Book Review: Ashley's War, The Untold Story of a Team of Women Soldiers on the Special Ops Battlefield by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

-
Image
Ashley's War:  The Untold Story of a Team of Women Soldiers on the Special Ops Battlefield by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon is a non-fiction book published in April 2015.  The story follows several women and their quest to become the first women to be in combat along the Green Berets and Army Rangers. This is a book that was selected in my workplace for discussion between women and/or veterans.  The book discussion was broken into three parts much like how the story was broken up.  It garnered great conversations. Some of the things that happened in the book didn't surprise me, such as how physically demanding the tryouts were to be part of the special operations.  It's a demanding job that requires people to be not only physically strong but mentally strong.     What did shock me was that it took the military so long to allow women to fight along men on the battlefield.  Another thing that astonished me were how accepting most of the men in the Army Rangers were of the women fight
Post a Comment

Book Review: Me Before You (Me Before You, #1) by Jojo Moyes

-
book review me before you jojo moyes
Looking at the cover of Me Before You by Jojo Moyes, my expectations weren't high going in as it had a similar look and feel to the covers of Emily Giffin books. There is also the fact that many of the people I knew that were raving about Me Before You have completely different taste in books than I do.

The journey you take with the characters is a hard one because it deals with a man, Will Traynor, who is involved in an accident and becomes a quadriplegic. He becomes depressed with his situation and has no desire to live on. Louisa Clark is brought on to be his day to day caregiver and companion by Will's parents in hopes that she will help him change his mind about assisted suicide. Louisa isn't aware of the fact that Will wishes to die until she overhears his mother talking about it with Will's sister. Louisa does some research and plans things for Will to do in hopes he will change his mind.

There are readers out there that feel like Jojo Moyes is telling people that living life as a disabled person isn't worth living, and the only way out is through assisted suicide. I just don't understand how people are coming to that conclusion, and it makes me angry. I think Moyes did a phenomenal job in showing how someone might feel having their life turned upside down in a blink of an eye, becoming depressed about it, and not having a great support system. She is in no way telling people that a disabled life isn't worth living . . . she is just showing one perspective of what someone may be going through.

“You only get one life. It's actually your duty to live it as fully as possible.”  - Jojo Moyes -

Even with the serious themes in Me Before You, I fell in love with the book. Although the ending was a bittersweet one, it is still worth the read. It gave me all the feels and put me on an emotional roller coaster that left me balling my eyes out at the end. It also left me feeling a bit depressed for a few days and gave me food for thought. I don't know how I'd deal with the situation Will was in, but I love life too much to make the ultimate decision he made. The book did remind me a little of some young adult books that I read as a teenager by an author named Lurlene McDaniel, whose books deal with characters who struggle with chronic or terminal diseases.


Follow Us On Social Media

https://www.facebook.com/runningbibliophile/https://www.instagram.com/therunningbibliophile/https://www.pinterest.com/therunningbibliophile/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Product Review: Mr. Clean: Clean Freak Deep Cleaning Mist - Gain Scent

-
Image
One particular weekend night, I was watching television, and a commercial came on advertising Mr. Clean: Clean Freak Deep Cleaning Mist. In the ad, it mentioned that it would take off grime and dirt after spraying it on the surface and wiping it off with a simple swipe. It went on to mention that it could be used in the bathroom, and I thought, "I really need to try this product on my bathtub." Excited, I couldn't wait to buy it and looked for it at the grocery store the next day while I was getting my weekly groceries. I wasn't expecting to actually find it in stores yet because it usually takes the stores in my area a few weeks to get products in stock after I see it advertised on television. Much to my surprise and delight, my local Kroger Grocery Store actually had the Mr. Clean: Clean Freak Deep Cleaning Mist in stock and in no less than two scents. I grabbed the Gain Scent bottle and stuck it in my grocery cart. Eventually, I decided to use it to cle
Read more

Product Review: Naturelle Biotera, Anti-Frizz Intense Smoothing Shampoo & Conditioner

-
Image
As a woman with wavy hair that frizzes horribly whenever the humidity is high, and let's be honest, the humidity is high in the Southeast, I thought I'd try out Naturelle Biotera Anti-Frizz Intense Smoothing Shampoo  and Naturelle Biotera Anti-Frizz Intense Smoothing Conditioner . I purchased my product at a local Sally's Beauty Supply, and they said that if I didn't like the product that I could return it, which is a win win situation for the customer. What I didn't realize until I was using the product is that for the best results, Biotera recommends using not only the shampoo and conditioner but the leave in conditioner as well. Since I didn't buy the leave in conditioner, my review is solely on the shampoo and conditioner. For those of you who don't like a strong scent, then you'll be pleased with the light scent of this product. The aroma has hints of cinnamon apple. Where I love the scent of cinnamon and apple, I personally don't care for the t
Read more

Book Review: Hidden Beneath (Maine Clambake Mystery, #11) by Barbara Ross

-
Image
Hidden Beneath (Maine Clambake Mystery, #11) by Barbara Ross is the story about Julia and her mother Jacqueline attending a memorial service on Chipmunk Island for Ginny, who was an old friend of Jacqueline.  When something seems off at the memorial, Julia decides to delve into the cold case of Ginny, and in the process of the investigation, a murder takes place on the island. Thank you, NetGalley and Kensington Books, for the Advanced Readers Copy of Hidden Beneath (Maine Clambake Mystery, #11) by Barbara Ross in exchange for my honest review.  I first became familiar with this series and author while reading a collection of short stories that included one from the Maine Clambake Mystery series.  I was excited when I was approved to read this newest book and was not disappointed. This newest edition can be read as a stand alone as the author does a fantastic job of recapping the backstories of the characters from previous books in the series.  I found all the main characters to be
Read more