2011: Book 36

Don't Wake Me at Doyles: The Remarkable Memoir of an Ordinary Irish Woman and Her Extraordinary Life by Maura Murphy

400 pages

Completed 4/11/11

The tales of Maura Murphy cannot be ignored; a mother of nine, with lives in both England and Ireland, with stories of love and of woe, this memoir is poignantly terrific. Stricken by poverty and illness throughout her life, Murphy is then dealt the final blow; a cancer diagnosis. With journal entries of each of her children and her husband intermitently making appearances, the reader is given a glimpse into the reasons, and effects of Maura being Maura.

A full-life memoir, the kind I rarely read, this one was worth it. And it was okay to be a bit perturbed by Murphy and her actions; she makes no exscuses, and is fine in - and with - her ways. As she ages, her decisions become clearer, and one cannot help but be on her side.

2011: Book 25

The Truth Shall Set You Free by Sally Lowe Whitehead


272 pages

Completed 3/17/11

The memoir of a sixteen-year-old newlywed turned mother-of-six with a gay husband, you cannot help but be moved by this book. Knowing ahead of time that it was a book that revolved deeply around religion, I nonetheless was exhausted by all the talk of God. Nearly a decade immersed in Fundamentalism, the reader cannot help but forsee the judgement to be thrown down upon Sally and her outed husband.

That being said, this is one of the first books in a long while whose writing instilled emotion; if nothing else, Whitehead can put on paper true feeling. The epilogue was an extra I was not expecting, but oh-so-glad was included. If anything, I wish the memoir would have continued from one of their children's point of view.

LIZ: BOOK #8

I'm Perfect, You're Doomed: Tales from a Jehovah's Witness Upbringing by Kyria Abrahams

352 pages

Completed 2/2/10

Religions - especially ones surrounded my controversy - fascinate me. My own maternal grandmother briefly practiced alongside the Jehovah Witnesses and it was, especially to my 10 year old mind, odd. No recognition of birthdays, Halloween, cereal brands; this is religion?! So when I picked up Abrahams' book on her own JW's upbringing, I was intrigued. A self-described precocious child, Abrahams reveled in her religion and its meetings, rules, and family dynamic.

Once she reached her teens, however, the author's story takes a dramatic turn with rebellion, a bout of OCD, and a marriage at eighteen. Drugs and alcohol make a brief appearance (as in most memoirs) and she struggles with her religious identity.

While religions do pique my interest, I was not necessarily intrigued by this memoir. Expecting a dark, humorous account a la Augusten Burrough's "Running With Scissors," I was deeply disappointed. The humor is lacking after the first third of the book, and the ending - which can only be described as abrupt - leaves you with nothing.

CeCe: BOOK #1

So, here it is... Finally!!! My first book review!!!

The Shack by William P. Young

256 pages

Completed 01/27/10

After reading this book, I felt accomplished and even a bit uplifted. I don't consider myself to be the religious type, but I am spiritual. Although this book was based around religious structure, I found it quite enlightening and would recommend it to anyone that has suffered a loss in life or faced adversity.

After his daughter Missy was abducted an killed, Mack (Mackenzie) basically withdrew himself from life and surrendered to depression. Years later, he receives an anonymous note inviting him back to place of his daughter's death: the shack. Determined to find out who wants him to go and why, he embarks on a journey that changes him forever.

Mack's weekend at the shack with his new found friends open up his mind and heart in a way never before. The religious references throughout the story were somewhat overwhelming, but equally enjoyable.