Mary E. Trimble

If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.
—Martin Luther King Jr.

Small Great Things, a novel by Jodi Picoult, deals with race, privilege, prejudice, justice and compassion, subjects many would just as soon not talk about. The contemporary story takes place in Connecticut.

Ruth Jefferson, an African American, is the proud mother of a seventeen year old, exceptionally bright son. She was widowed several years earlier when her husband was killed during his second tour of duty in Afghanistan. Ruth is a labor and delivery nurse at a Connecticut hospital and has practiced her profession for more than twenty years. A baby boy is born during Ruth’s shift and she performs her duties—routine testing and bathing the infant. When Ruth brings the baby to the mother to breast-feed her baby, the father demands that she doesn’t touch his wife or infant. Ruth is abruptly assigned to another case. Later she sees a note in the patient’s file: “No African American personnel to care for this patient.”

The story toggles to Turk Bauer whose wife, Brittany, just gave birth to their baby boy. Turk and Brittany are hard-core white supremacists, and practice their hate on anyone who isn’t white. There are very few limits to their actions. Turk operates a white supremacist website with a huge following. It’s hate to the extreme. When he sees a Black nurse handling his baby and touching his wife, he explodes into a rage.

After the baby boy is recovering from a routine circumcision, he goes into cardiac distress. Ruth is alone in the nursery. What should she do? Does she obey orders and not touch the baby, or does she try to save him? What she does results in a charge of a serious crime with a likely outcome of time in prison.

Kennedy McQuarrie is assigned as Public Defender for Ruth Jefferson’s case. As Kennedy tackles her assignment she learns what prejudice is really all about, how deep it can go, and how we are often blind to how we look at people of another race. Can justice be served in this case?

I greatly admire Jodi Picoult’s research in the many aspects of this story. The novel delves into the practice of medicine as it applies to an expectant mother and new-born infant. She explains the difference between Aryan Nations, Skinhead, White Supremacists, and Neo-Nazis, and even to those who believe in equality, but perhaps not when it comes to schools and neighborhoods. And finally, the fallacy that everyone is equal under the law and that all individuals are treated the same by the legal system, regardless of their status, race, gender, or other characteristics.

Small Great Things made a profound impression on me. I highly recommend this well-written, highly informative book.

Book Review: Finding Me

Posted on February 10, 2025 by Mary

Finding Me: A Memoir by Viola Davis, one of Hollywood’s most acclaimed actors, is a heart-wrenching story as well as one of hope, victory and self-love. Viola was born in 1965, Central Falls, Rhode Island, and the story begins when she was a young girl.

Her family was poor. They lived in a crumbling, rat infested apartment with no running hot water. As she grew older, Viola became self-conscious about smelling bad. She began washing her clothes with cold water at night and the next morning, getting dressed for school, putting on the often still-damp clothes. Viola envied kids whose parents called them in for dinner. Just imagine! A family sitting down for a real meal, a practice that was absent in Viola’s family. She was often hungry and when she did eat, it was usually junk food. Viola was one of several children, though in her early years three older siblings were being raised by grandparents. Her father was unfaithful and abusive to her mother, and the children were often subjected to his alcoholic rages. Viola was often bullied at school, not only by students, but by teachers as well. Viola utterly lacked self-love and the ability to open up to anyone. She always felt like an outsider. Viola’s was a life of chaos, violence, anger, and poverty mixed with shame.

When she reached high school, Viola joined the Upward Bound Program, a U.S. Department of Education federal grant program that helps low-income students prepare for higher education. It offers academic instruction, tutoring, counseling, and cultural enrichment activities. Viola thrived, and for the first time could see possibilities for a worthwhile future.

From high school she received a full-ride scholarship to Rhode Island College. For the first time in her life she had her own room, a desk, a little closet, a shower with hot running water, heat, and nourishing meals. Still she fought depression and often felt inadequate. She had dreams of becoming an actor, and took English and other classes relating to theater. Viola graduated from Rhode Island College with a theater degree.

