Mother
of the year she was not but “without her the history of Winston Churchill and
the world would have been a very different story.”
17 Bookers (including our own masked Melba Holt
driving in from Dallas) to celebrate the beginning of our 18th year
of reading with friends and fellow book lovers at the home of Jean Alexander
with Patty Evans leading the discussion of this month’s selection. Melba brought
prayer requests for Shirley and Jim Crofford (friends and past Pinnacle
residents) as they both struggle with health issues. Prayers are not of many
words, but of Oneness – the world’s mightiest healing force. Please keep them
close to your hearts as they navigate through this chapter.
Bookers’ members Barbara Creach and Sandy Molander
both recently lost their husbands, and our thoughts are with them as well. New
member Judy Short attended her second Bookers meeting, her first being our
end-of-year celebration in June. Welcome back!
I’ve always been a vivid dreamer, so this came as no
surprise when early Sunday morning I was staring into the infectious smile of
our Daryl Daniels…she said I read your book, gave it a thumbs up and I woke up.
She and Beverly Dossett are truly missed but I’m certain they’re keeping an eye
on Bookers to make sure we’re keeping the standard high!
Thanks to everyone who contributed to Bookers’ slush
fund used for out-of-pocket expenses and it is my hope we don’t have to use a
dime of it this year…stay healthy my friends!
Many thanks to our book selection team for their
tireless efforts to bring us choices that will stimulate conversation. We are
delighted that Patty Evans has volunteered to join the committee!
Sonia Purnell is a journalist and bestselling author
known for her lively writing style and meticulous research. Clementine
was her second book and has been optioned for a Hollywood movie. Her latest and
yet to be released, A Woman of No Importance, is the true-life
tale of a female spy in WWII, Virginia Hall, a young American socialite with a
wooden leg, who helped fan the flames of French Resistance – the rights already
sold to Paramount for a major film starring Daisy Ridley – the English actress
of Star Wars fame.
Biographies can be a bit stuffy but this one read more
like a novel narrative although some of the historical detail interrupted the
flow. It begins as British, American, and Canadian troops, code name, Operation
Overlord, are set to invade Normandy with the largest amphibious assaults in
modern history. This Allied invasion of Nazi occupied France was the decisive
moment in World War II resulting in the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi
Germany’s control. No other instance in history “when the future of the world
had so depended on the courage of a single man.” Churchill – what was inside
him that allowed him to stand up to Hitler and command men to their certain
deaths? He was an ailing heavy drinker and cigar smoker well into his 60s and
strangely vulnerable and in need of protection.
Enter Clementine. She was “in a way his ultimate
authority, his conscience, and the nearest he had to a direct line to the
people.” Together they spent three decades united by a common project – making
him Prime Minister. He embodied British courage and resolve but took “his
strength from Clemmie.” She boosted and never betrayed; counseled but
challenged, chided and consoled – shored up his inadequacies, moderated his
extremes and stopped him from making countless mistakes.” War helped her
rediscover her sense of purpose and it was not as a mother – with her husband
and country under siege she had a role despite having a newborn and two young
children – her maternal duties not holding her back from her full-time job of
preserving Winston’s image by directing criticism away from his actions.
We watch as the couple navigate through two world
wars, two stints as Prime Minister, numerous financial disasters, the
disappointment and often disapproval of their children and immediate families,
betrayals from friends and colleagues. Separate excursions, differences in
political views – Clementine born a suffragist and Winston viewing the role of
women in determining election outcomes as “we already have enough ignorant
voters, and we don’t want any more” still allowed the affectionate side to
surface as in their letters to each other were filled with declarations of love
and respect.
Patty, drawn to character-driven works,
focused on Clementine providing insights into the complexity of the person as
well as her role as a wife and mother. She provided a pictorial diorama of the
different stages in the life of Mrs. Winston Churchill that included a
sixty-year marriage to one of the most unique figures in history. He was enamored with her beauty,
intelligence, and political knowledge. She was his partner – one who did not
flinch through the sweeping darkness of war and who would not surrender either
to expectations or to enemies. Many wondered why Winston married her when he
had the beautiful daughter of the Prime Minister at his beck and call.
