Book Review: Wide-Open World by John Marshall

Title: Wide-Open World
Author: John Marshall
Source: Publisher

Goodreads Summary:

For readers of Three Cups of Tea; Eat, Pray, Love; and Wild comes the inspiring story of an ordinary American family that embarks on an extraordinary journey. Wide-Open World follows the Marshall family as they volunteer their way around the globe, living in a monkey sanctuary in Costa Rica, teaching English in rural Thailand, and caring for orphans in India. There’s a name for this kind of endeavor—voluntourism—and it might just be the future of travel.

Oppressive heat, grueling bus rides, backbreaking work, and one vicious spider monkey . . . Best family vacation ever!
  
John Marshall needed a change. His twenty-year marriage was falling apart, his seventeen-year-old son was about to leave home, and his fourteen-year-old daughter was lost in cyberspace. Desperate to get out of a rut and reconnect with his family, John dreamed of a trip around the world, a chance to leave behind, if only just for a while, routines and responsibilities. He didn’t have the money for resorts or luxury tours, but he did have an idea that would make traveling the globe more affordable and more meaningful than he’d ever imagined: The family would volunteer their time and energy to others in far-flung locales. 

Wide-Open World is the inspiring true story of the six months that changed the Marshall family forever. Once they’d made the pivotal decision to go, John and his wife, Traca, quit their jobs, pulled their kids out of school, and embarked on a journey that would take them far off the beaten path, and far out of their comfort zones.

Here is the totally engaging, bluntly honest chronicle of the Marshalls’ life-altering adventure from Central America to East Asia. It was no fairy tale. The trip offered little rest, even less relaxation, and virtually no certainty of what was to come. But it did give the Marshalls something far more valuable: a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to conquer personal fears, strengthen family bonds, and find their true selves by helping those in need. In the end, as John discovered, he and his family did not change the world. It was the world that changed them.


My Thoughts:

I absolutely loved this book. Like really loved it. It wasn't necessarily always the greatest from start to finish- I did find some areas bogged down a bit, or just weren't as interesting to me as others. However, it didn't matter. I still loved it.

John Marshall and his wife had a struggling marriage, and they were losing contact with their children, one of which was retreating heavily into the world of technology and friends. Marshall's teenage daughter was a typical American teen, glued to her phone and her friends. One day, Marshall decided enough was enough. The family was going to make some changes, together. The best part: they were going to make these changes by helping other people, in far off distant locales.

Marshall and his family volunteered in a few different places over the course of the year - a monkey sanctuary in Costa Rica, an orphanage in India, teaching English in Thailand. They also volunteered as WOOFERs, which is a program where people volunteer on an organic farm. I was most fascinated by the family's time at the monkey sanctuary and at the orphanage. Those two experiences really struck something within me, and drew me in. I just didn't connect with the other adventures the way I did with these two.  I actually could have read more about those two experiences, what we got just wasn't enough.

If this seems like an Eat, Pray, Love experience, it kind of is. However, at the end of this book, not everything ends hunky dory. I loved Marshall's commitment to being honest and open about what happened with his family over the course of this year. Also, another neat feature is at the end of the book, Marshall breaks down how his family managed to take an entire year off and also broke down the financial aspect of the trip as well, which I really wanted to know.

I feel inspired by this book. I love books that inspire me, and this one certainly did. I see voluntourism in the future for my family, and I can't wait!

If you are interested, you can check out Marshall's website, complete with photos!

The Sunday Post and It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

 

Check out the The Caffeinated Book Review for the Sunday Post! 

It's Monday What Are You Reading is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey - while she is on break you can share your post by tweeting with the hashtag #IMWAYR

So we didn't make it to the concert. It was a crazy, busy, happy, overwhelming week of varied emotions, but mostly joy!!! On Saturday, my brother and his wife had their baby, a sweet little girl. She is 6 lbs 11 oz, and 20 inches long. She also has a full, thick head of dark hair!!! Wyatt already loves his little cousin - we put them next to each other in the Pack 'n Play, and they linked arms instantly. I am of course already so in love with her little face!

In other less exciting news but still good, we got a new car! We really needed one, and we now have a brand new Jeep Patriot. It is our very first brand new car ever. And finally, summer semester is over! Woohoo! I finished out the semester with a pair of matching A's in both of my classes. 

Read last week:

Owls Our Most Charming Bird by Matt Sewell: This was a quick and easy read! I really loved it, and it was written in short little snaps about each owl. I actually read it to Wyatt over the course of the week! It was fun.

Reading This Week:

  

The Forgotten by Heather Graham: I started this but haven't finished yet. I am enjoying it!

Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal: I am so excited to read this!

Watching:

Not much. Mostly Pretty Little Liars, Modern Family and The Big Bang Theory. 

The Sunday Post/It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

 

Check out the The Caffeinated Book Review for the Sunday Post! 

It's Monday What Are You Reading is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey - while she is on break you can share your post by tweeting with the hashtag #IMWAYR

I am looking forward to this week - on Wednesday nights in the summer, the Detroit Zoo hosts concerts in the evening. Some are aimed at adults, others are family friendly. Wyatt loves music, and so we are going to try one of these concerts out. We are going to see The Verve Pipe, a local children's band. It will be his first concert. Incidentally, The Verve Pipe used to be an alternative band when I was in college, and my friends and I all loved their song "The Freshman". It came out our freshman year and I remember we played it all the time! So weird that now they are a children's band. 

Read Last Week:

All the Single Ladies by Dorothea Benton Frank: This was a fun relaxing read. These books always make me want to move to the Carolina Lowcountry though!

Reading This Week:

The Forgotten By Heather Graham

Owls Our Most Charming Bird by Matt Sewell

What are you all up to this week? 

The Sunday Post/It's Monday! What are you reading?

 

Check out the The Caffeinated Book Review for the Sunday Post! 

It's Monday What Are You Reading is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey - while she is on break you can share your post by tweeting with the hashtag #IMWAYR

My week was a pretty low key one. Not much happened, other than just everyday living of life. Took care of the baby, hung out with the husband, cleaned the house, did homework..that's about it. But it was a good week. My husband and I did buy a new bed! We got a huge bed when we first got married fourteen years ago. I am still absolutely in love with it, but it is huge and took up most of our room. We decided to take it down and put it away until we move to a bigger house one day, and to downsize to give us more room. Well, I am going to really miss that bed, but our new one is pretty cool as well! I picked out a white metal frame bed and I love the way it looks - and I also love how much room we have now! 

Read Last Week:

  

Beach Town by Mary Kay Andrews: Not too bad! Not my favorite by her, but I still really liked it, especially the setting.

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins: This one wasn't too bad either. I figured out the mystery right away somehow so that kind of ruined the whole story a bit, but I still enjoyed it, although, I didn't like the main character too much.

Reading This Week:

Not sure what I will land on, but something from here.

  

The Forgotten by Heather Graham: I didn't like the last book I read in this series, but I have enjoyed so many others than I am going to assume that was just a one off.

Owls Our Most Charming Bird by Matt Sewell: I love owls!!!

  

All the Single Ladies by Dorothea Benton Frank: Because I love a good summer read!

The Night Sister by Jennifer McMahon: I received this from the publisher, and it sounds awesome!!

Reviews Posted:

Doubly Dark and Gritty: Those Girls and Made in the U.S.A.

Watching:

Not too much right now. We are about to start Salem Season Two, but that is about it! Wayward Pines ended and I am not sure I liked the ending! Anyone else watch this or read the series? 

Doubly Dark and Gritty Book Reviews: Those Girls and Made in the U.S.A.

Title: Those Girls 
Author: Chevy Stevens
Source: NetGalley

Goodreads Summary:

Chevy Stevens is back with her most powerful, emotional thriller yet— a story of survival…and revenge. 

Life has never been easy for the three Campbell sisters. Jess, Courtney, and Dani live on a remote ranch in Western Canada where they work hard and try to stay out of the way of their father’s fists. One night, a fight gets out of hand and the sisters are forced to go on the run, only to get caught in an even worse nightmare when their truck breaks down in a small town. Events spiral out of control and a chance encounter with the wrong people leaves them in a horrific and desperate situation. They are left with no choice but to change their names and create new lives. 

Eighteen years later, they are still trying to forget what happened that summer when one of the sisters goes missing and they are pulled back into their past. 

This time there’s nowhere left to run. 

As much of a thriller as it is a deep exploration of the bonds among sisters, THOSE GIRLS is an unforgettable portrait of desperation, loyalty, and evil.

My thoughts:

So the last book I read by Chevy Stevens, That Night, annoyed me. I didn't like it; I thought the main character was a moron. However, this book was Stevens' redemption. It is about three sisters who survive some pretty dark and horrendous stuff - I was horrified, sad, and scared while reading. I couldn't put it down. I have a baby at home, and sleep is currently a valuable commodity to me - but I gave up some of that precious, precious slumber to read this book until the wee hours. I thought this book was well written, riveting, and although the end felt a little hurried, I really really enjoyed it. I was worn out emotionally from reading it! 

