Carrie Host’s book Between Me and the River is a moving memoir that chronicles her journey and struggles to survive an incurable form of cancer. In the book, Carrie shares all the pain, physical and emotional, she went through after her diagnosis.  She also relates the guilt she felt and anger at her new life.  But more than that, she provides a story of hope, love and self-awareness that many of us have never felt in our lives.

Host compares her trial in dealing with cancer to falling in a river. Whether sinking into the deep water, rushing toward a waterfall, or resting in an eddy, it’s easy to identify with her as she explains where in the river she feels on any particular day. Being a mother of five, it is heartwrenching to read of her account of how she delivered the news of her fate to her children, to follow along as she struggles to do the simplest tasks a mother must do,and to see her relationship with her husband flourish under the strain of what they have to deal with.

I applaud Carrie for having the courage to write so openly and honestly about her disease. Reading this book has changed my life in a profoud way. It has made me more patient and loving with my children and more thankful of my husband. While Host’s book at first is a heavy read, as you turn more pages you start to see the positive impact this devastation has on her family, her friends

and her own consciousness.  Overall I found this book very easy to read, though I had to put it down at times to wipe the tears away.  I would definitely keep a tissue handy.

The Dewey Tree

• Your local library
• The Salvation Army - Visit their site and check for donation centers near you.
• BetterWorldBooks.com - BetterWorldBooks is a for profit social venture. Monies from the sales of their books go to a variety of organizations.

So, for the last month, I’ve been meaning to write a review of this terrific book by Coloradan Carrie Host.  It’s a gripping story of her journey through cancer.   It took me nearly a week to read her book, because every time I picked it up to read, I had to put it back down again to wipe away the tears and show my family just how much I love them.  Never has a book had hold of my heart so fiercely.  So writing the review has been difficult because I’m having trouble writing through the tears.

But tonight, I will be sitting down, (after our girl scout meeting) and writing this review.  So stay tuned later this week for a review of Carrie Host’s “Between Me and The River.”

Tonight I’m making a batch of chocolate chip cookies, because chocolate goes so well with emotional writing, doesn’t it?  More often than not, I make peanut butter cookies  because that’s what my husband really likes the most.  Next to sugar cookies, chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin cookies are my favorite. I usually make the recipes on the chocolate chip bag or oatmeal carton, but I’m patiently waiting for this website about cookies  to be up and running so the work will be done for me.

Til the Next Chapter,
Deanna

The New York Times Bestseller List
October 18, 2009

Hardcover Fiction

THE LOST SYMBOL, by Dan Brown. Robert Langdon among the Masons.
A TOUCH OF DEAD, by Charlaine Harris. The complete Sookie Stackhouse stories.
THE HELP, by Kathryn Stockett.  A young white woman and two black maids in 1960s ­Mississippi.
THE PROFESSIONAL, by Robert B. Parker. Rich women are turning up dead, and the Boston P.I. Spenser investigates.
THE LAST SONG, by Nicholas Sparks.  A 17-year-old girl spends the summer with her divorced father in North Carolina and finds many kinds of love.

Hardcover Nonfiction

HAVE A LITTLE FAITH, by Mitch Albom.  A suburban rabbi and a Detroit pastor teach lessons about the comfort of belief.
ARGUING WITH IDIOTS, written and edited by Glenn Beck, Kevin Balfe and others.  The case against big government.
TRUE COMPASS, by Edward M. Kennedy.  The late senator’s autobiography.
WHERE MEN WIN GLORY, by Jon Krakauer.  The story of Pat Tillman, the N.F.L. player who enlisted after 9/11, and the Army’s cover-up of his death by friendly fire in Afghanistan
THE MURDER OF KING TUT, by James Patterson and Martin Dugard. Investigating the Boy King’s sudden death

Paperback Trade Fiction

SAY YOU’RE ONE OF THEM, by Uwem Akpan.  Stories set in Africa, told from the point of view of wise and resilient children.
THE SHACK, by William P. Young.  A man whose daughter was abducted is invited to an isolated shack, apparently by God.
THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE, by Audrey Niffenegger. Life with a dashing librarian who travels back and forth through time.
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, by Stieg Larsson.  A hacker and a journalist investigate the disappearance of a Swedish heiress.
THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN, by Garth Stein.  An insightful Lab-terrier mix helps his owner, a struggling race car driver.