Viola was accepted in The Circle in the Broadway Square Theatre and began performing in plays. She attended a four-year program at Juilliard, graduated and eventually performed on television and movies. At the age of 38, she married Julius Tennon, a versatile and experienced film, television, and theater actor and producer.

My husband and I have often admired the talented Viola Davis and have seen her in several television series (Law & Order, The Jesse Stone Series, Murder She Wrote) and movies (Doubt, Fences, The Help). I’d never known of her struggle. Her story is a remarkable journey from stark poverty and self-doubt to a richly successful actor with a satisfying family life. I’ve barely touched on the highlights and low periods of this remarkable woman’s journey. Finding Me is a highly inspiring testament to resilience and self-acceptance.

Book Review: Unsheltered

Posted on February 3, 2025 by Mary

Unsheltered, a captivating novel by Barbara Kingsolver, captures the angst of change as it affects families in two different eras. The story takes place in Vineland, New Jersey.

Willa and Iano Knox are facing hard times. The magazine she wrote for has folded, and the college in which her husband Iano had tenure has closed. Their two adult children have lives of their own though their daughter, Tig, lives with them. Her mother fears Tig will carry the terrible-twos into old age. Their son, who lives in Boston, is agonizing over his partner’s death, leaving their new-born son, who is now living with Willa and Iano. Iano’s cranky father, critically ill with advanced diabetes, also lives with them and needs constant medical attention. In the meantime, their home, a brick house that Willa inherited, is collapsing around them with crumbling ceilings, moldy walls, a sagging roof, and ruptured ductwork. Because of a gas leak, they cook on a campstove. The house is obviously damaged beyond repair.

One hundred fifty years earlier, in the 1870s, Thatcher Greenwood, his new bride and her social-climbing mother live in the same house as the Knox’s, but they have just had it built. Thatcher can see that the house is unsound, but the women in his life refuse to acknowledge it. Their main concern is social status. Thatcher is a science teacher and has a passion for seeking the truth. He is fascinated by the exciting just-published work of Charles Darwin, but his employer forbids him to speak of it to his students, believing that Darwin’s theories are anti-Christian. Thatcher makes friends with a neighbor, Mary Treat, a naturalist who regularly corresponds with Darwin on her findings with plants and insects.

Unsheltered weaves the present and past, allowing us to examine life as it is now and how it was in bygone days, and the human capacity for resiliency and compassion. Upheaval in some form is always present. How we deal with it dictates our future.

Barbara Kingsolver has managed to write another equally exceptional novel as The Poisonwood Bible, a novel I read and reviewed ten years ago. Unsheltered has a similar message as it deals with ordinary characters under extraordinary circumstances. I loved this provocative novel and highly recommend it.

Book Review: The Giver of Stars

Posted on January 27, 2025 by Mary

“The woman of the mountains leads a difficult life, while the man is lord of the household.”
….The Giver of Stars

The Giver of Stars, an historical novel by Jojo Moyes, is a gripping novel that takes place in southern Appalachia in the little town of Baileyville, Kentucky, 1937.

Margery O’Hare was one of the first in her community to respond as a Packhorse Librarian, a part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the United States government’s New Deal agency, that would employ millions of unemployed people to carry out public works projects. She took her job seriously, riding her mule to remote homes in the Kentucky hills to deliver library books to those families who would not otherwise have access to them. Margery was often challenged, mostly by men, who did not approve of their families being subjected to “outside ways.” But Margery, stubborn as any man, carried on, convinced her work was important and indeed the salvation of their community.

Alice VanCleve, newly married to Bennett VanCleve whom she met in her native England, was disappointed with her new situation. Her husband insisted they live with his widowed father, who demanded that everything in the home be maintained as his late wife had left it. In fact, Mr. VanCleve dictated how everything should be, including his son’s marriage. To be useful and to get out of her stifling house, Alice joined Margery in the Baileyville Packhorse Library’s mission, much to her father-in-law’s dismay and disapproval.