Clementine threw herself into being Churchill’s wife – the right sort of woman
for him – one far from ordinary. She put her “rackety” background behind her,
lost her shyness pushing to become incredibly wise, measured, knowledgeable and
well-read. She struggled to maintain her own identity while serving as the
conscience and principal adviser to one of the most important figures in
history. Winston was attracted to her in part because of her unconventional
background – she had no money, was making her own living, and unlike normal
society women whose interests centered on clothing and parties. She was
interested in what he had to say finding it thrilling and was elated when he
talked about great and exciting world events – events that she longed to be a
part of.
The couple were as similar as they were different,
neither experiencing a steady and loving childhood. His mother, Jennie,
reportedly considered him too “ugly, slouchy, and tiresome” to bother with,
even forgetting his birthdays, until he became famous. His father, Lord
Randolph, preferred his brother, Jack, with some historians suggesting he
actually “loathed” Winston. Clementine was the granddaughter of a Scottish earl
but was the target of cruel snobbery. Her mother, a Victorian “wild-child”
sporting ten lovers at once as she desired to have children while her husband
did not. As a result of this she was shunned by polite society and always had
financial restraints. Her “alleged father” Sir Henry tried to kidnap her, but
she escaped. Both were bullied in the early years, rumored to have been born
out of marriage, craved comfort, and protection, were insecure and had to
endure a mother’s “frantic sexual intrigue.” Neither formed close relationships
easily. They were both adept at working the room with ease when it came to
their agendas. They pulled out all the stops to sway the United States into
joining the fight against the Nazis. And they both loved the play on words
being very fond of paraprosdokians which are figures of speech in which the
latter part of the sentence or phrase is unexpected and often humorous – like –
Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in the
garage makes you a car. Since light travels faster than sound, some people
appear bright until you hear them speak.
They
differed in that she was the fiduciary in the relationship – always concerned
where the next pound would come from while he hopped between one bad investment
to another. Chartwell, their working farm, was an example as he couldn’t “bear
to have an animal slaughtered once he’d said good morning to it.” He secretly
invested in American stocks right before the crash but somehow, he always came
out of his self-imposed disasters on top thanks to gifts from his friends and
benefactors like Charlie Chaplin and the Prince of Wales. Unfortunately, he
didn’t get any smarter with failure but writing his articles brought a source
of needed income – often to be able to pay the rent.
He made
countless mistakes early in his career especially the Dardanelles incident
during WWII considered a military disaster, but Clementine knew he had to
redeem himself and prove he wasn’t just a hothead if he was to go forward with
their Prime Minister plan. She encouraged or demanded he volunteer to fight in
the trenches of the Western Front where a bullet could find him at any
moment…she encouraged him not to come back too soon to prove he was a different
man.
We
discussed whether or not they were “true” to their marriage vows especially
since it was reported that during their decades together, their daughter
estimated they spent only 20% of their time together…formula for a happy
marriage, at least for them. Clementine enjoyed the company and attention from
her male “travel” companion but whether it was a platonic relationship remains
at debate. Although “absent” parents, they did dote on their grandchildren. You
have to wonder if this was somehow related to the death of their infant
daughter, Marigold – their sunshine child – whose passing neither ever got
over…maybe it was a time in their lives when all their goals had been met
allowing them to just be grandparents.
As a whole
we all enjoyed the story, albeit lengthy and detailed, and learned a great deal
about this remarkable woman and her influence on her husband. Among thousands
of favorable Amazon reviews, a one star stood out pointing to the “blatant”
inaccuracies sprinkled throughout the book beginning on page one suggesting
that Churchill instead of Eisenhower launched the D-Day invasion, the
misinformation concerning Eleanor Roosevelt and her “staff” as well as the
author’s patronizing characterization of American’s first lady smacking of
British elitism and nasty when it came to descriptions of her appearance…one
person’s opinion of course.
