My Opinion about the Furor over the Death of Jack Layton.

Shame on you Canadians for jumping all over Christie Blatchford for her recent column about the semi-hysterical attitude that has become the public's reaction to Jack Layton's death. I am speaking as an average Canadian who did not vote for the NDPs in the last election. Maybe..... to be so consumed with public grief...I would need to have been one of his supporters.
Christie...Thank you very much for voicing in a thoughtful and balanced voice....the distaste that you felt and I am feeling over the crocodile tears expressed by many members of this nation. We didn't all vote for him....so why is the grief so out of proportion? Why are people grieving as they would for a close friend or family member? Likely... because he sat in many of our living rooms as he debated and courted us through the last election....I watched him.
Not all of us feel more than a fleeting sorrow over the death of a man who seemed very vital....in his personal and professional life....he was driven. My perspective on this whole affair has not been to lament loudly and publically but to speak quietly with my daughter and husband about feeling regret for another family who has to pick up the pieces of their life and rearrange and puzzle out a new "normal' for themselves. This is hard. I know this because we lost our child almost 5 years ago and are still seeking peace..
There is no question that Jack Layton captured and fired up his supporters with his vim and vigor and yes...his ambition to put the National Democratic Party as near to the top of Canadian Politics as he could. He accomplished what no other NDP leader had ever done. Against all odds...he made the NDP the official Opposition. That earns my admiration and incredulity but I personally did not know him. I believe that many Canadians were still swept up in his enthusiasm and vitality from the election and now they are so very shocked that this seemingly hale and hearty man should be struck down so quickly. It happens in the best of families.
None of us want to think that we could deteriorate so fast and die. I was frankly shocked at his appearance in late July and his frailty but if I had thought about it ...more than in passing...I was probably sure that he would defeat the cancer as he did before. That was just one short month ago.
I do believe though Ms. Blatchford ...that your timing sucked. If you had waited a week or two or a month or more....the reception to your viewpoint might not have been so harsh. No... I don't believe that either. When anyone dies....nobody wants to ever say anything bad or critical of them...even if it is the truth. It almost feels like tempting fate....like bad luck.
I also do not buy into everything that John Moore says here.

3rd Attempt at Lead Implantation to Bionic Woman

Just a catch up notice....November 4th, 2010....my ICD fired with no warning. Feeling like I was kicked in the chest...my first thought.....I was electrocuted??? How? Why? Then it hit me....no....it was the defibrillator! In total shock...instead of calling 911...I attempted to reach my husband by phone at work and it took them over 15 minutes to find him hiding away in a front office.
He came rushing home and got there about 30 minutes later....so far so good....I was sitting in a chair...frightened to move. We decided to make our way to Joseph Brant hospital...a block away...and he helped me get dressed as I was too scared to do it on my own. Walking gingerly down the hall after I was dressed....the unit fired again. I screamed.
Without another incident we arrived at the emergency department at the hospital and checked in. They took me in very quickly and after taking all my vitals...hooked me up to a heart monitor as well. There wasn't anybody at the hospital familiar with ICDs so they put in a call to the defibrillator clinic at Toronto General.
Long story short...the unit fired again while I was there but not hooked up to the monitor....(in the bathroom) The on-call guy from St. Jude's....came...deactivated my defibrillator...determined that the ventricle lead had pulled out and was recording my T-wave as another heart beat??? At least the defibrillator was working properly!..Small consolation....but after 5 days in hospital I returned home after 2nd lead implantation and another 6 weeks off work and to keep my arm from any great exertion.
Everything is fine at 8 week checkup and a new appointment is made for July 5th (btw...Madeleine's birthday)
Fast forward 6 months and we arrive at the defibrillator clinic at Toronto General and hear the news that they are unable to detect the ICD properly and both wires have pulled out and the insulation has been damaged too.
Guess what>>>>they have to reimplant 2 new leads!
As I am sure that you can imagine....I am ecstatic to hear this... and the surgery is set for August 29th, 2011.
This feels like a roller coaster but as of my last checkup...we are still wired to go.

fabricated necklace

Copper wire with coins flattened...pierced...dapped and riveted....labradorite beads.

