The Best Review of All

You know what I love about family? They tell you how it really is- at least mine does. Often their brutal honesty is overwhelming, but even more often it is absolutely correct.

So imagine my joy when I received the following email from my sister today after they read my latest book "Lipstick Wars." I think it is the best review I've ever had.

Christine,

OK, we just loved it. Your book, we loved it. I read it to Laura and Kerry all the way home and then talked about it for a couple of hours. It was the first fiction book Kerry had listened to for years, and he really got into the characters. We enjoyed the questions at the end to stimulate more thought. We were trying to sympathize with Helen, but found it very difficult. I felt for her because she was just trying to protect her biggest investment, but Dad made the observation that because she was still vindictive even after she thought she would get the park, that she was evil, not just protective.

We were frustrated sometimes with the way Eden perceived some conversations (like the one with her mother when her mother openned up to her. Eden took everything so personally rather than seeing things from others perspective) But I guess that was her problem, because she felt so alone, with no support and no childhood experience to help her feel like she could really do this. I would hope that no one, in any ward would ever go 3 years with only 2 visiting teaching visits. Wouldn't that be sad.

I loved the character of Roy, I loved the nerd party, I loved the rich eccentric and found the paintings clever. I loved the way people fixed up her house and how she saw the love of so many in each repair. And I loved thinking about the smile on your face when you wrote the scene when Helen is told that the mansion was going to be turned into a homeless shelter. I bet you really loved that.

Thanks for sharing your talents. I have passed it on to Emily, then Jana, then ....

Love you,
Hope your back is feeling better,

Catherine

If You Don't Know about Dred Scott, Read This

I had never heard of Dred Scott before picking up "Am I Not a Man: The Dred Scott Story" by Mark Shurtleff. But as I began reading, it shocked me that I wasn't more familar with this pivotal part of history. Dred Scott was a slave who sued for his freedom all the way to the Supreme Court- and lost. Ironically, his defeat was a gift. It was on the wave of his failure that a little-known politician stepped forward to eventually become the Great Emancipator, Abraham Lincoln.

Shurtleff weaves the story by touching on various threads at different times and places that converge together to create the foundation of Dred Scott's case. Raised by a loving liberal southern family, Dred's childhood is one of strength and joy where the bonds of slavery are rarely felt until the Blow family falls on financial difficulty. When he is sold, Dred soon faces the depths of helplessness and great cruelty.

While this well-researched and engaging narrative illustrates Dred's personal struggle, Shurtleff is able to bring in powerful passages from Harriet Beecher Stowe, William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass without being heavy-handed. The result is a nice overview of the events leading to election of Abraham Lincoln and the political decisions that preceded the Civil War.

Most shocking of all was the Supreme Court ruling by Chief Justice Taney that black men have "no rights a white man was bound to respect." It would have been easy for Shurtleff to demonize Taney's character, and I was impressed how equitably he dealt with him, trying to honestly portray this man's views and motivations in a much more sympathetic light than I ever would.

To me, the muster of a good book is if it grabs my attention initially, and makes me glad I forfeited the hours reading it long after I close the cover. Although it took a few chapters to get hooked, once I was into the story, I raced through the pages with fascination. It still amazes me that Dred's childhood owners were the ones who tried to free him by attempting to purchase him before turning to legal venues. In the end, the courts never did declare Dred Scott free during his lifteime, but he found freedom nonetheless.

Having put the book down, I have to say I'm glad I read it. A little freaked out by the Supreme Court (I guess that hasn't changed much), but glad nonetheless. When I heard the author was a previous Attorney General, I was worried Shurtleff's prose would be dry and stuffy, but I couldn't have been more wrong. It was bright, fast-paced, informative and entertaining. Best of all, I now know who Dred Scott is and better understand the sacrifice that allows me to enjoy the freedoms I sometimes take for granted.

Review of 'Hearts of Courage'

When his mother grew ill, Joe Tippets decided to fly from Nome, Alaska where he was updating radio equipment to his parent’s home in Utah during Christmas vacation. His wife and young son stayed behind in Anchorage. On January 5, 1943 Tippets boarded a twin-engine plane with five other passengers to return home, but the plane never arrived. “Hearts of Courage” is the harrowing story of his miraculous survival during nearly four weeks of the harshest conditions imaginable, as told by his son, John Tippets.

Replete with pictures, diagrams, letters, and newspaper clippings “Hearts of Courage” carries the reader through Tippet’s experience with accuracy and insight. From the moment their left engine knocked out I was spellbound at the turn of events. Although everyone survived the crash, some of the passengers were severely injured. The pilot tried to hike out and was never heard from again. Finally, when their food had almost run out Tippets headed into the frigid Alaskan winter with another passenger, Sandy Cutting, to find help. Fighting starvation and the elements, these men spent the month surviving the Alaskan winter as they searched for help so that they could return and rescue their two fallen companions back at the crash site.

