Spanish Incursion into North America: Ponce de Leon

 Our visit to St. Augustine a few years back set off a study of Spanish and French activity in what’s now the U.S. before the arrival of the English under Sir Walter Raleigh. I read numerous books on the subject, and just about the time I think I have it all figured out, I learn more. 

While the Spanish invasion in the New World began with Christopher Columbus, the Spanish incursion into the N.A. began with Juan Ponce de León. As I posted a few years ago when I saw a Visit St Augustine article (screenshot below):

“And so began the exploration of and attempts to settle what is now North America. Juan Ponce de León would attempt to settle a colony along the Florida coast in 1521.According to the one source, it lasted about five months until the colonists were attacked by natives. Other sources indicate the attack was immediate. Ponce de León died in Cuba as a result of the wounds he received from an arrow.”

The next attempt at settling America occurred in 1526. It, too, was short lived and ended in disaster, as did all attempts at settlement (until Jamestown) with the exception of the second Santa Elena on what is now SC’s Parris Island.

If you were under the impression natives had had no contact with Europeans until the English arrived at Roanoke, Jamestown, or Plymouth, you’re in for a big surprise. 

Book Review: The Great Influenze

The Great Influenza, The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History by John M. Barry, deals with the Spanish Flu epidemic that began in the spring of 1918 and stretched into 1919, perhaps even in 1920 on a milder basis.

The author begins with the premise that the flu began at an army base in Kansas. Though he later admits there was no way of proving that, he proceeds for some time in a vacuum, focusing on the spread of the flu through troop movement, ignoring how it affected the rest of the country. While reading, I often stop and do a bit of online research. Other writers took the same angle, so troop movement did seem to be the super spreader for that epidemic.

While the author did a good job of providing an in-depth look at the deaths, devastation, and the race to isolate the cause and to find a vaccine, at time he veers off and goes in depth into other subjects. The first twelve or thirteen chapters were essentially a history of the rise of American medicine and bacteriology, and biographies of the American researchers who hunted for the cause of what appeared, at times, to be another Bubonic Plague. Because of that, I skimmed and skipped much until I reached the chapter on the epidemic.

I cannot recommend those chapters enough. As I stated above, Barry did a good job of relating the massive death toll and subsequent devastation to individuals, families, local economies, and society overall that the virulent strain of influenza caused, and of the race to isolate the infected and bury mounds of bodies, many of whom were healthy humans one minute and who collapsed the next. He provides an explanation that even I could understand without medical knowledge of how the lungs were attacked by the virus and why it killed so many young adults when children and the elderly were its usual targets. After reading that, I definitely won’t dismiss the flu as readily as I did before.

I was a bit dismay to learn millions wore masks during the epidemic, but overall, the masks didn’t work. The only time they were found useful was when they were placed on those who were infected. In the end, nothing stopped the epidemic but time. It simply faded out.

However, in this age of COVID, it won't hurt to keep socially distancing and washing your hands. Often.

The last chapter covered the lives of the researchers after the pandemic. The first part of the Afterword was interesting. Not only did it discuss past pandemics, the author delves into possible issues regarding future events. Since it was last published in 2018, it was fascinating to see his predictions and how close they came to reality.

In case you’re wondering, the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic is still the deadliest pandemic the world has ever seen. It wiped out tens of millions of people—or more—around the globe, including entire tribes in places like Alaska and in African nations. Still, there is a lot of shared experiences between then and now. Society shut down, fear ruled the day, and no one knew what the disease was or how to stop it.

The book was long, but I recommend it. It places the reader in the middle of the 1918 pandemic, and in doing so, gives insight into aspects of what we’re experiencing now, from closures to masks, to those in government taking advantage of the situation or just not certain how to deal with such an unprecedented situation.

I give it four stars out of five.

Book Review: The Blue Cloak

Based on actual events, The Blue Cloak by Shannon McNear relates the story of the Harpe Brothers, the first recorded serial killers in the newly formed United States.

