

His family is another inspiration. "You Can't Kill the Rooster" is a portrait of his brother, who talks incessant hip-hop slang to his bewildered father. And no one hones a finer fury in response to such modern annoyances as restaurant meals presented in ludicrous towers of food and cashiers with six-inch fingernails.

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This is my second David Sedaris' book, and I have to say that I am becoming quite the fan. I find David's writing to be quite humorous, and his use of irony fantastic. I also have a very sarcastic sense of humor and I often felt that David said exactly what I would have been thinking had I found myself in the same situation. He paints very lively caricatures (or maybe portraits is a better word??) of himself, his friends, and his family. Many of the stories in this book are laugh-out-loud funny, and I think it is easy to dismiss them as just another funny story, but often there was a deeper meaning. 

Through humor, David explores the issues of acceptance, identify, love, relationships, etc. I think humor is often used to make less savory things more palpable or easy to digest. Stripped of their humor, some of these stories are truly heartbreaking, and I think it's the humor that allows us as the reader (and maybe David as the writer) to explore and share these experiences. An overall good read.


2015 Reading Challenge: A book of short stories

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

Anne Frank's extraordinary diary, written in the Amsterdam attic where she and her family hid from the Nazis for two years, has become a world classic and a timeless testament to the human spirit. Now, in a new edition enriched by many passages originally withheld by her father, we meet a new Anne more real, more human, and more vital than ever.

Here she is first and foremost a teenage girl - stubbornly honest, touchingly vulnerable, in love with life. She imparts her deeply secret world of soul-searching and hungering for affection, rebellious clashes with her mother, romance and newly discovered sexuality, and wry, candid observations of her companions. Facing hunger, fear of discovery and death, and the petty frustrations of such confined quarters, Anne writes with adult wisdom and views beyond her years. Her story is that of every teenager, lived out in conditions few teenagers have ever known.

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It amazes me how many of the books that I read as a child/young adult have become apart of my soul. They speak comfort to me and feel like a little piece of home. Anne Frank's diary is one such book. I can't tell you when I first read it. I think it was about sixth or seventh grade, maybe younger. I also can't tell you how many times I've read it, because I've lost count. My copy's spine is well worn, the pages are yellowed, and it has that amazing old book smell. The pages are marked and passages are stared and/or highlighted, and every time I pick it up, I'm transported back to a younger version of myself.

It's safe to say that this is one of my favorite books, but it has been years since I have read its pages. I was recently watching The Fault in Our Stars and in the movie Hazel and Augustus visit the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. After watching the film, I had the urge to pick it up again. It's not an extraordinary book, in fact, many could dismiss it as the inconsequential musing of a teenage girl, but for me, it is a book that will forever live in my heart. As a young adult, I identified with Anne's longing to be understood, to find real connections, and to be loved. As an adult, I appreciate the wisdom she had, wisdom that far exceeded her 15 years and was born out of experiences that we can only imagine. 

World War II and the Holocaust have always fascinated me. This time period is so full of contradictions and strong convictions, and is perhaps the best example of what is both good and evil in the human race. I was amazed then, and continue to be amazed at Anne's ability to hope, to have faith in the face of such adversity. Like Anne, I experienced some things growing up that made me grow up quickly. There were times that I wanted to give in, take the easy way out, and wallow in self-pity. There is a passage from Anne's diary that struck me as incredibly powerful the first time I read it, and has stayed with me all these years later. It is towards the end of her diary, one of the last entries she writes. It says:

Anyone who claims that the older folks have a more difficult time in the Annex doesn't realize that the problems have a far greater impact on us. We're much too young to deal with these problems, but they keep thrusting themselves on us until, finally, we're forced to think up a solution, though most of the time our solutions crumble when faced with the facts. It's difficult in times like these: ideals, dreams and cherished hopes rise within us, only to be crushed by grim reality. It's a wonder I haven't abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.

Even as an adult, these words ring true for me. It is a lesson that I will always carry in my heart. This is why books, especially the ones we read as young adults, are so powerful. It's hard for me to say if I would have the same reaction to this book had I not read it as a young adult, but nevertheless, this diary is something that everyone should read at least once. It's pages are filled with such beautiful messages, many of which ring true across time. It was good to be reminded.

2015 Reading Challenge: A nonfiction book