One disappointment after another strikes them, and then a simple gift like a few stray crows keeps them going. It was incredible to read their journey, and I appreciate that it was told without emotionalizing it, because the events they endured were emotional enough. In the end even their rescue was amazing, but perhaps the most incredible thing of all is what Tippets did after his return to safety. I still get misty-eyed thinking about it.

“Hearts of Courage” is a quick read and worth every minute. The writing is in the first person and uses many of Joe Tippet’s own words. It is written concisely, but at times I would have liked a little more description. Still, anyone reading this book will be inspired by Tippet’s ability to face incredible obstacles with faith and determination. In the end his success is due entirely to the fact that he was willing to keep trying in the face of a hopeless situation: a helpful reminder in these difficult times.

Hearts of Courage is available for purchase at Amazon.com, most LDS bookstores or you can contact the author directly at johntippets AT yahoo DOT com

C. S. Lewis and an Early Christmas Treat

This spring my sister and I worked feverishly to get out our C. S. Lewis book before she left on her mission with her husband to Brazil. We had some nice reviews come out at that time but what a sweet Christmas surprise to get a review just this week from T. Lynn Adams at Bella Online. Here's what she had to say:

Review of C.S. Lewis, Latter-day Truths in Narnia

I read the Chronicles of Narnia as a child and still recall wondering as a child what it must feel like to ride a flying lion. Later, during various conference talks, I fell in love with the quotes of a wonderful thinker named C.S. Lewis. How excited I was to learn that the man who wrote fantasy for children also penned philosophy. I remember wondering if he was LDS. Between flying lions and soaring thoughts, C.S. Lewis has held a special place in my literary world.

I’m not the only one who feels this way. At a recent Stake Conference I was listening to a speaker quote C.S. Lewis when I noticed a man toward the front nodding enthusiastically. Afterwards I approached the brother and said, “You’re a C.S. Lewis fan, aren’t you.” He was surprised by my observation. “How did you know?” he asked. I told him his enjoyment of the C.S. Lewis quotes, nodding in agreement as the speaker read them, gave him away.

It’s fun to find another true Lewis fan.

That is why I loved book C.S. Lewis: Latter-day Truths in Narnia, by Marianna Richardson and Christine Thackeray. This book compiles into one place so many things LDS readers have quietly nodded over in agreement.

The book, published by Cedar Fort, is divided into three sections and three appendices. The first section contains his life history, (no, he is not LDS) his conversion story (he was once an atheist), and a brief look at his entry into writing.

The section reviews some of his fictional writings, pointing out Latter-day truths and gospel principles woven into the stories.

The third section, my favorite, “examines some of the most notable references to C.S. Lewis by modern apostles and prophets.” Did you know that C.S. Lewis was quoted by Neal A. Maxwell in the very first issue of the New Era? Or that the Prophet Ezra Taft Benson quoted C.S. Lewis in his masterpiece address, Beware of Pride, “Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man. … It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition has gone, pride has gone.” (Mere Christianity, New York: Macmillan, 1952, pp. 109–10; quoted in Ensign, May, 1989)

The appendices show LDS references to some C.S. Lewis quotes organized by topic, by speaker and finally by lesson material.

From pride to the role of women and the importance of family through to the eternities, the authors of this book note that C.S. Lewis had a way to pen words that “are easy to understand, almost simplistic. Yet there is a deeper meaning that causes one to pause and think more profoundly.”

“His voice,” they write “has an ‘every man’ quality, as though he is struggling beside us, which enables people of all kinds to relate to his message. But along with his personal weaknesses and trials, C.S. Lewis openly witnesses time and again of his personal faith in Christ as both a partner in helping us overcome our challenges in this life and as our Savior in giving us the opportunity to share in His glory in the next. It is this powerful testimony of the Savior that rings true to members of the Church.”

Another reason I enjoyed the book was not just the collection of C.S. Lewis gems but they also incorporated comments by General Authorities. It's like a compilation of your favorite authors. Furthermore, Richardson and Thackeray, write powerfully as well and I found myself underlining just as many of their comments, words and impressions as the masters they were discussing. Hurray for them! My book is filled with personal markings, underlining, margin notes and even my own hand-written index in the front of the book to help me reference favorite quotes in the future.

This would be a great book to give to yourself or others. When you give it though, make sure you include a marking pen. I quarantee this book will be marked, underlined, written on and dog-earred by every avid C.S. Lewis fan who gets it.

If you want to have more fun with it, wrap it up with a copy of the Chronicles of Narnia, a copy of Mere Christianity or The Screwtape Letters, or even the new Prince Caspian DVD.

Just don’t forget that marking pen!