The Art of Racing in the Rain

• Author: Garth Stein (website/instagram/twitter)
• Publisher & Date: Harper Collins, 2008
• Pages: 352
• Intended Audience: Adults/Young Adults who love animals!
• Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Philosophy, Family, Pets
• Goodreads Rating: 4.15/5.0 
• Sneak Peak by Jess:   

    "I'm old. And while I'm very capable of getting older, that's not the way that I want to go out. Shot full of pain medication and steroids to reduce the swelling of my joints. Vision fogged with cataracts... That's humiliating and degrading." At the very beginning of the novel, we meet Enzo, an aging, old soul, who is nearing the end of his life, and we meet Denny, his beloved and dearest friend. Enzo's health has been on a steady downhill slope for some time, but before his time comes, he reflects on his long and happy life by telling his story through his own eyes, as a dog. 

"The Art of Racing in the Rain is a beautifully crafted and captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life...as only a dog could tell it." -Goodreads.com

    If you are an animal of lover of any kind, then this book is an absolute must-read! Garth Stein is, in some way, a genius. He has cleverly written a novel of the everyday life of a family, the Swifts, but through the point of view of their family pet, Enzo. If you are anything like me, you have probably wondered to yourself what your own pet is thinking, what they dream about, and what they would say to you if they could speak. After reading this book, all of my questions were finally resolved! Enzo is, and like I know my own dog is, a very smart and talented soul. He realizes what is taking place in the world around him; he understands the trouble that his family is going through; he also knows the answers and solutions to those problems, but he cannot communicate effectively other than using small gestures that prove to be pointless most of the time.

  Sure, he can be clever and even sometimes a stubborn individual, but nonetheless, Enzo explains what it means to love, forgive, protect, and cherish those people and things you hold dear by comparing life to one of his favorite past-times, racing. Life is not always about how fast you can go; "The one who drives smart will always win in the end." His canine life is so profoundly inspiring for all of the humankind. You are guaranteed to laugh and most definitely cry as you witness the beauty of his life unfold from beginning to end in this endearing novel.

• Favorite Quotes:

-"Sure, I'm stuffed into a dog's body, but that's just the shell. It's what's inside that's important. The soul. And my soul is very human."

-"It makes one realize that the physicality of our world is a boundary to us only if our will is weak; a true champion can accomplish things that a normal person would think impossible."

-"Yes: the race is long- to finish first, you must finish."

• Favorite Chapter:

-"Chapter 11" (Or as I like to title it, "The Stuffed Zebra!"): This chapter was hilarious to me! I can totally see his situation with the evil stuffed animal, as something that one of my dogs would do. Just being able to see their train of thought makes me literally laugh out loud! 

-"Imola, Italy": My favorite chapter by far, and I don't want to give anything away, so you will see why once you read it! This book couldn't have possibly had a better ending!

• Cons:

-Yet another book that I cannot seem to find anything negative to say about it. When a book can move someone, as much as this book moved me, then that means it is a work of art.

  

  And in honor of Enzo's fabulous life, I wanted to share a few other fabulous dogs that I am lucky to have in my own life! Roxy, the boxer, Baloo, the Black Mouth Cur, Ellie, the Alaskan Husky, and *not pictured* Sadie, the Yellow Lab. 

Making a Difference

   Hope you are having a HAPPY FRIDAY! I just thought I'd share a story that has found a place in my heart! As some of you may or may not know, I taught 6th English-Language Arts last school year, and some of the most heart-breaking moments for me were when I would have a child tell me they hated reading. Hated reading? 

   In all honesty, I could almost relate to them. I never hated reading when I was their age, but I was by no means an avid reader either. (see Behind the Pages) But hearing this as a teacher took a different toll on me. It was like something had hit me deep in my core. It became my goal to pry and find out why the child resented reading. I would do what I could, and more often than not, I would discover that the child simply could not read, or could not read well. How unsettling is it to know that by 6th grade some students still cannot read? We are talking eleven and twelve-year-old children here, and unfortunately, it happens all the time. 

   Which brings me to the reason for this post. My S.O. shared this story with me (bless his heart!) from CBS News; it was aired on "College Football Today" last week. Malcolm Mitchell, a football player for the Georgia Bulldogs, has a very similar story to what I have just described to you. Struggled in grade school. Could not read well. Therefore, hated to read. But with all of the talent he possesses on the field, why would he ever need books? This is a very common misconception of many students; they find success in other areas, and they put reading on the back burner. The difference is, Malcolm decided to choose a different path. His story is absolutely remarkable, and it should be shared. If only every kid could see this...

 

"Somebody called me a nerd. That's not a word that I am used to hearing. I was proud of it...It was like a badge of honor to me." -Malcolm Mitchell

For more information about this story and Malcolm Mitchell, please visit CBS News. 

