Back to My Roots

I'll be visiting Michigan for two weeks. I was born there but have lived in southern California for most of my adult life. I still have family and friends there, and favorite places to visit. But things change over time, and my memories of how a place looked don't jibe with the way the same place looks today. I suppose change means progress but I'm comforted when I see things that are unchanged. It's like an anchor to the past. When you visit Europe you see buildings that are hundreds of years old. Of course the U.S. hasn't been around that long, but it's not uncommon to tear down a fifty-year old building for something more modern. Where is the history? Still, it will be nice to catch up with those who watched me grow up. Do you ever visit your old hometown and reminisce?

Book Review

Rise and Shine by Anna Quindlen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've been a fan of Anna Quindlen and enjoyed this book, but it's not my favorite. RISE AND SHINE is the story of two sisters, Meghan and Bridget, who live very different, but intertwined, lives. Their parents died when they were young and they were raised by a loving aunt with no children of her own. Meghan, the older of the two, is a successful, wealthy, anchor of a morning news show called "Rise and Shine." (think Katie Couric on "Today") Bridget is a social worker in the worst section of the Bronx. The novel is told in the voice of Bridget. As she narrates the events in their lives, she goes off on a tangent frequently. Although this fleshes out the story itself, I found it distracting to the flow of the main story. When Meghan makes a major faux pas on air, the day after her husband tells her he's leaving her, her world spins out of control. The remainder of the book focuses on how Bridget helps pull everything together, while dealing with her own life crises. Figuring prominently in this is Meghan's son Leo, a really sweet character. There are major plot twists but the end is realistic and satisfying.

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