 As a Christian reader, my first thought was that the plot and story content might offend the sensibilities of those who prefer sweet clean material. After all, aren’t we supposed to meditate on “whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report” and not be of this world?

With that thought, the pastor’s wife in me decided that while the contents of The Blue Cloak might offend some, perhaps—considering the rate at which evil and depravity are unfolding around us—it’s time to challenge our comfort level.

In addition to being a well-written and well-researched story, The Blue Cloak is a good reminder that Christians have a responsibility to minister to and to share the gospel with others, even those we arrogantly find repulsive. This story is, after all, based on real events that occurred in my home state, and it’s written far more accurately than most would imagine. The majority of the “dregs” within the story actually existed. Men who committed brutal crimes and the women they forced into their world, who were kept there with threats of violence. One, the daughter of a minister. Too often, we fail to realize that people like “Harpes’ women” and even some like the Harpes themselves are the sick that Jesus came to save.

That lesson is exemplified in the story by Rachel seeking to help her old friend Sally—who, like so many these days—found herself in a situation she didn’t want or expected to be in, wondering if she was beyond redemption. Likewise, we as Christians are commanded to take the gospel to others, including the Susans, Betseys, and Sallys of this world. They need to hear that though their sins be many and seemingly unforgivable, the Son of God will become a cloak of righteousness for those who believe on His name.

 I received a preview copy in exchange for a review. I seldom do this, but I like the author’s stories and especially her writing. The Blue Cloak exceeded my expectations. I appreciate the good read and the reminder that faith often takes place in rough places.

Rachel Taylor fights jealousy as her best friend Sally marries and begins her new life. A short time later, her friend begins to lose the glow of happiness. After Sally is spotted with a group of rough looking people, one of whom wears the blue cloak Rachel had given her friend as a wedding present, several brutal murders occur along wilderness roads in the direction the group was heading. Fearing for her friend, Rachel and a man named Ben work to reach Sally before she’s lost forever and to stop those responsible for the killing spree.

Book Review: The Huguenots in France

I've been on a Huguenot kick lately. Because of it, I'm learning the history of a group I previously knew little about beyond the fact that theologically, they were Calvinists and dealt with some persecution. The Huguenots in France enlightened me.

Written by Samuel Smiles in the 1870s, the book is an excellent account of the persecution the Huguenots suffered in France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. It’s unsettling as well in light of the fact that Christians in China and parts of Africa are facing similar persecution today.

Huguenots is broken into three sections. The first half details the cause of the revocation and subsequent torture of the Huguenots by the Roman church and the government of France that occurred for nearly 100 years after. The author goes into great detail about the sufferings of the Protestants, the flight from France for those who could afford it, and the devastation to towns and to France itself after Huguenot doctors, judges, artists, scientists, manufacturers, soldiers and more fled the country in the face of such cruelty. Of those who remained, men who weren’t shot or else-wise killed when caught at a worship service were sentenced to life as a galley slave and the women to life in a dungeon. Their children were sent to the Jesuits and to nunneries. The persecution was so intense, even Voltaire got involved despite his disdain for religion.

After reading of the risks they took to worship the Lord according to the scriptures and their conscience, I stopped lamenting over the fact that two of the three services we have at our church each week occur at night when I’m weary. How easy we have it.

In the second half of the book, about one quarter is devoted to essays of prominent Huguenots, and the other focuses on the church and a visit to Vaudois by the author. According to the author, a tradition among the Vaudois is that residents of the region received the gospel from Early Christian missionaries, who shared the gospel and scriptures in its “primitive form.” As isolated as they were in that region of France, they maintained those teachings even after the Roman church grew in power and “departed more and more from its primitive condition, until at length it was scarcely to be recognized from the Paganism which it had superseded.” After the Roman Catholic Church noticed them, severe persecution began.

The Huguenots of France is an excellent reminder of the importance of staying true to the scriptures and persevering in the faith. I recommend it for all Christians. There is a free, public domain version with decent formatting on Amazon Kindle.

