Until Tuesday: A Wounded Warrior and the Golden Retriever Who Saved Him

Title: Until Tuesday: A Wounded Warrior and the Golden Retriever Who Saved Him

Author: Luis Carlos Montalván, Bret Witter (Writer)

Genre: nonfiction, memoirs, dogs

Summary: From Goodreads:

A heartwarming dog story like no other: Tuesday, a lovable golden retriever, changes a former soldier's life forever.
A highly decorated captain in the U.S. Army, Luis Montalván never backed down from a challenge during his two tours of duty in Iraq. After returning home from combat, however, his physical wounds and crippling post-traumatic stress disorder began to take their toll. He wondered if he would ever recover.
Then Luis met Tuesday, a sensitive golden retriever trained to assist the disabled. Tuesday had lived among prisoners and at a home for troubled boys, and he found it difficult to trust in or connect with a human being--until Luis.
Until Tuesday is the story of how two wounded warriors, who had given so much and suffered the consequences, found salvation in each other. It is a story about war and peace, injury and recovery, psychological wounds and spiritual restoration. But more than that, it is a story about the love between a man and dog, and how, together, they healed each other's souls. (less)

Rating: Very Good!

Why I Like It: I didn’t know much about service dogs & post-traumatic stress disorder. So amazing & interesting!

Other: Audio - Luis Carlos Montalván, author

Reviewer: Patsy

ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK

Title: ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK

Author: Piper Kerman
Genre: nonfiction                

Summary:  “With a career, a boyfriend, and a loving family, Piper Kerman barely resembles the reckless young woman who delivered a suitcase of drug money ten years before.  But that past has caught up with her.  Convicted and sentenced to 15 months at an infamous federal correctional facility the well-heeled Smith College alumna is now an inmate.  From her lst strip search to her final release, Kerman learns to navigate this strange world with its strictly enforced codes of behavior & arbitrary rules.  She meets women from all walks of life. 

Rating: Very good

Why I Like It:  Although author is writing from her personal experience the book is more about the other people she encounters and the whole prison experience.  She shows respect for other prisoners and learns from both bad and good events.  Interesting look at the prison system.  Realistic, not stereotypes you see on TV shows.

Reviewer: Kathy 

The Nightengale

Title: The Nightingale
Author: Kristin Hannah
Genre: historical fiction

Summary: From Amazon: With courage, grace, and powerful insight, bestselling author Kristin Hannah captures the epic panorama of World War II and illuminates an intimate part of history seldom seen: the women's war. The Nightingale tells the stories of two sisters, separated by years and experience, by ideals, passion and circumstance, each embarking on her own dangerous path toward survival, love, and freedom in German-occupied, war-torn France―a heartbreakingly beautiful novel that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the durability of women. It is a novel for everyone, a novel for a lifetime.
 
Rating: Great
Why I Like It:  It's hard to say I 'liked' this book about the Nazi occupation of France. I liked the characters...the sisters and their family, and the integrity they had in the face of unimaginable hardship. It will be interesting to see the movie when it comes out.
 
Other: audiobook
Reviewer: Avery

Floret Farm's Cut Flower Garden: Grow, Harvest, and Arrange Stunning Seasonal Blooms

Title: Floret Farm's Cut Flower Garden: Grow, Harvest, and Arrange Stunning Seasonal Blooms

Author: Erin Benzakein

Genre: gardening

Summary: From Amazon: From Erin Benzakein, a leader in the locaflor farm-to-centerpiece movement and owner of internationally renowned Floret Flower Farm, Cut Flower Garden is equal parts instruction and inspiration—a book overflowing with lush photography of magnificent flowers and breathtaking arrangements organized by season. This beautiful guide to growing, harvesting, and arranging gorgeous blooms year-round gives readers vital tools to nurture a stunning flower garden and use their blossoms to create showstopping arrangements. With irresistible photos of Erin's flower farm that showcase exquisite blooms, tips for growing in a variety of spaces and climates as well as step-by-step instructions for lavish garlands, airy centerpieces, and romantic floral décor for every season, Floret Farm's Cut Flower Garden informs and entices gardeners of all skill levels.

Rating: Very Good

Why I Like It: A few years ago, a friend from California sent me a couple dozen dahlia tubers. (Her brother owned a dahlia business out there) So, thus, my sudden interest in dahlias! This book caught my attention because of the beautiful pictures & instructions for growing, not only dahlias, but many varieties of flowers. I got this book from my library about a year ago, renewed it all year – now I have to return it! But I’ll get it out again soon.

Reviewer: Patsy

WE BAND OF ANGELS

Title: WE BAND OF ANGELS

Author: Elizabeth Norman Genre:  Historical Non-fiction, World War 2

Summary: “From diaries, letters and interviews with aging survivors, author has filled in a vital but missing chapter in the history of WWII: the heroism of women. Bombing raids. Malaria, Starvation. Capture. Survival. Here is the little-known story of the Army & Navy nurses caught in the brutal retreat of U.S. Forces from Manila to Bataan to Corregidor, and eventually a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp.”

Rating: Very good

Why I Like It: Very interesting with a lot of personal stories. Told from perspective of the women who had not been trained for and never expected to be in such a brutal situation. How they handled it and persevered.

Added note from Kathy’s email message to me (Patsy): Seems like I've been reading a lot of wartime books lately, but they've been interesting and very educational.  Mom would have been in the Pacific when some of this took place. 

Reviewer: Kathy

THE HELLO GIRLS

Title: THE HELLO GIRLS

Author: Elizabeth Cobbs

Genre: nonfiction

Summary: Story of how America's first women soldiers helped win WWI, earned the vote & fought the army for veteran's recognition. In 1918, the U. S. Army Signal Corps sent 223 women to France. They operated telephone switchboards which provided the only communication between troops under fire and commanders.

Rating: Very good

Why I Like It: A little slow at first, but well worth reading. A lot of interesting background info that I wasn't aware of or had forgotten. Also, amazing to think that 100 years ago at this time Grandpa Dunipace was serving in this situation in France.

Reviewer: Kathy

"All But My Life: A Memoir"

Title:  All But My Life: A Memoir

Author: Gerda Weissmann Klein

Genre:  Memoir

Summary: (from Amazon) All But My Life is the unforgettable story of Gerda Weissmann Klein's six-year ordeal as a victim of Nazi cruelty. From her comfortable home in Bielitz (present-day Bielsko) in Poland to her miraculous survival and her liberation by American troops--including the man who was to become her husband--in Volary, Czechoslovakia, in 1945, Gerda takes the reader on a terrifying journey.

Rating: Excellent

Why I Like It:  I wasn’t familiar with this much detail information of the Holocaust.  So, it was very interesting, inspiring, informative, sad, heart wrenching, etc.  It made me realize more that we certainly have very little to complain about & so much to be thankful for!

This autobiographical account of the Holocaust, All but My Life (1957), was adapted for the 1995 short film, One Survivor Remembers, which received an Academy Award and an Emmy Award, and was selected for the National Film Registry. I watched it on YouTube.  Also very good!!

Other:  listened to it on audio

Reviewer:  Patsy