COLOR CODING SYSTEM
WHITE: LIGHT READ
PINK: MODERATELY
CHALLENGING
RED: CHALLENGING
October 12: The Audacity of Sara Grayson, Joani
Elliott (BookTrib book)
Sara, a
thirty-two-year-old greeting card writer is about to land the toughest
assignment of her life. Three weeks after the death of her mother – a world
famous suspense novelist – she learns her mother’s dying wish is for her to
write the final book in her bestselling series.
PINK
Discussion
Leader: JoDee Neathery
Home
of Debbie Yarger
November 16: Note change of date
A
Kind of Hush, JoDee Neathery
PINK
A conversation with the
author. Bring your questions, your thoughts, and your book if you would like an
autograph…I have bookmarks for all of you and if you need a copy of “Hush” I
just happen to have a few copies – paperback and hardback – residing as guests
in the extra bedroom.
Home
of Ann Ireland
December 14: The Story of Arthur Truluv, Elizabeth
Berg
For six months after his
wife died, Arthur Moses’s life has been the same…tending to his rose garden and
his cat, Gordon, then takes a bus to the cemetery to visit and have lunch with
his late beloved wife. The last thing he imagined was that one unlikely
encounter would change his life completely.
PINK
Discussion Leader: Rebecca Brisendine
Home
of Bonnie Magee
January 11, 2022 In Five Years, Rebecca Serle
A striking, powerful, and moving love story following an ambitious
lawyer who experiences an astonishing vision that could change her life
forever.
PINK
Discussion Leader:
Home of
February 8: Dear Edward, Ann Napolitano
What does it mean not just to survive, but to truly live? One
summer morning, twelve-year-old Edward Adler, his beloved older brother, his
parents, and 183 other passengers board a flight in Newark headed for Los
Angeles. Halfway across the country, the plane crashes and Edward is the only
survivor.
PINK
Discussion Leader: Jean
Alexander
Home of
March 8: The
Address, Fiona Davis
When a chance encounter with Theodore Camden, one of the architects of the
grand New York apartment house, the Dakota, leads to a job offer for Sara
Smythe, her world is suddenly awash in possibility – no mean feat for a servant
in 1884.
PINK
Discussion Leader
Home of
April 12: Cher
Ami & Major Whittlesey, Kathleen Rooney
From the green
countryside of England and the gray canyons of Wall Street come two unlikely
heroes – one pigeon and the other a soldier. Answering the call to serve in WWI
neither the messenger bird nor Charles Whittlesey the army officer can
anticipate how their lives will briefly intersect in a chaotic battle in the
forests of France.
PINK
Discussion Leader:
Home of
May 10: Be
Frank With Me, Julia Cleburne Johnson Debut
A reclusive literary
legend who wrote a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winning novel at
nineteen has barely been seen or heard from since though, ironically, she still
lives in a glass mansion in Bel Air even after having lost all her money in a Ponzi
scheme. She needs to write another novel, so her publisher sends her a highly
competent editorial assistant whose job is to be a companion to the author’s
nine-year-old son – a boy with the intellect of Albert Einstein and the
wardrobe of a 1930s movie star.
PINK
Discussion Leader
Home of
Summer Read: The Wives of Henry Oades, Johanna
Moran
When Henry Oades accepts an accountancy post in New Zealand, his wife,
Margaret, and their children follow him to exotic Wellington. But while Henry
is an adventurer, Margaret is not. Their new home is rougher and more rustic
than they expected—and a single night of tragedy shatters the family when the
native Maori stage an uprising, kidnapping Margaret, and her children. The
story is based on a real-life legal case.
PINK
“Life didn’t begin on a basis of
less than forty pairs of shoes,” Winston’s mother Jennie.
I know a few people who would not argue with this
rationale!