Book Review: Dead Mountain

Ten students, led by Igor Dyatlov, travel into the cold, Russian wilderness in January 1959 to fulfill the requirements of a Grade III, or mastery, certification in hiking. One is forced to turn back due to physical issues. The rest ski into the barren landscape and are never heard from again. Rescue parties are sent out, and the circumstances under which their bodies are found set off an investigation, orders of silence, and a variety of theories, including conspiracy, that endure to this day.

I first heard of the “Dyatlov Incident” as it’s called, from the television show, Expedition Unknown. The strange facts laid out in the two-part episode captivated us. Perhaps because of that show, or perhaps because this past January was the 60th anniversary of the event, but shortly after the show was aired, Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident by Donnie Eichar became available on Amazon’s Prime Reading. I immediately downloaded it.

Dead Mountain is presented in the same format as Expedition: Narrative of the hikers’ last days alternate with chapters about the author’s efforts to follow in the footsteps of the hikers to the site where they set up the tent they inexplicably abandoned, and where the bodies were found. However, Eichar’s book provides far more details than Expedition could cover in two episodes. Each page is informative, mysterious, and captivating.

My one complaint is that instead of focusing on theories already presented and debated over the years, Eichar, after admitting his desire to solve the case, dismisses them all in favor of a theory of his own. In the mesmerizing pages of the hikers last day, put together with known facts and scientific speculation, he inserts his theory into the narrative of the hikers’ experience. This is especially unfortunate as a piece of evidence the author did not have, but which was presented by Josh Gates in Expedition Unknown, has come to light. As it turns out, the government was aware of the hikers deaths before the search parties were sent out. It was previously believed that officials were uncertain as to the fate of the hikers until searchers actually found the first of the bodies. If Eichar had had access to that information in 2012 when he embarked on this journey, his conclusion might have differed.

That doesn’t stop Dead Mountain from being a book worthy of reading. It’s loaded with details about the hikers and their journey, many of which cleared up questions we had after watching Expedition Unknown. And now is a good time to read it. On or near the 60th anniversary of the “incident,” the Russian government announced it was reopening the investigation into the death of the hikers. Reading Dead Mountain is a good way to catch up on the case before it is, hopefully, finally solved.

Actual Photo of the Dyatlov Party

The General

Anyone who knows me knows I love history. My favorite subjects are the War Between the States and Medieval England. Regarding the former, I'm a huge fan of Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, Robert E Lee and (this may surprise some) Ulysses S Grant.

My respect for Grant grew even more after I read volume one of his beautifully written memoirs. When a friend recommended The General's Wife: The Life of Mrs. Ulysses S Grant, I downloaded the Kindle version and was pleased it covered as much, if not more, about US Grant as it did his wife, Julia Dent Grant.

The author reiterated much of which I knew about Grant, his humility, and his failures at just about everything in his early adult years with the exception of the one job he disliked—being a soldier. The book goes in-depth about his personal and family life. I learned he loved his family and often had them at his camp during the war, and that prior to that time, his father viewed him as a failure and often let him know it. However, once “Ulys” became a general, the man couldn’t brag about his son enough.

I'd always heard Grant was an alcoholic, but that may not be accurate. Several men accused him of intemperance, but those closest to him reported he rarely touched alcohol. On each account mentioned in the book, he was cleared of the accusations.

On the subject of journalists, he disliked them as they often twisted the truth, rarely in his favor. He suffered from migraines and had one shortly before Lee surrendered. It doesn’t appear he was a man of faith, but that only means the author didn’t say one way or the other. I hope he was. I'd love to meet him in heaven.

And yes, the book talks about Julia Dent Grant as well. Though she was plain looking, as the author pointed out, Ulysses adored her as much as she adored him, regardless of their wealth, or lack thereof, or situation. She was a bright, capable woman who stood by Grant's side, even during the battle of Vicksburg, some action of which she witnessed. A good book about an extraordinary man.

Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion, and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson

It has 969 reviews on Amazon alone, eighty-two percent of which are five stars and thirteen percent, four stars. With good reason. While long (689 pages) S. C. Gwynne's biography on Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson is an excellent read.

Rebel Yell covers the life of Thomas Jackson in five parts: The Unimagined War; The Man Within the Man; Valley of the Shadow of Death; Stirring of a Legend, and All that is Ever Given to a Man. Within these sections, the author does a great job of laying out the circumstances that made Jackson who he was, and of portraying the quirky, often maddening VMI instructor his students knew and the more relaxed Jackson friends and family enjoyed.

Descriptions of various battles slowed down my reading a bit. I tried to skim over these sections, but I typically came upon details that compelled me to backup and read what I'd missed. In doing so, I found within these chapters as well as between them, Gywnne did an excellent job of comparing and contrasting Jackson with commanders on both sides of the conflict. It was easy to see why the brilliant soldier who became an international figure was respected by many on both sides of the war, and why even some in the North mourned his death.

An excellent book, and far more objective and balanced than Robert Dabney’s biography on his hero.

Kentucky Reckoning

My roots are showing. Again.

Between family research and reading my friend's book, Cumberland Bride, Kentucky has been on my mind lately. I love the place and wish I could spend more time there, but I can't live there. The cost of living and familial conflict are far too high.

It seems my family and I aren't the only Kentuckians who left the state for those reasons. A book titled Hillbilly Elegy was released in 2016. It has an Amazon rating of four-and-a-half stars with well over 11,000 reviews. I haven't read it yet, but judging from the description, the story of the author's family appears to parallel that of my own. My grandfather moved his family from the Cumberland Plateau in the 1920s for a better life and an opportunity to work on the railroad in the northern part of the state and in Ohio.

In addition, I recently read an essay contained in a liberal (I roll mine eyes) response to Elegy. As with the author of Elegy, the story of this author's family parallels my family's down to the town in which we grew up. Our grandparents were part of the Appalachian out-migration, mine from Whitley County, hers from neighboring Laurel, though my grandparents left before WWII. Her grandmother was eventually placed in the nursing home in which several members of my family lived out their final years and others worked. Like me, she attended church downtown where a fiery preacher screamed God's wrath without mentioning redemption through Christ. (The Law guides and convicts us. Jesus fulfills its requirements for those who believe. Is that so hard to say?)

Reading it was a bit surreal. What I found fascinating though was the shared behaviors and attitudes of our families. The addictions and unwillingness to discuss their lives back in the Cumberland Plateau. Though my mother was born outside of the Plateau, she apparently adopted her siblings' attitudes about the region in which their entire family lived for nearly 200 years. I once asked why we never visited our great aunts there. Though she and her siblings spoke of the ladies with great fondness, my mother replied something to the effect that she didn't want to have anything to do with those hillbillies (at the time, we didn't know we were descendants of Squire Boone through Sarah.) As they covered the roots of their hair when the real color began to emerge, so did she and the others do their best to hide the roots of their culture and lives when those experiences and characteristics began to manifest themselves.

My generation of the family could never understand our parents and their attitudes. Elegy and the essay opened a door of understanding, and I hope to learn more.

Author Linda Yezak

I owe Christian author Linda W Yezak an apology. On occasion I'll post a book review on this blog, but it didn't occur to me until now that I've never reviewed one of her books, despite the fact that I've read most of them and liked all that I've read.

While writing, I aspired to reach Linda's level of excellence. I love her prose, her descriptions, her style, and her storytelling. As I've mentioned in the past, I'm not generally a Romance reader, but I do read a few. I prefer well-written novels where the plot isn't smothered by the mushy stuff. Linda's books are like that. She penned a trilogy called the Circle Bar Ranch series, which includes (in order), Give the Lady a Ride, The Final Ride and Ride to the Altar. They're set in Texas where she lives (and where we once called home, so there's that.)

