The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin & Gift From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh

JoAnn hosted our May meeting for Diana.  Our sympathies go out to Diana in the loss of her mother.
At lunch, we filled up on a healthy green salad topped with grilled chicken and pickled okra on the side.  Our sweet tooth was satisfied with peanut brittle and cookies.

Synopsis:
Gift From the Sea - Anne Morrow Lindbergh spent time alone on a Florida beach rediscovering herself and the truths regarding the life of a wife, mother, daughter, and woman in modern times.
The Aviator's Wife - Melanie Benjamin attempts to fill in the gaps between the public image and the unseen private moments of the Charles Lindbergh family.  Read through the eyes of Anne Morrow Lindbergh, the story follows their short courtship, adventurous flights around the world as husband and wife, tragic murder of their firstborn, and the struggles of Anne to find her voice in a narrative which was overshadowed by her domineering famous husband.  In the end it's a story which proves that every hero will eventually fall from the lofty heights of adoration as admirers realize that their heroes' flaws and weaknesses are no less than their own.

Comments:
We first discussed Gift From the Sea.  There was a strong consensus among our group that this book would be best categorized as a self-help book and most likely appealed to that generation of women who did not discuss the private struggles of their marriage, kids, and self.  Although relevant to women today, it's most likely that the women of that time period felt a strong kinship with the author because Anne expressed so much of what they felt or were struggling with but were still trapped behind the mask of perfection.  We agreed that women of today find it more accepting and permissible to admit failures and struggles in their variety of roles.  We thought it was probably a cathartic literary work for Anne Lindbergh, too.  The downside was that we found the book to be repetitive - overall it was the same broad message but delivered in a variety of ways.

The Aviator's Wife offered us a glimpse into the private life of the Lindberghs and it was not always a pretty picture.  Charles Lindbergh was strong, determined, and a leader.  Those same qualities which gave him courage to do what was considered impossible - cross the vast Atlantic Ocean in the Spirit of St. Louis - were the same qualities which made him difficult to live with as a husband and father.  He cared more for his public image than his family's well-being.  We determined that he loved as much as he was capable, no thanks to his cold, unloving mother.  It was disappointing to learn that he had other children with women on the European continent.  His idea of building the Lindbergh dynasty meant that the 5 children he and Anne had together was not enough.  We are convinced that the Nazi ideals that Charles espoused played a large role in his desire to build his progeny dynasty.

Anne was in love with the public image of Charles Lindbergh.  She married America's hero without ever knowing the real man. We found Anne's mother to be a wise advisor to Anne, especially when she spoke these words: "You need to stop looking for heroes, Anne....Only the weak need heroes and heroes need those around them to remain weak.  You're not weak." (p.288-Nook)  Anne's marriage and her kids suffered for Charles' lack of emotional attachment and display of affections.  After many years of marriage, Anne did finally find her true north and experienced the joy of falling in love during her affair with Dr. Atchley.  Anne was a strong woman, but she did not recognize her strengths until much later in her life.    "Were we women always destined to appear as we were not, as long as we were standing next to our husbands? I'd gone from college to the cockpit without a chance to decide who I was on my own, but so far, I was only grateful to Charles for saving me from that decision, for giving me direction when I had none." (p.150 - Nook)

Anne's opposing mix of personality traits consisting of fear and courage, and meekness and boldness was understood by us.  Our jobs change with passing years and so our strengths and weaknesses take turns playing leading roles as we meet the needs of our loved ones.  We related to Anne's statement on p.115: "If I were married to a physician, I would be Mrs. Doctor.  If I were married to an attorney, I would be Mrs. Lawyer.  No married woman had a separate identity, not even my own mother, with all her education and energy.  She was the senator's wife, first and foremost.  That I was married to an aviator made me different but no less dependent on my husband." How often have we been introduced as so-and-so's mom or so-and-so's daughter, as well as so-and-so's wife, but not introduced by our given name?  Often enough to relate!

Memorable Quote:
"Jealousy is a terrible thing.  It keeps you up at night, it demands tremendous energy in order to remain alive, and so you have to want to feed it, nurture it--and by so wanting, you have to acknowledge that you are a bitter, petty person.  It changes you.  It changes the way you view the world; minor irritations become major catastrophes; celebrations become trials." (p.280 - Nook)

FAB Rating: **** (4 out of 5 stars) - for The Aviator's Wife
This story was so revealing to us as we peeked behind the front door of the world famous Lindbergh family's home.  Although a fictional story, our group agreed that we were convinced by the author's research, and interviews, and historical documents that the book most likely hit as close to the truth as possible for an unrelated outside observer.

