Educated

"Educated" by Tara Westover is the mind boggling memoir of a homeschooled girl living in the mountains of Idaho. She shares unbelievable stories about her father's "doomsday" beliefs and how she was constantly waiting for the world to end. She talks about her work helping her mother as a midwife and herbalist and helping her father salvage in his dangerous junkyard. Growing up she never saw a doctor, went to a hospital, or set foot in a classroom. She endured her brother's tormenting abuses, listened to her father's rantings about the corruption of government, and escaped to her grandparents home for some peace whenever she could. As a teenager she began educating herself and reading every book she could get her hands on. With her older brother's encouragement she studied for the SAT and applied for college. At age 17 as a freshman at Brigham Young University Tara stepped foot in a classroom for the first time in her entire life.

Tara's life of endurance and overcoming is inspirational and a little jaw dropping. Some of her experiences were incredibly difficult to wrap my head around, especially because her home is not that far from my own. She grows up in the "same" religion that I did, but the way her family practices religion is very different from my own. Some of the parents negligence was very upsetting to me and it makes me sad that people can get away with letting their children grow up in such toxic and harmful surroundings. Even though some parts of her memoir were difficult to swallow I couldn't stop reading it. When I did finish the book I got online and did even more research about her family and watched a few different interviews that she had done. Her life is amazing to me and I would recommend this book for sure.

Heaven Help Us

This month's book for book club was 'Heaven Help Us' by Kari J. Rich. This is a collection of memoirs written by a woman who lives in Cache Valley and writes for the Herald Journal (our local newspaper). While some of her stories had me laughing out loud, others made me kind of cringe. While I thoroughly enjoyed her tales of Thanksgiving woes, trying to get to church on time, and stories of how Girls Camp really is, there were also some things that were either TMI or just kind of boring. For instance, an entire chapter does not need to be dedicated to you detailing your workouts at the gym... snooze fest. Also, lusting after the 16 year old grocery boy..... ewwwww. And while I am a sarcastic person myself, sometimes her writing was a little too sarcastic and came off as just plain mean. For example: when she is berating the poor nurses at the hospital and answering them in snarky rude ways. We understand that you are worried about your sick kid and are frustrated, but those poor nurses have long shifts and have to deal with unpleasant people all day long. Maybe I have worked too many retail jobs, but on this one, I thought she could cut them some slack, they really are just doing the best they can. I guess this book was okay. There are some funny moments in it, but I probably wouldn't read it again. I guess you will just have to check it out and decide for yourself.

Heaven is Here

'Heaven is Here' by Stephanie Nielson was another great read from my book club. This book was both heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time, and I don't even know how that is possible. I enjoyed reading Stephanie's thoughts so much, she had me completely captivated by her story and I spent too many nights reading her words late into the night. 

Stephanie Nielson is the creator of the Nie Nie Diaries blog, She is a Mormon girl from Provo, Utah whose greatest aspiration is to be the best wife and mother she can be. When her husband gets a job in New Jersey a family member of her introduces her to blogging as a way to keep her family updated on what is going on in their lives. Stephanie absolutely falls in love with blogging and pretty soon she has many, many followers. 

Stephanie and her family find themselves moving to Arizona where her husband decides to take flying lessons. When her and her husband are in a terrible plane crash it is a miracle that she survives at all. 80% of her body was severely burned and this is the story of her recovery from that accident. As a wife and mother myself, her struggles to do and relearn every day tasks were heart wrenching. But Stephanie is a survivor in every sense of the word.

'Heaven is Here' taught me many valuable life lessons. Don't take what you have and what you can do for granted. Stop making excuses for yourself. Trust in the Lord and everything will work out. Never give up. Do the best you can, and then forgive yourself for your shortcomings. Needing and asking for help is okay. Be grateful for the tender mercies. Treasure your loved ones, for life is short, and you never know what might happen. There are so many more!

This is filled with so much goodness. After I read it I wanted nothing more than to meet Stephanie in real life and thank her for this book. She only lives two hours south of me, maybe I will meet her someday, who knows? I sure hope so. I just want to give her a hug! 

Mary, Martha, and Me

This month I joined a book club and this is the first book that we read. 'Mary, Martha, and Me' by Camille Fronk Olsen is the story of the sisters Mary and Martha in the bible and the relationship they had with Christ. Camille Olsen delves deeper into the story of when Martha rebukes Mary to Christ for not helping her do the work that needs to be done. Mary chooses instead to feast upon the words of Christ. Christ responds to Martha by telling her that Mary has chosen the one needful thing.

This book definitely has some good insights to this story. For the most part I did enjoy reading this, but I was glad that it was a shorter novel because parts of it seemed kind of dry to me. I am one of those people that have a hard time reading "church talk" type books - but if that is your kind of thing than I would think you would really like this book. She had some good points and made me think about the two women and their differing personalities more than I have ever done before. I sometimes had a hard time with this story thinking that Chirst was being harsh to Martha. If she didn't do the work than everyone would be hungry right? This book helped me understand the scenario much better and is very thought provoking.

