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Book Review: Eleanor, by David Michaelis
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm Sez
“Eleanor” by David Michaelis
c.2020, Simon & Schuster
#35.00 / $47.00 Canada 698 pagesLife, as they say, is an open book.
When you’re born, someone else starts writing it for you, but it doesn’t take long for you to be your own author. Through the years, you’ll scribble ideas, compose thoughtfully, add chapters, and crumple pages. Your life’s book might be a series of quick notes, long essays, one-liners or, as in “Eleanor” by David Michaelis, you could build an epic story.
In today’s world, we might call Eleanor Roosevelt’s mother abusive: Anna Hall Roosevelt never had a kind word to say to her daughter, often mockingly calling little Eleanor “Granny.” It’s true that Eleanor wasn’t lithe and beautiful like her mother; she was awkward and stern, a Daddy’s girl for an often-absent, alcoholic father.
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Book Review: Dear Child, by Romy Hausmann
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm Sez
Dear Child, by Romy Hausmann
c.2020, Flatiron Books  $26.99 / $36.50 Canada 368 pagesThere’s no one else like you in the world.
No one with the same tongue-print or identical ear shape. Nobody else has your memories, and every experience you’ve ever had is unique to you alone. You might favor one parent or other, you may have a twin or a doppelganger, but in the end, you are one-of-a-kind. You’re irreplaceable but, as in the new novel, Dear Child, by Romy Hausmann, someone can sure try.
Hannah was sure that Sister Ruth wasn’t too smart.
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Book Review: Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man, by Mary L. Trump, Ph.D.
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookwork“Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man” by Mary L. Trump, Ph.D.
c.2020, Simon and Schuster
$28.00 / $37.00 Canada 227 pagesYou hadn’t seen that container in ages.
You really can’t remember when you put it on the shelf. Sometime this year, six years ago, when you moved last? What’s in it must be worth something, though, or you wouldn’t’ve saved it. Now, as in the new book “Too Much and Never Enough” by Mary L. Trump, PhD, digging may yield answers.
No one has to explain to you who Donald Trump is but, for anyone who’s been completely out of the loop, Mary Trump is Donald’s niece (she uses his first name, always, and to avoid confusion, so will we). Trump has a PhD in psychology, worked at Manhattan Psychiatric Center while in school, was once a therapist, and taught graduate psychology. The point is, she’s got chops and it shows, especially when this book – a look at her family and, specifically, her Uncle Donald – reads like something from the True Medicine genre. Indeed, medically-based passages are nearly emotionless in their clinicality.
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Book Review: Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man, by Mary L. Trump, Ph.D.
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookwork“Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man” by Mary L. Trump, Ph.D.
c.2020, Simon and Schuster
$28.00 / $37.00 Canada 227 pagesYou hadn’t seen that container in ages.
You really can’t remember when you put it on the shelf. Sometime this year, six years ago, when you moved last? What’s in it must be worth something, though, or you wouldn’t’ve saved it. Now, as in the new book “Too Much and Never Enough” by Mary L. Trump, PhD, digging may yield answers.
No one has to explain to you who Donald Trump is but, for anyone who’s been completely out of the loop, Mary Trump is Donald’s niece (she uses his first name, always, and to avoid confusion, so will we). Trump has a PhD in psychology, worked at Manhattan Psychiatric Center while in school, was once a therapist, and taught graduate psychology. The point is, she’s got chops and it shows, especially when this book – a look at her family and, specifically, her Uncle Donald – reads like something from the True Medicine genre. Indeed, medically-based passages are nearly emotionless in their clinicality.
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Book Review: 55, Underemployed, and Faking Normal: Your Guide to a Better Life, by Elizabeth White
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm
55, Underemployed, and Faking Normal: Your Guide to a Better Life, by Elizabeth White
c.2020 in paperback, Simon & Schuster
$17.00 / $23.00 Canada 272 pagesYour last regular paycheck has come and gone.
That was awhile ago, back before you were downsized / laid off / reassigned right out of a job and you’re not sure what to do. Your savings are nearly gone, your retirement funds are next, and you’re too young to get Social Security. In 55, Underemployed, and Faking Normal” by Elizabeth White, you’ll see how to make this new life work.