A few pictures of my jewelry

copper creations






silver plated wire










riveted-cold connections

















verdigris patina

BLOG TOUR : Galway Bay by Mary Pat Kelly

Galway Bay by Mary Pat Kelly



Full Description

Here at last is one Irish family's epic journey, capturing the tragedy and triumph of the Irish-American experience. In a rousing tale that echoes the myths and legends of Ireland herself, young Honora Keeley and Michael Kelly wed and start a family, inhabiting a hidden Ireland where fishermen and tenant farmers find solace in their ancient faith, songs, stories, and communal celebrations. Selling both their catch--and their crops--to survive, these people subsist on the potato crop--their only staple food. But when blight destroys the potatoes three times in four years, a callous government and uncaring landlords turn a natural disaster into The Great Starvation that will kill one million. Honora and Michael vow their children will live. The family joins two million other Irish refugees in one of the greatest rescues in human history: the Irish Emigration to America. Danger and hardship await them there. Honora and her unconventional sister Maire watch their seven sons as they transform Chicago from a frontier town to the "City of the Century", fight the Civil War, and enlist in the cause of Ireland's freedom. The Kelly clan is victorious. This heroic story sheds brilliant light on the ancestors of today's 44 million Irish Americans.

In the author's colorful and eclectic life, she has written and directed award-winning documentaries on Irish subjects, as well as the dramatic feature Proud. She's been an associate producer on Good Morning America and Saturday Night Live, written books on Martin Scorsese, World War II, and Bosnia, and a novel based on her experiences as a former nun - Special Intentions. She is a frequent contributor to Irish America Magazine and has a PhD in English and Irish literature.

http://www.marypatkelly.com/blog/index.asp

Blog Talk Radio

Upcoming Show: 3/17/2009 11:00 AM

Host Name:	grandcentralpub
Show Name:	Live St. Patrick's Day Interview with Mary Pat Kelly author of GALWAY BAY
Length:	1 hr
Description: h:27517 s:432669	Mary Pat Kelly is the author of a novel Special Intentions, and nonfiction on subjects as varied as Martin Scorcese and the rescue of Scott O'Grady from Bosnia. In her life, she has been everything from a nun to a documentary filmmaker to a producer of short films for "Saturday Night Live". She lives in New York, NY. GALWAY BAY is a novel based on her own family's immigration story from Ireland to the US.

Letter from Mary Pat Kelly

Letter

The bones of GALWAY BAY come from my own family history, a story I discovered slowly over decades of research. In the beginning tracing my roots meant cranking through reels and reels of microfilm in a fruitless search. To access the U.S. Census records I needed the address where the Kelly’s first lived in Chicago, which I did not have.

Then I realized my father’s first cousin, Sister Mary Erigina, BVM might know. She did. Born Agnella Kelly in 1889, she had in fact lived with her great grandmother Honora Kelly. Agnella lived to be 107, her mind sharp and her interest keen.

Now I found the right reel. Here were the names of Honora’s children, their ages, but nothing about where they came from in Ireland. Finally I followed the trail to Galway and discovered at last the record of the birth of Honora Keeley, September 15, 1822. And the place? A fishing village right on the shores of Galway Bay. The cottages were gone but the Bay was the same. I stood on the beach looking out, and could almost see my great-great-great-grandfather John Keeley setting out in a pucán, guided by a knowledge of winds, currents, and the patterns followed by the fish themselves that he’d learned from past generations. I went to the site of the fish market in Galway City and imagined Honora and her mother selling the catch under the Spanish Arch, bargaining and trading, handling money. Rare for women of that time. How did that shape their character? read more...