Happy Reading,
JoDee
Mother
of the year she was not but “without her the history of Winston Churchill and
the world would have been a very different story.”
17 Bookers (including our own masked Melba Holt
driving in from Dallas) to celebrate the beginning of our 18th year
of reading with friends and fellow book lovers at the home of Jean Alexander
with Patty Evans leading the discussion of this month’s selection. Melba brought
prayer requests for Shirley and Jim Crofford (friends and past Pinnacle
residents) as they both struggle with health issues. Prayers are not of many
words, but of Oneness – the world’s mightiest healing force. Please keep them
close to your hearts as they navigate through this chapter.
Bookers’ members Barbara Creach and Sandy Molander
both recently lost their husbands, and our thoughts are with them as well. New
member Judy Short attended her second Bookers meeting, her first being our
end-of-year celebration in June. Welcome back!
I’ve always been a vivid dreamer, so this came as no
surprise when early Sunday morning I was staring into the infectious smile of
our Daryl Daniels…she said I read your book, gave it a thumbs up and I woke up.
She and Beverly Dossett are truly missed but I’m certain they’re keeping an eye
on Bookers to make sure we’re keeping the standard high!
Thanks to everyone who contributed to Bookers’ slush
fund used for out-of-pocket expenses and it is my hope we don’t have to use a
dime of it this year…stay healthy my friends!
Many thanks to our book selection team for their
tireless efforts to bring us choices that will stimulate conversation. We are
delighted that Patty Evans has volunteered to join the committee!
Sonia Purnell is a journalist and bestselling author
known for her lively writing style and meticulous research. Clementine
was her second book and has been optioned for a Hollywood movie. Her latest and
yet to be released, A Woman of No Importance, is the true-life
tale of a female spy in WWII, Virginia Hall, a young American socialite with a
wooden leg, who helped fan the flames of French Resistance – the rights already
sold to Paramount for a major film starring Daisy Ridley – the English actress
of Star Wars fame.
Biographies can be a bit stuffy but this one read more
like a novel narrative although some of the historical detail interrupted the
flow. It begins as British, American, and Canadian troops, code name, Operation
Overlord, are set to invade Normandy with the largest amphibious assaults in
modern history. This Allied invasion of Nazi occupied France was the decisive
moment in World War II resulting in the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi
Germany’s control. No other instance in history “when the future of the world
had so depended on the courage of a single man.” Churchill – what was inside
him that allowed him to stand up to Hitler and command men to their certain
deaths? He was an ailing heavy drinker and cigar smoker well into his 60s and
strangely vulnerable and in need of protection.
Enter Clementine. She was “in a way his ultimate
authority, his conscience, and the nearest he had to a direct line to the
people.” Together they spent three decades united by a common project – making
him Prime Minister. He embodied British courage and resolve but took “his
strength from Clemmie.” She boosted and never betrayed; counseled but
challenged, chided and consoled – shored up his inadequacies, moderated his
extremes and stopped him from making countless mistakes.” War helped her
rediscover her sense of purpose and it was not as a mother – with her husband
and country under siege she had a role despite having a newborn and two young
children – her maternal duties not holding her back from her full-time job of
preserving Winston’s image by directing criticism away from his actions.
We watch as the couple navigate through two world
wars, two stints as Prime Minister, numerous financial disasters, the
disappointment and often disapproval of their children and immediate families,
betrayals from friends and colleagues. Separate excursions, differences in
political views – Clementine born a suffragist and Winston viewing the role of
women in determining election outcomes as “we already have enough ignorant
voters, and we don’t want any more” still allowed the affectionate side to
surface as in their letters to each other were filled with declarations of love
and respect.
Patty, drawn to character-driven works,
focused on Clementine providing insights into the complexity of the person as
well as her role as a wife and mother. She provided a pictorial diorama of the
different stages in the life of Mrs. Winston Churchill that included a
sixty-year marriage to one of the most unique figures in history. He was enamored with her beauty,
intelligence, and political knowledge. She was his partner – one who did not
flinch through the sweeping darkness of war and who would not surrender either
to expectations or to enemies. Many wondered why Winston married her when he
had the beautiful daughter of the Prime Minister at his beck and call.