Soon other women joined the Packhorse Library project, some over the objection of their families. But the women were dedicated to their cause and willing to deliver books despite steep and arduous roads or paths, scrambling over huge rocks or fallen trees, navigating narrow ledges, always keeping an eye out for snakes, and delivering books in all kinds of weather.

When the body of a well-known mean drunk was found, the incident created an uproar, false accusations, and an arrest, with devastating results.

The Giver of Stars is an excellent, well-written and informative novel. The author does an excellent job of depicting Appalachian attitudes and conditions in this time period. The Packhorse Library project, carried out by dedicated women, opened up the world for many families. This historical novel is rich in history with well-developed characters and a strong sense of place.

Book Review: My Own Words

Posted on January 20, 2025 by Mary

My Own Words by Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933 – 2020) with authorized biographers Mary Hartnett and Wendy W. Williams is a compilation of talks and published papers written by one of the most influential voices of our time.

In this fascinating book, Ruth Bader Ginsburg discusses her life as a judge, gender equality, how the highest law in the land works, and the value of looking at other countries when interpreting the U.S. Constitution. RBG began her law practice at the beginning of the seventies when the subject of women’s human rights was nowhere to be found in law casebooks.

We often think of gender equality from a woman’s point of view, but RGB fought for men’s equality as well. In one case, a single man who took care of his widowed mother fought for a tax deduction, the same as a woman caretaker would receive.

Ginsburg had a brilliantly analytical mind along with a delightful entertaining wry streak. She was deeply involved with her family. She taught law and fought for equalization in women’s opportunities in colleges regarding admissions policies, financial aid, and placement of graduates.

In her talks she sites examples of state laws of inequality, as in a 1975 Iowa court case that declared a parent could stop supporting a daughter when she reached 18 years of age, but required parental support for a son until he turned 21.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s energy and work ethics demonstrated what matters most is equality for everyone regardless of race, sex, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, religion, and other group characteristics. She was totally dedicated to her job and devoted her life toward the betterment of our nation’s attitude toward equality for all.

My Own Words is a delightful compilation of RBG’s attitudes and beliefs. Her biographers have presented some of RBG’s most important achievements through her talks and published papers. The book was published in 2018, two years before RBG’s death. At 400 pages, It’s a good-sized volume, and loaded with the esteemed Supreme Court Justice’s wisdom and sharp wit.

Book Review: Strength in What Remains

Posted on January 13, 2025 by Mary

Strength in What Remains: A Journey of Remembrance and Forgiveness, by Tracy Kidder is a biography of an African, Deo, and his remarkable journey, both in miles and achievements.

The story begins in Bujumbura, Burundi during the terrifying 1994 military coup d’ etat. Deo has been six months on the run, sick, and horrified by the inhumane treatment by the Hutu, an ethnic group primarily found in Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda. A Tutsi, Deo is of a smaller tribe and fears for his life, and that of his family. When the extreme violence and chaos began, he had been a medical student, but had to escape from the college with no provisions, no food nor adequate clothing. On the run, it seems the whole country is on fire. He sees groups of dead people stacked in fields, witnesses horrifying acts of cruelty. He travels on foot 70 kilometers, manages to board an airplane, and finally arrives in New York.

Deo is fluent in French as well as some tribal languages. In his home country, French was thought to be an international language. When Deo arrives in New York, he has two hundred dollars, speaks no English, and has no contacts. He manages to get a poor-paying job delivering groceries. He briefly sleeps in an abandoned building in New York slums, but soon realizes he is happier sleeping in the open at Central Park. He learns English by reading dictionaries in bookstores. Deo eventually meets people who will change his life. A dream comes true for him when he is accepted at Columbia University, learns English, becomes a doctor, and begins a life of healing.