The Potato Famine: A Memorial

My Thoughts

Galway Bay is an extremely well written book. This novel may be based upon the history of Mary Pat Kelly's family and the story of their starvation in Ireland during The Potato Famine in the 19^Th century but it doesn't read like a dry-as-dust history tome. I was thoroughly caught up in the narrative and shocked, saddened and inspired by this family. This family's history is just one triumphant saga of the horrific moment in history when the Irish people were almost wiped out by the potato blight that killed off their only food source. A very enjoyable read.

Please visit the other stops on this blog tour:


http://2kidsandtiredbooks.blogspot.com
http://athomewithbooks.blogspot.com/
http://book-thirty.blogspot.com/
http://readersrespite.blogspot.com
http://www.myfriendamysblog.com
http://bermudaonion.wordpress.com
http://www.acircleofbooks.blogspot.com
http://www.corinnesbookreviews.blogspot.com
http://lorisbookden.blogspot.com/ http://www.bookthoughtsbylisa.blogspot.com
http://teddyrose.blogspot.com
http://libraryqueue.blogspot.com
http://allisonsatticblog.blogspot.com
http://cherylsbooknook.blogspot.com/
http://luanne-abookwormsworld.blogspot.com/
http://bookingmama.blogspot.com/
http://enroutetolife.blogspot.com/
http://thetometraveller.blogspot.com/
http://www.marjoleinbookblog.blogspot.com
http://peekingbetweenthepages.blogspot.com/
http://cafeofdreams.blogspot.com/
http://jennsbookshelf.blogspot.com/
http://thebookczar.blogspot.com
http://www.writeforareader.edublogs.org
http://linussblanket.com
http://www.caribousmom.com
http://hiddenplace.wordpress.com/
http://www.chikune.com/blog
http://librarygirlreads.blogspot.com
http://diaryofaneccentric.blogspot.com
http://savvyverseandwit.blogspot.com
http://www.kayespenguinposts.blogspot.com
http://writebyfaith.blogspot.com
http://www.frommipov.blogspot.com
http://booksiesblog.blogspot.com/
http://www.bookbargainsandpreviews.com/reviews/history/galwaybay.htm
http://wendisbookcorner.blogspot.com
http://www.thisbookforfree.com
http://abookbloggersdiary.blogspot.com/

Live St. Patrick's Day Interview with Mary Pat Kelly author of GALWAY BAY

Time: March 17, 2009 from 11am to 12pm

Live St Patricks Day Interview with Mary Pat Kelly author of GALWAY BAY...here

Nick's 18th Birthday

My baby was born at 01:36 am January 28th, 1991.

The happiest day of my life and I fell in love immediately, completely forever.

Houston, We Have a Problema by Gwendolyn Zepeda

Product Description
Jessica Luna is your typical 26 year old: she has man trouble, mom trouble, and not a clue what to do with her life (though everyone else in her family seems to have plenty of suggestions!) After a lifetime of being babied by her family, Jess is incapable of trusting herself to make the right choices. So instead, she bases all of her life decisions on signs. She looks to everything for guidance, from the direction her rearview-mirror-Virgin-de-Guadalupe sways to whatever Madame Hortensia, her psychic, sees in the cards.


My Thoughts

I whipped through this book in less than a day. Of course it helps that I am home sick in bed with the flu. Thanks Madeleine!
This was such an enjoyable read. I really liked Jessica for many reasons-she was funny, endearing, vulnerable and completely clueless about her future. Jessica stumbled through her life...falling into jobs, boyfriends and falling in and out of favour with her family. She keeps going to see this local psychic who takes her $20/visit and scams her. Is she for real or isn't she?
Jessica seems to want somebody else to decide for her about her career and her love life while she hangs around waiting for........?
Gwendolyn Zepeda has a hit on her hands with this, her debut novel. There were many chuckles and giggles as I read this but also some sighs of recognition as Jessica seemed to embody many of the character traits in my own personality... the part that I will never admit to! Why is it that we all seem to need confirmation about ourselves? Why do we ask another person to tell us what we SHOULD do with our lives??? Is there a possibility that we are sometimes looking for a "fall guy"?
An easy read but very enjoyable.
Thank you Miriam and Hachette Books.