The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly

Our group, minus Marcia, trekked out to the deep woods to Jonetta's house for our April meeting.  Diana provided the rose hip tea - which was a big hit - while Jonetta provided the meal.  We ate spinach/strawberry/pecan salad, caraway seed bread, roasted garden vegetables seasoned with rosemary, and a cold mint pea soup.  After our book discussion we satisfied our sweet tooth with baked pears and vanilla bean ice cream.

Synopsis:
It's the late 1800's in England, Jack the Ripper is on the loose, and young Fiona and Joe are in love with big plans for their future together.  However, the two soulmates will soon be separated and forced to forge their own individual futures continents apart from one another.  Despite their circumstances, Fiona and Joe will eventually find success and with any luck each other once again.

Comments:
Okay, if the synopsis sounds cheesy, that is because this novel felt like one long drawn out Harlequin story!  We were all disappointed with this book.  When we first met years ago to discuss the formation of a book club, one of the guidelines we all agreed upon was that we would not include any Harlequin romances on our reading list.  We obviously missed the mark with this book.

This storyline was predictable in so many areas.  We all knew which character was really Jack the Ripper, that Millie would snag Joe, and that Joe and Fiona would eventually reunite.  Besides the predictability, the unreal coincidences and multitude of major achievements by the main characters made it difficult to pinpoint just when this story 'jumped the shark' for us.  Could it have been when Fiona invented the teabag?  Or how about her brilliant idea for assembly line work?  Perhaps it was when her uncle went from being a complete souse to a sober, productive citizen after one interaction with his infant daughter?  How about when Nick offers to share his room on the ship and then ends up being a Viscount holding the majority of stock Fiona needs to take over her enemy's tea business?  No matter which scene you choose, the story's plausibility - if ever there was any - dramatically dropped.

In an effort to find something positive to say about a book in which a few of our members admitted to fast-forwarding through various sections, we will say that it was evident that the author did her research at times. The union strife was realistic, the description of the poverty and the market stall area was vivid, and the information regarding teas was interesting.  It was a great time period with lots of history-making advances and inventions, interesting historical figures, and momentous occasions.

Memorable Quote:
"We're not punished for our sins, lad. We're punished by them." (p. 319 Nook)

FAB Rating: ** (2 out of 5 stars)
Obviously, we did not enjoy this month's book selection.  Ms. Donnelly's writing skills are well honed, but the plot is predictable and unbelievable too much of the time.  Our readers desire mystery, surprise, and maybe some edgy twist which doesn't necessarily make all the loose ends tie up nice and neat....in other words, realism: shocking, unclean, and maybe even heartbreaking.  The author herself offered great advice on p. 319 which could be applied to writing a story, "Trust me on this.  Use what you know to grow."

The Light Between Oceans: a novel by M.L. Stedman

This month's meeting was a special treat as it was the first time we were able to congregate at our newest member's home.  Not surprisingly, Ellen was a wonderful hostess, creating a cozy atmosphere in which we shared our meal together and then gathered to discuss our book. The darling wooden lighthouse centerpiece on the lunch table surrounded by colorful shells and interesting rocks was creatively eye catching.  The meal was a perfect complement to the spring weather and our novel's setting of Australia.  We enjoyed lamb with mint jelly, asparagus, and potato salad.  We were then all treated to an Australian specialty dessert called Lamington cake - squares of sponge cake dipped in chocolate and then rolled in coconut.  For this blogger, that dessert combined all of her favorite dessert ingredients, almost like a giant Mounds bar!

Synopsis:
Living on a remote island off the coast of Australia in the late 1920's, a lighthouse keeper and his young wife, while grappling with the loss of their babies through multiple miscarriages, rescue a baby who has washed ashore in a boat along with a dead man.  Their decision to claim the baby as their own child will have a ripple effect which will reach beyond their little island and bring both joy and heartache for all who love that baby girl.