Title: Made in the U.S.A.
Author: Billie Letts
Source: my stepmom

Goodreads Summary:

The bestselling author of WHERE THE HEART IS returns with a heartrending tale of two children in search of a place to call home. Lutie McFee's history has taught her to avoid attachments...to people, to places, and to almost everything. With her mother long dead and her father long gone to find his fortune in Las Vegas, 15-year-old Lutie lives in the god-forsaken town of Spearfish, South Dakota with her twelve-year-old brother, Fate, and Floy Satterfield, the 300-pound ex-girlfriend of her father. While Lutie shoplifts for kicks, Fate spends most of his time reading, watching weird TV shows and worrying about global warming and the endangerment of pandas. As if their life is not dismal enough, one day, while shopping in their local Wal-Mart, Floy keels over and the two motherless kids are suddenly faced with the choice of becoming wards of the state or hightailing it out of town in Floy's old Pontiac. Choosing the latter, they head off to Las Vegas in search of a father who has no known address, no phone number and, clearly, no interest in the kids he left behind. 
MADE IN THE U.S.A. is the alternately heartbreaking and life-affirming story of two gutsy children who must discover how cruel, unfair and frightening the world is before they come to a place they can finally call home.

My Thoughts:

Another book that exhausted me just reading it. I loved it; I couldn't put it down. But dang if it wasn't just as sad and heartbreaking as Those Girls, just in a different way. This one got me on another level too - I am an older sister, with a little brother. I felt for poor, broken Lutie. She did what she felt she had to do, to keep them away from foster homes and separation. What she had to do at times is what kills the reader. However, despite being put through the ringer, the end of this book is a good one, making the turmoil worth it. 

The Sunday Post/It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

 

Check out the The Caffeinated Book Review for the Sunday Post! 

It's Monday What Are You Reading is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey - while she is on break you can share your post by tweeting with the hashtag #IMWAYR

Summer is sure flying by this year!! We had our first real, officially hot summer weather this weekend. I am not a super fan of hot weather, but it was nice to have something other than rain! I have been dreaming about going up north for weeks now ~ it is not going to happen this year, but I already have a trip planned for next year! 

Read Last Week:

Unfortunately, my homework schedule was killer last week so I didn't get much time to pleasure read. This 7 week class is kind of kicking my butt with its workload! I guess the good thing is that it is almost over! I am actually really enjoying my Astronomy class; it is for non-math majors which makes it pretty fun, no crazy math equations for me!

Reading This Week:

A mixture of these two. 

  

Beach Town by Mary Kay Andrews: I love this author ~ her books are definitely feel-good books for me. The last two books I read were kind of dark and gritty, so it is nice to have something lighthearted. 

The Library at Mount Char: One of these days, I promise I will read all of it. I am just reading it slowly. Lol. 

Posted Last Week:

A Few Quick Book Reviews on a Hot Day

Watching:

Astronauts Wives Club and Wayward Pines are still at the top of our list. We also watched Secrets and Lies, Broadchurch and The Island on Hulu ~ loved them all! We ended up cutting our cable cord a few weeks ago, and after some adjustment, we don't seem to miss it!

In Other News:

One of my best friends wrote a book!It is called Screw Up and is an erotic novel. I say novel because it is not your run of the mill smut book. It actually has a deeper plot, and the main character is a take no prisoners independent woman. The writing is very well done and the book itself is clever, witty and laugh out loud funny at times! I am super proud of her - I know how much blood, sweat, and tears she put into the writing of this book. 

How about you? What have you been up to?

A few quick book reviews on a hot day

So, when I read the first book in this series, I wasn't sold on it. I had felt like I had burned by this author with the Southern Vampire Series, which I loved at first then watched it wither and die on the vine, at least in my opinion. This series sounded intriguing though, so I gave it a whirl. The first book wasn't great, but it was good enough that I wanted to give it a second chance with Day Shift. And I am so glad that I did. I really enjoyed this book! The characters that felt incomplete last time were more focused, as was the story line. It was also riveting enough that I didn't really want to set it down, I just wanted to read and read it, always a good sign! I loved the characters this time around, and actually can't wait for the next book in the series, Night Shift.

I chose this book because I love this cover. I have spent many summer vacations in northern Michigan, and the scene and setting is much like this one, bringing back good memories. The story itself was easy and fun, although the main character and her son were dealing with some serious pain. The characters are interesting, and I cared about their future. It is a light read, one to breeze through while frittering away some time in the summer sunshine, on a deck or a porch or a beach by the lake or an ocean, with a cool drink nearby.