Snapshot Saturday

Idea borrowed from the blog Write for a Reader.
My two favourite people on a recent summer vacation to PEI. My husband Paul and my daughter Madeleine.
The loves of my life! They keep me grounded and provide endless hours of amusement!
They were flying a kite and communing with each other.

Forgive the camera phone pic.

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

Ok....I realise that I am going to unload again so folks ....prepare.
Tomorrow I get the fun job of heading 2 hours away into Toronto (rush hour) for an 8:45am appointment at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre at Toronto General Hospital. I am scheduled for my semi annual cardio tests and consultation.
I guess that I never explained before...my baby Nick didn't just look like me...he inherited a lot of my genetic makeup which includes a genetic heart defect called Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. HCM in other words. This is what killed him and I gave it to him.
Apparently we got it from my mom and she gave it to my brother and his son as well.
Nick is the only one in our family to die from it. We had no idea about this ticking time bomb until his first symptom...his sudden death.
My son Nick was climbing the stairs from his first period class in the basement to the third floor for his grade 10 English class. He walked into the room said hello to a bunch of friends and fell over unconscious. He quickly stopped breathing and although they immediately initiated CPR and this continued through the arrival of paramedics and the transport to the hospital...he never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
The worst day of my life...and I gave it to him.

Now....I know that it wasn't my fault as in blame but the inner part of me does feel at fault and having to go and get my heart checked again (to see if the hypertrophy has increased) just brings it all to the forefront of my mind. (as if it ever leaves.)

I get to have an echo cardiogram. an ECG and the results from that delightful MRI.
Oh and guess what....I also get told to lose weight! Hold me back...I just can't wait!!!

Funnily enough...whining about it today has made me feel better.

What kind of fun things are in your future????

Through the Storm by Lynne Spears

Synopsis
We all want our children to succeed. What happens when they do?
Britney Spears wanted to sing ever since she was a little girl. But the years of sacrifices, auditions, performances, albums, fame, and paparazzi left the little Louisiana family swept up and spun around, and nothing turned out the way anyone ever imagined or wanted. Now Lynne shares the inside story of the Spears family as only a mother can.
Through the Storm takes readers outside the narrow orbit of the Hollywood glitterati. Lynne shares how fame forever changed their family; her regrets letting managers, agents, and record companies direct the lives of her children; the challenges that shaped Lynne and Jamie's failed marriage and how they affected Bryan, Britney, and Jamie Lynn; the startling events that led to Britney's breakdown; the aftermath of Jamie Lynn's pregnancy; and how the family has tried pulling together to recapture a sense of hope and purpose.
Through the Storm, says Lynne, is "the story of one simple Southern woman whose family got caught in a tornado called fame, and who is still trying to sort through the debris scattered all over her life in the aftermath. It's who I am, warts and all, with some true confessions that took a long time to get up the nerve to discuss."

My Thoughts

I acquired this book through Thomas Nelson Book Review.
Through the Storm is Lynne Spears' account of her children's early years. Two of her daughters- Britney and Jamie Lynn have great celebrity now so Lynne Spears' book is very timely.
The book reads quite candidly and follows Lynne's life throughout her early marriage, financial hardship, divorce and the raising of her children. It does NOT trash her daughters nor does it get into every single detail that has been written about them in the tabloids although it does often refer to how her girls are popular subjects for the paparazzi.
Lynne's book has an easy reading style and I finished it in less than a day. I wouldn't say that it went into very much depth but I didn't expect it to. I was also sure that this memoir would do nothing to tarnish the image of her daughters...after all...they are her daughters and their livelihood depends upon a somewhat pristine public persona.
Lynne did speak some about Britney's emotional illness and her concern for her daughter rang true but she glossed over some details as she did while discussing Jamie Lynn's pregnancy and the ensuing publicity furor.
A pleasant read but with little depth.

