A wrenching but ultimately heartwarming memoir of how one woman’s faith softened her grief.
A collection of Christian-themed tales of life’s heartbreak and redemption.
In her nonfiction debut, Frick, an elementary school librarian, assembles a collection of gentle, uplifting Christian parables that one can imagine her sharing with students. She calls the book “an attempt to answer His call to share my journey of faith through the most difficult times of my life,” and the remembrances revolve mainly around themes of grief, particularly regarding the loss of her beloved husband, David, in 2016. She movingly recounts his struggle with cancer in great detail and also relates the personal pain that it caused her. Her consolations will resonate with the Christian readers of her target audience: “What a comforting image! David with his Lord Jesus Christ—free of pain and warmed by God’s love.” Almost equally moving is Frick’s account of her love for her “seven-year-old goofy love-bug,” a Great Dane named Tillman, who was afflicted with bone cancer; every dog owner will nod enthusiastically and occasionally tear up at the story of how she and her husband eventually faced the sad decision that many pet owners eventually face. The text would likely have benefited from a stronger edit, as details are repeated often enough to be noticeable, and some dramatic beats seem missed or mishandled. But the author’s choice to interweave two large but distinct grief narratives into a religious memoir is a truly wise one, as it throws what St. Ignatius called the consolations of the Savior into greater relief.
A wrenching but ultimately heartwarming memoir of how one woman’s faith softened her grief.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-692-94120-1
Page Count: 158
Publisher: Ingram Spark
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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