 "My goal here today is for you to leave here with at least one idea you can take home and use immediately to preserve your heirlooms or keepsakes."
Denise Levenick, my fellow columnist in the award-winning Shades of the Departed digital magazine, made this declaration {or, rather, one very similar to it as I failed to write it down verbatim} in the introduction of her presentation at the Southern California Genealogical Society's annual Jamboree conference last year. And? I was pleasantly surprised. Of course, I'd spoken with Denise both in person and online numerous times, but I had never heard her speak in presentation mode. She rocked that room {Okay, tent because we were in the additional space outside the conference hall.} that day displaying her brilliant expertise in archival methods and practical suggestions for everyone. And I really mean everyone. You didn't have to be a genealogist or family historian to have learned something from her that day. However, I am a genealogist and family historian, and I definitely left her presentation that day with a ton of great and practical ideas for preserving and sharing my family's keepsakes. Likewise, after reading her book, How to Archive Family Keepsakes, I have to say she rocks it in her book as well. {Minus all the noise in said extra tents.} As with her presentation, while reading Denise's book, you can tell she is in her element sharing with you ways to physically and digitally preserve documents, photos, and heirlooms. In fact, in reading her book you can tell it is her passion, which is always awesome. As a writer, I know what it's like to write about something you're not specifically passionate for, yet you write it because it needs to be done. And I know what it's like to write something that I am passionate about. Those writings are always so much better to write and to read because passion is invigorating, motivating, and contagious for both the writer and the reader. And after reading Denise's new book, I definitely have 'caught' the preservation bug. Truth be told, while I share her passion of ephemera, my passion tends to lean more towards the story-finding and story-telling of the object or document than the actual archiving. So, it's really a small miracle that Denise has infected me with her passion for archiving. With her simple how-to's, checklists, and forms, when you purchase Denise's book {Not if. I'm that confident you will purchase this book.}, you will not only be motivated to preserve your family's keepsakes, but you will have the tools to go through that box {Or if you're like me, boxes} of your family's 'stuff' you have tucked away in that closet in your guest bedroom that you keep telling yourself you need to go through and do 'something' with. Moreover, what I really appreciate is how Denise writes her tips and suggestions in How to Archive Family Keepsakes. She gives you many options in her preservation suggestions, and she does so in a way that makes you feel like she's right next to you sharing her knowledge. And I can say this truthfully because we've sat together at conferences in the hotel lobbies talking and looking at old photos on her iPad. We've broken bread together at numerous breakfasts, lunches, and dinners at those same conferences. While waiting for our flights last year after Jamboree, we talked in a crowded airport terminal about ephemera. {The terminal was so crowded, I was sitting on the floor at the feet of both Denise, the Family Curator, and footnoteMaven talking about ephemera and looking at their finds from a local antique store. You are jealous. Heck, I'm even jealous of me. I wish I was there talking to them now about ephemera.} Therefore, I can truly say when you read her book, you will feel like she's right there showing you how to preserve your family's history. Finally, when you get to the end of her book and you close the back cover or when you return to your digital library on your e-reader or tablet, you will, indeed, do so knowing way more about digitally and physically preserving your family's precious history than just 'one thing'. You'll be invigorated and motivated to get it done, and, more importantly, you'll have the tools to get it done. And I'll even wager you'll have 'caught' some of her passion for it. Like I did. So what are you waiting for? Even if you aren't a genealogist or family historian, if you've inherited a box of your family's 'stuff', you should grab Denise's book today and learn how to preserve all those memories for many, many years to come. Wait! There's more. As part of her How To Archive Family Keepsakes Blog Book Tour, next Monday, Denise will be making a 'stop' right here on 4YourFamilyHistory.com to share an excerpt from her book. And? If you make a comment on my blog post with her excerpt, then you get a chance to win something awesome. {In fact, I'm pretty jealous of you. I'd like to win this.