Book Review- Lisa Jewell's Then She Was Gone

Thank you to Atria Books for providing me with a copy of Lisa Jewell's novel, Then She Was Gone, in exchange for an honest review.

PLOT- Ellie Mack is a beautiful, smart, popular teenager, who seems to have everything going for her. One day, on her way to the library, she disappears and her case goes cold. A decade later. Ellie's mother, Laurel, begins to date a man named Floyd, whose daughter, Poppy, bears a striking resemblance to Ellie. Laurel begins to revisit her daughter's disappearance and discovers new facts of the case. Can Laurel finally find out what happened to daughter? Does Poppy hold the key?

LIKE- I've read several of Lisa Jewell's other novels and I was very excited to be granted a copy of Then She Was Gone. Jewell is masterful at crafting great suspense and mysteries. However, where she really shines is with her characters. She has a gift at tapping into the human psyche and creating relatable, multi-deminisional characters. 

Characters are what shine in Then She Was Gone. I was most drawn to Laurel, the grieving mother who not only lost her daughter, but also saw her marriage collapse under the weight of a missing child. Laurel is just getting her life back together when she meets Floyd and is shoved back down the rabbit hole of her daughter's case. Her anxiety and grief is palpable.  

We do not learn Ellie's fate until late in the story, but she is the narrator in some of the flashback chapters. Of course as a reader, our bond with Ellie is not going to be strong, like her mother's, however these chapters do serve to give us a clearer picture of Ellie and give us a chance to connect with her. Jewell is equally great at writing adults and children, letting us see Ellie's frame of mind and motivations. 

Then She Was Gone heads to some very dark places and is a story that made me anxious. I saw a blurb comparing it to Gone Girl, which was a little misleading. When I think of comparisons to Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl, I think that the story must have an unreliable narrator. Then She Was Gone has narrators under duress, but they are not unreliable. I read another that compared it to Alice Sebold's novel, The Lovely Bones, which is a much better comparison with regard to both theme and tone. 

DISLIKE- I anticipated the twist early on and kept hoping that it would not be what I was expecting. It's not that the story wasn't intriguing, but it's always a little bit of a let down when you manage to figure out the twist early on. I did not anticipate the creepy, disturbing aspects of the twist. It gave me chills. 

RECOMMEND- Yes! Jewell is such a marvelous writer that I have to recommend all of her novels, including Then She Was Gone. 

Book Review- Sarah Krasnostein's The Trauma Cleaner

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing me with a copy of Sarah Krasnostein's biography, The Trauma Cleaner, in exchange for an honest review.

PLOT - Sarah Krasnostein explores the life of Sandra Pankhurst, a woman who beat the odds by surviving an abusive childhood in Australia to lead an extraordinary life, including running her own trauma cleaning business. 

LIKE- The Trauma Cleaner was not what I expected, but was a wonderful surprise. Krasnostein alternates chapters, exploring Sandra's life in the past and present. In the present chapters, we see Sandra's current life and specifically, how her professionalism and empathy impacts the lives of her clients. Some of her clients are the families of the deceased, homes that Sandra's team is hired to clean after a tragic death. Other clients include the living, people who are hoarders and need help cleaning up their environment. Sandra has a very special touch with people who are in pain and need her help. She is firm, yet compassionate. What's interesting about the present chapters is how Sandra is equally impacted by the clients she serves. Part of the reason for her success is that she lets those in need into her life and is deeply touched.

The past chapters take us through Sandra's life. Sandra, born male and named Peter, was adopted as an infant, becoming the second oldest son in a large family. From an early age, Peter/Sandra, was emotionally and physically abused, eventually being made to sleep in a shed in the backyard. He was isolated from his family, a family that he desperately wanted to please and be shown inclusion. It's heartbreaking.

In his late teens, Peter moved out and got married. He had two children and ended up abandoning his family just a few years later. The guilt over abandoning his family would stay with Peter for his entire life. He never had a proper reconciliation. Krasnostein interviews Peter's wife, adding another layer to this biography. As Peter grew comfortable in his own skin, he began to take hormones and prepare to undergo a sex change operation, eventually leading to his new identity as Sandra. The road was very bumpy, including substance abuse, prostitution, and many other dangerous situations. Quite frankly, it's surprising that Sandra survived.

