Trauma and Memories

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Traumatic Memories

Today, much of the United States have been glued to their tv screens, computers, tablets, and smartphones, watching the sickening spectacle of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Judge Brett Kavanaugh as they gave emotional testimonies before the Judiciary Committee. After watching Dr. Ford being questioned over 3 hours, I have to say that she was sympathetic and credible. There’s one thing that I wanted to address that the Republicans and Rachel Mitchell, the Republican sex crimes prosecutor who was hired to question both Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh seem to be obsessed with. How is that Dr. Ford can remember in such detail the actual assault, but not other things like the exact date and time of the party, how she got there, and whose house it was. I’m going to share something that I’ve only shared with my husband, that may not provide a full explanation, but maybe put things in perspective. When I was a freshman or sophomore in high school, I was assaulted by two of my fellow classmates. It happened after either a football or basketball pep rally. They both played multiple sports. In a deserted hallway, somewhere near the field house they managed to corner me. At 14 or 15, I was a skinny, flat-chested theater geek. The two boys were popular sports players. I remember them taunting me and demanding to see if I had anything under my bra. I remember crying and pleading with them to let me go. I remember one of them grabbing my right breast and joking that his little sister had “bigger boobs.” I remember him sticking his hand down my shirt. At that point somewhere in an adjacent hallway, there was a loud bang. I think maybe another student had closed their locker door. The way the building’s acoustics were, every sound was always magnified. Regardless, the noise startled all of us. I took advantage of the distraction and was able to push between the two of them and run, although not before my shirt got ripped. I never told anyone what happened because I was ashamed and humiliated. It wasn’t until years later, when one of my tormentors wound up in legal trouble for attacking his girlfriend, that I even told my husband. As you can see, while I can remember the actual assault with almost 100% clarity, there are other things I don’t remember such as the exact year (1979 or 1980), or the exact location beyond it being a hallway near where the pep rally had taken place. I can’t even remember if the pep rally was for the football or basketball team. However, 40 or so years later I still remember their names, how they smelled, the looks on their faces, and I’ll  never forget that feeling of complete and utter helplessness. 

~

Sharing this with you was not an easy decision. I didn’t realize how much this incident from four decades ago still bothered me until Dr. Christine Blasey Ford courageously stepped forward because although she was terrified, she felt it was her civic duty. The point to all this is that memories, traumatic memories can be tricky, but that doesn’t mean they’re not real. 

Another Of Judge Kavanaugh’s Accusers Comes Forward: Julie Swetnick

With Julie Swetnick being the third woman after Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez, to come forward with accusations against Brett Kavanaugh, there is absolutely no excuse for tomorrow’s hearing not to be postponed and the FBI to be brought in to investigate. The one thing that is glaringly obvious is that we have learned NOTHING in the 27 years since the Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas hearings. Thank you Gronda for another well researched post.

Gronda Morin

On September 26, 2018, Michael Avenatti made good on his claim that a 3rd victim of Judge Kavanaugh’s sexual assaults during drunken high school parties, would come forward by 9/26/18.

Her name is Julie Swetnick. So far, the other accusers are Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Debbie Ramirez. If this additional story doesn’t prompt the 11 male senators sitting on the US Senate Judiciary Committee to approve a more extensive FBI background check into the history of the Supreme Court Nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh and the facts surrounding allegations by at least 3 women regarding being sexually harmed by him during their high school and college days, nothing will.

See Affidavit: Read Julie Swetnick’s declaration accusing Brett Kavanaugh/ LA Times

FORD/ RAMIREZ/ KAVANAUGH

Here is the rest of the story…

On September 26, 2018, Dan Mangan and Kevin Breuninger of CNBC penned the following report, “New Kavanaugh accuser Julie Swetnick…

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Whimsical Wednesday

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Catherynne M. Valente, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, Whimsical Wednesday

She sounds like someone who spends a lot of time in libraries, which are the best sorts of people.

~ Catherynne M. Valente, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making ~

📚BANNED BOOKS WEEK📚 ~ September 23 – 29, 2018

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BANNED BOOKS WEEK 2018, Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Banning books gives us silence when we need speech. It closes our ears when we need to listen. It makes us blind when we need sight.

Stephen Chbosky,

📚 The Perks of Being A Wallflower 📚

The Lantern’s Ember, by Colleen Houck ~ 3.0 Stars

Tags

Fantasy, Paranormal, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now 

416 Pages

Synopsis: Welcome to a world where nightmarish creatures reign supreme.

