June Books

 I read 8 books in June. Here's one way Amber likes to read:

Fiction:

1. Maybe I Will by Melanie Jacobson: secret food critic falls in love with her former nemesis who is a chef. I liked this one, possibly the best in this 3 book New Orleans series.
2. *Roommaid by Sariah Wilson: a fun fluffy re-read.
3. Townshipped by Savannah Scott: girl crashes her car into a tree in guy's front yard and he helps her recover from her memory loss. Terrible summary of a sweet fun lovable book. I got an idea for a new song to learn on the piano from this book--a fun unexpected bonus.
4. So That Happened by Katie Bailey: girl shares a hotel room (just sleeping, nothing else) in a sold-out hotel with a guy when they're both stranded from a flight delay. A few days later when she starts her new job, the girl discovers that the guy she shared a hotel room with is her new boss. I laughed my way through this entire book. Hilarious fun quirky situations and lovable characters. I laughed so much that it was almost awkward to read this book in public (I read it on an airplane).
5. Love at First Note by Jenny Proctor: LDS YouTube piano sensation moves next door to professional violinist and they fall in love. Such a sweet cute love story! Surprisingly not too corny for a romance about church members. I really liked the portrayal of loving and supporting nonmember friends in this book, as well as the musical element. Definitely worth re-reading at some point, which is high praise for this type of novel.
6. Cinder-Nanny by Sariah Wilson: A woman fakes her credentials to become the nanny to a wealthy family in order to earn money for her sister's surgery. She falls in love with a British earl along the way. This was another classic Sariah Wilson book-- fun, light, and maybe a bit angsty here and there. Newly released in June.

Non-fiction:

1. The Turnaway Study: the cost of denying women access to abortion by Diana Greene Foster, Ph.D: Dr. Foster organized the first study on the effects of unwanted pregnancy, both pregnancies that were terminated and those that were turned away from abortion clinics. Whew. Just wow. I feel so validated in my support for abortion rights. I feel more at peace with my dueling opinions, where I don't like abortion in general, but recognize that it is a women's rights issue and should 100% be an available option for women everywhere. Every woman's situation is different, and every woman should have the freedom to choose how to proceed with a pregnancy. This book gives so much hard data backing up not only the importance of women's choices, but also the importance of trusting women to make the best choices for their situations. The final chapter and the afterward were solid, showing how the study's results apply to real life.
2. My Broken Language by Quiara Alegría Hudes: memoir of a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and musician. I listened to the audiobook, read by the author. I always love listening to memoirs read by the author because there's something extra powerful about hearing a person's own memories in their own voice. She did such an amazing job reading, I felt like we were friends by the end. Quiara is half Puerto Rican, half Jewish and she grew up in North Philadelphia in the 80s and 90s. This was a powerful, beautifully written tribute to her roots--the large extended Puerto Rican family, the trials, the triumphs, and the exploration that made her who she is today. I can't say that I would necessarily want to see some of the R-rated plays that she wrote (she fully embraces the idea of true expression having no boundaries--her memoir isn't R-rated, but she lets the reader know that her art is free to be whatever it needs to be). Her journey was inspiring and poignant and enlightening. I felt enriched from listening her memoir.
   
   Notice: this book did contain a fair amount of swear words. As I have said before, while I prefer zero swear words, some authors use them in a more expressive, linguistic way rather than an offensive abrasive way. This book used the swear words in a mostly non-offensive (to me) way. I always pay attention to how the words make me feel, and when I feel darkness from the words, I stop reading. I didn't feel that heavy darkness in this one. 

Quotes from The Turnaway Study by Dr. Diana Greene Foster:

"Turning away is what society does to women when we debate the moral status of fetuses without considering the lives of women who would become mothers. It’s what our government does to women and children when low-income women, unable to get an abortion, are not given enough child care, food, and housing assistance to raise their children without the constant fear of not having enough."

"If it was only about taxpayers not wanting to foot the bill for a procedure they object to on moral or religious grounds, there wouldn’t be bans on private insurance. Instead, these laws seem to be about making sure women literally pay the price for having had sex and becoming pregnant when they weren’t willing to give birth to a child."

"Women don’t need to be told this isn’t the right choice. They just need support."