Later in life, Sandra found love and married again. Although the relationship ended in divorce, she found her true calling with her trauma cleaning business. A big theme of The Trauma Cleaner, is Sandra's life-long quest to find herself accepted, needed, and loved. The people whom she helps are often those who also feel lonely and abandoned. Sandra helps in a way that goes beyond a professional transaction; she treats all of her clients with tenderness and respect. She makes them feel valued, even when they don't have the same feelings about themselves.

Sandra was born in the 1950's, when the world was a far less accepting place for those who are different. It was shocking to read about how Sandra's job options as a transsexual in her early adulthood were limited to prostitution and drag shows. It was something of a miracle that she was able to transition to living an open life with a traditional marriage and conventional job: first working at a mortuary, then with her husband, and eventually building her cleaning company. She's is an inspiration.

DISLIKE- Not much. The only negative is that the chapters dealing with the present day were uneven with maintaining my interest. I'm not sure that we needed quite as many examples of the present day to truly grasp Sandra's resilient spirit and empathy. The biography feels too long.

RECOMMEND- Yes! I was expecting more of a book about the business of trauma cleaning, but I'm thrilled that this was actually a story about an amazing woman overcoming adversity. The Trauma Cleaner is the type of story people should read to be reminded that everyone has their own troubles and that we should show compassion to everyone that we encounter. The world should be a kinder place. 

Bonneville Hatchery and Dam...and Llamas

One of my favorite local sites that we visited in Oregon was the Bonneville Hatchery and Dam. How interesting can it be to look at a bunch of fish?

Very. 

The Bonneville Hatchery and Dam is located just an hour from Portland. As I mentioned in my last post, it's a great addition if you're visiting Multnomah Falls. Do both and make a day out of it. 

As with Multnomah Falls and Mount Hood, we visited Bonneville multiple times during the summer of "Our Year of Living in Portland." The falls are majestic and Mount Hood is stunning, but Bonneville is just a bit quirky. I love quirky.

This "Historic Area" has cute cottages that remind me of Alice in Wonderland.

One of the best parts is the Sturgeon Viewing and Interpretive Center, where they have an enormous fish named Herman: Herman the Sturgeon. He's massive! There is an underwater viewing area for visitors.

The hatchery has dozens of breeding ponds for trout.

But the Salmon runs are the most impressive. The giant fish jump over locks, jumping several feet in the air, as they desperately try to swim upstream to spawn. They were really active in mid-August. The cute pug in the picture is Jewels. She belongs to our friends, Dave and Cath. They all visited us for the eclipse. 

Here we are with Dan's mom, standing in front of a fish ladder. The fish climb up the ladder. I could watch fish climbing the ladder all day. It's mesmerizing. This isn't as weird as you think, I used to do animal observations at The Greater Los Angeles Zoo. The Bonneville Hatchery has employees who count fish to understand the current status of the fish population. They want to keep the salmon thriving. 

We went on a free behind the scenes guided tour of the Dam. This is a great bonus for visitors. The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers build the dam at the during the early 1900's and it was renovated in the 1950's. 

It is here, that I learned about the most horrifying creature on the planet. Truly, this is stuff straight out of a horror film. 

I'm talking about Lamphrey. 

Lamphrey attach themselves to fish ( or in this case windows) and slowly eat them. They basically have a mouth that sucks on and these sharp, vampire like teeth. Additionally, they look a bit like eels and one of the few creatures that freak me out are eels. I think it's because they hide in crevices and dart out. I remember going snorkeling in Maui and being freaked out over the eels, sharks were no bother. 

Lamphrey are infinitely worse than eels. And now I will definitely never go swimming in the Columbia River! 

And the river...

The Dam spans both Oregon and Washington. It's easy to cross over and there are exhibits on both sides. Plan to spend a few hours at the Bonneville Hatchery and Dam.

I'm sneaking this in here, but when we took Dan's mom to these sites our day was epic. After the dam, we drove to the Hood River County Fruit Loop. This is a ride through the lush countryside, where there are many farms and opportunities to purchase local goods. 

Cows hanging out by the side of the road. They say California cows are the happiest, but I think an Oregon cow enjoying the summer sun, takes the win. These cows earned the weather.

Dan's mom loves to knit and we found an llama farm with a store selling llama wool. Dan and I visited with the animals, while Jan picked out pretty yarn for her next project. 

There are so many great places to visit in Oregon, make sure that the Bonneville Hatchery and Dam are on your list. Also, make time to enjoy a drive through the Fruit Loop.