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Featured Book: Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States, by Samantha Allen
Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States
By Samantha Allen
Print Length:Â 321 pages
Publisher:Â Little, Brown and Company (March 5, 2019)Ten years ago, Samantha Allen was a suit-and-tie-wearing Mormon missionary. Now she’s a GLAAD Award-winning journalist happily married to another woman. A lot in her life has changed, but what hasn’t changed is her deep love of Red State America, and of queer people who stay in so-called “flyover country” rather than moving to the liberal coasts.
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Featured Book: Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States, by Samantha Allen
Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States
By Samantha Allen
Print Length:Â 321 pages
Publisher:Â Little, Brown and Company (March 5, 2019)Ten years ago, Samantha Allen was a suit-and-tie-wearing Mormon missionary. Now she’s a GLAAD Award-winning journalist happily married to another woman. A lot in her life has changed, but what hasn’t changed is her deep love of Red State America, and of queer people who stay in so-called “flyover country” rather than moving to the liberal coasts.
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Book Review: Confessions of a Gay Priest, by Tom Rastrelli
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm“Confessions of a Gay Priest” is a hard, hard book to read – it’ll make you squirm, it’ll make your eyebrows raise, you’ll want to toss it on the street and let semis run it over and yet, it’s stay-up-all-night compelling.
“Confessions of a Gay Priest” by Tom Rastrelli
c.2020, University of Iowa Press $19.95 / higher in Canada 328 pagesYou spent days examining your life.
Sins: that’s what you were looking for How had you displeased God? How many lies, covets, dishonors? What have you done since – oh, when was your last confession, anyhow? They say the sacrament is good for your soul, and in “Confessions of a Gay Priest” by Tom Rastrelli, there’s a lot to tell.
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Book Review: Half Broke: A Memoir, by Ginger Gaffney
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm“Half Broke: A Memoir” by Ginger Gaffney
c.2020, Norton $25.95 / $34.95 Canada 272 pagesThe last time you went riding, the weather was perfect.
Did you notice that? Or were you thinking about something, some niggling issue, a thorny problem that needed to be solved from the back of a saddle? They say that the outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man. In “Half Broke” by Ginger Gaffney, the same goes for the inside of a woman.
She knew she wasn’t going to get paid for the job.
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Book Review: Half Broke: A Memoir, by Ginger Gaffney
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm“Half Broke: A Memoir” by Ginger Gaffney
c.2020, Norton $25.95 / $34.95 Canada 272 pagesThe last time you went riding, the weather was perfect.
Did you notice that? Or were you thinking about something, some niggling issue, a thorny problem that needed to be solved from the back of a saddle? They say that the outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man. In “Half Broke” by Ginger Gaffney, the same goes for the inside of a woman.
She knew she wasn’t going to get paid for the job.
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Book Review: Good Boy: My Life in Seven Dogs, A Memoir, by Jennifer Finney Boylan
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
“Good Boy: My Life in Seven Dogs, A Memoir” by Jennifer Finney Boylan
c.2020, Celadon Books $26.99 / $36.50 Canada 272 pages
Pre-order available, releasing April 21Can you name them in chronological order?
The first one might be hard: you were small when you loved that dog. Later ones recall easier and, naturally, you remember the first pup that was all yours. Think: the names come one after another because there was always a dog and in “Good Boy: My Life in Seven Dogs” by Jennifer Finney Boylan, there was always love.
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Book Review: Beheld, by TaraShea Nesbit
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm
“Beheld: A Novel” by TaraShea Nesbit
c.2020, Bloomsbury $26.00 / $34.99 Canada
275 pagesEither you are a Have… or you are a Have Not.
If you Have, you feel secure, knowing that what you need is close. If you are in the latter category, you may want for much and own very little. It’s not fair, it’s not equitable, and in the new book “Beheld” by TaraShea Nesbit, it gets worse.
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Book Review: Bodies and Barriers: Queer Activists on Health, edited by Adrian Shanker, foreword by Rachel L. Levine, MD, afterword by Kate Kendell
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm Sez“Bodies and Barriers: Queer Activists on Health,” edited by Adrian Shanker, foreword by Rachel L. Levine, MD, afterword by Kate Kendell
c.2020, PM Press $20.00 / higher in Canada 208 pagesYou woke up this morning feeling pretty good.
That was quite a relief: in these frightening, uncertain times, every day of wellness is a bonus – especially when you consider that healthcare for a gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or queer patient can be different than what straight people require. Too bad healthcare providers don’t always know that. But read “Bodies and Barriers,” edited by Adrian Shanker, and you’ll feel more empowered to tell them.