Two From Galilee

'Two From Galilee' by Marjorie Holmes is the story of Mary and Joseph. This book shows us what happened to them leading up to the birth of Jesus Christ. I loved reading about their love story and the struggles that they went through to finally be together as husband and wife. I love the story of Mary. I think she is one of the bravest, strongest, most faithful women who ever walked the Earth. She was entrusted by God with both a gift, and a huge responsibility, to be the mother of Jesus Christ, our savior and redeemer. But this is also the story of Joseph. When Mary told him she was pregnant he could have publicly humiliated her and had her stoned to death. It took great faith to believe her story and love this precious child as his own. These are two amazing people who overcome many trials. Their love is inspiring and one of the reasons,  I believe, that they were chosen by our Father in Heaven to be the earthly parents of His only begotten son. Read this book. You'll love it.

My Story

Last night I finished reading 'My Story' by Elizabeth Smart with Chris Stewart. In case you lived under a rock in 2002, Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped from her bed in Salt Lake City by knife point by Brian David Mitchell. Mitchell was a religious fanatic who believed that he was god's servant. He called himself Immanuel and thought that god had told him to take seven wives- all of which had to be young Mormon virgins. Elizabeth was the first wife that he chose for himself. This is her story about the nine months that she spent in captivity with Mitchell and his wife Wanda Barzee. She tells about the many horrors that she endured during this time and is pretty open about her experience. This is not a book for a young reader by any means. Some of the things that she talks about filled me with horror and dread. The things that Mitchell made her suffer through are completely inhumane and things that no little girl should ever have to experience. But this is a story of survival and hope. It has a happy ending because Elizabeth made a choice to not let this horrific experience ruin her life. I am amazed at what a strong, successful person she has become. She turned tragedy into triumph. Although this book is graphic at times, I would highly recommend it.

The Remarkable Soul of a Woman

Today I was in the mood to read something uplifting. So I read 'The Remarkable Soul of a Woman' by Dieter F. Uchtdorf, second counselor in the general presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

In this book President Uchtdorf explains that there are two ways to make yourself feel happy. One is by doing charitable service for others, and the second is by creating. Now, I must admit, that sometimes I feel like the least creative person on the planet. There is a certain quote that I read just after such thoughts crossed my mind. He says, "You may think you don't have talents, but that is a false assumption, for we all have talents and gifts, every one of us. The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before- colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter." I just  loved that quote. Who knew that family memories and laughter were actually a type of creation? And come to think of it, they may be some of the best kinds of creation.

This book takes all of ten minutes to read, its that short. But it honestly would be a great little gem to have on your shelf for those days that are going down the crapper. When you are feeling blue and need a little encouragement just whip this little book out and become enlightened and encouraged.

Let It Go

Have you ever read a book that completely impacts your life? When you put the book down it never really leaves your thoughts. You think about it in the shower. You think about it on your drive to work. And usually it’s what you are thinking about right before you fall asleep. Well, I have read just such a book. It is called ‘Let It Go’ by Chris Williams. This book is a true story of one man’s tragedy and his continual effort to find peace and happiness after it.

Chris Williams was taking his family out for ice cream one Friday night when a drunk driver crashed into their car, instantly killing his pregnant wife and two children. This is the story of the healing process that he had to endure after that event and how he ‘frankly forgave’ the teenage drunk driver that killed half of his family.

This book was utterly inspiring to me. This man is absolutely incredible. I honestly do not know if I could forgive someone so completely after they hurt my family so terribly. He had enough faith to put this burden in the Lord’s hands and just let his Savior heal him. The whole time I was reading his story I kept thinking about how many grudges I am carrying on my shoulders. I can still remember some insults that I received in kindergarten from other five year olds. How pathetic is that? If this man can forgive, then I can too.

Before Williams wrote this book he created a ‘Mormon Message’, which is just a short video clip about members of the church and the experiences that they face in their life. In the clip you can see Williams speaking with Cameron, the drunk driving teenager. I posted it below so that you can get a little taste of what this book is about. If you are curious about the LDS Church you can find out more information at lds.org. 

Fire of the Covenant

If you read the first post of this blog you'll remember that I mentioned this book. Seeing as this book helped me out during one of the lowest points of my life, I think it deserves to be the first book recommendation of this blog. "Fire of the Covenant" by Gerald N. Lund is about the three LDS handcart companies in 1856 that  made their way across the wilderness to their new homes in Utah. This book illustrates not only the struggles, heartache, and trials that these brave pioneers had to face, but it also contains spirituality, the bond of families, and even includes a little romance in the mix. I fell in love with these characters and felt like I was right there along side of them pulling that dratted handcart across the prairie. It will make you laugh and cry, increase your spirituality, and make you VERY grateful for what you have. Don't let the size intimidate you- it's worth it. I promise.