by Paul Coelho

 

Non-fiction

 

This is an interesting take on an interesting era. It's the 1960s-1970s and all over the world people are questioning social structures and getting experimental with everything from drugs to free love to world travel for the purpose of spiritual awakening. So many documentaries have been made about the era, usually focusing on London or New York or San Francisco. This one is written from the perspective of someone from Brazil.

 

He makes the pilgrimage to Machu Pichu and discovers that the high altitude can be dealt with by chewing Coca leaves, gets arrested as a terrorist because his girlfriend is from a Communist block country and goes through many other adventures that are generated by the times and social movements.

 

I found it fascinating to see his travels through the eyes of someone who wasn't either American or English. His time in Amsterdam made me smile as my own visits to the city, decades later, were very similar.

 

The writing was wonderful and had a certain dreamy quality that seems to come with writers from South America. This was a trip of nostalgia for a time and place I've never been and was a very enjoyable read.

by Paul Coelho

 

Non-fiction

 

This is an interesting take on an interesting era. It's the 1960s-1970s and all over the world people are questioning social structures and getting experimental with everything from drugs to free love to world travel for the purpose of spiritual awakening. So many documentaries have been made about the era, usually focusing on London or New York or San Francisco. This one is written from the perspective of someone from Brazil.

 

He makes the pilgrimage to Machu Pichu and discovers that the high altitude can be dealt with by chewing Coca leaves, gets arrested as a terrorist because his girlfriend is from a Communist block country and goes through many other adventures that are generated by the times and social movements.

 

I found it fascinating to see his travels through the eyes of someone who wasn't either American or English. His time in Amsterdam made me smile as my own visits to the city, decades later, were very similar.

 

The writing was wonderful and had a certain dreamy quality that seems to come with writers from South America. This was a trip of nostalgia for a time and place I've never been and was a very enjoyable read.

By: Joshilyn Jackson

ISBN: 006210568X

Publisher: William and Morrow

Publication Date: 2/16/2016

Format: Other

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

 

Whether you are a first timer or an avid fan of sassy, Joshilyn Jackson (I happen to be the latter, having read all her books), you can expect several things:

Southern, witty, dysfunctional, emotional, out-of-the box, strong characterization and an unstoppable female main character. Jackson never fails to tackle and deliver highly-charged topics, infused with enough wit, sarcasm, and humor, to balance the dark heavy themes.

"No one does Southern better."

THE OPPOSITE OF EVERYONE, Jackson’s seventh novel--delves into the life of Paula Vauss, the gal we met inSomeone Else’s Love Story (highly recommend).

Jackson crosses from Southern Gothic into Hindu mythology-- life of a hippie, going inside foster care, and the prison system—strong emotions, and Jackson’s own unique trademark style. Where one woman finds the "opposite of everyone" may not be the way to live, after all.

As Jackson mentions in an online interview… A Conversation with Joshilyn Jackson Art Atlanta, Paula deserved a story of her own. Readers, here you have it -- and hopefully more to come from Paula!

Paula is now a successful divorce attorney living in a posh midtown condo in Atlanta. She is ruthless, smart, and witty. She has an ex-boyfriend and former lover (now a PI)— alcoholic Zach Birdwine; she likes to stalk and flirt with him as much as possible. He is best at what he does and she needs him to work a case for her. However, with the hundreds of emails she sends him, it is difficult for him to wade through them to realize she needs him for a case—not for something more. When she offers to pay him more for a case, he agrees.

Paula has not had an easy life. Her childhood was rocky. She tries to put it out of her mind, most of the time until she writes her monthly check. She grew up with a woman, her mother, Kai; a free-spirited hippie type, quirky, a non-conformist, liberal counterculture, who went from one man to another, one town to another---telling all sorts of stories. (foreign to Kai’s parents). Kai wound up in prison, and each time she was released, Paula would fit her personality to revolve around her mothers. Re-invention time.

Since many hippies of this time rejected mainstream organized religion in favor of a more personal spiritual experience, often drawing on indigenous and folk beliefs. If they adhered to mainstream faiths, hippies were likely to embrace Buddhism, Unitarian, Hinduism or Christianity - the Jesus Movement. As well as free love, and drugs. Kai followed the path, and Paula along for the ride.