} Get this. Denise has teamed up with The Practical Archivist, Sally Jacobs, to offer two great archival kits and copies of How to Archive Your Family's Keepsakes to the lucky winners. One name will be drawn on Saturday, 19 January 2013 and a second name selected on Saturday, 26 January 2013 to win the archival kits. Runners up can win free print or digital PDF copies of her book. My suggestion would be to buy a copy of her book and comment on the blog post for a chance to win an archival kit. Best case scenario? You own the book and an archival kit {and you make me jealous. ;) }. Another best case scenario? You own 2 copies of the book - one for you and one for you to give to someone else who has a box of 'stuff' they need help preserving. {Personally, I am buying 2 copies to donate to my local library's genealogy department as well as my genealogical society's library.} The other best case scenario? You own the book with the tools to help you preserve your family's history. It's a 'win' no matter what. Also, I just wanted to add that a portion of the proceeds of this book's sales goes towards helping to fund the 2013 Student Genealogy Grant founded in 2010 in honor of Denise’s mother, Suzanne Winsor Freeman. I personally know last year's very worthy recipients of this award, Elyse Doerflinger and A.C. Ivory, and the genuinely surprised and thankful looks on their faces when they found out they'd won was priceless. {See, I told you it's a 'win' no matter what.}
~Caroline {Disclosure: I received a PDF copy of How to Archive Family Keepsakes from Denise to review. My review is my honest opinion of her book. While I am an affiliate of Amazon, the link to purchase her book is Denise's link and not mine.}
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The following is a press release from the Family Curator, Denise Levenick. I'm honored to have been a chosen as a 'stop' on her blog book tour, How to Archive Family Keepsakes. On Friday, January 11th {tomorrow}, I will be sharing my review of Denise's book right here on 4YourFamilyStory.com, and then on Monday, January 14th, I will be featuring an excerpt from her book. And? There will be 2 giveaways on the blog book tour, one each week, based on your comments to our blog posts. Read & comment on each Blog Book Tour day's blog post for a chance to win! {Each comment - 1 per blog post - will give you 5 entries for that week's drawing.} So, make sure you follow Denise as she makes a 'stop' on 14 blogs in the next 2 weeks. ~Caroline  Organize your family history heirlooms and research in 2013 --
Family Curator Blog Book Tour for How to Archive Family Keepsakes by Denise Levenick – On Tour from January 10-26th, 2013. How to Archive Family Keepsakes: Learn to Preserve Family Photos, Memorabilia & Genealogy Records will be featured in a new Blog Book Tour January 10-26, 2013. With top reviews from leading genealogy bloggers and 5-Star Ratings on Amazon.com, this new resource by Denise Levenick, The Family Curator, will help you organize and preserve your family history heirlooms and research in 2013. Visit 14 popular genealogy blogs and websites featuring Denise and How to Archive Family Keepsakes for book excerpts, interviews, special guest posts, free downloads, and giveaways. View the schedule at the Blog Book Tour Page <http://www.thefamilycurator.com/book-tour/>. How to Archive Family Keepsakes offers practical guidance for family historians: • Helping a parent or loved one downsize to a smaller home • Needing a simple, effective filing system for genealogy research • Interested in scanning and making digital copies of genealogy records • Looking for a way to preserve your family history and heirlooms for future generations Proceeds from the sale of How to Archive Family Keepsakes during the Book Tour will help fund the 2013 Student Genealogy Grant founded in 2010 in honor of Denise’s mother, Suzanne Winsor Freeman. About the Author Denise Levenick lives in Southern