Clementine threw herself into being Churchill’s wife – the right sort of woman
for him – one far from ordinary. She put her “rackety” background behind her,
lost her shyness pushing to become incredibly wise, measured, knowledgeable and
well-read. She struggled to maintain her own identity while serving as the
conscience and principal adviser to one of the most important figures in
history. Winston was attracted to her in part because of her unconventional
background – she had no money, was making her own living, and unlike normal
society women whose interests centered on clothing and parties. She was
interested in what he had to say finding it thrilling and was elated when he
talked about great and exciting world events – events that she longed to be a
part of.
The couple were as similar as they were different,
neither experiencing a steady and loving childhood. His mother, Jennie,
reportedly considered him too “ugly, slouchy, and tiresome” to bother with,
even forgetting his birthdays, until he became famous. His father, Lord
Randolph, preferred his brother, Jack, with some historians suggesting he
actually “loathed” Winston. Clementine was the granddaughter of a Scottish earl
but was the target of cruel snobbery. Her mother, a Victorian “wild-child”
sporting ten lovers at once as she desired to have children while her husband
did not. As a result of this she was shunned by polite society and always had
financial restraints. Her “alleged father” Sir Henry tried to kidnap her, but
she escaped. Both were bullied in the early years, rumored to have been born
out of marriage, craved comfort, and protection, were insecure and had to
endure a mother’s “frantic sexual intrigue.” Neither formed close relationships
easily. They were both adept at working the room with ease when it came to
their agendas. They pulled out all the stops to sway the United States into
joining the fight against the Nazis. And they both loved the play on words
being very fond of paraprosdokians which are figures of speech in which the
latter part of the sentence or phrase is unexpected and often humorous – like –
Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in the
garage makes you a car. Since light travels faster than sound, some people
appear bright until you hear them speak.
They
differed in that she was the fiduciary in the relationship – always concerned
where the next pound would come from while he hopped between one bad investment
to another. Chartwell, their working farm, was an example as he couldn’t “bear
to have an animal slaughtered once he’d said good morning to it.” He secretly
invested in American stocks right before the crash but somehow, he always came
out of his self-imposed disasters on top thanks to gifts from his friends and
benefactors like Charlie Chaplin and the Prince of Wales. Unfortunately, he
didn’t get any smarter with failure but writing his articles brought a source
of needed income – often to be able to pay the rent.
He made
countless mistakes early in his career especially the Dardanelles incident
during WWII considered a military disaster, but Clementine knew he had to
redeem himself and prove he wasn’t just a hothead if he was to go forward with
their Prime Minister plan. She encouraged or demanded he volunteer to fight in
the trenches of the Western Front where a bullet could find him at any
moment…she encouraged him not to come back too soon to prove he was a different
man.
We
discussed whether or not they were “true” to their marriage vows especially
since it was reported that during their decades together, their daughter
estimated they spent only 20% of their time together…formula for a happy
marriage, at least for them. Clementine enjoyed the company and attention from
her male “travel” companion but whether it was a platonic relationship remains
at debate. Although “absent” parents, they did dote on their grandchildren. You
have to wonder if this was somehow related to the death of their infant
daughter, Marigold – their sunshine child – whose passing neither ever got
over…maybe it was a time in their lives when all their goals had been met
allowing them to just be grandparents.
As a whole
we all enjoyed the story, albeit lengthy and detailed, and learned a great deal
about this remarkable woman and her influence on her husband. Among thousands
of favorable Amazon reviews, a one star stood out pointing to the “blatant”
inaccuracies sprinkled throughout the book beginning on page one suggesting
that Churchill instead of Eisenhower launched the D-Day invasion, the
misinformation concerning Eleanor Roosevelt and her “staff” as well as the
author’s patronizing characterization of American’s first lady smacking of
British elitism and nasty when it came to descriptions of her appearance…one
person’s opinion of course.