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosney

Synopsis:

Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family's apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours. Paris, May 2002: On Vel’ d’Hiv’s 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France's past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl's ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d'Hiv', to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah's past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life. Tatiana de Rosnay offers us a brilliantly subtle, compelling portrait of France under occupation and reveals the taboos and silence that surround this painful episode.

My Thoughts:

I am having huge difficulty trying to express my thoughts on this book. I enjoyed the read although the characters didn't seem to be well fleshed out but I was aware that the urgency of the subject matter and the magnitude of the horrific event might have overshadowed the character development.

My opinion.

I don't often feel a need to excuse or label my blog discussions as being just my humble opinion but this is a highly sensitive book and I don't want to do it an injustice.

There is No question that the events around the roundup of Jews in Paris is a complete travesty of any war-treaties and the last 6 decades have been spent in trying war criminals in court for such heinous acts. The hardest realisation comes when you read of this event and understand that it was wholly the responsibility of the french police that children were also gathered up and imprisoned. Germany didn't ask this of the french people...they volunteered the children on their own.

I am not here to add my opinion about these unforgivable acts but just to comment on the novel that describes a fictionalised story about these events.

I found it to be an easy read but as I said about the characters...they did not feel real to me. Sometimes it works to the author's advantage, in telling a tale, to play off past events with the present but in this story I felt that it lost the emphasis of the imprisonment. I would have preferred a story just based upon Sarah's voice and her journey but I also understand that the author used the present day tie-in as a way of introducing the events of 1942 when the journalist Julia researched the story.

Spoiler:

It all felt a little contrived and trite to me when Julia ended up with Sarah's descendant.

Too convenient!

Made Up pattern for Hat

Keeping my hands busy by knitting a hat that I made up the pattern for. Kind of cute I think but I love the flower!

Drinkwater by Eric Hopkins

From the Publisher

Drinkwater was originally an English word given to someone who abstains from drinking alcohol. As a family name it represents sobriety, dignity and self-control.
Nineteen-year-old Amber Drinkwater knows that when life presents hardships, a responsible person meets them fairly, with a clear head and the willingness to work. her plans to start a new life in Toronto with her brother Guy are interrupted when their uncle fails to meet them at the train station, but she resolves to abide until he turns up--and when it seems their caretaker is gone for good, she accepts it as an unexpected but timely call to independence and adult responsibility, in spite of her dearth of money or friends in the city.

The sprawling city of Toronto represents a shining opportunity for Amber to prove herself through an old code of grim endurance and bold resignation, but she will find her simple work ethic is no match for its modern towers, dark streets and disjointed neighbourhoods. Drinkwater is a provocative story that blurs the borders between teenage empowerment and helplessness, between experience and naivety, and between optimism and blind hope.

My Thoughts

Obtained through Mini Book Expo I picked this book because it was set in Toronto. I am a real home-grown girl.
Throughout the book the reason for Amber and Guy to be their own is just hinted at. Suddenly they are alone without parents and nobody is really that invested in helping and providing for them. Somehow they must muddle through the preparations for their life and live it without a safety net and nowhere is this more evident than when they arrive in Toronto and their uncle is supposed to be collecting them from Union Station but he never shows up.
They have no place to go and nobody to call in Toronto to help them. I think that Amber thought she could provide for the two of them but in reality a couple of teens on their own without a lot of money and their luggage in tow become lost like so much dross blowing around the city.
They are unable to even find basic accommodation for themselves and spend days eating nothing more than carbs at local donut and coffee places.
Amber also showed her age and inexperience by her pride. She had thought that she was old enough to care for them both but in reality a grown and experienced adult would be willing to admit when they didn't have any options and would use any and all resources to help themselves and their loved ones.
Well written...I could feel the despair!
I give this a 4 out of 5 stars.
I loved this book and was riveted throughout.