California and inherited her love of family history along with a trunk filled with family treasures from her maternal grandmother. She is now the caretaker of several family collections and has adapted professional archival techniques to organize and preserve family keepsakes for a home situation. She is a frequent contributor to Family Tree Magazine and speaks to genealogy societies and service groups about preserving family treasures. Denise created The Family Curator blog in 2007 where she continues to write about her own family history research and preserving family keepsakes. Join the Blog Book Tour for How to Archive Family Keepsakes January 10-26 for author interviews, book excerpts, giveaways, and more. Visit the Blog Book Tour Page at The Family Curator website for the complete schedule <http://www.thefamilycurator.com/book-tour/>. How to Archive Family Keepsakes (Family Tree Books, 2012) ISBN 1440322236 Paperback from Family Tree Books, Amazon.com; PDF eBook from Scribd 10% Savings Coupon ShopFamilyTree. ######  For tonight's Family History Book Club Spreecast at 8pm CST, you can either join us below or on the Spreecast site itself, which has a bigger screen for you to see the chat room. It's up to you, though. Go to the Spreecast site to join us if you want. Either way, make sure you go to the Spreecast site beforehand to sign up for free and to check your equipment to make sure everything works. Please check out their help page. Any questions? Just ask me in comments below. If you have a question, more likely than not someone else has the same question as well. Thanks! ~Caroline  Family History Book Club Meeting
The Family History Book Club is *finally* meeting to discuss the book In the Territory of Lies written by authors Lois Stickell and Peg Robarchek ! Yay! It's scheduled for this Thursday, June 21st at 8pm central time. We'll be using the Spreecast platform to meet. Spreecast is a social media video platform, which means you can choose to just watch [and read], to participate in the chat, and/or be on video. [Here's the Spreecast About Page.] What's a Spreecast? If you've ever participated in a Blog Talk Radio broadcast, this is similar, but it incorporates video and the chat room stays on topic [because I said so]. We can have up to 4 people on screen at once as well. What separates Spreecast from a Google Hangout is that you can tweet and facebook easily throughout the broadcast [and that's encouraged] because it's integrated. Also, on my end, I have more producer controls and we can post questions up on the screen. Therefore, to participate in the Family History Book Club, you need to sign up at Spreecast [it's free]. I highly suggest you read through their instructions and test your equipment. Headphones are not mandatory, but do make it easier. Also, this doesn't work on the iPad. You do need a camera if you want to be on screen, but you don't need it for the chat room. Embedding Additionally, I'll be embedding the Spreecast on this website as well so that you can actually just come here [after creating a free Spreecast account] and participate on this site. [This is a new feature and I don't know how well that works, but we're gonna try it.] Can't Make It? If you are not able to participate, the video and chat room will be archived on my Spreecast Channel. At playback, the chat room comments scroll in time with the actual Spreecast. [Pretty cool, eh?] The Next Book Also, the next book is The Mango Orchard by Robin Bayley. Here's his website and blog for The Mango Orchard. And if you remember to come back here to purchase it, you can purchase it from my Amazon Store on page 7 under "Books" [but you don't have to.] ~Caroline Disclaimer: Peg Robarchek contacted me and provided me a copy of her and Lois Stickell's book to read and to review. All opinions of their book are my own and are not influenced by them gifting me their book. Their book is full of all kinds of awesomeness, and if it wasn't, I wouldn't have said it was. Additionally, I am an affiliate of Amazon.com, and if you click on a link or image advertising this book on my site and buy it [or anything else while you're perusing Amazon.com ~ and I mean anything ~ on that link click], I do receive a small commission for referring you.  Have you ever had a family member or a friend ask you about the available online tools for genealogy research because they're ready to get started with their search?