Author Tracy Kidder and Deo later travel to Burundi and journey together through Deo’s previous turbulent life. Kidder witnesses the agony Deo still feels with the memory of the genocide he witnessed, but Kidder also sees Deo’s strength and determination to bring healing to his home country.

My husband and I served with the Peace Corps in The Gambia, West Africa, 1979 – 1981. Toward the end of our service, we experienced a coup d’etat attempt carried out by members of the Gambia Socialist Revolutionary Party. We sought shelter in the American Ambassador’s home, together with 116 other people from several different countries. The house often shook from close-sounding explosions. We managed to survive on short rations, including water, until we were liberated by Senegalese military intervention. It was estimated that 1,000 people died in the coup attempt. What we endured in ten days was mild compared to Deo’s journey, but when I read this account of the suffering in Burundi, it brought back memories of the terror we experienced.

Strength in What Remains is a remarkable and memorable account of one man’s determination to help his countrymen. It isn’t a pretty story; in fact it is quite gruesome in places. But it is a true story of courage and goodness of not only one man’s journey, but of the many people who helped him along the way.

Book Review: Trick Question

Posted on January 6, 2025 by Mary

Trick Question, book three of “The Tubby Dubonnet Series,” by Tony Dunbar, is a fast-paced contemporary mystery that takes place in colorful New Orleans.

Attorney Tubby Dubonnet reluctantly takes on a case as a favor to a fellow lawyer, a case that appears to have little hope of success.

When Cletus Busters, a janitor at a research laboratory, snoops around the office of Doctor Whitney Valentine, he opens a walk-in freezer. To the janitor’s dismay and horror the frozen body of the doctor falls out and crashes to the floor, causing the head to snap off and roll across the room. It seems the two, Dr. Valentine and Cletus, have had a falling out in the past and now the janitor finds himself charged with murder.

When Tubby Dubonnet calls on his client, he finds the man unhelpful in his own defense. Although Cletus denies killing the doctor, he is obviously hiding something. The frustrated attorney fears his reputation is at stake with a case that seems doomed for failure.

I was intrigued with this mystery. I’ve spent time in New Orleans and was delighted with the author’s references to the tastes and places of this fabled city. The fast-paced story is written with droll humor. Trick Question is the only book I have read in this series, but I was captivated both by the mystery and also by the regional setting.

Book Review: James Patterson by James Patterson

Posted on December 30, 2024 by Mary

James Patterson by James Patterson: The Stories of My Life is a fascinating memoir written by a world-renowned best-selling author. I love Patterson’s informal and conversational writing style, and the many anecdotes, often amusing, he shares about his personal life.

In short chapters Patterson gives readers glimpses of a life that captures the essence of greatness, though he hadn’t a clue of that during his early years.

Patterson was raised in a Catholic blue-collar family in Newburgh, New York. He was an altar boy, and attended Catholic schools. After graduating from university he worked for a time in a psych ward, but for the majority of his “working” (that is, not writing) years he was employed by the big-time ad agency, J. Walter Thompson. For several years he started his day at 5:00 and wrote a couple of hours before going to work, but seriously doubted his ability to write fiction. After about 30 rejections, his first novel was accepted by a literary agency. Once his fiction writing was published, there was no stopping him–he had an immediate audience and the fuel he needed to continue writing one best-seller after another. He began collaborating with well-known personalities such as former President Bill Clinton (The President is Missing) and singer/actress Dolly Parton (Run Rose Run). He has written several popular mystery series as well as romance novels and stand-alone thrillers.

In his memoir, Patterson shares many of his writing habits, such as always writing an extensive outline before writing the book itself. Interestingly, Patterson writes his first draft with pencil. His memoir is written as though he’s talking to the reader. The narrative isn’t in chronological order, but is generally grouped into themes. James Patterson by James Patterson is a fun, lively read. And, no surprise, he tells a good story.

Book Review: Dreaming of Flight

Posted on December 23, 2024 by Mary

Dreaming of Flight, an endearing novel by Catherine Ryan Hyde, is a thought-provoking, contemporary story of love and loss.

