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For Michael, Love Cynda

Diarylike reminiscences of a lost love that range from mundane to moving.

In her emotional debut memoir, Yeasting tells the painful story of losing her fiance to cancer.

Why would a lively, attractive woman begin dating a terminally ill man she didn’t know? According to Yeasting, Michael Chu was easy to love. After meeting on a dating website, the two fun-loving Canadians instantly clicked. Michael was open about his terminal lung cancer, and Yeasting decided to accept a future broken heart and get to know him. The couple quickly became “soul mates” and spent more than a year together, living life to the fullest. They had a lot in common, including a love for travel, and visited beautiful places together, like Hawaii and the Dominican Republic. Yeasting’s love remained steadfast as Michael’s health faded, and when an additional tumor was discovered in his brain, she was there for him throughout the successful surgery. A two-time divorcée, Yeasting had been hesitant to remarry in the past, but when Michael proposed, she eagerly said yes. Unfortunately, he died in hospice care before they could marry. Much of their relationship is told via sugary love emails reprinted here (the book unfortunately repeats email addresses, etc., for all digital communication). In fact, along with email headers, the memoir could cut many unnecessary details, including dinner plans. However, Yeasting’s voice is honest and likable. She unblinkingly reveals the good (she was there for Michael when he could no longer walk) and the bad (she stormed out after an argument) aspects of her strong personality. Writes Yeasting, “I am old-fashioned but with a twist and a dash of spice.” Though the subject is somber, the black-and-white photos serve to lighten the tone. The book spans several years after Michael died, and the author plumbs her grieving process. Written as a form of self-therapy, Yeasting’s bittersweet account may comfort others who are grieving.

Diarylike reminiscences of a lost love that range from mundane to moving.

Pub Date: Jan. 15, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-4602-6747-9

Page Count: 306

Publisher: FriesenPress

Review Posted Online: March 31, 2016

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THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE

50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...

Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.

Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").

Pub Date: May 15, 1972

ISBN: 0205632645

Page Count: 105

Publisher: Macmillan

Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972

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NUTCRACKER

This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

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