The sun has finally come out to melt the thick layer of ice left by back-to-back storms. Books Off My Shelf helped calm the anxiety of February cabin fever stoked by emails and daily news feeds of fresh disasters.

A “Wish”-ful Tonic for the Soul

I revisited the world of “Wish” by Barbara O’Connor, a middle-grade novel written for young readers that can be enjoyed at any age. Everything about this book clicked for me: the cover, the title, the setting and a longing shared: to belong somewhere.
Charlie’s young life shatters with her scattered and broken family. Her father is in jail. Her mother won’t get out of bed. Her sister moves out and in with a friend. Charlie finds herself uprooted from the city and planted in a small town with an aunt and uncle she doesn’t know, holding on to a wish she fears will never be granted. Her only lifelines are a teacher-assigned Backpack Buddy classmate who is bullied for being different and a stray dog she names Wishbone. This was the sweet read I needed to tap into the wonder of my inner child. “Wish” was the perfect tonic for my old soul.https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27414384-wish?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=SXcY8zlJUS&rank=1

A “One Good Dog” Tale of Redemption

On the flip side of feel good, I found “One Good Dog” by Susan Wilson on a thrift store shelf. It’s an uneasy read that rips the readers’ heart out and hands it back, forever changed by this sad tale to final tail wag. From first page to last, the odds are against self-made, fallen executive Adam March and born-to-fight, scarred pit bull Chance riding out and surviving the rough and tumble ebb and flow of life change together.
Adam’s rise from abandoned child of the foster care system to one meeting away from CEO of an international firm abruptly ends when an unsettling link to the past he’s submerged by success snaps his control. In slapping the messenger, Adam loses everything, gains an unlikely friend, and finds the love, purpose, and life he really wants.https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/133019485-one-good-dog-turtleback-school-library-binding-edition-by-susan-wils?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_25
I loved this book so much that I bought the author’s follow-up novel “Two Good Dogs” at full price. Another book added to my shelf and TBR pile.

Be Brave

I was warmed by the comfort of encouraging words from The Right Reverend Dr. Mariann Edgar Budde. I rarely read non-fiction or cry at the end of a book. I did both as I learned how to be brave from the book of the same title, “How We Learn to Be Brave”. The profound message Rev. Budde shares is too much to take in from one reading alone. I’ll read it again. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62121600-how-we-learn-to-be-brave?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=GzK3YCnkMj&rank=1

Seek comfort and live bravely,

Teresa