The Secret Scripture: Book Review

 

Published 2 April 2008

I have not read very many books set in Ireland, so when I found a review of  The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry on Goodreads, I decided to reach back to a book published in 2008. It's notable that this book was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. I was also interested in a protagonist, who was a centenarian, Roseanne (Rose) Clear McNulty, reviewing events from the first quarter of her life. 

The Correspondent: Book Review

 

Published 29 April 2025

Oh, I enjoyed this book. The novel features a woman in her seventies named Sybil Stone Van Antwerp. However, the genre is epistolary, meaning that we read a series of letters that Sybil and a handful of friends, family members, and at times strangers write to each other. Sybil is an avid reader, and some of her correspondents are famous authors, which makes for some fun cameos of sorts. (This is all fiction, however.)  

For me, the more engaging exchanges take place between Sybil and close friends and family members.  Having more than one person comment on past events gives us more than one point of view, and much of the novel's conflicts have to do with these clashes of perception.

Goodbye to Gary, My Mom's Husband

 

Gary M. Lloyd and Donna W. Lloyd
Wedding Reception November 2, 1989

Earlier this month, my mother's husband of thirty-six years was tested positive for influenza. He was already unsteady on his feet due to his normal pressure hydrocephalus. He ended up falling sometime during the first week of January 2026 and was diagnosed with a bi-lateral brain bleed on January 7, 2026.  A week later, he passed peacefully with family at his bedside. A week after that, the family celebrated his life with a viewing and funeral at Berg Mortuary in Provo, Utah prior to an internment in Lehi, Utah. Gary was 91 years old. 

I will remember him for being friendly, diplomatic, dependable, and devout.  He was a great partner to my mother for decades.  

I am providing a copy of his obituary here since it will be behind a firewall at some point: 

2026 WOTY: Listen

 

Photo by Catherine Singleton
via Creative Commons

Instead of making a New Year's Resolution, I adopt a Word of the Year.  If you have not heard of this concept, you can read this post by Jess at her blog Cultivate & Navigate. 

Basically, selecting a Word of the Year (WOTY) helps people to avoid failing in the ways the New Year's Resolutions often end up. Instead of focusing on a specific behavior, the WOTY (aka focus word) can take on different shapes and meanings over twelve months. It's an act of meditation that encourages changes in thoughts, words, and behavior.  What that looks like specifically can transform from day to day.  

I like that better. When I selected a New Year's Resolution, I often gave up four to six weeks into the year. Over the last nine years, I persist through the entire year thinking about my focus word. 

I usually pick something that will stretch me. I may not always incorporate the focus word into my character completely, but I usually learn a lot about myself and adopt some strategies for self-improvement along with self-awareness.