Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Biography

Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Biography. William Anderson. 2007. HarperCollins. 256 pages. Source: Betterworldbooks.com

First sentence: When Laura Ingalls was born in the state of Wisconsin, the land there was still raw and wild.

Plot: From her pioneer days on the prairie to her golden years with her husband, Almanzo, and their daughter, Rose, Laura Ingalls Wilder has become a friend to all who have read about her adventures. This behind-the-scenes account chronicles the real events in Laura's life that inspired her to write her stories and also describes her life after the last Little House book ends.

My thoughts: I didn't know there were so many books about Laura Ingalls Wilder!  I loved all the pictures included in this one.  I found my self from the moment Laura was a little girl in The Big Woods comparing her to the Laura of her own series.  It made me chuckle because I feel she did a good job at describing herself.  I had a hard time with the Little House books because I had seen the series on television and kept those images of Ma and Pa and the girls in my brain.  I like these images much better. 

This is the first biography I have read on LIW and had no idea that she was so widely traveled. Or that her daughter Rose is the one who encouraged her to begin writing. Or that she wrote in the Missouri Ruralist (which is still in print). OR helped to start a land mortgage company... She was one busy lady with helping Manley on the farm too!  And we ladies whine about the long list of "little" things we have to do. LOL!

Laura and Manley had a rough beginning.  Losing their infant son, their home burning, losing their crop to drought, and the storm that flattened their bumper crop!  Then they came to Missouri!  Things began to look up...

I'm finding myself wanting me to tell your Laura's story! :)  But I think this is a great read and that you will enjoy it as well.

Before We Were Yours

Before We Were Yours. Lisa Wingate. June 2017. Ballantine Books.  352 pages. Source: Audio library book.  

First sentence: August 3, 1939 My story begins on a sweltering August night, in a place I will never set eyes upon.

Plot: Two families, generations apart, are forever changed by a heartbreaking injustice in this poignant novel, inspired by a true story, for readers of Orphan Train and The Nightingale.

Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family’s Mississippi River shantyboat. But when their father must rush their mother to the hospital one stormy night, Rill is left in charge—until strangers arrive in force. Wrenched from all that is familiar and thrown into a Tennessee Children’s Home Society orphanage, the Foss children are assured that they will soon be returned to their parents—but they quickly realize that the truth is much darker. At the mercy of the facility’s cruel director, Rill fights to keep her sisters and brother together—in a world of danger and uncertainty.

Aiken, South Carolina, present day. Born into wealth and privilege, Avery Stafford seems to have it all: a successful career as a federal prosecutor, a handsome fiancé, and a lavish wedding on the horizon. But when Avery returns home to help her father weather a health crisis, a chance encounter leaves her with uncomfortable questions—and compels her to take a journey through her family's long-hidden history, on a path that will ultimately lead either to devastation or redemption.

Based on one of America’s most notorious real-life scandals—in which Georgia Tann, director of a Memphis-based adoption organization, kidnapped and sold poor children to wealthy families all over the country—Wingate’s riveting, wrenching, and ultimately uplifting tale reminds us how, even though the paths we take can lead to many places, the heart never forgets where we belong. (Goodreads)

My thoughts: This was a gripping tale from the very beginning.  I loved the flow of this book.  Back and forth from present to past it was easy to follow.  Although the content was not one that I would say I loved.  In fact it was very difficult at times to think that people would actually do such things to families. 

I came to really adore Avery Stafford.  She begins to find herself in searching her grandmother's secret out.  I was so happy when she made the choice to live for herself and not for the sake of a family name.

I was sad to see this story come to and end.  But all goods ones do.  I appreciated the author telling how the tale was based on a true story.  Georgia Tann was the actual lady who ran the home back in the day.  She died of cancer before she could be charged for her crimes. 

I highley recommend this one.  It kept a good pace and read really quick.

