February Book Pics!
“Books are powerful. Whether you read to learn, to relax, or to transform your worldview; stories can introduce you to ideas you never would have thought of on your own and take you places you couldn’t imagine. ”
This post is sponsored by The Pouring Pages
Here to fulfill all your bookish needs, check out her website to get your books, or even to try out her cocktail recipes to pair with them.
The House of My Mother by Shari Franke — Natalie
“From eldest daughter Shari Franke, the shocking true story behind the viral 8 Passengers family vlog and the hidden abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother, and how, in the face of unimaginable pain, she found freedom and healing. ”
The House of My Mother Audiobook on Libro.fm
This story epitomizes the unrelenting battle between being the perfect daughter and searching for escape. A book that perfectly captures the longing felt; and the ultimate acceptance of never being enough. I often wondered, in my own relationship with my mother, how I could hold our love and our disagreements in the same place. This book showed me the strength it takes to let go and love someone for who they are through all stages. A must read for the eldest daughter in your life!
The Women by Kristin Hannah — Alexa
“Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself.”
The Women Audiobook on Libro.fm
A book that I am going to remember for many years to come; The Women highlights the stark contrast between how we are told the world works and how it actually does. Frankie pushes the boundaries set for women during the Vietnam War era by joining the Women’s Army Corp (WAC), but upon her return, quickly comes to learn that her world will not accept her sacrifice and insist that women “did not fight in Vietnam”. We follow Frankie as she re-finds her footing in a divided America and searches for the strength to create change. Based on a true story, this book taught me the definition of resilience in the face of insurmountable events and I recommend it to everyone I meet; including you!
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix — Nina
“Fifteen-year-old Fern arrives at the home in the sweltering summer of 1970, pregnant, terrified and alone. Under the watchful eye of the stern Miss Wellwood, she meets a dozen other girls in the same predicament. There’s Rose, a hippie who insists she’s going to find a way to keep her baby and escape to a commune. And Zinnia, a budding musician who plans to marry her baby’s father. And Holly, a wisp of a girl, barely fourteen, mute and pregnant by no-one-knows-who. Everything the girls eat, every moment of their waking day, and everything they’re allowed to talk about is strictly controlled by adults who claim they know what’s best for them. Then Fern meets a librarian who gives her an occult book about witchcraft, and power is in the hands of the girls for the first time in their lives. But power can destroy as easily as it creates, and it’s never given freely. There’s always a price to be paid…and it’s usually paid in blood.”
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls Audiobook on Libro.fm
I have been told that I am an intimidating woman. Reader, it should not surprise you that I’ve been told this by multiple men. But as is the case with many “intimidating women” (AKA eldest thought daughters), behind the facade of power and independence is the lingering vulnerability of “Why?” This book is for everyone who has wondered about the price people pay for power, and why, so often, that price is paid by the most vulnerable communities our cultures neglect to protect. The people who are hidden away or shunned because they aren’t understood, dismissed as “wayward” out of fear: this magnificent novel has given voice to the questions that come to haunt you at two in the morning, and I hope it makes you feel held and reminds you of your innate power.
