Same Kind of Different as Me, book #36

 

This book has been sitting on my shelf for years when I brought it home from the church library when we closed it.  I always wanted to read it but never got around to it.  Leah needed to read it for school so I sent it to her earlier but never thought anything else about it.  Well then she comes home last weekend for break and tells me she has to read the whole thing and write a paper on it while she is home so I decided it was an excellent time for me to read it ~ we could read it together!  Since she had my paper copy and was marking it up I just ordered a copy for my paperwhite and went from there.

Just like Just Mercy this book ripped me up!  So many things over the last few years ~ and months! ~ have made me realize all this "white privilege" I have and never even realized.  I have a few black friends and it honestly never occurred to me how completely different their life really is.  Shame on me for not realizing that ~ but here's hoping I can start every day being a little more understanding and open-minded about what I can do to help crush my own racists views that I never realized I had.  

This is a must read!

A dangerous, homeless drifter who grew up picking cotton in virtual slavery. An upscale art dealer accustomed to the world of Armani and Chanel. A gutsy woman with a stubborn dream. A story so incredible no novelist would dare dream it.  It begins outside a burning plantation hut in Louisiana . . . and an East Texas honky-tonk . . . and, without a doubt, in the heart of God. It unfolds in a Hollywood hacienda . . . an upscale New York gallery . . . a downtown dumpster . . . a Texas ranch. Gritty with pain and betrayal and brutality, this true story also shines with an unexpected, life-changing love.  (picture and description from Amazon)

And now it's time for Christmas books!  

Keep reading!

O:)

Melissa

Colors of Truth, book # 35

 

What can I say, but Tamara Alexander has blown it out of the water once again.  If you remember, in 2019 she wrote book 1 in this series, With This Pledge, which had me on the ground!!  I immediately bought 3 more copies and sent one to my mom, my mother in law, and my aunt.  The prequel to this series. Christmas at Carnton, came out in 2017 and it was equally amazing.  I feel certain I also bought 3 extra copies of that as well.. 

In short, I love this book, I love Tamara Alexander, and you need to read this.  

In a town battered and bruised by war, one woman embarks upon an impossible search--and one man must face the past in the very place that almost destroyed him. Tennessee, 1866. According to the last letter Irish immigrant Catriona O'Toole received from her twin brother, Ryan, he was being dispatched to Franklin, Tennessee, where--as a conscripted Confederate soldier--he likely endured the bloody Battle of Franklin that claimed the lives of thousands. Catriona leaves behind the lush green of their Irish homeland in search of him, with nothing to her name except the sum of cash Ryan sent to their family. Now the sole provider for her seven-year-old spitfire sister, Nora, Catriona hopes to reunite the siblings--the only surviving members of their devastated family. Wade Cunningham is a former Federal soldier who now works for the newly formed United States Secret Service and is trying to uncover counterfeiting rings in the postwar South. In order to infiltrate their sophisticated enterprise, he must pose as a former Confederate in Franklin--a town where counterfeit greenbacks run rampant. When Wade meets Catriona, he is immediately intrigued by her and the little redheaded scamp in her care--but what he doesn't anticipate is that the cash in Catriona's possession is some of the most convincing counterfeit money he's ever seen. Soon the object of Wade's affection is also the suspect in a major crime--one he's expected to prosecute. With rich historical detail and multifaceted prose, USA TODAY bestselling author Tamera Alexander tells a riveting tale of truth, betrayal, and unlikely romance that unveils the many shades of God's perfect redemption.  (picture and description from Amazon)

In an interesting tidbit ... when you write books about Civil War times you inevitably have to write about slavery.  Yes, it was wrong, but it is still part of history that we should not forget.  Her publisher asked her kindly to rewrite parts of the book to make it "less offense" and she knew she could not do that and tell the story like it truly happened ~ the good, the bad, and the ugly.  So her publisher cancelled this book and the final book in the series.  Not deterred from getting her story out, she took it upon herself to self publish and still got the book out on time.  You can see more about that here.   

Just to be clear, this does not mean I condone or think the treatment of black people has been fair at all, but I do believe history should not be changed.  History is something we learn from, not gloss over or delete the bad parts.  

As always, I can't wait until the third/fourth book in the series comes out.  And then I will cry my eyes out .... or go back and read many of her other books that I haven't read yet!  

Keep reading ...

O:)

Melissa