Review by Carole O'Neill

The Candlemaker’s Woman by Marj Charlier takes place during the period of the barbarian migrations into the late Roman Empire. Not a period I read a lot about. My history lesson kept interfering with the memoir of a young girl sold into slavery by her mother for safe passage into Gaul. She promises to find her daughter as soon as they are able to cross the Rhine.

As Melia waits for her mother’s return, life with her new family consists of near starvation as she learns how to stretch scraps of food to avoid starvation. She even finds ways to live through the brutal sexual assaults during the nightly visits by her new master. Her only relief seems to come in learning how to make candles. She becomes an expert at the craft and uses her knowledge to her advantage when the soldiers come looking for slaves.

Throughout the book Melia shows the character of a much older woman, learning to become strong while enduring the life of a slave. I found myself rooting for her as she ran through town searching for help in delivering her friend’s baby.

Marj’s character descriptions are vivid and real. Her research is notable. Putting it down was harder than I thought. Waiting for a sequel might be asking too much.

Purchase The Candlemaker's Woman:
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If you could put anything on your bucket list, what would it be? Something classic? Like Paris,
Rome, or Athens? Something adventurous? Like hiking the Appalachian Trail, skydiving, or
scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef? Something exotic? Like Antarctica, Arashiyama Bamboo
Forest, or Easter Island?

You might be surprised to discover that my list is nothing like yours. It’s far more common, run-
of-the-mill – some might even say mundane. But I’d gladly trade a cruise to an island paradise
for more everyday life.

-Eating breakfast together, asking you if you’d rather have Honey Nut Cheerios or Raisin Bran
Crunch.
-Looking over the bills that came in the day’s mail.
-Deciding if we should shop around for car insurance.
-Looking at paint samples for the bedroom wall.
-Hopping in the car to pick up a great find on Facebook Marketplace.
-Watching an episode of some war movie with the sound up far too loud.
-A tandem bicycle ride.
-A walk on the beach.
-Sharing tater tots at dinner.
-Sneaking a sip of your diet Pepsi.
-A hug.
-A kiss.
-A simple ‘I love you.’

The Hospice newsletter, Compassionate Journey, arrived not long after cancer took him from
me. Amid all the articles on grief was a suggestion to write to this prompt: It has been such a
short time since I lost you, yet it seems like far longer. What I already miss the most right now
is…

I threw the newsletter across the room and cried because the answer is everything. The smell of his soap after he showered. His loud Hawaiian shirts that never matched his choice of ballcap. His energizer bunny on steroids drive. His amazing ability to find a pun in anything. His dimples that popped out whenever he smiled. His complete belief in me. Knowing he was there for me when I succeeded, but more importantly, when I failed.

My bucket list is filled with simple, inexpensive, routine dreams that will never come to pass
because cancer is a thief. One that comes in the night and steals what is most precious. Most
valuable. Most dear. And yes, most ordinary.
​
So, I ask again. What is on your bucket list?

The Sum of All Our Anger: Civil War 2.0 by William R Douglas is realistic domestic military thriller set about forty years in the future. This book was amazing. Horrifying. Thought-provoking. Disturbing. Anxiety-producing. And a must-read.

The Civil War is something we should never want to repeat in the United States, but with political parties who refuse to work together, name-calling, and "dig in our heels" ideologies, many fear this could be on the horizon. The Sum of All Our Anger looks at the United States in 2061 and shows readers a worst case scenario that includes states seceding from the Union, martial law, and the removal of the founding documents of our country.

Quite frankly, I had to put the book down several times and swallow hard before I could continue. Why? Because I could imagine this scenario playing out. And the results of a second Civil War would be beyond devastating. I hope you read this book, contemplate what you see, and do your part to effect change - regardless of which side of the aisle holds your vote.

Purchase a copy of The Sum of All Our Anger:
Paperback: https://amzn.to/43H6FXt​
Kindle: https://amzn.to/4idDA9I

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