Wild - Cheryl Strayed

I first heard about Wild a few months after its release in 2012 when Oprah selected it as the first book of her book club 2.0. The story immediately captured my interest but for whatever reason, I never picked it up. When I saw that Hollywood made the book into a movie, I knew that I needed to finally read it. Not because I was excited to see the movie, but because I needed to make sure I had read the book before I could possibly have the opportunity to see the movie. Because let’s face it, Hollywood does not have a great track record of creating amazing movies based off of books.

Wild is the true story of Cheryl Strayed’s life-changing journey along the Pacific Crest Trail. After losing her mother to cancer at the age of 22, Cheryl’s life spirals out of control. She divorces her husband and attempts to deal with her emotions through sex and heroin. Four years after her mother’s death, she still had not come to grips with her reality. So, she packs a bag (tenderly named “Monster”) and hits the Pacific Crest Trail for a bit of self discovery. Having never seriously hiked a day in her life, it was both a spontaneous yet well-planned decision.

Over the course of her 1,100 mile hike, Cheryl faces rattlesnakes, bears, searing temperatures in the desert, record snowfalls in the mountains and failed hiking gear. She meets an incredibly diverse and entertaining group of characters along her hike with whom she develops unique bonds through their shared experience. Her story unravels as she makes her way along the trail and her mother’s ghost is an inevitable companion each day and each night. The memoir takes you from her very first monumental steps on the trail when her legs were wobbly and she could barely carry her pack to the time when her legs were muscular, hairy and steady.

Perhaps my favorite part of Cheryl’s journey was the relationship she had with her books while on the trail. Every night (when she wasn’t absolutely wrecked with exhaustion) she would sit with her bowl of dehydrated noodles and read with her headlamp under the stars. As she read, she would tear out the completed pages and use them as kindling for her fires. It seemed, that the books and both practical and symbolic burning of the pages helped pull Cheryl back to sanity. This in particular really stuck with me as many books over the years have helped bring me back to a place of balance and peace in my life.

The journey that Cheryl takes you on through her prose is intense, captivating and emotional. You can feel her world slowly starting to come back together through her words. She not only begins to heal from her mother’s death, but begins to realize who she is and love that person.

I can’t say that I really had any expectations for this book before I began reading it. However, I can say that I did not expect it to have the profound effect on me that it did. I related to so many pieces of her life and her journey, not necessarily in exact physical ways but definitely emotionally. It is a refreshing piece of reality that will help you realize that the obstacles you have overcome in your own life are not so different to other people’s. It was a real, raw story of life, love and loss that will leave you a changed person after turning that last page.

Rating: Amazing – 10 out of 10

Trash the List

I've been pretty mad at myself lately over this blog. Mad about how quickly I lost interest in writing these posts. But mostly, mad about how unmotivated I was to pick the next book off this list.

Tonight, I had a very life-centering moment while wandering alone around the bookstore. I love the bookstore. Yes, I have a Kindle but it will never, ever take the place of those beautiful pages bound together between a bright and glossy cover.

It was as I picked up book after book, relishing in the titles, the covers, the colors and the mystery that I had my realization about this blog. I love lists. I make lists for my lists and write things on my lists just so I can cross them off. But you know what I realized? I love MY lists. Only my lists. Not anyone else's lists.

No one else except me knows why I decided on the purple sweater today over the blue one. No one else except me knows why the jar of face cream has to be in the EXACT right spot on the shelf in the bathroom. No one else except me knows why I picked up the book with the girl and the umbrella on the cover over the one with the strange looking man poking his head out of a train car. So why in god's name am I letting someone else decide what books I need to read before I die. It's insanity.

Therefore, this blog is being re-born. The List is getting trashed. Here, I will write about the books that I have decided to read and share everything good and everything bad about each and every one of them. I hope that all of you reading this post will continue to follow along. And I hope that you find my reviews interesting, entertaining and informative. But most of all, I hope it helps you make your own decisions about what book you pick up next and dedicate precious hours towards reading. And I hope you'll share those with me as well.

Books are a magical place and even the bad ones should bring you nothing but joy.

The Golden Compass - Philip Pullman

After a couple of serious reads, I felt that it was time for something a bit more fun. Even though I'm doing my best to choose the next book by random, I do know a bit about some of the books on the list even though I haven't read them. I knew The Golden Compass was a young adult novel and figured I'd be in for a more lighthearted adventure story.

The novel takes place in a sort of parallel universe to ours. Every human has their own daemon - their soul living outside their body in an animal form - that is closely attached to them and cannot stray. The story follows the wild adventures of Lyra and her daemon Pantalaimon. Lyra and her daemon set off to the Arctic, accompanied by a motley crew of characters (a gypsy-like clan, a balloon flying aeronaut and an armored bear) to rescue her friend Roger and Uncle Asriel who she was told were captured. Her friend Roger was taken by a group of people who perform experiments on children that include "cutting" away their daemon - a most horrific idea. Along the way, Lyra learns just how important she is in stopping these horrible experiments.

