“Strangers Tend to Tell Me Things: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Coming Home” by Amy Dickinson

Adulthood is carved from experience. No one can really teach you how to be a parent, get divorced, fall in love again, become a stepparent and survive the death of a parent. These are all things that require on-the-job training, quick thinking, a sense of humor and gut-wrenching perseverance. These have been life-changing experiences in my own journey, and they are the themes in Amy Dickinson’s beautifully written memoir “Strangers Tend to Tell Me Things.” Amy is a nationally syndicated advice columnist. Her “Ask Amy” column I often read in my local paper, the Marin Independent Journal. She is smart, funny, wise, and practical, in a no-nonsense way, like you want your best friend to be. Amy got married, had a baby girl, got divorced, went back to the tiny New York town where she grew up, fell in love with a man she knew in high school, and then lost her mother. These things happen to many people, and I have to say these events can be filled with joy and struggle. But Amy writes about them in an empowering way, not pitiful at all. Life happens. Some good things and some terrible things, but you keep going. Life is messy and there is grace in figuring out how to survive it all. After reading this book I wrote to Amy on Facebook and was beyond impressed that she wrote me back the same day. Clearly, she is an organized person. I told her I found her book, particularly the part about marrying and becoming a stepparent, very inspiring.  She said thank you and asked me to write a review of it on Amazon, which I was more than happy to do. Spreading the word about her lovely memoir was the least I could do for this wonderful author who made me appreciate my modern life. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

Portrait of an Addict as a Young Man: A Memoir by Bill Clegg

I have a friend who is wired the same way I am. Let’s call her Merry, not her really name. I’m 99 percent certain that Merry and I will never do crack. But there is this one percent inside of us that worries about it. What if it happens? What If someone makes us do it? What will it look like? How will we beat the addiction? Will our families leave us? What steps will we take to get clean? We fully acknowledge that this is our anxiety speaking and not reality, but nonetheless we worry all the time about things that will likely never happen given that we are 53 years old. So in the mean time, we read books like this one: “Portrait of a Drug Addict as a Young Man” by Bill Clegg. Please pause right now and Google a picture of Bill Clegg, and you will find a dashingly handsome man about as far from a crack addict as you could imagine. He looks like a model from the J. Crew catalogue. However, he was never a model, but instead was a crack addict for a very long time. In reality he was a New York literary agent, and now also is a fiction author, too. Clegg’s memoir is a journey into the underbelly of upper crust white-collar drug addiction. There is a particular section of the book in which he describes trying to get on an airplane to Europe for a very important business trip, but continually getting side tracked by crack bender fieldtrips in and around the airport. This section of the book is so haunting, and paints a startling picture of how crack and other drugs make repeat users lose all common sense and reason. This kind of book is not for every reader, but for worrywarts like my friend Merry and I, it is like watching a great horror film, or having a nightmare. You wake up and thank god it is not your story, but are grateful for having survived the trip to the dark side. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

“The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life, One Night at a Time” by Arianna Huffington

My husband introduced himself and his daughters, Ellie and Violet, as professional sleepers. Serious, they sleep so well and so long that if someone does not wake them up they could sleep all day. I, however, am a terrible sleeper. And, I know exactly why, because I do everything wrong. I watch movies on my laptop in bed. I drink white wine and popcorn in bed. And in the middle of the night, when I still can’t sleep, I play Words With Friends with people in different countries who are awake. I find myself sleep-deprived on a weekly basis, but I am not alone. We are country of people who pride ourselves on the ability to function on a minimal amount of snooze time. We celebrate the fact we are running on empty, and in “The Sleep Revolution,” Arianna Huffington reports it is only getting worse because of the way technology comes to bed with us. Huffington recounts the time in 2007 when she collapsed at her desk, injured her jaw, and woke up in a pool of blood – all thanks to her own exhaustion. This experience made her realize that she had to make some changes in her life, and that the nightly four hours of sleep she was getting were no longer sufficient. “The Sleep Revolution” is a book that weaves together Huffington’s personal story, with scientific research and analysis, and new innovations in helping people sleep. She not only details the health benefits of sleep but also highlights stories about increased productivity and performance for those who sleep more. For example, in 2006 Northwestern University’s football coach had his players wear sleep sensors and instituted a mandatory naptime before afternoon games. My Wildcats finished 10-3 that year, a great season. Other universities have created nap rooms for students to reserve through out their academic day. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady goes to bed at 8:30 P.M., and refuses to hide that ritual but rather wears it as a badge of honor as a testament to his longevity on the field. “The Sleep Revolution” is a fascinating and inspiring book, and a good read for peaceful and fitful sleepers alike. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

