The pond frozen and dusted with snow.
(I'm so thankful after I take the photo, I can run back into a cozy house. I'm very tempted to stand on the ice and see if it will hold me up. But the thought of plunging into deep, icy water keeps my feet on frozen ground.)
The other day, we had snow, rain, and ice. Thankfully, I didn't have to venture out and could enjoy the ice, captured by the photo on the crepe myrtle.
One theme in the novel is plural marriage. Because I know several women who have had their lives affected by plural marriage, I wanted to find out how Nana handled it in her book. She explored the pain and reverberating effects of plural marriages on the wives and their children with deftness and compassion. In the end, I enjoyed this novel and I came away from it a changed person.
A five-star read.
Here’s the novel’s blurb:
Determined to avoid the pain and instability of her parents’ turbulent, confusing marriage, Kokui marries a man far different from her loving, philandering, self-made father—and tries to be a different kind of wife from her mother.
But when Kokui and her husband leave Ghana to make a new life for themselves in America, she finds history repeating itself. Her marriage failing, she is called home to Ghana when her father dies. Back in her childhood home, which feels both familiar and discomforting, she comes to realize that to exorcize the ghosts of her parents’ marriage she must confront them to enable her healing.
Tender and illuminating, warm and bittersweet My Parents’ Marriage is a compelling story of family, community, class, and self-identity from an author with deep empathy and a generous heart.
When
I began writing, I wish I’d known how the journey of creativity goes. How each experiment
in making something new leads you on an exploration that hones your skills and
voice. But don’t think the creativity journey is only for writers and artists.
The same principles apply to writing a mathematics proof, programming, even
engineering.
And I must mention the illustrations by A.N. Kang are gorgeous—they tell the story in pictures as Kiara’s webs grow more beautiful along the way.
I’d encourage you to pick up this book for a child you love. Or, buy it for yourself--you’ll love it.
I love autumn flowers. They are bright and beautiful when most plants have gone to sleep. When the trees follow suit, the air is pink. A hint of the spring to come. (These are blooming in my garden.)
May is Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Awareness Month. As someone with this rare genetic disease, I want to do my part so more people are aware of it. I hope someone will see these photos and say, "Hey, I can do that" and won't wait decades, getting sicker and sicker, before they are diagnosed.
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| This is one of many EDS "party tricks." If you cover my pants with your hand, my head looks like it's on backward. |
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| Cute EDS Awareness t-shirt. |
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| This is the EDS "gang sign. Take your thumb and touch your forearm |
