A Quiet Life - Ethan Joella

 

Three people experience personal loss that deal them life-changing blows.  Their grief, sorrow and pain is exquisitely portrayed in this moving reflection on living with loss.  A woman's soon to be ex-husband disappears with their daughter; an older man's wife dies of cancer and a a young woman's father is murdered in a convenience store.  Their stories are intertwined and the power of kindness, caring and loving unfolds as they struggle to live on.  Highly recommended.

Published:  2022   Read: July 2024  Genre: Fiction

The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson - Ellen Baker

What a marvelous read!  Since the realization in the public of the power of DNA to reveal secrets, more authors are incorporating it into their stories.  This book is about a family and family relationships, and what happens when the truth comes to light through DNA.  Baker is a good storyteller, alternating between two families lives and their past that brings them together in the present.  It's a story of hope and forgiveness augmented by the science of DNA.

Published: 2024   Read: July 2024   Genre: Historical fiction

DNA USA - Bryan Sykes

 Sub-title: A Genetic Portrait of America 

I've read the previous books by this well-known DNA researcher who ran Oxford Ancestors. He died in 2020. His early work has since been superseded by whole genome sequencing analysis but his writing is still good to read for the recent century evolution of DNA science.

He discusses his idea of a universal Ancestor from whom all people alive today descend.  It's a theoretical concept The book contains chromosome paintings of those who volunteered their DNA for his project.  At the time they were collecting Y-DNA and mtDNA and were assigning bio-ancestry groups, broadly European, African, Native American and Asian.

I'd always wondered what happened to his samples as the company closed after his death.  He stated on page 289 that "Like Oxford Ancestors...destroys its customers' DNA sample as soon as the analysis is finished."

The appendix has a list of genes by chromosome and the parts of the body they affect; a nice reference.

It was amusing that throughout the book he commented snidely on American society and culture and our western expansion without taking any note of the impact of his homeland on the Native American population. 

Published:  2012   Read: May - July 2024  Genre: Science

The Women - Kristin Hannah

 This story came highly recommended. It was a great read, finished it in 2 days.  It's the story of a young woman who enlists as a nurse during the Vietnam war.  Her idealistic outlook is quickly squashed as the realities of war become clear.  Not only was she subjected to horrors she'd never imagined, she encounters even worse realities when she returns home.  She constantly hears "no women were in Vietnam" and is told to forget and move on.  A good read.

Published:  2024  Read: June 2024  Genre: Historical fiction