think & reveal: Loss

"It's hard to make room for what is no longer there."

Mary E. Martin, poem called "Loss"
Where is the rest of the poem?

Books :: anything but romance novels ::

Three Day Road, by Joseph Boyden. Story of a Cree Indian from Canada during World War One. The author does an incredible job of placing us in the war and into the world of the main characters. We also learn about Auntie and the traditional Cree way of life. This was a time when Indians were put in residential schools and being discriminated against in the military. Xavier and his friend, Elijah (also a Cree) were sharpshooters so we get their viewpoint of the battles, plus the story of how morphine played a strong role in the war.
Crusade of Tears, a novel of the children's crusade, by C.D. Baker. Story of the Christian Children's Crusade in the year 1212. This was an event I hadn't heard or read about so it was very fascinating to me. I appreciated that the author presented problems, spiritual questions and dilemmas without too much preaching. He asked more questions and left room for doubt and self-analysis rather than create characters that were his own moral robots. The story is about a group of children from a village in Germany on their way to Jerusalem to fight the infidels. What an interesting journey--
The Black Flower, a novel of the civil war, by Howard Bahr. Story of a young Confederate soldier from Mississippi. Historically interesting and I felt like it captured the feeling of the soldiers, battlefield, war, people, and so forth. A good read.
Panther in the Sky, by James Alexander Thom: A novel based on the life of Tecumseh, a Shawnee Indian Chief. This book is about his life from birth to death (seriously, it's 650 pages long) from 1768 to 1813. Author did amazing research to bring this character to life. A great story from the native American's perspective.
Nobodies, Modern American Slave Labor and the Dark Side of the New Global Economy, by John Bowe **My thoughts: The first sentence on the inside of the book jacket is this: "Most American would be shocked to discover that slavery still exists in the United States." Seriously? They could only be shocked if they live in a cave, so to speak. Are people really that unaware? Okay, so two quotes. "Man is a wolf to man." - Latin Proverb AND In the 1920's, Supreme Court justice Louis D. Brandeis proclaimed, "We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." One more for good measure..."The number of human beings throughout history who have been born into lives that could accurately be described as 'free' is nothing but the merest fraction of human experience. Certainly, then, the permanence of our currently free condition should not be taken for granted." (p. xvii)
Shadow Warrior, A Novel of the Old West, by JC Gotcher **My thoughts: No way! Doc, the scout for a wagon train, heads out of camp to do some looking around. He kills an Indian in self-defense and the ride begins.**
A Saga of the Reindeer People by Megan Lindholm **My thoughts: Loved it. Story about the Lapp culture during the Bronze Age. It is a story about people and it didn't matter so much exactly when or where. It is full of natural healing, magic, tradition, courage, trust and deception.**
Left to Tell, Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocause, by Immacule'e Ilibagiza with Steve Erwin **My thought: How does evil take over people's hearts and minds?**

think & reveal

Monday, August 25, 2008

Loss

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