The Route by Gale Sears

For me, reading The Route by Gale Sears was a sweet, sweet experience.

Gale Sears has artistically created a unique form of memoir with The Route. This is a true story veiled in fiction to protect the “innocent”. She takes us on a tour to explore what it’s like to work as a meal provider for the elderly and infirmed. That doesn’t sound all that exciting in a “me” centered world, but it was a journey I intend to walk with her over and over again. She did an excellent job of showing how fully satisfying service-- and life-- can be.

Sometimes the journey, both in life and in the story, can be hard. Very hard. But it is gracefully balanced with moments of joy that keep the trials in perspective.

I laughed, I cried, I came away satisfied and inspired. To me, those are key qualities in an exceptional book. This is a quick, comfortable read for a Sunday afternoon. I’m betting you won’t regret your time on The Route with Gale Sears.

This is a book that belongs on the shelf of every Relief Society president and elder care provider. For that matter, it belongs on the shelf of anyone who’s ever questioned whether or not a little bit of service can make a difference.

Whines and complaints about this book? Hmmm. That’s a tough one. I’d say I stumbled a little bit with the introduction. The writing felt flighty and rambling at first. It distracted me for a few moments. But, I was totally won over by the time I finished the first page of chapter 1. Oh, and I was sad it was so short. (Well, okay it wasn’t that short but I wasn’t ready to close the book on my new friends quite yet.) Great job, Gale!

Just to add a little personal touch to this review I asked Gale to answer a few questions for me. Here are her answers.

• When did you first realize that your service was more than just something to do?

I think I knew by the end of the first day. These dear people were so appreciative of just five or ten minutes of my time. It amazed me.

• If you could have changed one thing about your time delivering meals, what would it have been?

I never wanted my route to change. At one point they were going to change me to an entirely different route, and I put up such a fuss, that they only changed a couple of people. I know I would have grown to love the new set of seniors, but it just goes to show how attached I'd become to my 'regulars'.

• Was there someone on your route that you wish you would have been able to include in your book but didn’t?

There was one woman who had a lot of cats. I didn't include her because her story was a little too sad for the telling.

• Okay, honestly, how was the food?

It was mixed. Sometimes it was good...other times, yucky. In fact a couple of times I was embarrassed to drop the meal off. I wanted to add chocolate pudding or a big dish of cold peaches.

Can you feel her sweet spirit? You’ll find that in abundance in The Route. I would also highly recommend becoming a regular visitor to her blog. This month she is featuring daily insights on service. It’s a great place to spend a few minutes of your day.

Don’t forget to leave a comment here on this post (and visit as many other stops on her blog tour route that you can to leave comments- see my sidebar for details) in order to be entered in a drawing for a copy of The Route. And thanks to Walnut Springs Press for inviting me to participate in the tour. This one was a completely inspiring pleasure.

Before the Dawn by Dean Hughes

Before the Dawn by Dean Hughes offers a great mix of entertainment for the LDS reader. Dean Hughes is somewhat of a legend in LDS author circles. He’s a man I admire. In fact, I had a copy of Under the Same Stars, his first LDS novel (which was in fact the first LDS novel, but that’s another story) as a girl. So, I was excited to get my hands on Before the Dawn, and I wasn’t disappointed by what I found inside its cover.

Leah is a crusty and no-nonsense woman who has pretty much carried the world on her shoulders for most of her adult life. She’s not exactly active in the church and doesn’t hold many of the women in the Relief Society in any type of regard, much less high regard. So when the bishop shows up and tells her the Lord is insisting that she be the new Relief Society president Leah has a few things to say about it. Mainly: There is no way on earth I could do or even want this job. (Oh, for the strength of will to be able to voice my own frustrations at difficult callings so well . . . :}) Still, when it’s all said and done, she is convinced by the Spirit despite her better judgment. She then proceeds to offend half the Relief Society and set the other half straight in a good way. It was a great and challenging journey to take with Leah.

There were sections of the story that were choppy-- the flow and timing was abrupt, as if there were sections that had been edited out, but not adjusted for in the writing. It would take me a few second to jump back into the story, but I did because I had fallen completely in love with Leah. She was well-mastered and whole, she was a person to me that I would have loved to know. Leah probably would have put me into tears a few times, but I would have admired her beyond words.

Before the Dawn is set during the Depression, making the story very timely for our weird world of worry and uncertainty. It made me even more grateful for the blessings I have that often go over looked. It also made me take a keener look at how well I’m prepared to deal with all the problems life can throw at you when you least expect it. I got an in depth look at the history, the people, and the workings of the church during this difficult time through the eyes of a single mother who was doing the best she could to make it through each new day.

It also made me want to be a better person. That’s one of the key things I look for in a work of fiction. I want a good story that is well told with characters I can relate to. I want to feel good about the things I read, even have fun with them. And, I want to feel I’ve become a better person in some way for my time spent within the pages. Before the Dawn really fit the bill for me. It was time well spent and I’ve found a new hero in Leah.

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