Five hundred years ago, Jack made a deal with the devil. It’s difficult for him to remember much about his mortal days. So, he focuses on fulfilling his sentence as a Lantern—one of the watchmen who guard the portals to the Otherworld, a realm crawling with every nightmarish creature imaginable. Jack has spent centuries jumping from town to town, ensuring that nary a mortal—or not-so-mortal—soul slips past him. That is, until he meets beautiful Ember O’Dare.

Seventeen, stubborn, and a natural-born witch, Ember feels a strong pull to the Otherworld. Undeterred by Jack’s warnings, she crosses into the forbidden plane with the help of a mysterious and debonair vampire—and the chase through a dazzling, dangerous world is on. Jack must do everything in his power to get Ember back where she belongs before the earthly and unearthly worlds descend into chaos.

I was so excited to read this retelling of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, especially as it’s written by Colleen Houck who wrote the imaginative Tiger’s Curse series. I’m sorry to say that while it wasn’t a complete wash, I was left disappointed.

This is set sometime after the Salem witch trials, but you don’t really get a sense of where Ember lives. Most of the story focuses on the “otherworld” which is much more developed in terms of technology. It’s a little steampunkish which thrilled me to no end, and as usual the author does a beautiful job with world building. What did let me down though, was the lack of thrills and chills. I was expecting so much more spookiness given the story this was based on.

My main issue however was with the characters. First, there’s a love square, and you guys know how much I love those. (Yes that was sarcasm.) And, this was one of those rare stories where I actually liked the secondary characters more than the main one. I didn’t have strong feelings about Ember and Jack either way. They were just sort of  “meh” for me. I loved the others though, especially Deila who’s a kickass pirate captain with a metal tooth. She’s all kinds of awesome and deserves her own story.

And finally, the way The Lantern’s Ember is written, it feels more middle-schoolish even with the annoying romantic entanglements. Ultimately this latest book by Houck just didn’t live up to my expectations. I’m still a fan of the author though so hopefully this is a one off.

 

 

 

Lies, by T.M. Logan ~ 3.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Mystery, Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: September 11th, 2018

375 Pages

Synopsis: WHAT IF YOUR WHOLE LIFE WAS BASED ON LIES?

When Joe Lynch stumbles across his wife driving into a hotel car park while she’s supposed to be at work, he’s intrigued enough to follow her in. 

And when he witnesses her in an angry altercation with family friend Ben, he knows he ought to intervene.

But just as the confrontation between the two men turns violent, and Ben is knocked unconscious, Joe’s young son has an asthma attack—and Joe must flee in order to help him. When he returns, desperate to make sure Ben is OK, Joe is horrified to find the Ben has disappeared.

And that’s when Joe receives the first message…

Lies sounded like a psychological thriller that would be just my cup of tea, and while it wasn’t quite what I had envisioned from the premise, it was still a fairly  enjoyable read.

I liked Joe who found himself in circumstances beyond his control. He goes from being a loving husband and respected teacher, to a murder suspect forced to go on the run. While I emphasized with him he was a little too naive to be believable. Except for Joe’s son William, who I loved, the rest of the characters were pretty much one-dimensional.

The first half of the book was exciting and adrenaline-filled, but then from the middle on, the pace slowed down. Modern technology played a big part in the story but the way in which it was executed didn’t wind up working for me. The characters spend too much time explaining various aspects of it like in one instance, the working of a character’s smartphone, which I felt was unnecessary.  While I didn’t have everything figured out, I guessed the villain fairly early on. There were a few minor twists near the end, but nothing that truly shocked me.

In the end, although I was a little disappointed in Lies, there was still enough I enjoyed in it that I will definitely give T.M. Logan’s next book a try. 

 

Whimsical Wednesday

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”Anchors Aweigh”, ”Big”, Gene Kelly, George Carlin, Robert Loggia, Tom Hanks, Whimsical Wednesday

Those who dance are considered insane by those who can’t hear the music.

~ George Carlin ~

Monday Mishmash

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Mishmash Monday

Hi everyone. I want to apologize for being MIA on so many of your blogs. I haven’t been feeling well and as a result have been neglecting my blogging duties. I hope you’ll bear with me while I get myself sorted out.

There’s been a few news stories that have been weighing on my mind, so I thought I’d touch upon each of them briefly. First, there’s Hurricane Florence and Typhoon Manghut which have wrecked devastation on the southeast coast of the U.S. and the Philippines. I just wanted to say my thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who’s been affected.

