Very few words about very long stories.
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 Claudia Putnam begins her long essay/book with a simple fact. “Three decades ago, my first son was born, and three days later, he died. He died of a broken heart.” That’s the story. Putnam’ son died from hypoplastic left heart syndrome, which basically means the left side of his heart was so defective it was incapable of pumping oxygen throughout the body.
But Putnam’s essay is more than a story about her baby’s broken heart, it’s more than story about a mother’s broken heart. Her discussion transcends broken hearts. Claudia Putnam takes on death—society’s innate fear of it-- exacerbated by our confusion over the definition of living--spirituality and existentialism, informed by the musings of Ralph Waldo Emerson and others. She even brings in research and speculation about the natural chemical –N,N-dimethyltriptophan (DMT) and the possibility that it is the source of not only near-death experiences, but also, our “soul.” Putnam shares her erudite ponderings with bold candor, rarely infusing the discussion with treacly maternal musings. Her maternal passion and grief are, however, all over the writing, particularly when she discusses a complicated, and brave, decision no parent should have to make about her infant’s life. She and her husband make the decision, taking into account the ultimate questions-- What is life? What is death? I don’t believe I have read such a thoughtful discourse on grief, death, and life. It is a bold, frank, difficult read. It’s also important.
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 I read this quite a while ago but delayed discussion so I could talk about her book right when my novel comes out for preorder. (Next week my novel, DEAD FISH and What the Blue Jays know will be up for reorder.)
Julie Zickefoose is an artist and wildlife writer. She has been a wildlife rehabilitator, wildlife art and photographer, wildlife blogger, and wildlife commentator for NPR. She's been engaged with wildlife in some way for more than three decades. So of course I'm going to read her book on raising a blue jay! It started with a blue jay egg discovered at the base of a maple tree. Zickefoose desperately tries to save this gorgeous precursor to life. She uses an incubator, calls bird specialists for advice, gives it constant attention. But it doesn't make it. The egg dies. While the egg goes cold, Zickefoose's memory of it remains warm and imprinted in her brain; so the next year, after she successfully weans herself from her wildlife rehabilitator job-- difficult since people don't stop asking for help--, a woman/follower calls for advice about a tiny baby blue jay lost in her yard. Julie Zickefoose looks at the picture of the dehydrated baby bird and has an overwhelming desire to actually save this bird, not simply drive it to a wildlife rehabilitation center. And that begins the journey of raising a blue jay she names Jemima. Challenge is not a strong enough word to describe Ms. Zickefoose's blue jay rescue experience. The baby has to be fed continuously, once an hour. The baby gets sick and has to be treated. The baby grows and takes over the house. Then there is the emotional challenge of keeping that distance to prevent the bird from imprinting. That emotional distance is Zickefoose's biggest challenge, because she falls in love. And this conflict of the heart endears the reader to the writer. You can't help but love this woman who falls in love not only with this one blue jay but with all blue jays. I particularly understand her emotions because I have fallen in love with the gang of blue jays that visit me, so I get her. But all readers will appreciate how special these witty and fun-loving birds are. They have charm. They have attitude. They have intelligence. She captures this perfectly. She not only captures the wonder of blue jays but also educates us about them. Their mating habits, their molting, nesting, migration, interrelationships. She takes us deep into the bond between her, her family and this bird. No, she does not distance herself from the bird like we all expect wild life rehabilitators to do. She decides to engage. Good for her. And I think, perhaps because she is so experienced and understands proper balance, her strategy is effective. While some may argue against this type of rescue, she proves their their fears about imprinting wrong. The bird survives and eventually lives free. She has given it a gift of love and human bonding, all while maintaining respect for its freedom and wildlife dignity. Jemima does indeed eventually join the free world. It's sad but hopeful and in the end something happens that fills us with wonder. I will let you the reader discover that for yourself. Wonderful book by a wonderful writer and wildlife lover. Read it!  A Flicker of Old Dreams by Susan Henderson.