If your answer is, "Yes.," then you'll be happy to know you don't have to come up with an email of sites to give them an overview. Paul Larsen has done the hard work for you and put them a great collection together in his ebook called My Family History Toolbox which is available as a download or in CD format. Published in 2012, this ebook has 140 pages of links for all the relevant sites for an online beginner researcher. With fun images, pleasing-to-the-eye formatting, and a very nice analogy (toolbox) your family member or friend will not be overwhelmed, which is common to those just beginning to explore what kind of technology is out there for them to use in their research. Here's a peek at what's inside My Family History Toolbox:
I would highly recommend this book to anyone just starting their online search. With Father's Day fast approaching, this might be the perfect gift you've been looking for as its price is only $19.95 [Download or CD format]. Along with authoring this ebook, Paul Larsen is the author of the book/ebook Crash Course in Family History, and for more information about his books and to purchase, please visit the EasyFamilyHistory.com website: http://www.easyfamilyhistory.com/ Also, if you will be attending Southern California Genealogical Society's 2012 Jamboree in Burbank, California Jun 8th-10th [later this week], then be sure to visit them at Table 130 in the Exhibit Hall. They're definitely on my list to visit. =) ~Caroline Disclosure: Paul Larsen and EasyFamilyHistory.com provided an electronic copy of "My Family History Toolbox" for me to review, and this, in no way, influenced my review of the book. This review is my honest opinion of it.  The clock is ticking. Mother's Day is this Sunday. What can you give to your mother that she'll enjoy? Well, if your mother enjoys reading memoirs or sentimental books, here are my picks:
Or if you really want to do it up right, get the Kindle Fire and accessories. Then load it up with all the books listed above, or find some others in my Amazon Store, or whatever books you think she might like on Amazon. After all, she did raise you. She wiped your snotty nose. [Or maybe she still does. *shrugs*] She cleaned up after you. She put up with your teenage antics. She lets you stay in her basement. The very least you could do is get her something to read. ;) So visit my Amazon Store and shop away. For your mom. And you, if you want. Perhaps you could get something to brighten up that basement. ~Caroline Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Amazon.com. This means that if you click a link and purchase something ~ actually anything ~ at that time, I receive a small referral commission. The above blog post is my opinion and is not influenced by my affiliation with Amazon.com.
 Book Review I dare you to read the first sentence of Chapter 1 in the book In the Territory of Lies by authors Lois Stickell and Peg Robarchek and not buy the book. Stickell and Robarchek got me on the hook with the first line, reeled me in with the first chapter, and before I even knew what happened, I was a dusty fish story by the end of their book. Seriously. In the Territory of Lies, two women are ultimately brought together by genealogy, family history, and the internet. And, oh yeah. A family mystery to solve too. Interestingly, the internet is the main setting for this book, but it's also a character in the book. And I would go so far as to say it's a literary device. [But only because I need to justify all that time and money to have that English degree hanging above me on my wall as I write this review. ;) ] This novel is uniquely written within emails and online message boards, and the 2 main characters are perfectly flawed as all good main characters should be. When I began to read a sample of this novel sent to me by Peg Robarchek, one of the authors, I went from curious to laughing to oh-my-gosh-that's-not-so-funny-anymore by the end of the first chapter. I promptly emailed Ms. Robarchek back, and eagerly explained that I was going to buy it and review it, and she offered to send me a review copy, which I patiently waited for [Read: checked the mailbox twice daily.] until it arrived. Once I began reading it, I never stopped until I finished it less than 24 hours of receiving it. Afterwards, I asked myself why I really clicked with their fabulous book and this is what I came up with:
There are so many facets of this book that genealogy and family history researchers can relate to that even if you're not really into suspense mystery novels that weave genealogy and family history into their plots with deft finesse, you're going to want to read this 253-paged book of awesomeness. I'm Forming a Genealogy and Family History Reader's Group I really cannot say enough good things about In the Territory of Lies. [As if you couldn't already tell.] So. I thought of something cool for us to do.The authors included in the back of their book a reader's guide that contains a list of discussion questions for a reader's group. And we're [me and the mouse in my pocket] are forming a genealogy and family history reader's group. [Ingenious. I know.] One book per month with a discussion done via