Review: Choosing to See: A Journey of Struggle and Hope

Author:   Mary Beth Chapman

Genre:  Memoir (2010)

About:  The wife of Christian singer Steven Curtis Chapman talks about her life and of the death of her 5-year-old daughter, Maria, who was accidentally run over by her 17-year-old son, Will.

Thoughts:  I remember when this happened.  All I could think about was how in the world was this 17-year-old kid going to live with this for the rest of his life?

All my questions about the accident were answered and then some.  Mary Beth Chapman wrote not only about what happened that day in May 2008, but also about meeting her husband at age 19, getting married, having their three children and later adopting three little girls from China. What a loving, faithful family. The story and the writing were wonderful, and I love how many pictures there were.  I looked at them over and over. 

Source: Library

Why I Chose:  I was curious to know exactly how the accident happened and how the family was dealing with everything.  I always thought Will was backing up and hit Maria, but he was driving into the driveway as she was running towards the car.  She was excited he was home because she wanted him to lift her onto the monkey bar that she couldn't reach.

Recommend? Yes.

Rating:   4.5 / 5

Reading Now:  A Prayer for the Dying by Stewart O'Nan

Up Next:  Ape House by Sara Gruen

Abandoned:  A Small Furry Prayer by Steven Kotler.  I read 211 pages of this and gave up.  Sometimes I liked it, sometimes I didn't.  The good parts kept me reading for as long as I did, but finally I didn't care anymore and didn't want to finish the final 78 pages.



Review: What We Have: One Family's Inspiring Story About Love, Loss and Survival

Author: Amy Boesky

Genre: Memoir (August 2010)

About: All of the women in the author's family have died before the age of 45 from cancer. She and her two sisters grew up knowing they were in a race against the clock...they would have to hurry, get married and have children and decide whether or not to have elective surgery in order to have a chance at life.

Overall: Loved it!

Liked:  Everything.

I know, another sad someone-gets-cancer-and-dies book.  But it's so much more than that.  If you can handle - and felt a connection to - Still Alice, about Alzheimer's, you've got to read this.  I gave it 5 stars not because of the story itself but because of the connection I felt to it.  Isn't that what reading's all about? :)  Amy Boesky's writing was engaging and real and I cannot wait to read more of her work.

The relationship Amy and her sisters had with each other and their mom reminds me so much of my family...the way they'd get miffed if one of the sisters found out something before the others. "Why didn't she call ME first?" Also, the way their mom kept things about her illness from the girls to protect them is exactly what my mom would do. And how the sisters would call each other each day when she was sick, "Did you talk to mom today? Didn't she sound really bad to you?" I imagined my sister and I doing that and also trying to figure out - together, the way these sisters did - what to do about their inherited cancer gene and what their own children would likely face in the future.

Don't miss this one.

Source: Library

Why I Chose:  The premise of all the women in a family dying from cancer by age 45?  I had to know why and how and who and...yah, I'm nosy that way.

Recommend? Absolutely, yes!

Rating: 5/5