Comments:
Isabella's grief at the loss of her babies while living isolated from society, takes a heavy toll on her emotional stability and on her marriage. "She knew that if a wife lost a husband, there was a whole new word to describe who she was: she was now a widow.  A husband became a widower.  But if a parent lost a child, there was no special label for their grief.  They were still just a mother or a father, even if they no longer had a son or a daughter." (p. 122 Nook)  However, when baby Lucy-Grace washes ashore in a rowboat, Isabella is able to convince herself that this is God's answer to her prayers.  Her husband Tom is not as easily convinced, but his love for Isabella and his desire to see her happy and strong again, overrides his conscience just long enough to begin that dangerous course from which there will be no return without dire consequences.  Tom was proud of his job as a lighthouse keeper, a job which employed precision and strict protocol.  After his stint in the bloody war, Tom needed the security and stability which came from a job where every situation had a set of guidelines and regulations which he must follow.  It was the breach of protocol when he did not report finding the baby that began Tom's descent into his own personal torment and the slow undoing of their marriage.  While Tom suffered, his wife Isabella appeared to flourish and bloom in her assumed role as mother to Lucy-Grace.  "He stared at her, seized by the sensation that perhaps she didn't exist.  Perhaps none of this existed, for the inches between them seemed to divide two entirely different realities, and they no longer joined." (p. 176 Nook)

The author presented unique and challenging moral questions.  We were able to clearly see the dilemma, yet like her characters, we could not find the perfect answer to please both the moral issue and the little girl, whom we adored.  "Right and wrong can be like bloody snakes: so tangled up that you can't tell which is which until you've shot 'em both, and then it's too late." (p. 173 Nook)  Perhaps our inability to declare a black and white answer to this novel's dilemma only proves that both the characters and the gritty, complex situations in this plot were indeed realistic.

Similar to last month's book discussion, we once again found ourselves discussing the idea of what stays hidden in families.  "History is that which is agreed upon by mutual consent.  That's how life goes on--protected by the silence that anesthetizes shame." (p. 151 Nook)  We couldn't quite grasp all the details of Tom's past, but we certainly could relate to how his past had shaped his future.  "There are still more days to travel in this life.  And he knows that the man who makes the journey has been shaped by every day and every person along. the way.  Scars are just another kind of memory." (p. 317 Nook)

Ralph was a minor character in the book, but we all agreed that he played a vital role.  He doled out his pearls of wisdom only when asked, but his words were treasures.  He was a hard working boatman, salt of the earth in whom Tom found a true friend.

Memorable Quote:
Hannah asks Frank how he manages to remain happy despite all the strife in his life: "I choose to," he said.  "I can leave myself to rot in the past, spend my time hating people for what happened...or I can forgive and forget." Hannah responds, "But it's not that easy."  He smiled..."Oh, but my treasure, it is so much less exhausting.  You only have to forgive once.  To resent, you have to do it all day, every day....we always have a choice.  All of us." (p.300 Nook)  Words to live by!

FAB Rating: **** (4 out of 5 stars)
We were impressed with this first time author's ability to emotionally draw all of us into her story.  We found ourselves gritting our teeth in frustration while reading about certain events, crying with hurting characters, and our stomach in knots during tense situations.  With the different level of moral questions, the emotionally conflicted characters, and the setting of a time period where World War I haunts the entire book, we found ourselves with plenty to discuss.

The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton

Another month gone by and it was once again time to congregate for some hugs, laughter, food, and insightful discussion about our chosen book.  JoAnn was our hostess and she did an excellent job of providing a table laden with nibbles perfect for English tea time.  There were tantalizing and perfectly sized sandwiches with the crusts cut off, a tangy and sweet salad, crackers and cheese, and an olive tray.  Of course, we all had our English tea in fine china teacups.  Leaving room for dessert was easy when even dessert was perfectly bite-sized chocolate covered strawberries, English biscuits, and JoAnn's famous homemade peanut brittle.

Synopsis:
Laurel Nicolson's idyllic childhood is irrevocably scarred when she witnesses her mother kill a man.  Her life's direction changes and she leaves home early in an attempt to escape the inexplicable memories of what she witnessed.  Much later in her life when her mother is an elderly woman nearing death, Laurel finally begins to search for answers to what has haunted her for so many years.  Laurel's investigation will lead her to war ravaged London during the early 1940's where two women are eternally linked together through greed, love, despair, and ultimately death.

Comments:
One of the first comments, which found agreement with most of our members, was that the ever changing viewpoint as well as jumps in timeline created a disconnect with the main character(s) in the novel.  The reader is trying to figure out which decade and which character is now on stage instead of being fully immersed in the storyline.

The plotline twist which is revealed near the end of the book and clarifies so many mysteries was a surprise to all but one of us.  Following that "lightbulb" experience, we were able to go back and follow the trail of subtle clues which the author had scattered throughout the story.  Even as the puzzle pieces fell into place, we expressed a fair amount of disbelief that one incident in particular would have been so easily arranged and completed without legal recourse: bequeathing ownership of Vivien's home to Jimmy's family.