my Spreecast channel. This way if you don't want to be on video [or don't have the equipment to do so], then you can participate via the chat room on my Spreecast Channel. This platform affords us ways to handle questions for those in the chat room as well. As you've already guessed, I've chosen the first book to be In the Territory of Lies by Lois Stickell and Peg Robarchek. It's available from Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle editions at the product links listed below. If you don't have a Kindle, you can also download the free Kindle app for your smartphone, and that link is located on the product page once you click on one of the image links below. If you are going to participate in the Reader's Group, please contact me, and let me know. This is not a big commitment. If you're there, you're there. If you're not, you're not. This just allows me the courtesy of knowing if I and the mouse in my pocket will be the only ones participating in my Reader's Group Spreecast. The date of which I'll set-up when we get a little closer to the one-month mark. [And don't worry. It won't be Memorial Day weekend. I'm going to be on a beach on an island that weekend. With a book.] Mainly I'm just looking for interest level in this kind of thing. However, the kicker is this: you must purchase the book, check it our from the library, or borrow it from someone AND you must read it before the Spreecast Reader's Group meeting in a little over a month. So? In case you couldn't tell, I HIGHLY recommend this book to everyone. It's that good. ;) You game? ~Caroline
Disclaimer: Peg Robarchek contacted me and provided me a copy of her and Lois Stickell's book to read and to review. All opinions of their book are my own and are not influenced by them gifting me their book. Their book is full of all kinds of awesomeness, and if it wasn't, I wouldn't have said it was. Additionally, I am an affiliate of Amazon.com, and if you click on a link or image advertising this book on my site and buy it [or anything else while you're perusing Amazon.com on that link click], I do receive a small commission for referring you.  Riveting. The on-the-edge-of-your-seat-I'm-not-putting-this-book-down-come-hell-or-high-water kind of riveting. Written by Maria Sutton, The Night Sky: A Journey from Dachau to Denver and Back memoir is the story of a woman's search for her own family story. A story within a story, if you will, and it reads like a suspense novel. In fact, at times, while reading it, the phrase, "No way! That can't be true..." slipped from my lips. Ms. Sutton had me along side her twisting and turning through the time machine maze with magnifying glass in hand looking for clues, racking my brain for ideas to help, feeling my heart ache with the discovery of some of the answers found, and smiling with tears with the uncovering of other answers. It takes courage for anyone to search for their family history. No, truly it does. It's not all shaking-leaves-oh-look-my-great-grandfather-was-a-private-detective-and-I-guess-I'm-one-too-how-cool-is-that-[silly-giggle] kind of endeavor. No siree. It takes guts to chase those family stories that make us who we are; those stories that are an intrinsic part of us; those stories we yearn to know with every fiber of our being; those stories that make our hearts ache and our bellies burn with the desire to know; those stories that make us weep; those stories that make us lose sleep and don't care; those stories that make us laugh so hard our bellies ache, those stories that make us say, "What the hell?", and those stories that totally leave us speechless. It also takes extreme courage to not ever, ever give up. And Ms. Sutton never, ever gives up until she has the answers. Goodness, I love this about her. And I'm so thankful she shared it with the rest of the world. If you've ever wondered if you could have the courage to find your family stories; if you've ever wondered if you could set out and track down those family stories; if you've ever wondered if you could [or should] track down those family stories that aren't easy or pretty; or if you've wondered if you could share that courageous journey, then you need to read this book. Other reasons to read this book?
Ms. Sutton does an outstanding job telling her story in her memoir, The Night Sky: A Journey from Dachau to Denver and Back, and all I can say is thank you. Oh, and read it! It's available from Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com at the links below, and I have it in my 4YourFamilyStory.com Amazon Shop [where there are other books listed that I've read, plan to read, or review soon.] So. What are you waiting for? Go get it and read it. Enjoy! ~Caroline Disclaimer: Maria Sutton contacted me and provided me a copy of her book to read and to review. All opinions of her book are my own and are not influenced by her gifting me her book. Her memoir is an excellent read, and if it wasn't, I wouldn't have said it was. Additionally, I am an affiliate of both Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble, and if you click on a link or image advertising this book on my site and buy it, I do receive a small commission for referring you.