When Paula was eleven, something happened which would change the course of their lives—landing her mother, Kai in prison, and herself in foster care and group homes for years to come. Readers hear about the intense life and challenges inside the foster system, as well as prison.

As the story opens, Paula is finally connecting with Zach. (this part is hilarious). She needs his help with a case (plus wants more). Each year, Paul writes a check to her estranged mother, to ease her guilt. Paula hasn’t seen her mother for fifteen years. Her mom always cashes it and life moves on to the next month.

This time, it is returned with a note. The red flag goes up and Paula knows something is not right. Shortly thereafter, Julian shows up and knows about her mom. What do they have in common? Her past life comes to the surface, and readers learn the secrets, fears, horrors of the past.

What is going on with her mother? Karma. She has to crack the clues of the mystery. From her divorce cases, to her half sibling, and the mysteries of her mom---an intense emotional journey.

The Opposite of Everyone is about family--they are fragile. How they fall apart, memories, stories, and how they connect, shape and define our lives. You are going to love Paula—she is flawed and fascinating with some great one liners!

Even though we hear from Kai, Paula carries the story—it is her story to tell. Paula fights for the underdog and even takes on pro bona cases to help other women. She is loyal. She has baggage. Those flaws provide her with plenty of insight to help others who cannot help themselves.

First time or long time fans, you are going to love this one. If you enjoy the intense yet fragile mother-daughter relationships, topics of prison and foster care; recommend Amy Hatvany’s Somewhere Out There.

Sometimes one mistake can alter our lives in so many ways with consequences. The ghosts of the past can define us---they can pull you down, destroy, or make us stronger. Powerful!

A Southerner myself, living in Atlanta (Midtown & Buckhead) throughout my media career, enjoy revisiting the area through Jackson’s storytelling. As always, I choose to listen via audio, since Jackson narrates her own work, which is quite powerful ---as mentioned in my other reviews.

Who else can deliver a performance better than the own author? Especially Jackson-- she has the "Southern thing" down.

JDCMustReadBooks

 

 

I don't know what to do. My title is Sychronicity: Empower You Life with the Gift of Confidence. Any advice?

 

Excerpt: 

..as the 'simultaneous occurrence of two meaningfully but casually connected events.' More broadly, the word can refer to any uncanny and meaningful coincidence that connects our inner and outer worlds, in a manner that suggests that our inner life and outer reality are somehow more synchronized than we might previously have imagined.

 

 

Something neat (true?):

...in Winnipeg, Canada. A grandfather clock stopped when it's 72-year-old owner died. There was no male heir to pass it on to, following traditional practice. Several years later the man's widow noticed that the clock had inexplicably started again. Moments afterwards, she recieved a phone call announcing that her first grandson had been born 15 minutes earlier.

Due to copy and paste, formatting has been lost.I have to admit-- this wasn't exactly what I expected. I had myself psyched out about this book, because I thought that there was no way it could end on a good note. Thankfully, I was wrong, and it ended on a fairly good note. But for some reason, I had it in my head that when Joni met Martin-- well, I figured Martin wasn't as hippie as we'd like to think. Turns out that he was, though. Which was nice, because I was afraid that this was going to be a novel of abuse.And it wasn't, so that was great.I thought that it was realistic. What must it have been like in the summer of love? LSD is everywhere-- and who would want to do that? (Seriously, if LSD makes you retreat into your mind, I won't be having none. My mind is a scary place without that, thank you very much.) Pot is everywhere too-- and it's talked about in this book. Drug references/use, check.I think that my only problem with My Beautiful Hippie was that Martin holds all the cards on Joni. He's a straight-up hippie, meaning he's traveling, etc. And all she wants is for him to stay, ultimately winding up with her being hurt by him.And Joni was pretty cool, so that just sucked.Joni was actually one of the high-points of this book-- she had a rocking personality. She's rebellious, she tie-dyes her own clothes, and well, she was just a cool main character for a book like this. She made a good flower child-- and I liked most of the secondary characters too. Most notable, Pete rocked. He's such a nice guy. Unfortunately, there's just not much for me to say about My Beautiful Hippie.All in all, I enjoyed this "blast from the past", but it wasn't particularly for me, you know?