One Glorious Ambition: Book Review

One Glorious Ambition : The Compassionate Crusade of Dorothea Dix, a Novel

Jane Kirkpatrick

FRONTLIST

On Sale Date: April 2, 2013
9781400074310, 1400074312
Paperback / softback / Trade paperback (US)
$14.99 US / $17.99 Can.
Fiction / Historical
Paperback Original

 

 

 

 

By now, as a reader of my reviews, I’m assuming you know that Jane Kirkpatrick is my favorite author. Jane has a way of finding women who have done interesting things, in times that women were expected to sweep out soddies, entertain families, and bring up children.  I have a feeling that Dorothea Dix is personal to her, since her “glorious ambition” pertains to the the mentally ill and Jane worked in this field for many years.

This is definitely not a romantic novel, as Dorothea remains single throughout the book. I know many of you love historical fiction and dislike romance novels.

As a homeschool mom, I really enjoyed this book. We’ve been studying The Art of Argument and the Discovery of Deduction. We have a couple of Homeschool Dads in the Bend area that have successfully run for Oregon seats in government. The Homeschool Testing bill is up again this year and they are asking for testimony.  There is a huge process, in getting laws in place or changed – that require argument on the floor. Dorothea spends many years in Washington DC arguing for her bill to help the mentally insane.

Also going on during this period is the thought of the states and slavery. Abolitionists are also trying to get time before congress to argue their points.  We just finished watching Lincoln – and I could physically see the environment that Dorothea would have had to argue in. I could see her up in the seats trying to be a lady, urging her chosen spokesman to argue her bill through. I could feel her disappointment time after time.

What can one woman do to change thousands of lives in America?  She doesn’t just wait for the Federal Government to change; she gets involved at a local city and state level. This has been my cry for the last few years. Yes, we need to be heard in Washington, but what are you doing in your state to make the spot you live better? Are you supporting your Representatives and Senators at a State level?  She got quite a bit more done targeting local entities.

This was a great read. As usual, following a live person’s life, it is not full of mystery, twists, turns, crying, gnashing of teeth – this is following the life of a real person, through her real life, while she does extraordinary things and makes choices we agree, and sometimes disagree with. You really want to know how she gets on, and you’ll feel compassionate to her losses and gains along the way, and it will leave you wishing you could have helped her.

A perfect weekend read.

From the Publisher:

A compelling women's historical novel based on the life of a woman who refused to be defined by her past, conventional Victorian thinking, or the people around her-and changed the face of mental illness in the 19th century.
Growing up in household full of pain and tragedy, Dorothea Dix thought she was destined for nothing more than teaching and to raising her two younger brothers. She opened her first school for girls when she was fifteen and by twenty-three, was a best-selling author living an orderly and disciplined Boston life. But a visit to a prison to teach Sunday School to women in 1841 launched a new path for Dorothea, one that would turn her personal hardships into great strides for the less fortunate. Dorothea fought for the lives of those with mental illness, the poor and prisoners. Her political savvy, rare amongst women in her time, challenged those who made the rules in the almshouses, debtor prisons and private homes where mentally ill people were often chained and forgotten. Those tragic souls changed Dorothea, too, illuminating the path of peace within her own suffering and bring her "a happiness which goes with you."

A GREAT BOOK CLUB PICK: The themes of mental illness and fighting on behalf of those that can’t fight for themselves will inspire deep discussion.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free as part of BloggingForBooks.Org in exchange for a review.

This is Our Time: Movie Review & Giveaway

 

• Website
• Facebook
• Trailer

We watched This is Our Time as a family on Sunday afternoon. The movie opens as a mixture of Christian friends and siblings are graduating college and walk with them the first year that they are out on their own. To be honest – the story has a pretty slow start. Introducing us to each character. It has a very strong Christian Theme – but with nothing in particular other than wealthy young adults who use the words God and Christ and Pray quite a bit. They want to “Do what God Wants” and are sent on “Missions for God”. They make a choice of whether to pursue God’s Mission or their own financially secure careers. My husband did ask if this was the most boring overly “Christian” movie we had ever watched. I had to think that this quite possibly could be. Even a Veggie Tale Character doesn’t reference the fact that they are Christian this much.

However, we had just finished watching a RedBox movie. In it, we heard so many curse words that mentally, I had to turn it off and I was glad the boys were no where near to hear.  It was expected, since it was centered around the mafia and illegal gambling. I did feel convicted that it is expected for a criminal to use foul language but feels uncomfortable for a Christian to say over and over that they are one.  Something to think about.