Before she leaves England, she is given a golden alethiometer, which as she learns to read, tells her the answer to any question she asks. This magical tool guides Lyra on her long journey to her final destination in the Arctic and her Uncle Asriel.

Initially, I had a difficult time getting in to the story and I suspect that it was because the book is meant for a much younger audience. Once I put aside my "adult" perceptions and expectations, the story really took off for me. It's full of fantasy, adventure and fun characters and takes you on a roller coaster of emotions as you follow Lyra on her journey.

While much of the language is simple and some of the plot predictable, the story is definitely not without twists and turns. The Golden Compass can really bring back some of your childhood imagination if you are willing to let it.

Rating - Very Good - 8 out of 10

Little Free Library

Since I'm only about 1/3 of the way through my next book, I thought this would be a great opportunity to share an exciting event that's occurred in my wonderful little neighborhood. We now have a brand new Little Free Library up and running!

If you've never heard of this program and love to read - you need to pay their website a visit. It's an awesome organization started a few years ago, that has gone from one man's tribute to his mother to a worldwide initiative that promotes literacy. You may have even seen some of these cute little boxes around your town. It's basic idea is "Leave a book, Take a book" - and it's all free. Here's a picture of the new one in my neighborhood - so cute!

As much as I love my Kindle, there is just something indescribable about a physical, paper book that you hold in your hands. It has a different feeling about it and transports you away from reality in a way that my Kindle just can't. That's why I love the idea of these Little Free Libraries so much. It's a great way to get people reading and to bring neighborhoods together!

It's easy to get started with your own Little Free Library so if you don't have one near you (or even if you do!) think about joining the movement and setting up your own library. You can either build your own (if you are super handy!) or you can purchase one through their website. There is a one-time fee to make your library "official" and they will send you a packet with everything you need to get started and to keep your library going.

So go either get one started or check one out that's near you and let me know what you think!

The Color of Water - James McBride

As I make my way through this list of books, I’m choosing only by title. I am not reading any synopsis or review before choosing my next book – I thought this would make it more interesting. I’ll be honest, when I downloaded “The Color of Water” onto my Kindle and read what it was about I thought I was going to be in for another long read. Boy was I wrong. I couldn’t put this book down and FLEW through it in about 4 days!

McBride does a sort of split narrative with this novel. His mother, Ruth, narrates half of this book (her chapters are in italics) and tells the mysterious and surprising story of her past. McBride narrates the other half and tells the story of his childhood and growing up with a black father and a white mother in the 1960’s.

Ruth immigrated to America as a young girl with her Polish Jewish family. Her family led a strict Jewish lifestyle as her father was a traveling Rabbi. They eventually settled in Suffolk, Virginia where her father opened a small convenience store where the entire family put in tireless hours. Ruth’s childhood was full of many struggles and she was constantly searching for her place among a people that she never fully connected with. She eventually cuts ties with her family and runs off to New York where, in 1942, marries Dennis, a black man.

These years, spent in the projects of New York, are described as the happiest years of Ruth’s life. Together, they have 8 children and start up a church, where Dennis preaches. While Ruth is pregnant with their 8th child, Dennis is diagnosed with lung cancer and dies soon after. Left with 8 children to take care of, Ruth struggles to find a way to support her family. She then meets Hunter Jordan, falls in love and marries. Together, they have 4 more children.

James, the 8th child, grows up in a chaotic family of 14 and weaves his story in with that of his mother’s. Much like his mother, he struggles to find his place in a fast-changing world who still does not accept his mixed race family. His mother was the absolute leader of their family and instilled education, values and religion on each of her children. Race was never an issue for Ruth and did her best to influence the same belief on her children. This was a difficult task during a time when the civil rights movement was in full force.

I was completely enthralled with this story from the first page. It was an incredibly interesting dynamic to see the life of a young, white Jewish girl pinned side by side with the struggles of a young, mixed race child growing up in the 1960’s. Ruth is a compelling character who despite the obstacles she was faced with, manages to raise 12 children and send each and every one of them to college during an extraordinarily, racially charged time in American history. I found myself cheering on Ruth and her family and being completely amazed at how James narrated the chaos of his childhood.

If you are in the mood, for a surprising and uplifting family story full of love, heartache, triumph and struggle – go pick up this book and get reading.

Rating – Excellent – 9 out of 10

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Book #2 that I chose to read off the list told me of a true story that I had never heard of before. Rebecca Skloot introduces us to Henrietta Lacks, her family and her immortal cells.