"It’s not about whether it’s right or wrong, period. It’s about whether or not it’s right or wrong for you. I am even more pro-choice now because everybody has different circumstances, and it’s unfair, I think, for any one person to be able to tell any other person what they can or cannot do." (Quote from Martina, a study participant who had an abortion.)

"The Turnaway Study findings about economics and life plans strongly support Justice Ginsburg’s assertion that abortion is about 'a woman’s autonomous charge of her full life’s course.'"

"When women decide to have an abortion, they do not want to continue to be pregnant and give birth. When abortion is no longer an option, the vast majority of those who initially chose abortion choose parenting over adoption."

"Abortion is not just about a woman’s rights versus an embryo’s or fetus’s rights; it’s also about whether women get to have children when they are ready to care for them. Everyone cares about the well-being of children, and this study shows that when women are able to decide whether to carry a pregnancy to term, their children do better. This includes the children they already had at the time of the unwanted pregnancy—again, 60% of women seeking abortions are already mothers—and it also includes their future children."

"For the one in twenty women who experience abuse from the man involved in the pregnancy, being turned away and giving birth increases the duration of ongoing contact, with the result that the incidence of violence is higher among women who are denied an abortion compared to those who received one. A pregnancy carried to term that is with the wrong man or comes at the wrong time has reverberations for the woman’s future relationships. In the long run, being denied an abortion reduces the chance that women are in a very good relationship years later, further evidence of the role of abortion in enabling women to set their own life course."

"I hope that this book has provided some insight into why women have abortions and the consequences when they cannot get a wanted abortion. Tiller’s philosophy of trusting women is the take-home message from the Turnaway Study. Our study produced strong evidence that women are able to make thoughtful and deliberate decisions about their bodies, their families, and their lives. They are weighing their own burdens, their responsibilities to others, and their aspirations for the future. We learned that enabling women to make important personal decisions about childbearing protects their own and their children’s health and economic security. Being able to access abortion gives them a greater chance at developing quality relationships and ending abusive ones, setting and achieving personal goals, and for some women, having a more wanted pregnancy later on. To paraphrase Justice Ginsburg, abortion is not just about fetal versus women’s rights, or even the government’s role in private childbearing decisions. It is about women’s control over their financial security, health and bodily integrity, ability to care for their existing children, prospects for healthy relationships, and their plans for the future. It is about women’s control over their own lives."

Quotes from My Broken Language by Quiara Alegria Hudes:

"The quiet made me come alive." (chapter 14)

"It was calming how the trees stood and offered themselves to my heart." (chapter 28)

Quotes from fiction:

"Conversations like this are new for us, but suddenly it feels like I’ve figured out the hard part of getting into a hammock, and now it’s okay to relax, knowing it will hold me." --Melanie Jacobson, Maybe I Will

"I just want to eat my pint of non-dairy dessert in my pajamas while wishing it was real ice cream." --Katie Bailey, So That Happened

"Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are the best. Universally loved by everyone, from little kids to octogenarians. They’re satisfying and sweet, can be both a comfort food and a dietary staple. They can be fancy, with whole grain artisan loaf and fresh ground organic peanuts, or eaten as a Smuckers-and-Skippy-and-Wonderbread treat that reminds you of how the simplest pleasures in life can be the best ones." --Katie Bailey, So That Happened

"Listen, little short person. You have no idea what it’s like to deal with limbs this long." --Jenny Proctor, Love at First Note

"Every classical piece has this depth, a purpose behind why it was written and what it’s supposed to accomplish. There’s emotion behind those notes—every single one of them—and the challenge as a musician is to play them in a way that explores that depth. Vivaldi, for example. When you listen to his Four Seasons, you capture the threads that tie each movement together. You can literally feel the surge of a summer storm or the fall of leaves in autumn. You feel and hear and relate to the music because of what it represents." --Jenny Proctor, Love at First Note

"Fairy tales aren’t quite all they’re cracked up to be. Getting married is like a fairy tale in reverse—you start out at a ball in a gorgeous gown and then spend all your time cleaning up after little people. So you better be sure that the person standing at your side is your partner and teammate and someone you adore, because it’s difficult." --Sariah Wilson, Cinder-Nanny