COLOR CODING SYSTEM
WHITE: LIGHT READ
PINK: MODERATELY
CHALLENGING
RED: CHALLENGING
October 12: The Audacity of Sara Grayson, Joani
Elliott (BookTrib book)
Sara, a
thirty-two-year-old greeting card writer is about to land the toughest
assignment of her life. Three weeks after the death of her mother – a world
famous suspense novelist – she learns her mother’s dying wish is for her to
write the final book in her bestselling series.
PINK
Discussion
Leader: JoDee Neathery
Home
of Debbie Yarger
November 16: Note change of date
A
Kind of Hush, JoDee Neathery
PINK
A conversation with the
author. Bring your questions, your thoughts, and your book if you would like an
autograph…I have bookmarks for all of you and if you need a copy of “Hush” I
just happen to have a few copies – paperback and hardback – residing as guests
in the extra bedroom.
Home
of Ann Ireland
December 14: The Story of Arthur Truluv, Elizabeth
Berg
For six months after his
wife died, Arthur Moses’s life has been the same…tending to his rose garden and
his cat, Gordon, then takes a bus to the cemetery to visit and have lunch with
his late beloved wife. The last thing he imagined was that one unlikely
encounter would change his life completely.
PINK
Discussion Leader: Rebecca Brisendine
Home
of Bonnie Magee
January 11, 2022 In Five Years, Rebecca Serle
A striking, powerful, and moving love story following an ambitious
lawyer who experiences an astonishing vision that could change her life
forever.
PINK
Discussion Leader:
Home of
February 8: Dear Edward, Ann Napolitano
What does it mean not just to survive, but to truly live? One
summer morning, twelve-year-old Edward Adler, his beloved older brother, his
parents, and 183 other passengers board a flight in Newark headed for Los
Angeles. Halfway across the country, the plane crashes and Edward is the only
survivor.
PINK
Discussion Leader: Jean
Alexander
Home of
March 8: The
Address, Fiona Davis
When a chance encounter with Theodore Camden, one of the architects of the
grand New York apartment house, the Dakota, leads to a job offer for Sara
Smythe, her world is suddenly awash in possibility – no mean feat for a servant
in 1884.
PINK
Discussion Leader
Home of
April 12: Cher
Ami & Major Whittlesey, Kathleen Rooney
From the green
countryside of England and the gray canyons of Wall Street come two unlikely
heroes – one pigeon and the other a soldier. Answering the call to serve in WWI
neither the messenger bird nor Charles Whittlesey the army officer can
anticipate how their lives will briefly intersect in a chaotic battle in the
forests of France.
PINK
Discussion Leader:
Home of
May 10: Be
Frank With Me, Julia Cleburne Johnson Debut
A reclusive literary
legend who wrote a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winning novel at
nineteen has barely been seen or heard from since though, ironically, she still
lives in a glass mansion in Bel Air even after having lost all her money in a Ponzi
scheme. She needs to write another novel, so her publisher sends her a highly
competent editorial assistant whose job is to be a companion to the author’s
nine-year-old son – a boy with the intellect of Albert Einstein and the
wardrobe of a 1930s movie star.
PINK
Discussion Leader
Home of
Summer Read: The Wives of Henry Oades, Johanna
Moran
When Henry Oades accepts an accountancy post in New Zealand, his wife,
Margaret, and their children follow him to exotic Wellington. But while Henry
is an adventurer, Margaret is not. Their new home is rougher and more rustic
than they expected—and a single night of tragedy shatters the family when the
native Maori stage an uprising, kidnapping Margaret, and her children. The
story is based on a real-life legal case.
PINK
“Life didn’t begin on a basis of
less than forty pairs of shoes,” Winston’s mother Jennie.
I know a few people who would not argue with this
rationale!
Happy Reading,
JoDee