Paperback Mass-Market Fiction

THE ASSOCIATE, by John Grisham. An idealistic law-school graduate is forced to take a job at a large, brutalizing law firm.
CROSS COUNTRY, by James Patterson.  Alex Cross chases the leader of a teenage gang.
COVET, by J. R. Ward.  A man becomes a fallen angel and is charged with saving the souls of seven people from the seven deadly sins.
HEAT LIGHTNING, by John Sandford. Virgil Flowers investigates a string of murders in which a lemon was left in the mouth of each victim.
TRUE DETECTIVES, by Jonathan Kellerman. In the 24th Alex Delaware novel, the interracial half-brothers from “Bones” investigate a young woman’s death.

Paperback Non-Fiction

I HOPE THEY SERVE BEER IN HELL, by Tucker Max.  Life as a self-absorbed, drunken womanizer.
THREE CUPS OF TEA, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. A former climber builds schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
GLENN BECK’S ‘COMMON SENSE’, by Glenn Beck. Thomas Paine-inspired thoughts on government.
THE GLASS CASTLE, by Jeannette Walls. The author recalls a bizarre childhood during which she and her siblings moved constantly.
THE TIPPING POINT, by Malcolm Gladwell. otherwise known as fads.

Children’s Picture Books

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, by Barb Bersche and Michelle Quint.  A movie tie-in adapted from the screenplay based on the children’s classic. (Ages 9 to 12)
LEGO STAR WARS, by Simon Beecroft.  An annotated visual dictionary. (Ages 7 and up)
JULIE ANDREWS’S COLLECTION OF POEMS, SONGS, AND LULLABIES, by Emma Walton Hamilton and Julie Andrews. Illustrated by James McMullan.. All of the above, by various authors, plus a CD. (Ages 4 to
SKIPPYJON JONES, LOST IN SPICE, by Judy Schachner. The peppery red planet captures a cat’s fancy. (Ages 4 to
PIGS MAKE ME SNEEZE!, by Mo Willems.  An elephant indulges in self-diagnosis. (Ages 4 to

Children’s Chapter Books

THE HUNGER GAMES, by Suzanne Collins. In a dystopian future, a girl fights for survival on live TV. (Ages 12 and up).
CATCHING FIRE, by Suzanne Collins.The protagonist of “The Hunger Games” returns. (Ages 12 and up)
RETURN TO THE HUNDRED ACRE WOOD, by David Benedictus. Illustrated by Mark Burgess. The further adventures of Pooh and company. (Ages 9 to 12)
FIRE, by Kristin Cashore.  The last remaining human monster could save a kingdom. (Ages 14 and up)
LEVIATHAN, by Scott Westerfeld. Illustrated by Keith Thompson.  A round-the-world in airship trip before the eruption of World War I. (Ages 12 and up)

Children’s Paperback Books

THE BOOK THIEF, by Markus Zusak. A girl saves books from Nazi burning and shares them with a Jewish man in hiding. (Ages 14 and up)
DARK VISIONS, by L. J. Smith. A school for psychic teens. (Ages 14 and up)
THREE CUPS OF TEA: YOUNG READERS EDITION, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. A former climber builds schools in Pakistani and Afghan villages. (Ages 9 to 12)
GRACELING, by Kristin Cashore.  A fantasy novel about a girl endowed with special talents who also is valued for her attributes as a warrior. (Ages 14 and up)
BLUE MOON, by Alyson Noël.  An immortal girl. (Ages 12 and up)

Children’s Series Books

THE TWILIGHT SERIES, by Stephenie Meyer. Vampires and werewolves in high school. (Ages 12 and up)
DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, written and illustrated by Jeff Kinney.  A boy records the hazards of adolescent life. (Ages 9 to 12)
BLUE BLOODS, by Melissa de la Cruz. Young and privileged vampires are having a blood feud. (Ages 14 and up)
PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS, by Rick Riordan.  Battling mythological monsters. (Ages 9 to 12)
VAMPIRE DIARIES, by L. J. Smith.  Vampires in school, with a love triangle. (Ages 12 and up)

Source: The New York Times Best Seller List