Ellen posed an interesting question, "Of whom does the title 'Secret Keeper' refer to? Mom or daughter?"  We were in agreement that it certainly applied to both women.  Brenda noted that she found it unfair of Laurel and Gerry to continue to keep their newfound knowledge from their siblings, thus continuing the cycle of secrecy begun with their mom.  However, Laurel does not entirely agree with her brother's choice and leaves open the idea that she may one day share the truth: "Laurel wasn't so sure.  Certainly, there were easier stories to tell; it was a lot to cope with, especially for someone like Rose.  But at the same time, Laurel had been thinking a lot lately about secrets, about how difficult they were to keep, and the habit they had of lurking quietly beneath the surface before sneaking all of a sudden through a crack in their keeper's resolve. She supposed she'd just have to wait a while and see how things turned out." [page 427 Nook]  This brought to discussion those of us who know secrets within our own family tree which have either been shockingly discovered or are still tightly guarded from certain family members.

We connected with the endearing character of Jimmy. His passion for the hurting and lost was expressed through his excellent photography skills and in serving at the children's hospital.  He cared for his aging and demented father with tender devotion.  Jimmy's love for both women was genuinely pure, although disturbing where it concerned Dolly.  Dolly was manipulative and self-centered and, therefore, disliked by all of us.  It was painful to watch how she used Jimmy's genuine desire to please her in order to accomplish her mean-spirited vendetta and selfish ambitions.

The false belief shared in this book that your parents did not experience an interesting life outside of and prior to your existence with them is universally common and laughable.  We have all dealt with this misconception either as children or as adults now.  "Children don't require of their parents a past, and they find something faintly unbelievable, almost embarrassing, in parental claims to a prior existence." [page 30 Nook]  "Youth is an arrogant place, and to believe simply that they were less adventurous than she was had suited Laurel just fine." [page 104 Nook]

Memorable Quote:
Katy Ellis: "...the belief system acquired in childhood is never fully escaped; it may submerge itself for a while, but it always returns in times of need to lay claim to the soul it shaped." [p. 345 Nook]

FAB Rating:  ***1/2 (3-1/2 out of 5 stars)
This storyline was fascinating in the sense that one wonders if stolen identity, which most likely did occur during chaotic times such as war and persecution, has to this day still been left undiscovered.  Also, there may be family secrets buried even within our own family which could tell a story just as captivating.  However, as mentioned above, the jumping around of viewpoint between the years was unsettling and portions of the novel were obviously contrived in order to tie up a few loose ends, leaving the reader feeling frustrated with the results.  Therefore, we deducted just a bit from this book's rating.

11/22/63: A Novel by Stephen King

Despite the gray, rainy weather, five of us were able to meet up at The Back Door Cafe in downtown Smithville.  Housed in one of Smithville's many historic commercial buildings, the cafe was as close as we could get to stepping back into the late 1950's and early 1960's like the main character in our book.
 

We all enjoyed a delicious meal and for our dessert, Jonetta provided a homemade orange-glazed pound cake.  If you have read the novel, then you understand the reason we got a laugh out of having pound cake at the end of our lunch!  This literary meeting brought about the addition of a new member to our club.  We are thrilled that she wanted to join our crazy bunch and bring our membership number back up to an even number six!  Welcome to the party, Ellen!

Synopsis:
Jake Epping is able to literally step back in time, but always to the precise time and date of 11:58 a.m. on September 9, 1958.  His objective is to live in the past in order to discover all he can about Lee Harvey Oswald with the intent of stopping the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963.  The trouble is that the past is obdurate - it does not want to change and will do all it can to thwart Jake's mission.

Comments:
Of course, one of the first questions we asked each other was, "Where were you when you heard that President Kennedy had been assassinated?"  Everybody remembers that watershed moment, not unlike when 9/11 occurred in 2001.  We questioned whether there was any other important moment in history which might have been even more vital to alter history for the good of mankind.  One suggestion was the rise of Adolph Hitler - how would history have been different if Hitler had been removed from the picture before his dangerous ideas took hold?

