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Book Review: The Stranger in the Lifeboat by Mitch Albom
Last night I started reading Mitch Albom’s newest book called The Stranger in the Lifeboat. I finished it this morning. I adore Mitch Albom’s knack for telling a good story. Years of journalistic writing make him an exceptional, concise, tight storyteller. His books unfold with ease, with just the right amount of wonder combined with thought-provoking content. The plot of this book is this: In a dire situation if you called out for God’s help, would you believe in Him if a human form appeared and said He was the Lord? Such is the case with a yacht that goes under at sea and only a handful of people survive…
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10 Random Thoughts for the First Friday of the New Year
Hello, there, readers. I haven’t seen you since last year, and you’re looking well! I hope the New Year is good to you. It seems that 2020 has a lot in store for us all… I thought I’d start off today with some random thoughts that I’ve had over the last couple of weeks to both get them off my mind and also keep this blog post moving along, so here we go… 1-My husband and I watched the film, Yesterday, the other night. I think it’s one of the more clever films of 2019. Fun, different, and creative, whether you like the Beatles or not, you’ll enjoy this tale…
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A Tear Worth Shedding and Other Things
I thought I’d start this Monday with a little recap of a whole bunch of things I’ve been doing over the last week. Let’s begin with a book recommendation. The Next Person You Meet in Heaven Some people are remarkably gifted storytellers. I finished a book at midnight last night by one such gifted storyteller: Mitch Albom. The Next Person You Meet In Heaven resonated so deeply with me that I shed many tears throughout the book. So many “themes” he touches upon in the novel are relatable. This book picks up many years later after Eddie’s death in The Five People You Meet In Heaven with Annie, the little…
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Meeting Mitch Albom Was A Dream Come True For This Indie Author
My Bucket List of Writers I Would Like To Meet (in no particular order) Elizabeth Gilbert (heard her talk; did not meet) Jeannette Walls (heard her talk; did meet) Mitch Albom (heard him talk; did meet) Charles Dickens (impossible; dead) Jane Austen (impossible; dead) Rosamunde Pilcher (elderly, no longer writing or traveling) Steve Martin (still working on it) Andrew McCarthy (actor now Editor-at-Large and writer for National Geographic Traveler; bumped into him in NYC, but didn’t talk to because I was too scared to). *** This is a partial list of writers I would like to meet. Some I have met; some I’m still working on, and others may be added…
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Why I Write ‘feel good’ Novels…A Kid Off to College…and Two Queens
WHY I WRITE ‘FEEL GOOD’ NOVELS Yesterday, when author and television personality Rick Steves spoke to students about the passion he has for his job, he mentioned the word positivity–that he considers himself a positive person, and his approach to life is that of a positive person. He and I are alike in that regard. Despite a small snippet of time during my 52-years of life when I took a little bit of an Eyeore-ish turn, I like to think that I look at the world through a lens that is mostly positive. No one is perfect, however, and I have to catch myself every now and then when I…
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Things You Can Learn From A Sports Journalist
I’ve been reading Mitch Albom books for years. For people who say they don’t have time to read books, Mitch Albom is for you. The sports journalist and columnist whose career took off at the Detroit Free Press became a best-selling author with Tuesdays with Morrie over 20 years ago, and continues to write touching stories for mass audiences. His novels and nonfiction are compact and easy to read, with deep messages of love, hope, loss, and recovery. On average, his books are roughly 250 pages and are economically written. His journalistic writing style melds perfectly into the stories he concisely weaves whereby Mark Twain would be proud (“When you…
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Books That Make You Cry
About two months ago, on a nice day in March, I sat on my back porch and cried my eyes out as I finished Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. My friend, Shawna, and I were talking about both the novel and the upcoming movie on Saturday at the pool. She hated feeling so sad at the end of the story, and I didn’t mind it; she also doesn’t want to see the movie, and I get that. It is terribly tragic, but it’s also so touching. I’m ready to face it in the theatre with a box of Kleenex. I’ve been waiting a couple of months to see how…
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Mitch Albom, A Time Keeper, and Popularity
After I had my teeth scraped, cleaned, flossed and gagged on my fluoride treatment this morning, I headed off to one of my favorite places on the planet: Barnes & Noble. My Mitch Albom book had arrived and was waiting for me at the front desk. When she handed me my copy of it, I stared at it. “The Time Keeper. A Novel.” I love the cover. The cover of this book is very simple, yet very cool. Most of Albom’s previous books have lacked images or drawings, but not this one. This one looks and feels nostalgic. I read the first sentence of the prologue: “A man sits alone…
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Have A Little Faith in “Have a Little Faith”
Confession: I am not a regular church-goer. Though I am Catholic, I often find myself wishing I got more out of a Catholic mass. This is not an easy thing to admit out loud—or on a blog. But I wouldn’t want to make a habit of deceiving my readers by telling untruths. This statement, however, does not mean that I do not have faith. Nor does it mean I do not believe in God or His hand in things. I do believe. In fact, I can find God’s hand in the most beautiful places. In my children’s faces and in the faces of those people I love. I see God…