About 2/3 of the way through the movie, a shift in the story comes, and from then on out, it picks up steam, emotion and surprises. It really was worth watching the very slow part to get to the end.

Part of the heart of the company putting this on is to encourage young people to go out and work in the mission field. My favorite part is where one of the characters comes to the reality that God cares more about who we are, and who we become, than what we “do” for Him.

We’ve been there with Youth Groups and Church Groups trying to find a movie that would appropriate for the entire gathering. I would recommend this movie. The attire is very modest, the relationships are very healthy, and the twists are normal and not over dramatized. The denomination of the group is unclear – so any denomination who Loves God and Christ and has a mentor in their life will identify. At graduation, I thought the mentor was a priest but he was wearing a staff graduation gown. He is a ‘professor’, they do not use the words pastor or such to describe. I could not find one offensive part that young eyes would not be able to view.

Here is the rundown from the publisher:

About This Is Our Time

The movie tells the interwoven stories of Luke (T.J. Dalrymple) and Alé (Erin Bethea), who marry right after school and move to India to serve as missionaries for Embrace A Village, a ministry that cares for those afflicted with leprosy and their families; aspiring financier Catherine (Kate Cobb), who joins a prestigious financial institution determined to make an impact on corporate America; Ryder (Matthew Florida), who lands an impressive job in social media and can’t wait to use the powerful medium for a greater good; and Ethan (Shawn-Caulin Young,) seemingly the odd man out, who struggles to find his God-given-purpose and feels sidelined by God.

“What they all come to learn is that it never really was their time,” Arnold said. “It always was, always is, God’s time.”

"Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in hope that I would mention it on my blog. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Comment to enter into a drawing to have a DVD mailed to your home.

Home Run, Freedom is Possible–A Review and Giveaway

 

I quickly answered the request to review Home Run a novelization by Travis Thrasher based on the original movie. This movie follows after similar genres such as Fireproof and Courageous. As those movies were to Marriage and Fatherhood – Home Run is to Addictions and Celebrate Recovery. On the whole, the book is rather predictable, and knowing that “no one is beyond the healing of God” one is pretty sure that the main character Cory Brand will come to his senses.

As far as fiction books go – I really enjoyed this one. The story pulled me in quickly and it was a great weekend afternoon read. The story’s main  line runs through Cory Brand’s anger and recovery. At the beginning of each chapter you get a peek at his childhood and growing up years to see why he developed alcohol addictions and anger.

From a mom’s perspective – I’d question how much of this story would occur in the real world. Many women may read this book or watch the movie thinking it might be as powerful as the first two. However, I am not sure how much this over the top story will leave people identifying with the characters.

So I have to give it two opinions – One – As a Fictional Christian Based story-  it ROCKS. Second – Thinking this would really show me a lot about Celebrate Recovery and how people go through it – I’m not sure that this book will pull people in.

For a disclaimer – to the book and the movie – this guy’s life is really raw. Drinking. Girls. Stories of Incest and Rape. One nighters. Children who are physically and emotionally abused.  I can’t recommend this as a family film to watch with the 10 and under crowd.

• Website
• Facebook
• Twitter - HomeRunTheMovie
• More Info


Author: Travis Thrasher
Book - Paperback Trade 
ISBN: 0781408385
ISBN-13: 9780781408387Item #: 125960

From the Publisher: Baseball star Cory Brand knows how to win. But off the field, he's spiraling out of control. Haunted by old wounds and regrets, his future seems as hopeless as his past.
Until one moment-one mistake-changes everything. To save his career, Cory must go back to the town where it all began. His plan is simple: coach the local baseball team, complete a recovery program, and get out as fast as possible. Instead, he runs headfirst into memories he can't escape ... and the love he left behind.
Faced with a second chance he never expected, Cory embarks on a journey of faith, transformation and redemption. And along the way, he discovers a powerful truth: no one is beyond the healing of God. A novel based on the major motion picture starring Vivica A. Fox and Scott Elrod, Home Run is an inspirational story of the hope and freedom God offers each of us.

About the Author

Travis Thrasher is the author of more than a dozen works of fiction, including The Solitary Tales series, Isolation, and Ghostwriter. His writing is known for its honesty, depth, and surprising twists. Thrasher lives with his wife and daughters in Chicago.

"Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

 

Comment below to be entered into the drawing

. Comments will be counted and a random number will be chosen by a third party. I will contact the winner by e-mail. If a e-mail isn’t easily found, a second winner will be drawn. The book will be mailed to the winner within 2 weeks of winning.

Firefly Island

This is a strange little book; strange in a good way. I enjoyed the journey of a congressional staffer changing her life from Washington DC to living by a lake in Texas.  I worked professionally for many years before having kids, and remember some of her journey as my own.  She gets married soon in the book, so there isn’t the book long love romantic story. But it does talk through how two people combine their lives and live out in love, bringing in the love of a child.

One thing that I liked – was the beginning of each chapter. A quote to start them out. We are memorizing a children’s poem by Ogden Nash, so it caught my attention when I saw “To keep your marriage brimming, With love in the loving cup, Whenever you’re wrong, admit it; Whenever you’re right, shut up.” Ogden Nash.

“This was my first highlight out of 11 for this book in my Kindle Fire. I love the way she writes, “It wasn’t’ in the tides that the breath of God could be found, I decided, but in the water itself, in the endless rhythm of it, ever present, ever constant, louder amidst the storms of life, softer in the peaceful times. Not a god only moving twice a day like the mythical Tangaroa, but a God moving countless times. Always. Continually A God present in the deepest parts of our lives, sometimes crowded out by all the surface clutter as we stroll along the shore, our minds preoccupied with things that seem important. Then a wave rises higher than the rest, strokes soft and cool over sun warmed skin, and we hear it again, the constant breath of God. We think, How could I not have heard that all along?”

As you can see from above, I just loved it when Mallory ‘thought’ in the book. My other connection with Mallory – was that she turned to blogging to log her adventures. Which, when we moved to Devils Lake – is what we did. Mallory shares, “An amazing thing had happened to me in my first weeks of blogging. Because I was writing about adventures, I started not only  seek them out, but to see them all around me. In seeing the adventure of this place, I’d begun to truly live my life, rather than hiding from it and complaining about it.”  I did find it a bit cheesy that she was the ‘Frontier Woman’ and one of my favorite bloggers is the Pioneer Woman. She’s not really in the Frontier, and it was just a little too close for me, but I quickly got over it.

Bottom line – I really enjoyed this story. The story has many paths. There is never a time reading it where you think you know where it is going and decide to read it out to make sure. I recommend this book for sure.

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2013
At thirty-four, congressional staffer Mallory Hale is about to embark on an adventure completely off the map. After a whirlwind romance, she is hopelessly in love with two men--fortunately, they're related. Daniel Everson and his little boy, Nick, are a package deal, and Mallory suddenly can't imagine her future without them.
Mallory couldn't be more shocked when Daniel asks her to marry him, move to Texas, and form a family with him and motherless Nick. The idea is both thrilling and terrifying.
Mallory takes a leap of faith and begins a sweet, mishap-filled journey into ranch living, Moses Lake society, and a marriage that at times reminds her of the mail-order-bride stories. But despite the wild adventure of her new life, she discovers secrets and questions beneath her rosy new life. Can she find answers on Firefly Island, a little chunk of property just off the lakeshore, where mysterious lights glisten at night?

 

Dislaimer: I received a Kindle Fire Download for free in exchange for an honest review on my blog.

Sweet Scent of Justice–Debbie Wilson

From the first paragraph, I was drawn in. Which surprised me because I found this book when Debbie Wilson contacted me a while ago to review a book she wrote about her story. I said yes, wanting to hear it, but not with full confidence of thinking it was going to be a great non fiction novel.

The story is written in first person. From Debbie’s perspective. It is gripping. Each page leaves you wanting to flip to the next.  What happened? Will they ever know? And as I read this story that goes through many years, my heart started to break with Debbie and her family. Feeling her pain. I was hearing the story in a day, the heart breaking one that she lived her life with.

Without giving the ending away – We have had two instances where resolution came in the exact same manner as her story this week. Two criminals that had done something to our family, and their capture was just like the Sweet Scent of Justice.

Looking for a wonderful read? Are you nervous about many of the books out right now? This one will pull you in, race with adrenaline, bring you on the edge of your seat to scream unfair, yell at the family to get it together, cry on their shoulders and rally to justice together. It’s a good ride. I could see this becoming a film in the future.

Thank you Debbie for sharing your story with wonderful words and transparency. Thank you for sharing your story with me.