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

• Author: Cheryl Strayed (website/facebook/twitter)
• Publisher & Date: Vintage Books, 2012
• Pages: 311
• Intended Audience: Adult/Young Adult
• Genre: Memoir, Adventure, Travel, Survival, Inspirational
• Goodreads Rating: 3.91/5.0 
• Sneak Peak by Jess: 

     Picture this: You are a 26-years-old female, recently divorced from a man you love dearly, still grieving the loss of your mom who passed away four years prior to this very moment, and you are standing on the edge of a forest line about to take on a 1,100 mile journey through the wilderness, alone, after uprooting your entire life. On top of this slightly irrational decision, you have never hiked a day in your life. Got the idea?

    As crazy as that may sound to some, it is the only thing that sounded sane to Cheryl Strayed at that time in her life. And that is exactly what she, the author of Wild: From Lost and Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, decided to do for herself after her life was seemingly becoming more and more out of her control.

    Young and in love with her high school sweet-heart, Cheryl married at the very young age of 19, and her life was everything she wanted it to be, until her mom fell suddenly ill. After her mother's passing, Strayed did just as her name suggests... she strayed from everything that was once holding her together in one piece; her friends, her family, her husband, her life, her job, and her morals. With all else gone, and having nothing else to lose, she makes the decision to quit her job, sell all of her belongings, and travel across the country to the Mojave desert to hike the infamous Pacific Crest Trail, where she would be faced with some of the most brutal, unforgiving, and loneliest days of her life.

    This memoir takes the reader through a step-by-step retelling of Cheryl Strayed's remarkable journey, as she recounts what it was like to spend three grueling months on her own with just herself and a "Monster."

"Told with great suspense and style, sparkling with warmth and humor, Wild vividly captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her." -Goodreads.com
 

    Let me begin by saying that anyone who can hike for 1,100 miles in one lifetime is a BEAST in my eyes. Kudos to you! However, not only did Cheryl Strayed hike 11,000 miles, but she did it alone. A woman, in the woods, for months, alone. That would terrify me; yet, at the same time, I envy her adventure.
   This would not typically be a book that I would grab off of the shelves and read just because it sounded good. I honestly know very little about hiking and the outdoors, and I couldn't really care less about someone taking a trip along the PCT. And if we're being completely honest, I probably would not have read this book if it had not been a true story. The fact that the story was actually lived out by the author made this a good read to me. 
    So let's back up. Strayed takes this journey.. a kind of pilgrimage, if you will, in search of personal fortitude. I guess it was hard for me to grasp why she felt she needed to go hiking (Keep in mind she had never been hiking- it would be like me saying that I needed to go sailing solo down the West Coast to help me find inner peace.) to find such a thing, but then again, I suppose I have never felt that lost. Some people will probably consider this a very reckless decision on her part, and others will love her courage and the struggles that she overcomes. Strayed uses some pretty vivid detail when she writes about her time in these various desserts and mountain ranges, which in a sense is nice, because she paints a picture for you, but can get a bit lengthy for my taste. (Again, if your into that kind of thing, then you'll love it.) She also explains some background on her life and events leading up to her final decision to take on the PCT. Growing up with an absent father, moving from place to place, and losing the one person that kept the family glued together, could easily cause anyone to fall into a dark, bottomless pit. Who really knows what it would take to rebuild a life from such a place until you reach that point yourself? To wrap it all up, this memoir is painstaking proof that even through the midst of defeat, starvation, and loneliness, humans are equipped with what it takes to survive. Just strap in tight because this story can be very emotionally raw, sadly relateable at times, and brutally descriptive, but it will leave you cheering her on around every bend. 

•  Favorite Quotes:

-"Fear, to a great extent, is born of a story we tell ourselves."

-"I'd made a plan: I would follow this road wherever it led me. I'd ignore all others that crossed its path, no matter how intriguing or promising they looked."
 -"There is no way to know what makes one thing happen and not another. What leads to what. What destroys what. What causes what to flourish or die or take another course."

• Biggest Takeaway:

-Never take your loved ones for granted. (Especially your mom.) I have learned that my time with my parents and grandparents is very limited, and I have always known that, but seeing what Strayed goes through really opened my eyes to how precious my family is. 

• Cons:

 -I'm racking my brain to find a con about this book, and it doesn't seem like I am going to be able to fabricate one. It is a beautifully-crafted novel. 

• Questions:

-Why did she choose the PCT? What was so intriguing about hiking to her at this point in her life?

-Did she really ever find what she was looking for?

-In your opinion, did her brutal honesty about some of her previous mistakes seem like bragging points?
-Was her decision to take on this journey irrational or justified?