When asking that question, we considered the butterfly effect: the phenomenon whereby a small change at one place in a complex system can have large effects elsewhere.  As Jake discovered, if we were to alter history by saving one man's life or taking one man's life, would the butterfly effect create a different and perhaps even more devastating disaster?  We considered the death of President Kennedy.  Perhaps the Vietnam War would not have occurred, but because of what happened to the president, future U.S. presidents were far more protected by their secret service agents and armored vehicles.  Would the death of a future president been even more dangerous and devastating to our nation?

Another question we asked one another after reading all the carefully researched facts found in this book and studying Oswald along with our main character was, "Do you believe Oswald acted alone?"  We had a mixed vote on that topic.  As one of our ladies argued, how could he not manage to successfully shoot General Walker from such a close distance, but manage to hit President Kennedy from a longer distance and at an odd angle - that's the wrench in the works.

Jake was a schoolteacher by trade, but surprisingly had a knack for tracking and spying.  His actions and knowledge made him appear a bit older than the age the author assigned to him.  I had struggled with the idea that a mild-mannered teacher could hurt and kill people, as he does even prior to beginning his job of tracking Oswald.  However, one of the FAB ladies pointed out that he had witnessed first-hand the shockingly violent attack of a mother and her children before he managed to reset history and then come back to pull the trigger on the would-be-attacker days before the tragedy.  Witnessing that horrible scene would certainly give you cause and courage.

We enjoyed reliving some of the more innocent and free times of this book's setting.  There were no seat belts, no TSA detectors at airports, no electronic devices to tote along and distract you, and some great music and dancing.  However, there was also heavy industrial pollution and a lot more smokers.  We do not miss the smoke-infused public facilities!  One distraction for me was the overuse of the foul language, especially during a time when cursing was generally kept out of public conversation and certainly did not include the F word with such frequency.

Other distractions in the storyline which created loose ends for us occurred during the time period that Jake stayed in Derry, Maine.  There were characters introduced for one scene with no connection to the main storyline and references to an evil entity.  Brenda had read that Stephen King likes to slip in references to other stories he has written.  I researched and found that Mr. King's scary novel "It" was set in 1958, in Derry, Maine, and a few of the character from our novel were also present in "It." Also, in his "Dark Towers" series there is an ongoing theme of the past harmonizing with the present.

Favorite Quotes:
"...I think a human mind that's moderately well-adjusted can absorb a lot of strangeness before it actually totters..." (p. 50 - Nook)

"Sing high C in a voice that's loud enough and true enough and you can shatter fine crystal.  Play the right harmonic notes through your stereo loud enough and you can shatter window glass.  It follows (to me, at least) that if you put enough strings on time's instrument, you can shatter reality." (p. 680 - Nook)

"Humans were built to look back; that's why we have that swivel joint in our necks." (p. 136 - Nook)

"But stupidity is one of the two things we see most clearly in retrospect.  The other is missed chances." (p. 269 - Nook)

FAB Rating: **** (4 out of 5 stars)
This was a very interesting read with a couple of murderers, important historical moments, and a love story thrown in for good measure.  It was also an intriguing idea that if the assassination of one man could be halted then our world would be better off for it.  There were a few hitches which took a star off the rating.  One hitch was that we all felt that this book was a tad long.  There were many detailed days of Jake tailing Oswald or getting the layout of Derry which we found unnecessarily tedious.  Another hitch was the idea that the butterfly effect would cause an earthquake in L.A. if Kennedy was not assassinated.  We just could not find any basis for that occurrence using the chaos theory.  Ultimately though, time travel always makes for a good plotline, and we enjoyed our trip back in time.

Our FABulous Christmas Dinner

In lieu of our monthly discussion meeting, we chose to have our group meet for cocktails and dinner at Hasler Bros. Steakhouse in downtown Bastrop.  We invited our spouses to join us for this holiday outing which increased our number of participants to ten and afforded us a large, long table in a private dining room....a fortuitous move for the other restaurant patrons since we can be a boisterous group of talkers!

It was an evening filled with laughs, scintillating conversation, delicious food, and the strengthening of wonderful friendships with the addition of our handsome husbands.  This dinner party must now become an annual tradition every holiday season!

The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb: A Novel by Melanie Benjamin

It was the type of Texas fall day where we were able to enjoy a warm hearty soup and yet still retire to the screened in porch to bask in the afternoon sun. There we discussed Mrs. Tom Thumb and nibbled on delicious home baked basil shortbread cookies. Marcia has the ability to make our get-togethers, though simple in activities, seem much more grand and elegant.

