The Best Book I Read This Month: Shutter by Ramona Emerson

The best book I read this month was a mystery by Navajo (Diné) author Ramona Emerson. Shutter follows photographer Rita Todacheene as she gets caught up in and tries to solve a series of murders in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Rita is literally haunted by her work. She sees dead people, and these ghosts both help and hinder her pursuit of justice.

It took me a little while to get into this story, but once I found the rhythm, I couldn’t put it down. The mystery was well-crafted, and I love the way Emerson wove in not only Rita’s personal history but also her Navajo culture.

Rita both accepts and rejects her culture. The tension she feels between living and working in white society and being true to her roots informs much of the story. Should she listen to her grandmother’s warnings about the ghosts she sees? Should she give up her job with the Albuquerque police in favor of a job that doesn’t bring her in contact with death all of the time? Rita wrestles with these questions as she tries to solve the gruesome murder of a young mother and of a judge and his family. Ultimately, it is this pursuit of answers that endangers Rita’s life.

I don’t know if this is the first in a series, but I hope it is. I like Rita. I adore Rita’s grandmother. I want to spend more time with both of them.

The Best Book I Read This Month: The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

The best book I read this month was a gripping tale inspired by real events. In The Frozen River, Ariel Lawhon tells the story of Martha Ballard, a midwife who lived in Maine in the late 1700s. The story focuses on Ballard’s efforts to win justice for a rape victim, a preacher’s wife who named two of the town leaders as her attackers.

The story opens with a death—a murder, to be precise—and the story unfolds from there. Lawhon paints a striking picture of life in the early years of the United States, especially the lives of women. Ballard is an exception in that regard because of her profession. Being a midwife bestows privileges on her that other women are denied, such as the right to speak in court. Ballard only has that right because as a midwife, she is considered a medical professional. Throughout the story, she uses that privilege to push for justice for the preacher’s wife.

Martha Ballard was a real person, and she did testify against a town leader in a rape trial. We know this because of the diary that Ballard left behind. That diary became the nonfiction book A Midwife’s Tale by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, and Ulrich’s book led to Lawhon’s. I was so intrigued by Ballard that I ordered Ulrich’s book before I finished Lawhon’s.

It’s tempting to say that Ballard was an extraordinary woman, but she wasn’t. She was an ordinary woman who made the most of what was given to her. And that makes her a very compelling main character in a very compelling story.

The Best Book I Read This Month: Wild Faith by Talia Levin

The best book I read this month was perhaps not the best choice to read before this year’s presidential election, as it ramped up my election anxiety exponentially. Having said, that, the book is definitely worth reading. Talia Lavin’s Wild Faith: How the Christian Right Is Taking Over America recounts the rise of Christian nationalism in the United States and the movement’s efforts to reshape the nation, its government, and its society in their image. It is eye-opening and terrifying and enraging.

At this point, I don’t have more words than that. I’m still digesting what I read. But it left me with an even stronger conviction that the Christian right—Christian nationalists, Christian fascists—are the greatest danger this country faces in our lifetime.

But don’t take my word for it. Read Wild Faith. Lavin lays it all out very clearly.

Duncan

Today would have been Duncan’s 16th birthday. When I adopted him in 2016, I asked him to give me eight years. He gave me eight years and two months.

Duncan passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on May 26th. He collapsed and was gone in minutes. I was not prepared.

The very first picture I took of Duncan, on the night I brought him home

He had seen the vet a month before. She raved about what good shape he was in for his age (15 1/2). I expected to have a few years left with him, not a few weeks.

Duncan was not a dog that demanded a lot. He never demanded anything. All he wanted to was to sit in a soft place and have a clear view of me. He was gentle and quiet. An introvert to the core.

He was never interested in toys or play. Walks were tolerated, but he would have happily lived without them. He loved snow. He played in autumn leaves. He loved storms and would watch them through the window in fascination. He would never snuggle with me unless I was asleep.

The last picture I ever took of Duncan, on the day before he died

One of the things I loved most about him were his wonky ears. His ears were not symmetrical on his head, nor were they the same size and shape. They drove groomers nuts. As he got older, he had a tendency to keep one ear down and one ear up—even when he was sleeping.

Not that he could hear anything with that upright ear. Duncan was deaf for the last years of his life. Even when he could hear, he was not any kind of guard dog. The only time he ever barked was in his sleep. Awake, he just watched the world move around him.

He was the sweetest old man dog I ever had, and I miss him daily.



If you would like to do something in Duncan’s honor, please consider a donation to Young at Heart Senior Pet Adoptions or a rescue in your community.

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