Where the Sky Begins by Rhys Bowen
A woman’s future is determined by fate and choice in a gripping WWII novel about danger, triumph, and second chances by the NYT bestselling author of The Venice Sketchbook and The Tuscan Child.
London, 1940. Bombs fall and Josie Banks’s world crumbles. Evacuated to the English countryside, Josie ends up at the estate of Miss Harcourt, a reluctant host to survivors of the Blitz. Josie convinces Miss Harcourt to let her open a humble tea shop. When Josie meets Mike Johnson, a handsome Canadian pilot, a growing intimacy brings her an inner peace. Then her husband suddenly returns from the war.
A dangerous secret is about to upend Josie’s life, and her newfound courage will be put to the test.
The Kitchen Is Closed and Other Benefits of Being Old by Sandra Butler
In this funny and intensely personal collection of essays, Butler chronicles her experience moving from aging to old, remembering and forgetting all the wrong things, feeling frustrated with technology, keeping up with the avalanche of cultural and political news, mothering two middle-aged daughters, surveying her old body, and ultimately, preparing for her death.
With its sharp humor and refreshing honesty, this is a must-read for aging women, eldercare workers, and adult children who want to gain a fuller sense of their mother’s life. Old women are cast aside in white American culture, Butler argues, and it’s both disheartening and disrespectful. Butler is not a senior—she’s a mother, a lesbian, a Jew, a feminist, and at times, a “rabble-rousing hectorer.”
On Full Automatic: Surviving 13 Months in Vietnam by William V. Taylor Jr.
Vietnam 1967-68. Eighteen-year-old Marine recruit William V. Taylor Jr. and his brother Marines are assembled into a new reaction force that is immediately tested in the fire of a bloody conflict known as Operation Beaver Cage. After a traumatic first fight, they push through back-to-back operations with little time to rest or reflect. Those who survive will return home with everlasting memories of a nightmare.
Fifty years later, Taylor shares his experience in explicit and often horrific detail and with a reverent honor for those who did not live to tell the tale. Taylor reveals what it means to walk the path of a warrior, to sacrifice, and live with the memories of a war.
Mindful Beauty by Dr. Debbie Palmer
Relax, Let Go, and Become Your Most Beautiful Self.
Mindfulness is a simple change we can all make for better health―emotionally, physically, and spiritually. New York-based dermatologist Dr. Debbie Palmer unveils her secrets to helping her patients develop more mindfulness and cultivate inner peace and outer radiance.
Today, mindfulness―the act of being more present and focused in everything we do―is so important to our well-being. This book is a practical, hands-on guide to looking and feeling more beautiful in the modern-day world. It provides simple self-care tips and shows how to work with essential oils, crystals, chakras, nutrition, and more as you make positive changes in body, mind, and spirit. Purchase at https://qvc.co/3MIiQrI.
Thank you for including The Kitchen is Closed in your recommended reading! I’ve signed up and will delightedly follow your suggestions about other books that will be of interest.