My Bookstack, July-August 📚

A distraction from wedding planning.

It’s Wedding Month in our family! After all the planning, shopping, debating (arguing? 😉), reserving, spending 🤑, and pre-celebrating, the actual celebration will soon be upon us and then, behind us. What will I do with all the extra time and energy I’ll have? (Read more books, perhaps?)

The audiobooks on my drives to and from Minnesota, as well as books I’ve read for the “Sister Wolf” book club (at Beagle and Wolf Books in Park Rapids, MN), have been a welcome distraction from the excitement and stress of wedding planning. I’ve got some reviews and recommendations for you, so let’s get to it!

*BookStack, vol. 10, July-August, 2025.

What We Leave Behind (Christine Gallagher Kearney) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Good, but could have been better. This story of a German "war bride" who moved to Minneapolis had several interesting twists and turns, many of which were tragic. As with most historical fiction, I learned something new. In this book, it was about the polio epidemic and the "Sister Kenny" treatments that laid the foundation for many of today's physical therapy practices. Her controversial methods were used primarily in Minnesota after being rejected on the East and West Coast.

I would have enjoyed this book much more if the entire plot line hadn't been revealed on the back cover, allowing for almost no surprises in the book. Instead, I read with the anticipation of the next tragic event I knew was going to happen. The book's ending was also disappointing, but I might have appreciated it more if I'd known it was based on a real-life story (something I didn't realize until I read the author's note at the end of the book). (Paperback) (Sister Wolf Book Club choice.)

Beartown (Fredrik Backman) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Recommend. This is a book about hockey. And so much more. But mostly about hockey. Backman explores the nature of youth sports—family investment of time and resources, male domination, "our team" above all else, community building and tearing down, competitive and out-of-control parents, supportive and level-headed parents, bullying by kids and adults, the crass and often disturbing locker-room banter, and the bodies and souls of the boys and girls (the "products") on whom it all rests.

Backman's character descriptions are deep and multi-layered—I grew to love (and dislike) many of them. His sense of place is also masterful. Although Beartown is in Sweden, it could just as easily be in Canada or the U.S. (The Beartown Bears reminded me of the football team at the small-town high school our kids attended.) The ending was satisfying, yet left me with just enough questions to entice me to read books #2 and #3 in the series. (Audiobook)

The Berry Pickers (Amanda Peters) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Recommend. When little Ruthie, a four-year-old Mi’kmaw girl from Nova Scotia, disappears from the rock she was sitting on near the blueberry fields in Maine—where her family spent summers working—the loss ripples through the family. From then on, Joe—her closest-in-age sibling who was six when she went missing—spends much of his life dealing with the effects of traumatically losing his sister.

The book is told from alternating viewpoints of two characters, one of whom is Joe. The other is an only child named Norma, who is growing up with her well-to-do family in Maine. Norma is haunted by dreamlike memories and annoyed by her overprotective, but loving, parents. The story captures deep human emotions of loss, grief, and guilt, but is not without hope, healing, and forgiveness. Through the mystery of memory, the gift of truth, and the unbreakable bonds of love between family members, Ruthie's story eventually comes full circle. (Audiobook) (Sister Wolf Book Club choice.)

I Cheerfully Refuse (Leif Enger) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Recommend. This complex, dystopian novel takes place in the United States and Canada in some distant, dark future—a time so dark that the latest popular drug is Willow, an assisted suicide concoction that young and old alike are using, often in groups. Enger's writing is enchanting, and his character development so clear that I felt I really knew the narrator Rainy, his bookseller wife, Lark, and the little girl, Sol, whom he rescues on his journey.

Rainy's quest to connect with his departed wife's soul takes him on an Odyssey-like adventure in an old sailboat on the roiling, icy Lake Superior. The adventure begins with a mix of peril and serendipitous provision, but it turns increasingly difficult and brutal. Many scenes were unsettling for me, but I persevered—along with Rainy—to make it end. The conclusion, like much of the book, was somewhat confusing, but mystical and satisfying nonetheless.

Mother, Nature (Jedidiah Jenkins) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Highly Recommend. I give Jedidiah Jenkins's memoir 5 stars for its honesty, vulnerability, and emotional telling of the relationship and deep love between mother (Barbara) and son. Having two adult sons myself, this story brought me to the edge of tears several times. It also made me laugh out loud at the lighthearted interactions on the mother-son cross-country road trip. As they retrace the route that Barbara and Jedidiah's father had walked over 40 years earlier, the complex mother-son relationship unfolds.

Jedidiah wants nothing more than his mother's acceptance and approval of his homosexuality, and Barbara is a staunchly conservative Christian who takes a few Bible passages at their literal face value. Although descriptions of the natural surroundings and small towns are exquisite, it's the email correspondence and long conversation in the car over "the big question" that are at the heart of this book. The discussion outlines with great care the intellectual and spiritual elements of the current rift in families, churches, and society over homosexuality, and shows how two people can deeply love one another despite conflicting beliefs. In the end, the book seemed to be about loving oneself and others (the second great commandment, Matt. 22:39).

Additional notes: Jenkins’s weaving of the "elephant" metaphor throughout the book is literary genius. I might have eliminated or shortened some of the lengthy podcast and earlier book quotes, as I don't believe they added much, although his parents' previous "Walk across America" and temporary fame and fortune intrigued me. (Paperback) (Sister Wolf Book Club choice.)

Before We Were Yours (Lisa Wingate) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Highly Recommend. This popular book, published in 2017, was recently brought to my attention when my book club read "The Berry Pickers." Both books are about child kidnapping, but offer very different stories. In this saga, a family of five children is illegally taken from their parents and their simple riverboat home to be sold to wealthy families for adoption.

Based on the historical Tennessee Children's Home Society run by the infamous child-trafficker Georgia Tann from 1924 to 1950, Lisa Wingate weaves a heart-wrenching, yet intriguing novel. The alternating chapters narrated by 12-year-old Rill Foss, the eldest of the kidnapped siblings, and present-day Avery Stafford, daughter of a wealthy politician, kept me guessing at the mystery of their relationship. A story of resilience, the long-lasting family connections, and the rewards of following one's heart make this book a good read. (Audiobook)

Everything I Wish I Could Tell You about Midlife: A Woman's Guide to Health in the Body You Actually Have (Mikala Albertson)⭐️⭐️⭐️

A helpful guide…for some. Mikala Albertson is a physician with a wealth of knowledge on women’s mental and physical health concerns. She is also a Christian and occasionally shares spiritual wisdom, though not at all in a preachy way. If I were 20 years younger, the book might have been more helpful. While I remember the life changes and feelings discussed, most are behind me now (thank goodness!).

If you’re looking for a women’s health guide for 40-50-year-olds, this book offers much, but IMO it has too many long (and repetitive) lists of examples of what women go through. I listened to the audiobook, which I do not recommend, since you can’t easily go back and refer to the specific medical advice (e.g., which supplements to take for what), and the reader’s voice is harsh—a poor match for the compassionate tone of the author. (Audiobook)

And…that’s the stack! Let me know if you’ve read or plan to read any of these gems! Or, just let me know you were here by “hitting the 🖤.”

Do you know any other book lovers? Please share my BookStack with them!

Happy Reading! 📚

Now, back to the ever-present wedding plans and prep. Just three weeks until Leah and Garrett tie the knot!

*This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, I get a tiny commission at no extra cost to you. All links are through Bookshop.org, an online bookstore that supports local, independent bookstores. Thanks for your support!