The Women in the Castle

The Women in the Castle. Jessica Shattuck. William Marrow. March 2017. 356 pages. Source: Audio library 

First sentence: The day of the countess's famous harvest party began with a driving rain that hammered down on all the ancient von Lingenfels castle's sore spots - springing leaks, dampening floors, and turning its yellow facad a slick, beetle-like black.

Plot: Set at the end of World War II, in a crumbling Bavarian castle that once played host to all of German high society, a powerful and propulsive story of three widows whose lives and fates become intertwined.

Amid the ashes of Nazi Germany’s defeat, Marianne von Lingenfels returns to the once grand castle of her husband’s ancestors, an imposing stone fortress now fallen into ruin following years of war. The widow of a resistor murdered in the failed July, 20, 1944, plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Marianne plans to uphold the promise she made to her husband’s brave conspirators: to find and protect their wives, her fellow resistance widows. (Goodreads)

My thoughts:  After reading some reviews on this one I couldn't wait to get my hands on it!  If you like World War II stories you are going to love this one!

The story travels back and forth in time from pre-war to post-war.  There is very little coverage of during the war.  But we know all too well the horrible things that occured during that time.  After the war three widowed women live in the castle owned by Marianne along with their children for a short time.

After the war the story goes on to tell the background of each woman and how she came to be where she is.  Then it moves to present day.  The women are in their 80's.  They are being invited back to Germany to the Castle for a dedication of a book about Marianne and her efforts for the resistance.

This story reminded me of The Nighingale by Kristin Hannah.  Not exactly how they worked through the war but how they were invited back to their home land to be honored.

It was a good story and considering the content I enjoyed it. 

The Sunday Post #2

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted at Caffenated Reviewer. (I am going to do mine on the first Sunday of each month.)  It's a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week  month on your blog and showcase books and things we have received.  Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week month ahead.  See rules here: Sunday Post Meme

Last Month on The Books in My Life

• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
• The Great Convergence by Joseph R. Lallo
• The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy
• Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
• The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemmingway
• The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs
• I Heard The Owl Call My Name by Margaret Craven
• A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Beckman

In My Mailbox

 

Up This Month on The Books in My Life

Taking part in the Laura Ingalls Wilder challenge over at Stray Thoughts.  Three  two books because my library is closed in the month of February and I can't get the other one checked out! 

• Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Biography by William Anderson
• West From Home: Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder, San Francisco, 1915 
• The Prayer Box by Lisa Wingate
• The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck
• The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

Challenge updates

Pages read in January: 2,432

Challenge to date pages: 94,831

5 out of 50 books read. My deadline is October 31st, 2022.

The Prayer Box

The Prayer Box (Carolina Heirlooms #1). Lisa Wingate. Tyndale House Publishing. September 2013. 400 pages. Source: Audio library book.

First sentence: When trouble blows in, my mind always reaches for a single, perfect day in Rodanthe.

Plot: When Iola Anne Poole, an old-timer on Hatteras Island, passes away in her bed at ninety-one, the struggling young mother in her rental cottage, Tandi Jo Reese, finds herself charged with the task of cleaning out Iola's rambling Victorian house.Running from a messy, dangerous past, Tandi never expects to find more than a temporary hiding place within Iola's walls, but everything changes with the discovery of eighty-one carefully decorated prayer boxes, one for each year, spanning from Iola's youth to her last days. Hidden in the boxes is the story of a lifetime, written on random bits of paper--the hopes and wishes, fears and thoughts of an unassuming but complex woman passing through the seasons of an extraordinary, unsung life filled with journeys of faith, observations on love, and one final lesson that could change everything for Tandi. (Goodreads)

My thoughts:  This story was a mixture of Tandi's story and Iola's story.  In learning about Iola, Tandi discovers who she is.  She is a mother who had a rough start in lift and most of her live decisions haven't been the best.  Learning to trust those who really care about her is hard to do.   I loved how Iola's story unfolded along side Tandi's.  It was really like reading two different books at the same time.  I'm really looking forward to the sequel!