The Makedown by Gitty Daneshvari

Product Description
Anna Norton used to be fat. Correction: Anna Norton used to be a fat, nerdy, overeater with low self esteem. When she moves from suburban Ohio to Manhattan at age 23, her life does a total 180. With guidance from her boss, an unlikely Fairy Godmother in the form of a chic caterer and excellent cook, Anna loses all the weight and--though still not quite Kate Moss--finally drops her inferiority complex, brushes the crumbs off her skirt, and enters the world of feeling good, looking good, and...finally having sex.

When Anna meets Ben, the man of her dreams (and of every other person's dreams who isn't blind) she almost can't believe she is dating the Ken Doll. Deep down, she is still the chubby nerd who wrote in a diary called Hello Fatty. But not everything is perfect; her hot boyfriend is a huge flirt, and every leggy blond who crosses his path is a threat to Anna. She just can't escape the feeling that Ben is way out of her league and that everyone thinks she is dating up and he's dating down. It gets so bad, she decides she will do anything to make these women go away.

My Thoughts

I really enjoyed this book. Not sure if it had anything to do with being an overweight ie. fatty... nerd myself throughout my formative years and being teased and bullied but this book felt like retribution on my behalf! What made this book so eminently readable for me was how real Anna and her family were. I could absolutely picture them together and all the family conversations...in jokes and embarrassing family-speak with each other. What was also classic was remembering yet again that no matter how old we become we never stop being somebody's baby...their child.
I could also picture how insecure Anna would be about dating such a "god" as Ben after being the aforementioned fat-girl but I followed every step of the 'Makedown' with horror and felt this way through to it's inevitable conclusion. Despite her incredible metamorphosis into a girl in control of her life...Anna needed to grow into believing in herself and though the story turned her life into a 'train-wreck'...she came out this experience stronger yet more resilient.
Good read!
I give this a 4 out of 5 stars.

No Time for Goodbye By Linwood Barclay

The house was deathly quiet. That was the first sign that something was terribly wrong. Fourteen-year-old Cynthia Bigge woke that morning to find herself alone. Her family—mother, father, and brother—had vanished without a word, without a note, without a trace. Twenty-five years later, Cynthia is still looking for answers. Now she is about to learn the devastating truth.

From critically acclaimed author Linwood Barclay comes a new suspense thriller that strikes to the core of our most primal fear. What if you woke one day to find your entire life had changed? If everyone you loved had disappeared overnight without so much as a chance to ask why?


My Thoughts

I first encountered Linwood Barclay when my family and I were discussing different authors to try out. My husband and my mother in law had heard of Linwood Barclay and I was eager to try his books out. I have been so blessed lately with new and amazing books to read that I believe that my tastes have fined down. In other words...the bar has been raised. I enjoy a good thriller so I couldn't wait to tuck into this story.
Cynthia is a married mother of one, Grace (8), who enjoys a satisfying relationship with her schoolteacher husband. She is haunted though by an unsolved mystery from 25 years in her past when her parents and brother disappeared one night after she had gone to sleep. Cynthia being only 14 at the time had been dragged home by her irate father and subsequently passed out after arriving home drunk from her date with the 'bad boy' of town.
She woke up the next morning to find her entire family had disappeared without any sign of what had happened.
I found the book to be a good read. I enjoyed most of the story but I did find that parts of it didn't ring true. While it was obvious to see Cynthia becoming paranoid around the safety of her daughter what I did find incredible was that she wasn't completely obsessed with her child's safety all the way through. Until some very odd things started happening Cynthia didn't seem to be as overwrought as I would imagine a woman with her past would be.
Funnily enough...I enjoyed the bits of back story about her husband's relationship with a difficult student more than I enjoyed the main story.
I give this a 3 out of 5 stars.