Synopsis:
Mercy Lavinia Warren Bump was born an average size and weight baby in 1841. However, by the time she was two years old, her parents realized that she was not growing at a normal rate. Lavinia's full grown height never passed thirty-two inches, yet that did not stunt her rise to fame.  With PT Barnum’s promotion, Lavinia became world famous and traveled to foreign lands that were beyond the imagination of most Victorian-era citizens. 

Comments:
Lavinia may have been small of stature, but her dreams were larger than life.  “Never would I allow my size to define me. Instead, I would define it.  My size may have been the first thing people noticed about me but never, I vowed at that moment, would it be the last.” (p. 25 – Nook)  She fulfilled that vow throughout her amazingly successful career in show business.  Lavinia’s intelligence, high self-esteem, determination, and courageous, stubborn personality traits were admirable as she fought to prove herself as a teacher, capable of surviving outside of her family’s farm, and succeeding as a star among the wealthy and elite.  However, somewhere along the timeline of her life, those same positive traits became aggravatingly snobbish and unappealing, reaping negative results. 

 Despite her insistence upon being treated as an equal among normal-size folks and being disgusted at the amazement of others when she displayed her intelligence, she reacts the same way to others.  When she learns of a giantess who can recite Shakespeare, she reacts, “Really? Shakespeare?” I was astonished. Imagine – a giantess reciting Shakespeare! I would pay to see that, myself! (p. 68 – Nook)  Later, she encounters dwarfs in their traveling circus family and shudders at having to shake their hands and is outraged at the idea that anyone would lump her into the same category as those “grotesque, misshapen little people.”

Lavinia appeared to have only one healthy loving relationship and that was with her baby sister, Minnie, whom she genuinely loved.  Which is why we were totally baffled as to why she did not share her knowledge of the dangers of childbirth with Minnie before she became pregnant.  Everyone else in Lavinia's life either had a role to play to help her reach her goals or they were just minor characters taking up time and space in her story. In her self-centered life she admitted, “I simply felt driven to see, to experience – to give of myself to those whose approval should have meant less than my own husband’s but instead meant so much more…I simply realized I needed the warmth of an audience like a plant needs sun…I could not bear to think that there was somewhere I had never been, someone who might not know my name.” (p. 224 – Nook)   Lavinia had such disdain for her husband, General Tom Thumb, despite his kind heart.  Lavinia herself remarks, “It seemed to me I spent our entire married life refusing him, he who asked for so little of me.”  (p. 335-Nook)  She considered him simple and uneducated, but we, the readers, saw how the general had never been allowed to be a child or receive formal education and was used his entire life to promote PT Barnum’s humbugs, and we felt compassion for him.  Lavinia’s relationship with PT Barnum, was a combination of business and friendship.  Lavinia appeared to be secretly in love with Barnum, although we felt that Barnum was more inclined to treat Lavinia as a daughter.

 Despite Lavinia’s success and strong, take-charge attitude of her life, she still found herself unfulfilled:  “I knew only that at age forty-two, after almost twenty-five years of running….I still hadn’t found what I was looking for.  Why was I, alone of everyone I knew, always still seeking?  Still searching?” (p. 338 – Nook)  Her inability to bond to babies or maintain a healthy marital relationship exposed a shallowness in Lavinia which affected her entire life.  “I had no room for big love, big decisions, big messes, big happiness; not in this miniature life, spent under the magnifying glare of so many eyes, that I had made for myself.” (p. 217 – Nook)  Perhaps the best summation of how Lavinia had indeed chosen this successful, yet ultimately lonely life for herself is found in the Prologue: “Looking back, I’m forced to admit that my mother was right; I did lose my soul, and so much more.  But I’m not sure that I didn’t give it away freely.”

Memorable Quote:
“I wondered if this was how it always felt when all your dreams came true.  Perhaps, after living with them for so long, did you simply toss them away – and begin to dream about something else?” Lavinia (p. 155 – Nook)

FAB Rating: ****1/2 (4-1/2 out of 5)
This story takes us through a very fascinating period of time in the United States.  Although the Civil War was devastating, America continued to make great advances, among the greatest being the completion of the railroad connecting the east and west coasts across mountains and prairies.  The author’s addition at the beginning of each chapter of actual clippings taken from magazines and newspapers printed during the 1800’s time period made for enlightening reading.  Lavinia’s fame was unprecedented as she traveled to new territories and continents not yet fully explored.  Lavinia made a name for herself while mingling among the kneecaps of well-known and influential figures of history.  Quite a feat for a miniature woman and quite an interesting autobiography.