Graphic I lifted from Linda's website

I love Talon and Pat and their stories. And, as a former Texan, the setting.

It's been a while, but I also read and liked her novel The Cat Lady's Secret, the story of a quirky woman who helps the strays she finds around town--both people and feline.

While fun and whimsical, Cat Lady has a serious side and offers a solid message of faith and hope.






Linda has also authored several novellas. Skydiving to Love is about a woman who faces her fears to fulfill a dare she made with friends. "Kayla's Challenge", part of the Coming Home: A Tiny House Collection is about a pampered young woman determined to make it on her own. Her latest, "Ice Melts in Spring," is part of the A Southern Season: Stories from a Front Porch Swing collection. Other authors in the collection include Eva Marie Everson and Ane Mulligan. Linda also has upcoming titles that will soon be released.

She's a wonderful author, and I'm not just saying that because she's a red head and a Texan--and a friend. Check out her novels. I recommend them.

Hurricanes and Reading - The Cumberland Bride

Google's security measures are a bit too stringent at times, which prevents me from signing onto Blogger. I finally remembered to do so at a device Google recognizes and can now update the blog.

Hurricane Florence recently slogged into North Carolina. In the decade I've lived here, never have I experienced a tropical event that lasted so long. That storm did not want to leave, and for four days it battered the coast. The damage was extensive. And then came the flooding. We were far enough inland to escape the brunt of the storm, but not to avoid it entirely. As a final insult, Florence dumped a huge amount of rainfall on us on her way out of town, flooding our street (but not our house.) She joins Cornwallis and Sherman as guests not welcome in this state.

As of this writing, Tropical Storm Michael, which made landfall near Panama City, Florida, as Category 4 Hurricane Michael, is flying toward us. Praise God, sometime in the night the storm shifted and the worst of it will skirt to the west of those most affected by Florence. We should just get some rain. If the winds want to uproot any plants or trees, it's welcome to pull up my half-dead gardenias because my husband insists they're okay.

During all this hurricaning, I spent a lot of time reading. I'm in the middle of Rebel Yell, a book about the life and military career of Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, but I put it aside when a historical novel written by a friend of mine was released.

Cumberland Bride, by Shannon McNear, is set along the Wilderness Trail and in Kentucky, my home state and the place where my entire maternal line lived for over 200 years. When she told me she was writing it, the history and genealogy geek in me nearly burst. Numerous, if not all, of my direct ancestors would have taken the trail to and through the Cumberland Gap to reach their eventual home in Southeast Kentucky.

Those who know me know I'm not a romance reader, and while the book is a romance, the story focuses on a group of settlers moving into Kentucky and the guide hired to take them there. Shannon is an excellent writer and historian. The details and facts she wove into the story were fantastic. She provided a vivid glimpse of what settlers (including my family) would have seen and experienced during the difficult journey. Whether or not one is a romance reader, it was a good read. I highly recommend it.

Book Review: For the Love of Liberty

The year is 2026 and Liberty Ridley is searching for an idea for her next novel. Her agent directs her to a professor doing research with DNA memory. Liberty is skeptical, but when she learns the contributions an ancestor made during the Revolution are at risk of being dismissed as lore, she takes the plunge and in doing so, finds herself in Philadelphia in the year 1777. Is she experiencing her ancestor's memories or has her writer's imagination gone wild?

I read very few Romances, but this was a fun book. I wasn't sure how Blanton would handle the time travel element and was pleased she used an actual theory I'd read about a year or two ago. As indicated in her novel, some believe DNA may contain memories of the person from whom the DNA is derived.

The only DNA Liberty has access to is that of a great-something grandmother who shed blood during the Battle of Yorktown. She agrees to the experiment and awakens in Colonial Philadelphia where she meets a Loyalist struggling to figure out exactly where his loyalties lay. I was intrigued by the spy element of the story (so much so I downloaded an Audible book on the subject) and liked how Blanton resolved everything. I know she typically writes westerns, but I would love to see her write more Colonial stories. 

