by Laura DeNooyer | Aug 23, 2022 | Book Reviews
I’ve only been on the Appalachian Trail once, and that was decades ago. As I briefly mentioned earlier (All That We Carried), my hubby Tim and I took a few of his male high school students down south for a camping trip. Part of that involved camping in Virginia...
by Laura DeNooyer | Aug 16, 2022 | Book Reviews
A former student of mine, originally a British immigrant, credits me for teaching him how to read in fifth grade. Prior to that, he struggled with reading. Years later, the day he became an American citizen, he called to tell me personally, and thanked me for teaching...
by Laura DeNooyer | Aug 9, 2022 | Book Reviews
Ice cream—don’t get me started. It’s everything from the week’s highlight to an addiction. My obsession began at age three. I’ll blame my parents for introducing me to Battle Creek’s best kept secret: a local brand and family-run store, Henry’s Ice Cream. You might...
by Laura DeNooyer | Aug 2, 2022 | Book Reviews
What attracts you to a particular novel? Are you ever drawn in primarily by the setting? I certainly am. Such was the case with Liz Johnson’s The Red Door Inn, set in North Rustico, Prince Edward Island. For our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary years ago, Tim and I...
by Laura DeNooyer | Jul 26, 2022 | Book Reviews
There’s no doubting the power of stories, whether fact, fiction, or a blend. There’s also no doubting the power of words—to heal, soothe, save, bind, bond, or destroy. All of that surfaces in Heidi Chiavaroli’s The Orchard House, a novel rooted in the home and...
by Laura DeNooyer | Jul 19, 2022 | Book Reviews
Perceptions of mental illness have included demonic influences, witchcraft, genetics, and bad parenting. In earlier centuries, degrading practices were the norm for those who suffered. From the 1700s to the 1900s, even mental health hospitals proved barbaric....