 Telling Stories from the Grave Consider this quote: "I want them [the author's children] to be able to look into the mirror of a book, and find me." [Nook Tablet, p.398] If that's not not talking from the grave, I don't know what is. Ruby Alice Side Thompson is the author of the diary entries contained in the books, World War II London Blitz Diary, Volumes 1-4. Only volumes one through three have been published, and I'm in the middle of volume two. However, I wanted to share what a great read this book is. Towards the end of this first volume Ruby mentions why she is wanting to write a book about her life. Though these diary entries are now what has been published via Vickie Aldridge Washuk, Ruby's great-granddaughter. They are the brutally honest accounts of Ruby's life as she saw things as they happened. They are her innermost thoughts, feelings, jubilations, and frustrations. And I found her quote listed above as being a huge eye-opener for me as well as touching. I'm always writing about and, at times, casting judgement on my ancestors through my sarcasm, and I hardly ever think about what my descendants will think about me and my decisions. Will they be able to look at me ~ ugly parts and all ~ and see who I truly was? Without too much derision or sarcasm? [They definitely won't be getting it in diary form as I've not written in one since I was 14 years old, and I've not seen it since then either. Unfortunately.] While I don't always see eye-to-eye with Ruby, I can see that I wish I'd known her in person. I wish that I could have been the one to ask her over for tea and listen to her joyous descriptions of her sewing projects, her opinions of the very progressive books for her time that she read, and her thoughts on religion and politics. She truly was born too early for her time, but because of when she was born and because of the awful situations she found herself in, we are allowed have a small peek into the past from which we can see a family trying to survive the London Blitz during World War II. Luckily for the reader, Ruby has a tight grasp of the goings-on of the war, and she isn't afraid to add her opinions to the mix. Every up and down in her moods and in her life is documented, and her candidness is what makes this book a page-turner. If you have ancestors who were alive during World War II, especially in the UK, then this book is a good place to find how towns, households, and family members lived and what life was like during WW2 during the London Blitz. Though she didn't have the toughest row to hoe during World War II, so to speak, her life ~ understandably ~ was forever affected by it. And these diary entries afford us a trip through time looking at life through Ruby's eyes. World War II London Blitz Diary, Volume 1 is available on Amazon.com as well as from Barnes and Noble. [It's listed in my Amazon Shop under the Books Category.] Though I read Volume 1 on my Nook Tablet, I'm reading Volumes 2 and 3 on my iPhone with the Kindle App. [Slow going on the smaller screen.] Further, while Ruby's diary entries are unedited, her great-granddaughter has written the Forward, Afterword, and has provided family tree information for the reader. I'd like to personally thank Victoria for making her great-grandmother's diaries available to us as they help to fill-in gaping holes in our history textbooks. Also, she maintains a blog for the books so be sure to stop by and enjoy. ~Caroline Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble. I purchased the first volume from Barnes and Noble, and then later contacted Victoria to tell her how excited I was to have found it and to begin reading it. She then provided me with volumes 2 and 3 through Amazon.com to review. So. Yes, I'm reviewing these books. Yes, I'm an affiliate of both companies and receive a very small commission for referring these books to you and when and if you buy them through a link that I provide. But my opinions about the books are just that. My opinions. Receiving 2 of the volumes to review has not influenced my review. I think Ruby's story as told through her diary entries is incredible for the genealogy and family history researcher looking for a way to fill-in between the birth, marriage, and death dates of their World War II ancestors' lives.