Gray Mountain by John Grisham

Published in 2014, Gray Mountain is the story of Samantha Kofer, a young attorney furloughed from a large New York law firm after the 2008 fall of Lehman Brothers set off an economic quake. 

The terms of the furlough require Samantha to intern at a nonprofit organization for a year. After that, her position at the NY firm would be reassessed. It was, overall, a thin excuse to get the character into a legal aid clinic in the Appalachian Mountains of western Virginia. However, it was also a way to provide a contrast between the rushed and soulless life of the city, and a real and vastly slower existence in what should be the beautiful mountains. 

"What should be" because the story quickly reaches its crux. The small town in which the story is set is located in coal country. Strip mining to be exact. It isn't long before Samantha meets Donovan Gray, an attorney bent on making coal companies pay for the damage they've done to the lives of the locals and to his life as well, even if he has to destroy himself to do it. 

Big coal is, of course, painted as the bad guy. While I'm not thrilled about the damage strip mining does to the mountains I love, I quickly grew weary of all coal companies being painted as clandestine greed-driven thugs ready to threaten, harass, and kill for a lump of coal. But that was the conflict in this story and without it, many might toss aside Samantha's struggles to make the adjustment from life in the big city where she worked for a faceless law firm that showed as much loyalty to their associates as the coal companies showed to their miners, to serving as an attorney for small town folk unable to afford the legal services often needed in this life. Especially when their voice and pocketbook are so small, they're easily pushed around. 

It's a shame, because the clients who walked through the doors of the legal aid clinic, their desperate needs, and Samantha's growing realization of her ability to help them despite her lack of courtroom experience were, for me, the most compelling aspect of Gray Mountain, and the reason I kept turning the page. Having met such people, I couldn't help but feel compassion for the characters and their circumstances. A feeling that stayed with me after I turned the last page. Because of that, Gray Mountain is likely one I'll read again someday. 

Book Review: The Last Moriarty

Sherlock Holmes has been trending in my life since I discovered the Cumberbatch series that features a modern-day version of the consulting detective. When I recently signed up for Kindle Unlimited in the hopes of reading books from my favorite authors (who, it turns out, do not participate in the program) I happened on The Last Moriarty by Charles Veley.

The story opens on a gray November day in 1895. Mary Watson is three years gone, and Dr. Watson is back at Baker Street. All is quiet until Sherlock's brother, Mycroft, arrives at the flat around dawn. The visit involves a matter of national urgency that includes several prominent Americans and an encounter Sherlock expected never again to have.

It has been years since I last read a Sherlock Holmes mystery, and I nearly passed on this one. After all, who could possibly match the tone and style of the original? Veley comes close in The Last Moriarty. It was a page turner I was loathed to put down when forced to do so, and sleepless nights often found me huddled beneath the covers reading with my iPhone Kindle app set to night mode. Even the historical notes at the end were interesting. The Last Moriarty is a five-star treat for Sherlock fans.

Book Review: The Story in the Stars

Just my opinion, but the astronautette on the cover belies the story within. Told in vivid prose, The Story in the Stars is a thoughtful and intelligent yet fascinating novel. My review on B&N:


Her ancestors conquered his. His people tried to annihilate hers. For generations, hostility and distrust separated their worlds. But when the plague created by the Karkars to fight the Gannahans resurfaces on the invaders' planet, killing everyone but the future toqeph, the only one who can save Gannah from extinction is a Karkar.

And he's not in the mood to help.

But sensing an opportunity to secure a spot in medical history—and prove to his people a half Karkar/half human can indeed have redeeming qualities—Dr. Pik condescends to cure the disturbingly fascinating Dassa. Thrown together during the healing process, the galactic outsiders bonded by a history of death form an unlikely friendship, giving Dassa the opportunity to a return a stolen treasure, and to share the story written in the stars.