~

Mr. Trump’s depraved indifference regarding the almost 3,000 Americans who died due to Hurricane Maria after she hit Puerto Rico last year has left me speechless, so I’m going to let my favorite gif to the talking.

~

Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, a California professor has come out with a credible sexual assault accusation against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. As of right now Judiciary Committee is set to vote on his nomination on Thursday. I can’t say this strongly enough, they MUST postpone this. The FBI needs to investigate this and both Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh deserve to have the opportunity to address these accusations in front of the committee. This position is a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land. Judge Kavanaugh, if approved, will be making decisions regarding all sorts of women’s issues. I for one would like to know where his moral compass is especially since he’s already committed perjury.

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And finally, the list of things minorities can’t do in this country without being reported to the police or physically accosted has hit a pinnacle as twenty-six year-old Botham Shem Jean was shot and killed in his own apartment by off duty police officer Amber Guyger, who claims she mistook his apartment for hers and thought he was an intruder. There are several things that don’t add up, and not helping is the Dallas Police Department obtaining a search warrant for the victim’s apartment with the sole purpose of trying to find something incriminating. The worst they found was a small amount of marijuana and a grinder for it. Jean was a legal immigrant from St. Lucia and was a college graduate and worked for the accounting firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers in Texas. He was also a loving son and brother with a powerful singing voice who enjoyed helping others. What happened needs to be investigated fully and without bias. I personally believe the Dallas Police should be kept as far away as possible from the investigation.

~

If you’ve made it through this hodge-podge of things I needed to get off my chest, thank you for reading. And I’d like to thank you again for sticking with me. I promise to do my best to catch up with all of you as soon as I get a lobotomy, um, I mean as soon as I feel better.

The Dark Days Blog Tour ~ Hosted By Penguin Young Readers

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Alison Goodman, Dark Days Blog Tour, Mystery, Paranormal Fiction, Regency England, Suspense, The Dark Days Club

Penguin and Viking have put this re-read campaign together to get everyone ready for the third book, The Dark Days Deceit which is set for release November 20th, 2018. I’m especially excited to be part of this campaign and blog tour for the next three months because I never got a chance to read the first two books: The Dark Days Club and The Dark Days Pact. They’ve been on my tbr, but somehow I just never found the time. Well, after finishing the first book, I’m now figuratively hitting myself over the head for waiting so long. Without further ado, I present:

Release Date: Available Now

472 Pages

Synopsis: London, April 1812. 

On the eve of eighteen-year-old Lady Helen Wrexhall’s presentation to the queen, one of her family’s housemaids disappears—and Helen is drawn into the shadows of Regency London. There she meets Lord Carlston, one of the few who can stop the perpetrators: a cabal of demons infiltrating every level of society. Dare she ask for his help, when his reputation is as black as his lingering eyes? And will her intelligence and headstrong curiosity wind up leading them into a death trap?

One thing I always look for in a historical fiction book is whether it actually makes me feel like I’m in that time period. Dark Days Club delivers on this. Alison Goodman has obviously done her research and makes it apparent that the Regency era wasn’t all pretty dresses and balls. There are some “ew” moments like what ladies had to put in their hair to keep their elaborate hair styles, and even what some had to do while waiting the many hours when being presented to the Queen and needed to go to the bathroom. Don’t worry. I won’t share any details with you! Suffice it to say I’m quite happy now to have born in the modern day era.

What I’ve loved about Goodman’s previous books is that she always brings something new and unique to the YA fantasy genre, and she does so with this book as well. She takes the beautiful dresses and balls, and shadows and gritty streets of 19th century London and adds her own creative touch. The world building is phenomenal and the paranormal elements are blended in perfectly. The exquisite detailing helps further bring this story to life. 

Strong-willed Lady Helen Wrexhall is not only dealing with the high expectations of the Ton, but also those of her well-meaning aunt and disagreeable uncle, who have raised her and her older brother Andrew after their parents mysteriously perished when they were young. Adding to this are the gossip and rumors which say that her mother was a traitor. She tries to fit in, but she knows there’s something different that sets her apart. And once she learns what that something is, she has to chose between the role in Society she’s been bred for, and the more exciting but dangerous world of Lord Carlston and the Dark Days Club.

When the dark, brooding Lord Carlston enters the picture, things begin to make more sense, and Helen is introduced to a whole new world where her unusual abilities are desperately needed. Their relationship doesn’t quite evolve into romance, but there’s definitely chemistry between them, and I can’t wait to see how their relationship evolves.