Henrietta grew up in rural Virginia as a poor, black farmer during the earlier half of the 20th century. Though she never had much, she always had a smile on her face and perfectly manicured nails. At the age of 14, Henrietta found herself pregnant with her first child. A few years later she would give birth again and soon after, marry "Day", her first cousin (and father of her children). In 1941, the Lacks family moves to Maryland where Henrietta and Day would eventually have 3 more children.

About four months after the birth of her 5th child, Henrietta visited her doctor complaining of a knot in her stomach. Her doctor referred her to Johns Hopkins for further treatment. Johns Hopkins was their only choice of hospital as it was the only one in proximity to treat black people. Henrietta's diagnosis from her doctors there came back as cervical cancer. Because of complications from other illnesses (like HPV and syphillus) her cancer would prove to be aggressive and deadly.

During her treatment, small samples of her cervix were removed without her knowledge or permission. These are the cells that would eventually become the famous HeLa immortal cell line. Skloot quickly takes you through this part of the story, to Henrietta's death in 1951 and then jumps ahead in time and introduces you to Henrietta's (now grown) children. It is through them - mainly Deborah, the 4th of the 5 children - that Skloot attempts to piece together the story of Henrietta and her famous cells. It's not an easy task as at this point, the Lacks family has been treated very unkindly by people in the medical field when it came to their mother's famous cells.

I'll be honest - this story was not what I expected it to be. I was anticipating a story about Henrietta Lacks, her life, her struggles and how she lived before succumbing to cancer. To me, this part of the story was short and relatively glazed over. The novel was heavy on scientific facts like what cells are, how they work and how research is conducted using HeLa cell lines. It also focused heavily on how our medical system was structured in the 1950's and how it progressed through the decades - especially concerning human tissue, ownership and informed consent. While this was interesting, it left me feeling bored and wondering when the story would pick back up.

As I forged ahead through the novel, I felt more and more like Skloot was mainly concerned with illustrating HOW she got the story of Henrietta, rather than actually sharing that story with us. She would mention tidbits of things she found in her investigations like what Henrietta did or how she acted but never divulged that information.

By the end of the novel I was frustrated and felt a lot more connected to Deborah than I did to Henrietta. While it was terrible how the Lacks family was treated by Johns Hopkins and the doctors involved in the HeLa cell line development and commercialization, I felt a lack of compassion for them. The constant rollercoaster of changing opinions and emotions surrounding their mother's cells was exhausting and I think it's a result of how the story was delivered.

All in all, I learned a lot about HeLa cells and how they have helped advance the field of medicine today. But, I also feel like most of what I took away from the book was about Skloot and her journey to collect this story - which was disappointing.

Rating: 4 out of 10 - Alright

The Immortal Life of What!?

The second book that I chose from this list is "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks". The story intrigued me and it was available from my local library for digital checkout on my Kindle. I'm about halfway through the story and I've had an admittedly difficult time getting through it and thought I would share some of my initial thoughts here.

I thought that if I did some research on HeLa cells and how they have helped advance medicine that I would feel more attached to the story. HeLa cells are pretty incredible and have helped scientists test vaccines for diseases like Polio, AIDS and cancer. They were also the first cells to be cloned, used to test the effects of radiation and used in gene mapping efforts.

While all of those things have been great for the field of medicine - the one thing this story really brought to the forefront of my attention is how different the field of medicine (seemingly) is today versus in the 1950's. There was no informed consent and really no laws at all about who owns tissues or cells once removed from a person. It kind of makes you curious about every time you've walked into a doctor's office and what they have the ability to do, without your knowledge.

I wanted to be more surprised at the lack of involvement in terms of Henrietta's family throughout this whole process, but I haven't been. Even Henrietta herself didn't let her family know she was sick until she absolutely couldn't hide it anymore. Henrietta was a poor, black Southerner living through a time in American history where she was considered inferior. Neither her nor her family were very educated so I'm not sure that had they even been involved from the beginning, that they would have understood the implications of what the doctors were doing.

The internet is a glorious thing and simply typing in "Hela cells" into a search bar results in more hits than I could ever imagine looking through. I was curious how prevalent these cells were in the news today and I couldn't believe how many times "Hela cells" were mentioned in medical news just in this past week. I also came across this article from the Huffington Post last year about a new agreement between the NIH and the Lacks family. It made me happy to see that after so many years of neglect, that there was an attempt being made to do some sort of right by this family.

Unfortunately, poking around the internet has not made me feel any more attached to this story, nor has it increased my compassion towards the Lacks family. Hopefully, as I make it through the second half of this story my perspective will change. I'll have my full review and rating up soon!