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Unraveled: A journey of survival in 1954 (Fibers of Love) by Jo Huddleston What intrigued me about this book was the picture on the front cover. I love everything you can do with yarn, crochet knit etc. I do knit for local charities, the newborn program is one of my favorite. Love the title and how it's a symbol for the story inside. This story is about Alice and she's having a hard time recovering from the miscarriage. She's a young child teacher who's not returned to work yet. Paul, her husband is beside himself trying to help her. With the aid of her best friend who's a nurse they come up with a few suggestions to try. Some of those backfire. So many scriptures are quoted to help Alice heal. You never think by the end that she'd get over her guilt of it being her fault or even blaming God for everything. Really enjoyed this story and learning of all the resources available to others who suffer. Love all the small things that do matter from her husband. Love the style and ease of explaining what the scriptures mean in plain English. Can't wait for more from this author. Author bio at the end along with highlighted other works by the author. I was given the book by the author via Book Fun (The Book Club Network) and this is my honest review
Synopsis:
"SEARCHING FOR A NEW HOME...
The Galahad, a faster-than-light spacecraft, carries fifty scientists and engineers on a mission to prepare Kepler 452b, Earth's nearest habitable neighbor at 1400 light years away. With Earth no longer habitable and the Mars colony slowly failing, they are humanity's best hope.
After ten years in a failed cryogenic bed--body asleep, mind awake--William Chanokh's torture comes to an end as the fog clears, the hatch opens, and his friend and fellow hacker, Tom, greets him...by stabbing a screwdriver into his heart. This is the first time William dies.
It is not the last.
When he wakes from death, William discovers that all but one crew member--Capria Dixon--is either dead at Tom's hands, or escaped to the surface of Kepler 452b. This dire situation is made worse when Tom attacks again--and is killed. Driven mad by a rare reaction to extended cryo-sleep, Tom hacked the Galahad's navigation system and locked the ship on a faster-than-light journey through the universe, destination: nowhere. Ever.
Mysteriously immortal, William is taken on a journey with no end, where he encounters solitary desperation, strange and violent lifeforms, a forbidden love, and the nature of reality itself.
...HE DISCOVERS THE INFINITE."
Loved this book! It was totally different from the author's other works and it was simply fantastic!
I highly recommend this one for, not only sci fi fans, but for anyone wanting to read something new and different. You will not be sorry!
5 stars and a favorite!
It was hard to put down this impressive work of journalism that focuses on events at Memorial Hospital in New Orleans before, during, and after Hurricane Katrina. As hurricane season approaches it begs the question: are we better prepared to deal with natural disasters in the U.S.? The epilogue to the book, written a few years ago, suggests in some ways we are, but in important ways we are not.
Hospitals were exempt from the evacuation order (belatedly) given by the mayor of New Orleans as Katrina approached. Many staff, patients, family members, and even pets sheltered at the hospitals (lesson the first: evacuate before the storm hits), including Memorial. As the title indicates, it would be five days before all were evacuated. After power loss, the generators eventually failed as they were in the basement, where the water levels rose once the levees broke. Though they had food and bottled water, the hospital went without running water, air conditioning, working plumbing, and the power needed to run vital medical equipment.
Evacuation aid via helicopters and boats was erratic or turned away by staff at points. Communication at all levels was unreliable; rumors swarmed, including that New Orleans was under martial law and looting and violence were everywhere. The staff went without much sleep as they continued to care for patients. The bad decision was made to leave the sickest patients, including those with DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) orders, last for evacuation, with the exception of neonates. Healthier patients (though some still critical) left first. Family members were encouraged and even pressured to leave their loved ones, assured the patients would be cared for.
Soon after the disaster, there was a reckoning. Or, I should say, an attempt at a reckoning. Troubled reports of irresponsible and ethically questionable decisions being made at hospitals and nursing homes arose, including euthanasia at Memorial. 40-some patients had died there, and about half were later found to have high levels of morphine as well as Versed, a sedative, in their systems. Were they euthanized, and by whom?
In addition to covering events at the hospital as reported by those who were there, Fink covers the development of the legal case against a particular doctor and two nurses accused of second degree homicide. Reading about what happened at the hospital, the good and, mostly, the bad, is heartrending and horrifying, impossible to look away from, like a car accident. Learning what does and does not happen afterwards infuriated me; my sympathies were with those who'd lost loved ones, who don't quite have closure. I sympathized also with nurses so traumatized by those five days that they could no longer practice.
Fink contextualizes Katrina as well as the ethics of decisions made. She profiles key players, letting their own words speak for them. I don't pretend to read much non-fiction, but it seems to me her work is exceptionally well researched, every effort made to fact-check and communicate with those involved. The book evolved from a piece she did for ProPublica and the New York Times, which won the Pulitzer. Regardless, I'm sure there's been a range of reactions. If you google the topic, you'll find a website by/for the doctor arrested who continues to deny wrongdoing, with a link to another site that proclaims "the truth" of what happened. I didn't bother clicking.
Mostly I think about the contrasting example of Charity Hospital, also in New Orleans, who lost fewer patients despite having more, with additional patients delivered to them. I think of proposed (and adopted) legislation or protocols that would shield physicians from legal ramifications of unethical decisions made during a disaster. I think of the following quote, with which I agree:
“Rather than thinking about exceptional moral rules for exceptional moral situations,” Harvard’s Dr. Lachlan Forrow, who is also a palliative care specialist, wrote, “we should almost always see exceptional moral situations as opportunities for us to show exceptionally deep commitment to our deepest moral values.”
♪♫My Pick For Book Theme Song♫♪
♫SAVED (Charlie's Song) from LOST w Lyrics The Bangkok Five --Yeah, that Charlie from the TV show Lost…because I loved that show and this book brings back my memories of loving that show. Honestly, the mystery, the existential feelings it evokes, remind me so much of that show.♫
Although, I was more obsessed with Jack...
Book Title: Nil On Fire
Author: Lynne Matson
Series: Nil #3
Genre: YA, Mystery Thriller
Source: Kindle eBook (Library)
OVERALL RATING: 4/5 STARS
GRADE=B+
⇝My Thoughts⇜
This book took almost two weeks for me to finish, which wasn't entirely the books fault, it was mostly RL. That being said, while I was reading this, I was constantly distracted, and it was mostly thoughts of life and existence and the ending of it. Freaky thoughts that kind of spooked me, and it's essentially what made reading this such an arduous undertaking for me.
Overall, this is a fitting end to this series, despite my not liking the main character, Skye, as much as I did in the second book…she's was just...annoying, smackably so. It's told from three POV's, which includes Skye, Rives and Nil…yeah the island has a voice. At first I was annoyed by that, but eventually it makes sense why the Author did it this way. There's a lot of new characters introduced in this book, and it's kind of hard to keep them all straight at first. Although, I did especially like Molly and Davey...oh yeah, and Hafthor too.
⇝Ratings Breakdown⇜
Plot: 4.2/5
Main Characters: 4/5
Secondary Characters: 4.3/5
The Feels: 4.5/5
Addictiveness: 4/5
Theme or Tone: 4/5
Flow (Writing Style): 3.5/5
Backdrop (World Building): 4.2/5
Originality: 4/5
Book Cover: 5/5
Ending: 5/5 Cliffhanger: Nope!
Will I continue this series? It turns out there is a another book, which is actually Skye's Uncle Scott's Journal. It's also free on Amazon!
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