While I want to mainly review small press to support writers who don't have the powerhouses behind them, I just have to pause and say something about this book that came out in 2018. I'd read Susan Henderson's first book and loved it--Up from the Blue--and planned to read this one, too, but I'd put it on Kindle. And that's the problem with kindles—as you buy, you push books back and before you know it, you forget what you’ve bought. But I think we all need to read about rural America. We need to understand these dying towns. So, here's my quick review. This story is about a young woman who yearns to leave a dying town and find her dreams. What sparks her final decision is a relationship with a complicated man who left town at the age of fourteen. He's riddled with guilt and confusion resulting from a tragic mistake that killed his brother and led to the closing of a business that had kept the dying town limping along. The boy’s character was so tarnished, he was forced to escape and find a home elsewhere. While judgement usually languishes with intimacy and relationship building, the boy’s disappearance instead contributes to imagined actions, imagined darkness, all exacerbating anger and resentment. Memory is altered; character is permanently stained. When the man returns to town to sit with his dying mother and manage her funeral, the daughter (the narrator of the book) of a funeral director and town embalmer, becomes intrigued. She, too, is an outsider, but one without his scars and drama. She now is the only friend this man has during his grief. But the story is about so much more than a development of a complex relationship. It’s also more than a story about a lonely young woman who yearns to escape a suffocating town and open up her eyes and life. Susan Henderson has succeeded in developing one of the most unique characters I have ever read—death-- and in her development of death, she teaches us about intimacy and yearning for life. She writes beautifully about types of death. Death of a town when industry leaves. Death of a childhood when a tragedy kills innocence. Death of our soul, our humanity, when we suffer and blame. But it is the death of the human body where she really excels. It is here, with this amazing metaphor development, the book is lifted to a different level, from a good, entertaining story to extraordinary, insightful poetry. This past year, I embalmed Jenny Johnson, one of my high school classmates, and we never got along so well as the day I fixed her hair with rollers and painted her nails crimson, like he school’s colors. Intimacy for this lonely person is achieved in her care and compassion for the body devoid of life. Details of attempts to restore life to the dead body are simply amazing. And throughout the entire novel, every inch of it, the writing is filled with smart observations that bring us closer to loneliness—which of course is a part of all death. Sometimes I feel like we get along best when I tell only pieces of the truth. All my life, I have learned the lesson that closeness is tangled up with rejection and shame. …”Sometimes that’s a lonely place to be, and yet, you don’t really want to be on the inside, either, where you feel pressure to be someone you’re not.” And on and on. I could quote and quote this book. It is filled with treasures. I am so sorry I got around to it this late, but maybe there are people out there who have not found it yet. As I said, I loved Up from the Blue too. This is a different book, but it has the familiar, strong writing voice-- centered in details, filled with compassion and intimacy, always displaying competent understanding of the importance of place, and of course anchored in poetry of written word. That’s Susan Henderson.  What is it about the state of Maine that creates good writers. Elizabeth Strout, my favorite, Richard Russo, a close second. Then there is Ron Currie, a great satirist. And the list could go on and on. It must be the air and cold water. Or maybe it's the eccentric culture. Down-to-earth denizens. Gorgeous land. I just don't know. But when I see a writer from Maine, I know I'm going to be reading about real human beings with real problems. Even if we can't relate to the problem, we always relate to the writing.
So, another Maine writer, Jim Nichols, has published Blue Summer, a story about a jazz trumpet player, Cal Shaw, who now recounts his life from behind prison bars. So, yes, it's a a backstory novel, but it's fast paced and easy to follow. And it's a Maine writer so you're in good hands. Cal Shaw cannot escape his life in the same way he cannot escape his musical song writing, which centers on his emotional blues. The songs stay in his mind-- like his past, like this story--and all of it was seeded one tragic summer. And that's the story. There's a traumatic turning point in Cal's childhood after his father dies in a car accident and another unstable and cruel step father takes his place. The resulting abuse by this man and perceived betrayal by a mother who puts the marriage above her children, indelibly alters Cal. The kids put up with it, but the burning emotion eventually bubble over and results in a life changing tragedy. Step father abuse stories are not that original, they fill our shelves. But Jim Nichols' story is elevated to a different level because of his writing voice. Soulful and eloquent, at times as soothing and raw as jazz. This unique storytelling and lovely writing makes for great reading. I could have spent more time in the character's past, particularly his relationships. It's hard to know whether I wanted that because I wanted more of Nichol's writing, or if I needed more of an anchorage to understand the character's future behavior. I think a bit of both. It's great writing, fast and entertaining.
 I forgot to review this on amazon, although I did tweet a recommendation for it. I will paste this on amazon. I know this one came out a couple of years ago, but it's still out there and I want to include it in my reviews. Like Blackbird Blues, this story shifts in time, back and forth. It grounds itself primarily in the era surrounding WWI, in the forest of Sweden, where a strong, insightful and independent woman--Anna comes of age. Sixty years later she is visited by her niece who has personal relationship issues. We go back and forth in time and slowly unravel Anna's sad and frustrating story, which reflects intense obstacles Swedish women--like all women during this time--had to overcome in order to survive and thrive. Anna not only survives, she learns how to grow into her true self. She is a woman way beyond her time. This is based upon a true story, and therefore is not only entertaining but also educational. The writing is wonderful. The character inspiring. It has a quiet, slow feel to it, and the switch in time can be confusing. But I don't mind lingering when the writing is this good. I don't mind refreshing my memory when a shift in time occurs if I like the character, enjoy my effort. This book is very well done. The writer knows what she's doing and has a poetic heart. Bravo!
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