The action doesn’t actually begin until you’re about 150 pages in, and I confess I was getting a little impatient because I wanted to know what was going on, but that’s not to say the preceding pages are boring, especially if you love Regency novels. The ending perfectly sets things up for the second book which I’m now quite eager to dive into.

Overall, The Dark Days Club is a delightful beginning to this series and I highly recommend it for older teens and adults who like historical fiction mixed with paranormal elements. It’s an engrossing and enjoyable read that has left me wanting more! 

~

About the author:

Alison Goodman writes in a variety of genres, ranging from the genre-bending DARK DAYS CLUB titles to the EON/EONA fantasy duology, to the YA science fiction thriller SINGING THE DOGSTAR BLUES. She was a D.J. O’Hearn Memorial Fellow at Melbourne University, holds a master of arts degree and mentors emerging writers. A long-time lover of the Regency period, she has a treasure trove of material to be viewed at https://www.pinterest.com/alisongoodman/ She is online at http://www.darkdaysclub.com and on Twitter at https://mobile.twitter.com/AlisonGoodman

The Dark Day Club can be found at:

 

Barnes and Noble – https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-dark-days-club-alison-goodman/1121865109?ean=9780670785476&st

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15993203-the-dark-days-club

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Tour Schedule:

WEEK ONE

September 10 –  Eater of Books ~ https://eaterofbooks.blogspot.com – Top Ten Reasons Why You Should Read The Dark Days Club

September 11 – @darkfaerietales ~ https://www.instagram.com/darkfaerietales_/ – Creative Instagram Picture

September 12 –  Darque Dreamer Reads ~ https://darquedreamerreads.wordpress.com – Review with gifs & Moodboard

September 13 – My Friends are Fiction ~ https://www.instagram.com/myfriendsarefiction/ -Review & Creative Instagram Picture 

September 14 – By Hook Or By Book ~ https://cadburypom.wordpress.com – Review with gifs

WEEK TWO

October 8 – Eater of Books ~ https://eaterofbooks.blogspot.com – Moodboard

October 9 – @darkfaerietales ~ https://www.instagram.com/darkfaerietales_/ – Creative Instagram Picture

October 10 – Dark Dreamer Reads – https://darquedreamerreads.wordpress.com – Review with gifs & Moodboard 

October 11 – My Friends Are Fiction ~ https://www.instagram.com/myfriendsarefiction/ – Review & Creative Instagram Picture

October 12 – By Hook Or By Book ~ https://cadburypom.wordpress.com – Review & gifs

Week Three 

November 12 – Eater of Books ~ https://eaterofbooks.blogspot.com – Favorite Quotes

November 13 – @darkfaerietales ~ https://www.instagram.com/darkfaerietales_/ – Creative Instagram Picture

November 14 – Dark Dreamer Reads ~ https://darquedreamerreads.wordpress.com – Review with gifs & Moodboard 

November 15 – My Friends Are Fiction ~ https://www.instagram.com/myfriendsarefiction/ – Review & Creative Instagram Picture 

November 16 – By Hook Or By Book ~https://cadburypom.wordpress.com – Review & gifs

Not A Success … A Damn Disaster!

As the U.S. prepares itself for the monster known as Florence, Mr. Trump is still in denial over his epic failure to help Puerto Rico last year. And now this morning he’s gone further, tweeting that almost 3,000 Americans didn’t die in the aftermath of Maria and that the numbers have been inflated by Democrats. I don’t even know what to say anymore. Thank you Jill for this post putting everything together.

Filosofa's Word

On Tuesday, Donald Trump made the following statement:

“The job that FEMA and law enforcement and everybody did, working along with the Governor in Puerto Rico, I think was tremendous. I think that Puerto Rico was an incredible, unsung success. If you ask the governor, he’ll tell you what a great job.”

Not content with that, on Wednesday morning at 5:51 a.m., he tweeted …

“We got A Pluses for our recent hurricane work in Texas and Florida (and did an unappreciated great job in Puerto Rico, even though an inaccessible island with very poor electricity and a totally incompetent Mayor of San Juan). We are ready for the big one that is coming!”

Undoubtedly, some fell for his braggadocio, but for most of us, it was a jaw-dropping moment, knowing as we do that our response in Puerto Rico was anything but ‘great’.  A year later, Puerto Rico still…

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