My rating: five stars, and not because I know the author. As a Sci-Fi fan, I loved this story and a love that rivaled Luke and Callista's. (So take that Kevin J. Anderson ;) It takes Christian Fiction to new heights.

The Story in the Stars is available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

For propriety's sake, I have to add that I did not receive any goods, services, or compensation for this review. Not even a signed copy of the book!

Book Review: Crossing Oceans

I don't usually do book reviews, but I picked up one of those novels that becomes an experience, and lingers in the heart and mind long after the cover is closed. A summary is below, but it includes a bit of a spoiler.

Crossing Oceans is Gina Holmes' stunning debut novel about a woman whose illness forces her to return home and face her father--and the man who doesn't know he's the father of her child.

Told in vivid prose, Gina draws the reader into the life and journey of Jenny Lucas in a story that captures emotions, drawing tears at times, and bittersweet laughter at others. Though classified as Christian Fiction, this finely-crafted piece will no doubt cross into the mainstream market.

I loved it so much, I made my own tribute while at the beach.

Buy two. You'll want to share.

On The Lighter Side....

Moving past the unpleasantries of the last few days and on to lighter subjects. Exploring the Geology of the Carolinas arrived a couple of days ago and I've been skimming through it. I can't read it yet—I'm already reading two books and must finish those before I jump into another. But what I gleaned in the small amount I did read indicated the purchase was a good one.

I've also been practicing the knitting stitches I mentioned in a previous post. Whoever came up with purling in the back of a stitch was either drunk or bitter. Talk about convoluted! Once I'm comfortable with the stitches (and my practice swaths look like the examples in the book!) I'll move on to a project.

Things Left Unspoken

I finished reading Eva Marie Everson's Things Left Unspoken. It took longer than expected, through no fault of the author. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I wanted to read it, not make a mad dash through the prose to get a quick literary fix. It was a wise choice. The story is beautifully written, for which I'm thankful. How horrible to have lost my writing dreams only to be stuck with a book filled with absurdities and technical errors such as the one I left behind at DFW airport. But more than that, the characters project as real, compelling. They're people you may know, or who may have touched your life at some point. And along with so many women, I so related to the main character's situation, her hurting heart, and I read hoping to find answers of my own.

At one point, the plot took an unexpected turn that gave the story a bit of a mystery/suspense edge. My indifference to that element stems only from my expectations. I wanted to continue on with the relational issues, to work through my own as the characters work through theirs. But Ms. Everson weaved the story together very well and made it work. The lessons are there, as is the struggle of what to say and when to say it, and what to leave unspoken.

Ironically, I finished the book in a week in which I nearly lost one dear lady, and did lose another. I'd left far too much unspoken for too long with the one I lost, and when I realized it, it was too late. I didn't make that mistake with the other. How precious to be granted additional time to say "You are cherished" and "I love you."

Perhaps because of that, though I doubt it, Things Left Unspoken is a story I lived, not just read. A story that will stay with me for some time though the back cover is closed.

Black Mountains

During a visit to Mt. Mitchell several years ago, I picked up a copy of A History of Mt. Mitchell and the Black Mountains at the state park's gift store. It sat on my bookshelf for years, squeezed between Tales of Edisto and Bushwackers, but I finally cracked it open last month. I'm sorry I waited so long to read it.

Beginning with the Pisgah tribe, author S. Kent Schwarzkopf takes the reader from the earliest known history of the Black Mountains through initial exploration, logging and tourism, all of which changed the face of the once isolated range. I learned about Andre' Michaux, whose name I'd previously associated with explorer John Lawson and an orchid, and the true nature of the controversy between Elisha Mitchell and Thomas L. Clingman (it was not, as is frequently reported, a dispute involving a peak in the Smoky Mountains.) I read details of Reverend Mitchell's death and the search for his body, and the invaluable work of Arnold Guyot.

A History of Mt. Mitchell and the Black Mountains is a must for anyone interested in that particular range, or in North Carolina history. It's available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and many gift shops along the Blue Ridge Parkway.