Stewie Little, eleven, never knew his parents. They died when he was just a baby. But he did know his grandmother and loved her very much. When she died, he was devastated. Stewie and his older brother have been raised by their older sister on the farm where their grandmother lived.

After his grandmother died, Stewie took over the care of her chickens. He takes his job seriously, calls each hen by name, and gathers their eggs lovingly. He sells eggs to his neighbors and has steady customers who count on him.

On his egg route one day, he went to a house that was farther than he had been before. An older, grouchy woman came to the door. Actually, she reminded him of his grandmother. They became friends, each giving the other the “something missing” in their lives. For instance, Stewie had trouble reading and his new friend took the time to sit down with him for reading lessons.

A serious boy, Stewie doesn’t understand sarcasm, is painfully honest, and often confused by others’ behavior. When his new friend gets into serious trouble, Stewie steps in to help, with surprising results.

I appreciated how Stewie and his new friend filled each others’ needs. By the time I was eight years old, my family had moved several times due to my father’s work. We had just moved, again, from Michigan to what would become our permanent home in Seattle, Washington, and my new teacher noticed I wasn’t reading at third-grade level. She sent a note home with me and the next day the teacher, my mother and I had a little conference. The teacher gently explained that I needed to catch up on my reading skills, and sent books home with me. I was to read aloud for 30 minutes a day. So began my catching up, then passing up my grade level. I will always be thankful this teacher took the time and effort to recognize the problem, and then follow through. She opened up a life of reading–and writing–that I otherwise may not have had.

Stewie’s new friend reminded me how important it is to step in when you see a need. In Dreaming of Flight, needs of both Stewie and his new friend are met, but in unexpected ways. This is yet another heart-felt novel by one of my favorite authors, Catherine Ryan Hyde.

Book Review: Salmon Moon

Posted on December 16, 2024 by Mary

Salmon Moon: River of No Return, a novel by Julie Weston, is the sixth in the “A Nellie Burns and Moonshine Mystery” series. The story takes place in the 1920s along Idaho’s wild Salmon River, known as The River of No Return.

Nellie Burns hires a scow to rescue her husband of only a few weeks, Sheriff Charlie Azgo. They find him in an old abandon house near the shore of Salmon River. A shootout renders one man killed and Charlie injured. The small gang of criminals escape with stolen money and gold, one in a dory on the river, and another on horseback. There is a third thief, but where he or she has gone is a mystery.

Nellie, Charlie, Janie, a nurse, and Ace, the scow’s sweepman, pursue the criminals along the raging river. With them is Nellie’s faithful Black Lab, Moonshine. Although the scow, a large flatbottom wooden boat with square ends, is the best way to travel the river, it’s rough going and at one point Nellie and Moonshine are swept off in a rush of water. They make it to shore, but surviving in the wilds of Idaho can be daunting. You can’t simply stop a boat in that wild river, and the rest of the party is swept downriver in a rush of water.

Thus begins a frantic search for Nellie, and hot pursuit of the thieves who got away. It’s tricky, traveling by river while pursuing thieves. The Salmon dictates when and where they can go ashore. There are fish in the river and wild game on shore, but do they have the equipment to catch enough to sustain them? The river is cold and it’s tough to stay dry while going through churning waters, navigating rapids, and trying to stay clear of large rocks.

Author Julie Weston is a native of Idaho and has family history of Idahoans dating back to the 1870s. Weston and her husband have rafted many northwest rivers, and can speak with authority about the subject.

Salmon Moon: River of No Return, is the last of the “A Nellie Burns and Moonshine Mystery” series. Each book stands alone, but it’s fun to read them in order: Moonshadows, Basque Moon, Moonscape, Miners’ Moon, Moon Bones, and this latest, Salmon Moon. It’s an exciting series, written with personal knowledge about Idaho, a state known for its scenic landscapes and outdoor recreational opportunities, including its wild rivers.