Wish You Were Here: saying goodbye

Wish You Were Here by Kay Bratt is the third book in The Wishing Tree series. Henry Harmon has been married to his bigger-than-life, talk-of-the-town wife, Greta, for more than sixty years. He began to notice differences in her behavior, when her diagnosis of Alzheimer’s comes to light, he struggles to care for her as he promised to “in sickness and in health.” But he is determined to do it alone. However, Neva Cabot won’t let Henry care for Greta alone. Even though many years she cut her friendship ties with Greta and Henry, she can’t bring herself to let Henry struggle alone. After some soul-searching, she walks in and helps Henry find ways to deal with Greta’s mood swings and slips in time. At the same time, Janie Stallard moves into town with a secret. Neva offers her a job and a place to stay at her inn. As Neva helps care for Greta, she tries to figure out why Janie is in Linden Falls. 

Wish You Were Here is another great addition to The Wishing Tree series. Kay Bratt handles the aspects of Alzheimer’s beautifully. My grandmother had Alzheimer’s before she passed away and I saw her in Greta. The slips in time, the conversations with invisible people, and even looking for people who have been long gone. Even the heartbreaking realization when Greta has a moment of clarity, knowing it wouldn’t last. I wanted to reach through the book and give Neva a big hug. Even though her heart broke many years ago, she still wanted to help. I loved the methods that Neva uses to help Greta. Janie’s story is interesting. We know she’s hiding something. Is she running from something or someone? The shocking reveal of why she is in Linden Falls was one I did not expect. I am looking forward to hearing about her story in future books. I highly recommend Wish You Were Here as well as the first two books in the series. 

Wish You Were Here is available in paperback and eBook

Breaking the Silence: a story of twists and turns

Breaking the Silence by Diane Chamberlain is a story of secrets and the links that connect us.  Laura Brandon made a promise to her dying father. With his last breath, he desperately made her promise to visit an elderly woman, a woman she had never met before. In fact, she hadn’t even heard of her before. Sarah Tolley is a woman who suffers from Alzheimer’s and only the distant past remains as vivid as ever. Laura sees visiting Sarah as a small sacrifice to honor her beloved father. But her husband, Ray, doesn’t want her to go, claiming Sarah wouldn’t know if she came at all and certainty her father wouldn’t either but Laura insists. Keeping her promise results in another death. Ray commits suicide while she is gone visiting Sarah and their five-year old daughter, Emma, is home to witness it. Now Emma refuses to talk about it, actually she refuses to talk at all. Desperate and filled with guilt, Laura contacts the only person who may help. A man she has only met once. A man who doesn’t know he is Emma’s birth father. Will she be able to break Emma’s silence and discover the link between her father and Sarah? 

Ms. Chamberlain weaves stories of intrigue and inspiration. Breaking the Silence is no exception. It is a page turner, dealing with heavy topics such as suicide, Alzheimer’s, trauma and psychiatric treatments of the 1950s, this book does not hold back. From the opening pages, you are hooked to discover the link between Laura’s father and Sarah and why she hadn’t heard of this woman before. The reason behind Emma’s silence seems pretty straightforward and even takes a backseat to Laura’s mission to find out who Sarah is to her father. Having read a few of Ms. Chamberlain’s books before, she heavily researches for her stories so when someone says something out of place or wrong, keep it in mind it may be the character's ignorance rather than the author’s mistake. I have read many reviews that point out mistakes but I feel they fail to realize that 1) the book takes place in the year 2000, when many people still didn’t know a lot about Alzheimer’s, 2) that errors in the character’s statements are necessarily an author’s mistakes but a flaw in the characters’ understanding or 3) the error is a plot point or misdirection. Overall, I enjoyed Breaking the Silence and would highly recommend it. 

Breaking the Silence is available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook. 

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Remembering Grandma Ruby on her birthday

Today is June 1^st and it holds a special place in my heart. Today is my Cousin Jody’s 19^th birthday (Happy Birthday, Jody!). Today also would have been my Grandma Ruby’s 94^th birthday. My grandma has been on my mind lately. Since her death in 2005, I’ve learned that I wished I knew her better, talked to her more. I’ve have so many questions now. One of my most treasured items from my grandma was actually mine to begin with. It’s only a few inches tall, plush and insignificant to someone else. But to me, it is most precious and here’s why.

This item is a tiny plush Eeyore with magnetic hands which allows it to be wrapped around something. My favorite Winnie-the-Pooh character has been Eeyore since high school. I’m not sure why. I suppose because Eeyore is a gloomy character and I can relate to that. Even though I am generally a positive person, I sometimes feel as if I am insignificant in the grand schemes of this big wide world. I bought this particular Eeyore at Disneyland many, many years ago. I placed it around the gearshift of my 1987 Toyota Camry. And there it stayed for many months until one day it was gone. I couldn’t figure out how I lost it but it was gone. I thought about getting a new one but never got around to getting one. It wasn’t until after my grandma’s passing, as the family was cleaning out her dresser drawers, was it found.

Something you need to know about my grandma. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. It was very hard to see this beautiful woman, who cared deeply for her children and grandchildren, slowly forget who she was or where she was. Sometimes I could see the recognition in her eyes, even though I knew she could not remember my name. Eventually it came to a point she was not safe home alone and my aunt was able to find a Senior Day Care she could attend during the day. I would often pick her up and bring her home. As I can figure, one day when I brought her home, she reached over and took the Eeyore as I moved to her side of the car to help her out. Why would she take it? Did she like it? Did she see it and think of me? Maybe she took it without really any thought.

I wish Grandma Ruby can see me now. Happily married to a wonderful husband and father. Mother to an amazing little girl who I marvel at every day. I wish she was there when I lost my daughter, Ziva. I wish I could have asked her how she moved on after losing her own son. Although I can guess her answer. Because she had to. A woman who lived through the Great Depression, the loss of a sister so young, losing her boyfriend in World War II and to lose her firstborn child. There is a reason her generation is called The Greatest Generation. She wasn’t perfect. She made her share of mistakes but she loved her family fiercely and did her best to make sure her family had what they needed. I grew up watching her devotion to my grandfather. I saw them bicker but they always came together for a kiss. It’s something I emulate today with my husband.

So, this tiny Eeyore has become very dear to me. When I got the Eeyore back, I didn’t put it back in my car. No, I put it in my room where it had a special spot. Even today, Eeyore still hangs around my bedroom lamp on my dresser among my other treasures. It may not seem like a very special place but it is. I see it every day and think of my grandma. It’s a little dirty but it makes me smile. It’s the little things that can remind us of our loved ones. A song, a scent, and a simple little knickknack.

My Grandma Ruby’s obituary from the Orange County Register http://www.ocregister.com/articles/ruby-207108-ken-children.html