Merry Christmas to all!!!

Picture of happier times....1994
A lovely memory!

Wishing you all a loving and wonderful holiday!

Tam

Lost and Found by Carolyn Parkhurst

Synopsis:

What do a suburban mom, her troubled daughter, divorced brothers, former child stars, born-again Christians, and young millionaires have in common? They have all been selected to compete on LOST AND FOUND, the daring new reality show. In teams of two, they will race across the globe --- from Egypt to England, from Japan to Sweden --- to battle for a million-dollar prize. They must decipher encrypted clues, recover mysterious artifacts, and outwit their opponents to stay in play.

Yet what started as a lark turns deadly serious as the number of players is whittled down, temptations beckon, and the bonds between partners strain and unravel. The question now is not only who will capture the final prize, but at what cost.


My Thoughts

What an incredible idea for a story and what a story!
Set up along the lines of The Amazing Race but with the twist of collecting found objects and carrying them with you for the rest of the journey...this includes a parrot, sequins and a ski pole.
The underlying tale speaks to family angst and an unusual mix of secrets with sexual orientation. The teams are each unique and some are more sympathetic than others and you find yourself rooting for them all through the race.
The mother and daughter team of Laura and Cassie are struggling with a family secret that is threatening to split their tiny family asunder while the young married couple Justin and Abby are struggling with their sexuality. There are two ex-child stars looking to rekindle their fame and a pair of brothers that are easy to like but also overlook.
The end of the game is uncertain as each team seems to bring with it it's own agenda and it isn't all about winning the race even though 1 million dollars is certainly compelling.
I enjoyed it immensely and found all the characters quite likable and the book very readable.
I give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Rachel's Holiday by Marion Keyes

Summary

The fast lane is much too slow for Rachel Walsh. And Manhattan is the perfect place for a young Irish female to overdo everything. But Rachel's love of a good time is about to land her in the emergency room. It will also cost her a job and the boyfriend she adores.When her loving family hustles her back home and checks her into Ireland's answer to the Betty Ford Clinic, Rachel is hopeful. Perhaps it will be lovely -- spa treatments, celebrities, that kind of thing. Instead, she finds a lot of group therapy, which leads her, against her will, to some important self-knowledge. She will also find something that all women like herself fear: a man who might actually be good for her.

My Thoughts


Everytime I pick up a book written by Marion Keyes I have to change my mind about my favourite book. This time I am in love with Rachel's Holiday.
Rachel...a cunning, man-crazy, cocaine snorting heroine is so likeable that she just jumps out of the book and takes you by the hand and becomes your best friend immediately.
You know that she is completely messed up but she is so much fun that her little quirks seem to slip by you.
She steals from her friends though....calls in sick most of the time and is embarrassed by her boyfriend Luke's retro-rocker look so you know that she has some work to do but ...you just know that she is this wonderful vulnerable little girl underneath all the bravado.
This book is a wonderful glimpse of someone who is trying to mess up their life because they truly believe themself unworthy of a happy ending.
You find yourself rooting for Rachel because she deserves to feel some peace and find a place for herself.
The Walsh family again show themselves to be this unusual raunchy family of which Rachel is the forgotten middle child. She doesn't believe good things for herself but eventually accepts her family's caring and regard to help her along the path of beating her addiction.
I love Rachel!
This is a 4.5 out of 5 stars

Friday Fill-in

1. Snow _means cold and dead____.

2. I'm looking forward to _being off for 2 weeks at Christmas____.

3. _Chocolate____ is the best comfort food_____ ever!

4. One of my favorite old tv shows is _Buffy The vampire Slayer____.

5. I'm done with _trying to make people like me____.

6. The most enjoyable thing around the holidays is _getting presents and the food____.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _relaxing with Paul and Madeleine____, tomorrow my plans include _ planning our Christmas decorations____ and Sunday, I want to _go out for breakfast with Paul's parents____!