 If you haven't come across one yet in researching, you will. You might be too busy at the time to ponder it much. Perhaps years later when you decide to tackle that paper monster pile on top of your desk, on top of your file cabinet, and on your floor, you might come across them again.Or perhaps, you just haven't been researching long enough and you've been collecting names, and now your ready to find stories. And then it hits you like a ton of bricks. Your ancestor, your loved one, your distant relation died from tuberculosis. And you begin to wonder what their life was like with tuberculosis or consumption as it was once called. I've seen it as a cause of death several times in my family tree, but my recent one that I encountered was my Big Paw Paw's 1st wife, Emma Rosin. She passed away after she divorced Big Paw Paw and after she had remarried again. She passed away from pulmonary tuberculosis 11 Mar 1931 at the age of 38 years in the Grace Lutheran Sanitorium in Schertz, Texas. I was saddened by this even though she wasn't my grandmother [my grandmother was wife number 4], but in researching her, I became, um, attached to her. To the best of my knowledge, she never had any children, and her death certificate indicates she had been sick with tuberculosis for 3 years. She was one of those family tree orphans who I adopted. [You can read more of her story in my blog posts on Family Stories: Smiling Big and Laughing Hard and in How a Baker Led me to Ducky Hour.] So what's my point? What does this have to do with genealogy and technology and researching and sharing your research? Well, I think it's really important to understand what our ancestors, or whomever we research, were going through in their lives. So many in the past died from tuberculosis or had to receive treatment for long periods of time in sanitoriums. What was that like? What were their lives like as they battled their disease? Wonder no more. I stumbled upon a heart-warming and, at times, heart-breaking, book written by a girl who practically grew up in a sanitorium battling tuberculosis in Ottawa. You see, she kept this diary and then with the help of her sister, Anne Raina, it was published posthumously. Her name was Clara Raina Flannigan and her story is called, Clara's Rib: A True Story of a Young Girl Growing up in a Tuberculosis Hospital. It touched me deeply as I have a personal reference point for diseases that attack families as tuberculosis attacked Clara's family, and it hit close to home. And did I mention it reads like a novel? I literally could not put this book down once I began. Clara's raw honesty and keen insight grabs you and will not let you go. Ever. After reading it, I wanted more. [And lucky for me her older sister wrote a book about another dark time in their family's life that Clara refers to, but gives you absolutely no details about, which totally left me hanging until I read the back of the book and found there's another book.] If you've wondered what life was like for your ancestors who were stricken with any disease, but especially with tuberculosis, then I strongly encourage you to read this book. I challenge you to read Clara's story ~ her life ~ through her eyes as she was experiencing it. Wait. Scratch that. Everyone needs to read this book. It's that powerful. It's that good. Besides, don't you wanna know why it's titled, Clara's Rib? [You know you do.] Stop collecting names and dates. Start finding out what your ancestors' lives were like. Start walking in their shoes. I promise you won't ever be the same again if you do. Now, getting this book is not as easy as you may like, but as with all the best things in life, it's worth the hoops you'll jump through. It's available from the author only. I discovered her and her book from an interview she did for a newspaper, and it showed up in a Google Alert in my email. And, naturally, I had to have the book, but once I started looking for it, I couldn't find it on Amazon or Barnes and Noble. So I Googled it and found her website. And because I was so moved by her sister's story as revealed in her interview and on her website, I contacted her through her website. By this point I had to have the book. She confirmed that her website is the only place you can buy her book, but, hey, she signed it for me. And? Then her sister's story rocked my world. And now I'm sharing it with you so it can rock your world. [And then I'm gonna buy her other sister's book. So it can rock my world too.] It's a roller coaster ride that's well-worth the price of the ride. ~Caroline Note: And then I found Anne Raina did an interview about Clara's Rib and it's on YouTube but it has some spoilers in it. But those spoilers are the same as the spoilers in the introduction of the book, so...: Note: I am in no way affiliated with the Raina family. I happily purchased the book from Anne Raina and anxiously checked my mailbox daily for her sister Clara's story. My opinions and review of her book are entirely my own. If you buy this book, I get the satisfaction of knowing that your world is gonna be rocked. Like mine. And that's it. |
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