reading Archives

Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit: Growing in Christlikeness

Growing the Fruit of the Spirit Author: Christopher J.H. Wright If you are living in God and God is living in you that relationship should be tangible in your life: in how you act and react, in what you do and in what you say, in how you treat others and how you respond to the world. The Christian lifestyle is supposed to be one set apart, one dedicated to God’s will, showcasing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Paul lays out all this evidence of a life in Christ in Galatians 5:22-23, calling Christ-like actions the [...]

Frances Carden2025-05-19T13:26:03-07:00May 19th, 2025|Tags: book review, Christian, fruit of the spirit, Galations, read, reading|

Rose Madder

“It ain't the blows we're dealt that matter, but the ones we survive.” Author: Stephen King After 14 years of marriage – of beatings, of blood, of miscarriages and abuse – Rose Daniels finally comes to her senses and walks out of her house, never to return. It isn’t planned, this moment of bravery. She leaves only with the clothes on her back and her husband’s bank card, which she uses to get a ticket out of town and then throws away. Rose is done with Norman Daniels, with his escalating rages, his biting, his fists, and the promise of death [...]

Frances Carden2025-05-10T09:25:58-07:00May 10th, 2025|Tags: book review, horror, read, reading, stephen king|

The S Word: A Memoir About Secrets

Secrets. Silence. Standing Alone. Author: Paolina Milana S stands for secrets. For silence. For sin. For schizophrenia. For sinister. For standing alone. In this memoir, Paolina Milana documents her childhood and teen years, growing up in a chaotic family, dedicated to taking care of Paolina’s increasingly schizophrenic and often violent mother. The father of the family is overwhelmed, and after a brief adventure with the unhelpful medical system – even bringing the police into the ruse to institutionalize Paolina’s mother – the family caves to fear and secrecy. They are on their own, shunned, struggling, trying to keep a secret that [...]

Frances Carden2025-05-08T09:35:06-07:00May 8th, 2025|Tags: abuse, book review, memoir, mental health, read, reading|