2020 Wrap-Up

What can be said about 2020 that hasn’t already been said? It was a rough year, but we had it better than most. The biggest impact was we had to cancel two vacations with my step-kids: their summer trip and a fall trip to England. It was depressing, especially as we had not seen them since the summer of 2019 and they are still young. However, they are with us now for the winter holidays and we are extremely grateful. Vacation disappointment aside, we are most grateful that all of our family ( and friends as far as I’m aware) have stayed healthy. There has been job loss and hardship, but people are healthy.

We spent most of the year sheltering in our home, which we bought in November 2019. We are settled, but it still feels new. We have met many of our neighbors, who are wonderful and are new friends. It was even possible to have some socially distanced events with them in the summer. I’m constantly reminded about how lucky we are to have ended up in Sterling Ranch. I love it here.

We had our garden completed in the spring, including a gate to connect with our neighbor’s yard. I tried to plant flowers and I managed to kill half of them. I do not have a green thumb, but I like to try!

We took a few trips, two to Florida ( where we nearly bought a vacation property), a California/Nevada/New Mexico road trip, and several shorter vacations around Colorado. We visited Breckenridge, Vail, and Colorado Springs. In Colorado Springs we biked down Pike’s Peak, which was one of the most thrilling and perhaps dangerous things I have ever done.

At the end of this year, we will be taking a road trip to Florida. I’m still not sure of our route, but before the end of the year, I will see a few more new-to-me states. I believe I will see Texas and Louisiana! I want to eat in a real Texas road house.

Other than Covid, the presidential election was a big event. I was thrilled that Biden/Harris won and I feel hopeful that life will be better in 2021.

I was published in Intima: A Journal of Narrative Medicine, which was a really big deal for me. I also joined a writer’s group where I feel a bit intimidated, but it is good for me.

I didn’t read as much as I wanted, but I improved my cooking skills. Before Covid, we were on a successful workout schedule, but when the gyms closed, we started on evening cocktails and cakes. We are getting a home gym in March, so I’m anticipating a return to healthy habits in 2021. In the meantime, I’m being forgiving of myself. I’m going to enjoy all of the chocolate!

There isn’t much more to add. It was a low-key year and one to feel thankful for all we have. I don’t take for granted our health or fortune in life. I hope that 2021 will bring us back to a sense of normalcy.

Book Review: Fredrik Backman's Anxious People

Thank you to Atria Books for providing me with a copy of Fredrik Backman’s latest novel, Anxious People, in exchange for an honest review.

After a failing to rob a bank, a would-be thief enters a nearby apartment complex and takes a group of hostages. The hostages are an eclectic bunch of strangers who have come for an apartment viewing. The two police detectives on the case are a father/son pair who are struggling to communicate and their situation is further strained when they cannot figure out how all of the hostages were freed, yet no one has any idea what happened to the robber. After making no demands other than pizza to feed the hostages, she seems to have disappeared.

Anxious People is told via flashbacks to the hostage situation, flashbacks to important moments from the lives of the key characters, and police interviews following the release of the hostages. The suspense is high and Backman’s story unfolds in a way that allows readers to solve the mystery as they read.

More than a mystery, Anxious People is a drama, a story about how failure to communicate with others leaves us feeling isolated and anxious. It’s a story about being human. It’s about the flaws and needs of every human. Backman often breaks the forth wall and speaks directly to the reader, pulling us into the emotional core of the story. We are the hostages, we are the robber, and we are the police. Their story is our story.

In 2020 we need hope more than ever and Backman provides hope. His characters choose kindness and compassion. It isn’t trite, it is human. Yes, I cried buckets.

I’m loath to use the phrase “trigger warning,” but I feel that I must mention that part of the story involves suicide. My father committed suicide when I was four and it is certainly a sensitive subject, but not one that I shy away from. I’m not sure how it might affect others. The suicide aspect of Anxious People has more to do with the people left behind, the people who feel they could have prevented the suicide.

Anxious People is an entertaining mix of genres. It’s surprising, humorous, and has a big heart. I’ve been a fan of all of Backman’s previous novels and I look forward to reading his next one.

Book Review- Annie Lyons' The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett

Thank you to HarperCollins Publishers for providing me with a copy of Annie Lyons’ novel, The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett, in exchange for an honest review.

Eudora Honeysett is eight-five years old and done with life. She decides that the most dignified death would be to pursue assisted suicide through a company in Switzerland. The process is not simple. It requires doctors appointments and months of thought, during which Eudora’s otherwise predictable life changes with the addition of new friends, including an unusual little girl named Rose and a fellow senior named Stanley. As Eudora discovers that there might be more to her life than she imagined, she is forced to confront difficult issues in her past.

I loved The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett. It’s an emotional journey that had me in tears for the last quarter of the story. I had to put the book down many times, because I became overcome with emotion. The best, most memorable books are ones that shake me to the core, and Lyons’ characters are sure to stay with me for a long time.

The story alternates between the present and Eudora’s younger years. We learn that trauma from Eudora’s early years has led her to put up walls, to protect herself. Octogenarian Eudora is tough, and even has a difficult time softening towards her cat, Montgomery. Lyons carefully balances the difficult senior Eudora, with the hurt child Eudora, giving us a well-rounded, relatable character.

I was struck by how much Eudora reminded me of my mother-in-law. This is not to say that they had similar situations, but more in the general way that senior Eudora has firm ideas about how a person should behave and tends to discredit activities that others use for joy. I also found my niece, Charis, in the character of Rose. Like my niece, Rose is an absolute force of nature, who gathers other people in her orbit. It’s a wonderful quality in a person, but it also means facing criticism by those less comfortable in their own skin. Eudora tries to resist Rose, but Rose simply won’t let her.

The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett is the perfect story to remind us to be compassionate towards others and to remember that we don’t always know the trials that other people face. It’s also a story about the importance of building our own tribe and that blood relatives are not our only family. Lyons has written an absolutely beautiful story with unforgettable characters. She is a new author discovery for me and I was thrilled to learn that she has written many other novels. I look forward to reading them all.