Daily Archives: October 13, 2020

The Miniaturist: A Novelby Jessie Burton

Now a television miniseries, as seen on Masterpiece on PBS

Set in seventeenth century Amsterdam–a city ruled by glittering wealth and oppressive religion–a masterful debut steeped in atmosphere and shimmering with mystery, in the tradition of Emma Donoghue, Sarah Waters, and Sarah Dunant.

“There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed . . .”

On a brisk autumn day in 1686, eighteen-year-old Nella Oortman arrives in Amsterdam to begin a new life as the wife of illustrious merchant trader Johannes Brandt. But her new home, while splendorous, is not welcoming. Johannes is kind yet distant, always locked in his study or at his warehouse office–leaving Nella alone with his sister, the sharp-tongued and forbidding Marin.

But Nella’s world changes when Johannes presents her with an extraordinary wedding gift: a cabinet-sized replica of their home. To furnish her gift, Nella engages the services of a miniaturist–an elusive and enigmatic artist whose tiny creations mirror their real-life counterparts in eerie and unexpected ways . . .

Johannes’ gift helps Nella to pierce the closed world of the Brandt household. But as she uncovers its unusual secrets, she begins to understand–and fear–the escalating dangers that await them all. In this repressively pious society where gold is worshipped second only to God, to be different is a threat to the moral fabric of society, and not even a man as rich as Johannes is safe. Only one person seems to see the fate that awaits them. Is the miniaturist the key to their salvation . . . or the architect of their destruction?

Enchanting, beautiful, and exquisitely suspenseful, The Miniaturist is a magnificent story of love and obsession, betrayal and retribution, appearance and truth.

The Rise of Superman: Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performanceby Steven Kotler

Wall Street Journal Bestseller

In this groundbreaking book, New York Times–bestselling author Steven Kotler decodes the mystery of ultimate human performance. Drawing on over a decade of research and first-hand reporting with dozens of top action and adventure sports athletes like big wave legend Laird Hamilton, big mountain snowboarder Jeremy Jones, and skateboarding pioneer Danny Way, Kotler explores the frontier science of “flow,” an optimal state of consciousness in which we perform and feel our best.

Building a bridge between the extreme and the mainstream, The Rise of Superman explains how these athletes are using flow to do the impossible and how we can use this information to radically accelerate performance in our own lives.

At its core, this is a book about profound possibility; about what is actually possible for our species; about where–if anywhere–our limits lie.

Tollerra: Awaken the Healer Within and Align With Your Soul’s Purposeby Mary Ann Robbat

If you could have a life filled with purpose, focus, and joy, what would it be like?

When you awaken your inner healer and align your energy with your soul’s purpose, life becomes transformational and extraordinary.

Tollerra is the exciting and passionate result of Mary Ann Robbat’s two decades of work as a master healer, guide and coach. Combining the wisdom of ancient practices with innovative new techniques, Robbat has created a powerful catalyst for healing and transformational change.

Whether you are feeling stuck or just longing for more, Tollerra offers a unique and accessible approach to deeply heal, get unstuck, and find clarity and fulfillment.

•Explore the Tollerra Framework–the four levels of experience: physical, emotional, spiritual, and energetic, and how they influence each other.

•Discover the importance of healing on ALL four levels of experience, and why this is the fundamental key to lifelong happiness.

•Learn Tollerra’s unique practices and techniques to create lasting, transformational change.

Tollerra is an invitation for you to awaken your spiritual knowing, energize the power of possibility, and experience an expansive, joyous, inspiring, soul-driven life.

You can have the life you truly deserve and desire.
Heal. Align. Transform.
TOLLERRA.

The Burnin’by Estevan Medrano

On April 23, 1940, a fire broke out at a night club in the segregated town of Natchez, Mississippi. It remains one the deadliest building fires in U.S. history, resulting in the deaths of over two hundred men and women–all of them African American. THE BURNIN’ is a novel about the aftermath of the tragedy from the accounts of a coroner, a nurse, and an arson detective.
Herb Jones, a local black coroner, receives a call in the middle of the night from a fireman informing him that a terrible fire has occurred at a dance hall in the town’s “negro district.” Herb drives over to the charred night club where some victims are burned beyond recognition. In addition to the strenuous process of transporting and embalming the bodies, Mississippi segregation laws only permit black coroners to handle black corpses, limiting the help available to him. As the town reeks of death and the funeral firm faces bankruptcy because of its financial obligations to the dead, he attempts to identify the bodies of neighbors, friends, and even relatives.
Meanwhile, Eliza, Herb’s wife, is a nurse caring for the scores of burned and injured at the only black hospital in town. The conventional treatment for critical burns involves a meticulous skin removal process known as the “tannic acid-silver nitrate treatment.”
Julian Winters, a brilliant but smug arson detective, is sent from Jackson to determine the cause of the fire and help draft safety codes to prevent a reoccurrence of a similar disaster. When a few locals that escaped the blaze describe a drunken man threatening to burn the place down that night, he tries to determine if the fire was a terrible accident or a mass murder.

WolfeStrike (de Wolfe Pack Generations Book 2)by Kathryn Le Veque

It’s a new generation of de Wolfe Pack cubs, carrying on the tradition of their illustrious grandfather. Thomas “Tor” de Wolfe has his hands full with battling women and battling enemies as he secures a border castle for Edward I. Chaos is the name of the game!

Tor married, and lost, his wife at a young age. Because his wife was an orphan, he inherited her two sisters when they wed and when she died, they became his responsibility.

Unfortunately, the two spinster sisters view Tor as their property.

When Tor meets the worldly Isalyn de Featherstone, he is smitten. Isalyn, however, is not. Tor is big and handsome, but lives too much of a provincial life. She wants big cities, excitement, money, and no baggage of a dead wife. Isalyn’s father, however, feels differently – and Isalyn finds herself betrothed to the gentle de Wolfe giant. The spinsters have a new target.

Let the battles begin!

Enter a world of medieval mayhem, adventure, but most of all, of an overwhelming passion that soon consumes both Tor and Isalyn. Add an ambitious and jilted suitor into the mix, and it could mean the end for everything they have worked so hard to build.

But a strong love is worth fighting for, and no love is stronger than that of a de Wolfe.

Part of the World of de Wolfe Pack series – de Wolfe Pack Generations subseries

Suicide: A Mother’s Journey Through Her Child’s Painby Melanie Balestra

This book is about the insights of a mother after her daughter dies by suicide. The mother thought her daughter Leah was painfully shy at a young age but consistently was told by counselors that her daughter would grow out of it. However, this shyness was a sign of depression at a young age. Leah was a child in a dysfunctional marriage with no love or recognition from her Dad. Her mother believed the only way to help her was to move and leave the marriage multiple times without success. After Leah’s death, her mother finds diaries that Leah wrote at various times in her life. It is only at this time that Leah’s mother realizes how much alone Leah felt and how she suffered emotionally during most of her life. Leah portrayed one life to others but had no self-esteem or respect for herself. Her lack of belief in herself led to her untimely death by suicide. The book discusses the coping mechanisms that Leah’s mother used after her death and how f faith helped her realize that God always has a purpose and Leah would one her to go on. The goal of this book is through the insight into Leah’s feelings and actions, help parents and others realize signs and symptoms in their child or others of mental illness. Parents do not have to feel alone when working with a child or other person that is mentally ill. There are more and more resources to reach out to in mental health if you believe your child is mentally ill. Start looking when you first have a suspicion. Don’t ever give up. Survival through faith in God is possible.