Worthy: A Memoir (Kerry Turner)

Why I have this book: I think Amazon recommended it to me? It sounded good, so I bought the Kindle edition.

Well, I gave it two stars on Goodreads. It had potential, but the writing wasn't super engrossing, and it badly needed an editor. It felt more like an outline of what happened, not a memoir with depth. I felt like I was being told what happened, but I didn't really feel it.

There were a few exceptions:

"My entire life I had been moving about the world as if I had no worth. As if my presence did not add value to people's lives." 

(I relate to that feeling.)

"I learned events are inherently neutral. They are just occasions that happen in a moment in time. Thinking is what changes them. We are the ones that assign the meaning of good or bad, right or wrong, negative or positive, life-sucking or life-enhancing, to the happenings in our lives." 

(I've heard this from other life coaches before, and I agree this is true with the majority of things that happen in our lives. However, I don't think we should just choose the way we see every single event in our lives in order to stay positive. Sometimes I think that idea is harmful. If someone has been through a tragedy or heavy sorrow or damaging relationship, trying to "think" our way out of the pain by telling ourselves to just see it a different way might not be the best or healthiest action, and might create a fake sense of coping instead of really going through the process of healing. Know what I mean?)

"When we deny our stories, they define us. When we own our stories, we get to write a brave new ending." (The author was quoting Brenè Brown here.)

Anyway, her life events definitely were compelling, and I'm glad she's found healing. She didn't really share how deciding to accept and embrace her own worth actually happened. It sounded like she recognized that she never felt worthy, decided that she was worthy, and then told herself that over and over until she believed it? I don't know.

The book deals with death (including suicide), drug use, rape, childhood trauma, etc. There are some swear words, including the F-word, if I'm remembering correctly.

Wherever the Wind Takes Us (Kelly Harms)

Why I have this book: My friend recommended it, and because it was so inexpensive, I bought both the Kindle and audio versions.

I liked reading the book more than listening to it. The narrator wasn't exceptional on the audio version. Maybe I would have given it a solid four stars if I had just read the whole thing instead of listening to a chunk of it, but I settled on three stars. If I had the option, I would have given it 3.5, probably.

There was one quote toward the end that struck me: "I close my eyes and let tears of relief leak out the cracks of my eyelids. It feels so, so good. I haven't cried myself to sleep in a very long time. I haven't let myself feel things this deeply for years. At some point, some years ago, all the shock, and sorrow, and pain gave way to a kind of numbness. It was a numbness that protected me. Let me stay in a bad situation for far too long, put far too much of my emotional energy on my own daughter. Made me believe my own life had come and gone... And now, the haze is clearing. My energy is restored. I've woken up to my senses, my desires, my capabilities."

I did enjoy it. I have a couple other books by this author (and I've already read a couple, as well) in my Kindle, and I look forward to reading them.

There is what is now common language in books... including the F-word. There is unmarried sex (mildly descriptive), talk about affairs that occurred, etc. Just your average modern-day book/life in America.

The Scenic Route (Christina Baker Kline)

Why I have this book: It was one of the Amazon First Reads in the last couple of months. I actually paid for this one ($1.99) because I got another one for free, but then they made it a Prime Reading option, and they refunded me the purchase price. That was nice of Amazon. I would have never known that it was a Prime Reading option if they didn't tell me.

Anyway, I wasn't sure how many stars to give this. Other reviewers gave it 4+ stars (the overall rating both Amazon and Goodreads show), but I'm not sure why. It's a short story, and while the writing was good, there just wasn't enough story to sink my teeth into. I think it would have made a compelling full-size novel, though. 

I ended up giving it three stars.

Mostly clean. There is one F-word that I remember. An affair has occurred in the past. Alcoholism is part of the story, and having been molested as a child is briefly mentioned.

Reminders of Him (Colleen Hoover)

Why I have this book: My daughter-in-law recommended the author (and I also saw lots of people online recommend her), so I bought this one first because it was $2.99. I actually ended up buying and reading the two most recommended books of hers before I got to this one, though. I reviewed them earlier this year.

I gave this one just two stars on Goodreads. It was fine. It was okay. A little corny and not really believable in the way the characters act. It is bizarre to me how a couple is having sex all the time, but they don't know each other well enough to talk about it they are going to get married or even if they love each other. It's like sex is what kissing used to be.

Anyway, whatevs. It was fine. I doubt I'd ever read another of the author's books, though. They just aren't the kind of books I love.

Lots and lots of F-words, several sex scenes that are fairly descriptive (but not crass). Deals with death.

The Deep End of the Ocean (Jacquelyn Mitchard)

Why I have this book: I borrowed it from the ebook library after seeing a clip of the movie pop up on FB or something.

I gave it a three on Goodreads. I seriously have had it checked out for almost the entire three weeks. I guess it didn't keep my interest enough to want to pick it up whenever I had the chance.

It was interesting, though, to think about the things that happen in a family when a tragedy occurs. There are so many layers in relationships and emotions, and we don't always imagine how that all come into play when we see stories on the news.

I think there were some F-bombs and definitely some other swearing. There were two or three very mildly described sexual encounters.

Set Boundaries, Find Peace: A Guide to Reclaiming Yourself (Nedra Glover Tawwab)

Why I have this book: Because I need a lot of help on setting boundaries! I bought the audio version and Kindle version both, but ended up just listening to the audio for the whole book.

There were a few new thoughts in this book, but probably most books on boundaries are going to be similar. I almost gave it three stars on Goodreads since it's not the first book about the topic that I've read, but I gave it four stars because if it were the only book someone might read, it does cover the bases really well.

I think it was clean. I don't recall any swearing or anything, but I had three books going at once, so I could be wrong!

Untamed (Glennon Doyle)

Why I have this book: It was recommended more than a few times online, and my SiL also read it and thought parts of it would resonate with me.

It's true... some parts did resonate with me. I felt like some parts of the book were a high four stars and other parts were around two stars for me, so I averaged it out and gave it three stars Goodreads.

I liked a lot of her ideas, but the delivery (on audio) sounded a little too "profound" when it maybe wasn't quite as profound as it was meant to be. I don't know... the delivery was just not my style, I guess.

Still, there was a lot of good stuff in there, so I can see why people recommend it.

I'm sure there were some swear words. I can't remember if there were any F-words (I listened to it over a week ago). There are some mild descriptions of the physical relationship the author has with her wife. Nothing too graphic.