 

Twenty-two years had passed since Kathy, a sophomore in college and a girl dedicated to living for her God, was brutally killed in her small college town. Twenty-two years of silent holidays and hidden family portraits kept the painful past under control, until Debbie Wilson ascended into the attic of her parents home on a secret quest to uncover the truth of her sister's unsolved murder and bring her killer to justice. Wilson could never have imagined how the triumphs and trials of her pursuit would force her to test her faith in God, belief in justice, and duty to forgive. Sweet Scent of Justice is a true crime memoir by a sister who experienced the miraculous ways God works in the lives of His children when they need His guidance the most. It offers hope and encouragement for those experiencing trials and tribulations in their lives. Wilson's personal tragedy strengthened her faith and belief in Christ, and it will strengthen yours too. Debbie Wilson

Disclaimer – I received a free PDF of this book to read on my Kindle in exchange for a review on this blog.

JJ Heller Loved, a Giveaway

• Website: jjheller.com
• Facebook: JJ-Heller
• Twitter: jjheller
• Music Video: JJ Heller, Who You Are

I must have been living in a music hole under a rock – since I  have not been introduced to JJ Heller until this month. I received the JJ Heller LOVED CD to review. Before I agreed, I watched the video above, Who You Are. It is one of my favorite songs on the CD, and one that keeps playing when I walk about or swipe a dish.  “I don’t know what you’re doing, but I know who you are”. It has been a theme in my personal life the last few months for sure.

JJ Heller has a quite quirky style. Maybe the female Christian version of Jack Johnson or Owl City? Her style is quite unique and her videos are fun, simple, enjoyable to watch.

I need music to lift my spirit, direct my thoughts, and to help with exercise.  Before I review a CD I like to bring it through those paces. I started with the CD playing at home during the morning. The music is light and quiet. Not distracting to other conversations. The first time through, other than “Who You Are” the lyrics did not pull at my attention.

Next I put the CD on my Amazon Cloud Player and downloaded the songs to our iPods and MP3 player. (I use a cheapo MP3 Player on the water.) Washing dishes and doing chores, I let it take over my thoughts during the mundane of the day. This is when my thoughts can turn to the what if’s, the need to’s, the don’t wannas – and I  depend on music and memory verses to pull out.  I enjoyed focusing on the lyrics. Some are quite raw, yet full of encouragement. “The pain is real, you can’t erase it, sooner or later you have to face it down”. “If I can talk, then I will sing for you, if I can walk, then I will dance for you, as long as I can Breathe, My heart will beat for you”.

I didn’t get to paddle with this CD, but I did get a nice long beach walk. I found myself hitting replay on “Stay”. When you can’t feel a thing, after too many stings, when you forget about grace, the world is a lonely place.” She encourages us to open our eyes, let in the light, and stay. I listened to the simple lyrics several times, and they just spoke to me. “Create in Me” was another one that got the re-play. Before I knew it, I was at the Inn at Spanish Head and moving back to the parking lot. It kept my feet moving and my thoughts lifted up.

JJ Heller’s LOVED comes out on March 12th – I recommend this for a purchase!

About JJ Heller's LOVED

When JJ Heller and her husband/co-writer, Dave, began writing for their sixth studio album LOVED, life looked a few shades darker, more painful and confusing than it had during the work on their work of the recent past. Over the past few years, the duo steered much of their material toward the whimsical and simple joys of life, love and new parenthood. But, when confronted by illness, death and broken marriages within their community, the Hellers chose to stay true to the weight of their season of life when crafting lyrics this time around.

"Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

 

GIVEAWAY –

Comment below to let me know you’d like a chance to win a CD!

I will draw for a  winner and the CD will be mailed out.

VeggieTales–The Little House That Stood–Giveaway!

 

• Website 
• Facebook 
• Twitter
• Trailer

We spent a fun evening watching The Little House that Stood. There are a couple of short films and a couple of songs on this new VeggieTales video. Even at the older ages, the boys still hung out to see what would happen. This would make a great gift for your family – or for a family with little ones. I think you will enjoy it! We did.

COMMENT ON THIS POST FOR A CHANCE TO WIN!

About The Little House That Stood

When the Three Little Pigs roll into Cabbageville looking to build some new houses, they meet one builder with a plan and two without a clue! Larry builds with hay, Mr. Lunt with bricks, but only Bob builds his houses on a firm foundation - following the wise plans from the Master Builder's Handbook! Will the Little Piggies make the right choices when it comes to building their houses - and their lives - on solid ground? Find out in this parable that shows kids when they follow God's blueprints, then can stand strong when the storms come! 

"Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in hope that I would mention it on my blog. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."