My guest today on the Online for Authors podcast is Joel David Bond, author of the book As Large As Your Spirit: A Reverse Refugee Memoir. A born explorer, Joel has spent over two decades living and working around the world, from farm work in Italian vineyards to jet-setting as a London-based flight attendant.His recent work in Iraqi Kurdistan built bridges between some of the region’s most elite students and the locally marginalized refugee community through service-learning.

The Last Whaler by Cynthia Reeves is a historical fiction that looks at the will to survive in the harshest circumstances. We follow Astrid through her journal entries, while we follow her husband, Tor, through his journal entries ten years later. The back and forth allows the reader to see Astrid struggles in real time as well as Tor's reflections - and all the things he missed.

Astrid is strong-willed and vibrant. She is educated and dedicated. She wants - very much - to move on beyond a tragedy. A summer spent with her husband, a whaler, on a remote island, seems to be the ticket. She will revive her relationship. She will study the flora. She will find forgiveness for herself. Except, the Arctic has other ideas.

This story, beautifully told, explores mental illness, religious faith, man's impact on the environment, and the solace of storytelling. You won't want to miss it.

​Buy the paperback.​
​Buy the Kindle. ​
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

When the Fudge Trees Bloom: Memories of an American in the Middle East by Catherine W. Rouhana is an amazing memoir. Catherine spent many years of her adult life in Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. However, the person she was when she left the US as a young mother and wife to a Lebanese citizen, and the person she was when she entered Lebanon again when her son got married were two very different women.

I learned a lot about the unrest in the Middle East in the 70s and 80s. I also learned a lot about living life in the closed society of Saudi Arabia and family traditions in Lebanon. This memoir made me wonder how I would have handled the many wars, the political upheaval, the idea that women are second class citizens, and simply the loneliness of being far from home.

In the end, I fell in love with Lebanon - at least the Lebanon known to Catherine's family. The one not torn to shreds by war.

​Buy the paperback.​
​Buy the Kindle.
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.