In 1986, Susan Jane Gilman and a classmate embarked on a bold trek around the globe starting in the People’s Republic of China. At that point, China had been open to independent backpackers for roughly ten minutes. Armed only with the collected works of Nietzsche and Linda Goodman’s Love Signs, the two friends plunged into the dusty streets of Shanghai. Unsurprisingly, they quickly found themselves in over their heads–hungry, disoriented, stripped of everything familiar, and under constant government surveillance. Soon, they began to unravel–one physically, the other psychologically. As their journey became increasingly harrowing, they found themselves facing crises that Susan didn’t think they’d survive. But by summoning strengths she never knew she had–and with help from unexpected friends–the two travelers found their way out of a Chinese heart of darkness.

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Can you say road trip?  😉

I love the story here!  Author Susan Jame Gillman shares in this memoir, a road trip here and her friend Claire took when they were in college.  I love that!  As they venture into China their story unfold at first as a fun girls trip to quickly escalating into something I would describe as pretty scary fro me – let alone two young college girls in the 80’s, which would be the exact time frame when I would have been getting out of school myself!

As the girls do their exploring things change rapidly for Claire and I don’t want to give too much away here, but let me just say her mental health became unstable which puts a bit of a scary dimension to the book as the story unfolds.  For myself I can not imagine dealing with such circumstances in an area unknown to myself and no one to turn to for help.

Susan writes this story with a refreshingly funny and open voice and with a wonderful recollection of the events that took place.  At times I was in awe of what was happening, and at other times I laughed out loud.  I found her writing descriptive and I could get a good picture of a country and people who I have never had the experience of seeing for myself.  Through Susan’s eyes and her words I feel as though I have just closed the pages to an exciting adventure.

About The Author

Susan Jane Gillman is the author of three nonfiction books, Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven, Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress, and Kiss My Tiara (see bookshelf). Have contributed to numerous  anthologies, worked as journalist, and written for New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Ms., Real Simple, Washington City Paper, Us magazine among others. Won New York Press  Association Award for features written on assignment in Poland.

In her own words: Funny, but... I never set out to write books that made people laugh. My main love has always been literary fiction, and the first book I completed (which has yet to be published) was a collection of serious short stories. However, even with my darkest work, people would always tell me that parts of it were funny. This annoyed me because I aspired to be an American Dostoevsky with Breasts.
But in 1999, I took a writers’ workshop at the Bethesda Writers’ Center. The first story I submitted was a heartbreaking tale of a man’s addiction, which impressed the class. The second was an absurd story about mistaken identity full of Jews, Rastafarians, and dental hygienists. To my great irritation, the class liked this one infinitely more.
After class, a man pulled me aside. “I have to tell you,” he said. “My wife has been battling breast cancer. I read her your story last night, and it was the first time in two years she really laughed. You’ve got a gift. Please don’t ignore it. Not everyone can make a sick woman laugh in her hospital bed.”  That’s when I finally saw the merit in my own, lurking smart-ass and stopped fighting it.

My review copy was given to me by Hachette Book Group

Becky and her brother John were best buddies, telling jokes, caring for their dog Toby, and playing soccer. John was always there to cheer her up and help her out—until he died. Becky wishes everything could go back to the way it was. When she is surprised and feels guilty about enjoying a friend’s birthday party, her mom wraps reassuring arms around her and says, “Don’t you think he’d want you to laugh, even now?” She gradually realizes that she can still enjoy the things that they used to do together and that the memories of John continue to make him part of their family. Always My Brother is a sensitive, realistic story about the process of grief, acceptance, and recovery. Phyllis Pollema-Cahill’s lovely illustrations bring readers right into the heart of Becky’s family as they struggle to move forward.

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This book touched the very center of my heart.  I felt the sense of loss that Becky did with every turn of the page.  This book deals with what it feels like to lose someone close to you at a young age.  Appropriately worded to be understood at a grade school level I not only loved the gentle words used by Jean Reagan, but also felt the compassion come through in the illustrations by Phyllis Pollema Cahill.

This book is one I would recommend to any one who has a young child in their life who is dealing with grief.  I think this book should be a must in every grade school library.  I know as someone who dealt with this topic at a young age a book like this would have been wonderful.

Please visit Tilbury House for discussion points, classroom activities, literature links and further resources for using this book in the classroom.

Thank you to Natasha at Maw Books, where I won this autographed copy of this book.  I am now donating this book to Harrison Elementary School in our town, in memory of my sister Tara, who died in a house fire when she was 5.  Truly missed every day of my life.  ♥

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker–his classmate and crush–who committed suicide two weeks earlier.

On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he’ll find out how he made the list.

Through Hannah and Clay’s dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers.

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I won this book from a contest being held on J Kaye’s Blog. I had my pick of several books to choose from but this one with its title and what it was about for some reason called to me.  I wanted to read it.  I had to read it.  A fiction book on teenage suicide and I was drawn to it.  I am so glad that I was.

Hannah was in high school.  As this book opens, she is already gone.  As we enter the read. Clay has just received a series of tapes, 13 actually, that turn out to be from Hannah with instructions to listen to all the tapes and then pass them on to the next person as instructed.

Clay, who secretly had loved Hannah from afar, is appalled that Hannah would record her reasons for committing suicide and wondered what he had to do with it.  In an almost addictive like manner, Clay begins to listen to the cassettes one after another and Hannah’s story unfolds before our eyes.

Told in Hannah and Clays voice, I found myself as addicted to the read as Clay was to listening to the cassettes.  It was hard to stop, knowing what was at stake.  occasionally I would get so caught up in Hannah’s story, when it switched to Clay’s voice I had to pull myself out and read parts again.

I read this book in two days.  On the second day I didn’t plan on sitting down and finishing the book but I just couldn’t put it down.  Each tape, each chapter, each new character drew me in further….. who was it?  Was it one person who caused Hannah to finally end it all or was it a combination of people, of events.

Hannah’s story, while fictional, brings up a valid and important topic.  High school years are hard.  Within the pages of this book you discover that it is not one person or one event that sends Hannah spiraling downward.  As you read, while some of what happened to Hannah is hurtful, I didn’t find where it was intentionally so.  No one in the story knew how fragile Hannah was.  Perhaps someone knowing would have changed the outcome, perhaps not.

This book is a good reminder of how we treat others.  We never know where someone is coming from or where they have been.  I took so much away from this book and could go on and on but instead of saying too much I am going to play the spoiler card and say that if you have read this book and wish to discuss it further, join me in the Spoiler Room where this can be talked about more deeply.

I leave you with this information on Suicide which I pulled from Author Jay Arthur’s Blog called Hannah’s Reasons:

**Later this week I will be posting an author chat with Jay Asher about this book!

My Amazon Rating

I won this book from J Kaye’s Blog

Read in its entirety from the comfy recliner