“Sourdough: A Novel” by Robin Sloan

I have lived within walking distance of Clement Street in San Francisco for nearly 30 years. My list of abodes includes four apartments, and one very big house. On Clement, I took my little girls to eat at Giorgio’s Pizza and Toy Boat. I have had the Tea Leaf Salad at Burma Superstar, a glass of champagne at Chapeau and recently Shanghai dumplings at the Chili House. I have bought paint at the Ace (both locations), fresh fish at the Seafood Center and nearly gotten into dozens of car accidents as people make U-turns without any warning what-so-ever. Clement is a crazy dichotomy of people, places and food. In “Sourdough” by Robin Sloan, a new novel that was published in September, Clement Street plays a magical role in the rebirth of a software engineer named Lois Clary. She moves from the Midwest to San Francisco to work at a robotics company. She puts all of her energy into work, and crashes at night with takeout foods from a local sandwich shop called Clement Street Soup and Sourdough (a fictional location.) When the owners of the shop suddenly leave the city, they gift her with the starter for their signature sourdough bread. Lois begins casually making bread for neighbors and co-workers but her hobby soon becomes a passion and an experience filled with joy.  The chef in the cafeteria at her tech company encourages her to bring her bread to the tryouts for a series of local farmers’ markets. When she earns a spot at an off-beat market in Alameda, her world cracks open with new people and connections, and her life is never the same again. Sloan wrote a bestseller called “Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore” which I have not read yet. But the charm, wit and creativity that infuse every page of “Sourdough” make me want to read everything Sloan has written in the past and everything he will write in the future. Like eating a good piece of toast (at Blue Danube on Clement), I loved reading “Sourdough” and only hated to see it end. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

“The Best of Adam Sharp” by Graeme Simsion

With the help of my well-developed Nancy Drew investigative skills, I have used Google to find pretty much every man I ever dated in high school and college. First, it was not that difficult because a) there were not that many men and b) there are dozens of ways to find people on the web, which would fry Nancy Drew because she had to go door to door. The thrill was making contact with these people and discovering that every single one of them has turned out much nicer now than when I dated them. I mean light years nicer.  For me, this was just a fun project that has now morphed into a handful of renewed friendships and one very challenging Words with Friends competition. For others, however, finding an old flame can lead to something more than friendship. “The Best of Adam Sharp” by Graeme Simsion is the story of a British Techie living in Australia with his long-time partner, Claire. One day Adam gets an email from a lost love he dated more than 20 years ago. She is an actress named Angelina Brown, and she is now living on the other side of the world from Adam. She is married, but despite this marriage she and Adam start a new relationship that propels him to France to move in with Angelina and her husband, Charlie. With twists both poignant and far-out there, this story starts out sweet and then gets very complicated, as most Internet romances do. In a delightful way, this story also comes with song references and a playlist of Adam’s favorite songs. Romances and lost loves can be tricky, and “The Best of Adam Sharp” is a testament to that. It is a modern love story for this Internet crazed world where harmless messages can foreshadow real connections and sometimes dangerous behavior. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

“Option B: Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy” by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant

I have been noodling on this book for a few months, trying to figure out the right way to talk about. This is what I came up with: My mom and I were in London this past summer to see Wimbledon, and we met a nice waiter at the Savoy Hotel who also followed tennis. We were talking to him one evening about the event and he said, “You have been to Wimbledon before?” And my mom said, “Oh yes, this is our third time. We just leave our husbands behind in California and come here together.” I paused. Why had she said that? Dad had died a year earlier. Did she forget? Was she lost? Was she confused? And then it hit me: Grief is exhausting and for mom to be a widow 24/7 was weighing on her. So I realized that just for a night, just for one passing conversation with a waiter at the Savoy Hotel, Barbara Marshall  wanted to be herself, just a regular wife, not a widow. That is the biggest lesson to realize about grief, it is heavy, exhausting and it hurts like nothing else. But does it last forever? No. Does it get easier to hold? Yes. How does that happen? Read “Option B: Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy,” by Sheryl Sandberg about the loss of her husband David Goldberg in May 2015 from a traumatic brain injury while vacationing in Mexico. Sandberg, the COO of Facebook, was left hugging two young children, flanked by her own supportive parents, and many grieving friends and family members. With the assistance of friend and psychologist Adam Grant, Sandberg leaned into own grief and loss head on, and now she wants to help others do the same. This book is heartbreaking, poignant, inspirational, instructional, and a book everyone should have on the family bookshelf. When we reach a certain age, death and grief are inevitable. Why not have a book to help guide you back toward recovery and joy on hand, at the ready? To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

“Napa: The Story of an American Eden” by James Conaway

I’m so very sad and anxious about the North Bay fires. During the day I am fine because I work at a hospice where I deal with patients, nurses and doctors, many in the fire plagued areas. It feels productive to be a work, talking and problem solving with people who are being evacuated. However, at night, worry overwhelms me because I live in Marin County, just south of the fires. I start preparing for our evacuation by packing little boxes that contain my dad’s St Christopher medal, the boutonniere Jeff wore at our wedding, baby pictures of my girls and the watch Jeff gave me on our wedding day. All of these things can fit in a small backpack, but they are just things. What matters most are living things - people and pets. Friends and families are not only loosing their homes they are losing their lives, and this fire feels catastrophic and never ending. It was hard to find a book to write about this week but I selected this one. “Napa: The Story of an American Eden” by James Conaway. This best seller is a book about two families who put this region on the map. The tale of the Gallos and the Mondavis is a drama about fortunes and feuds, land and legacies. I look forward to a time when these fires will stop completely. Then we can pick up the pieces, and raise a glass of wine in celebration of the rebuilt towns that were destroyed during this terrible week. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body” by Roxane Gay

I cannot name one single person I know who has a healthy relationship with food. My first husband was deathly allergic to peanuts. I knew both anorexic and bulimic friends of all sizes in high school and college. There’s an actress I know in Hollywood who is so thin, every time I go to hug her I am scared to feel her ribs and shoulder bones.  I confess that I too carry a history of weirdness about food and have not ordered French fries since 1988. Too thin. Too fat. Too much. Too little. Pathetic. What is wrong with us? Why do we act so strangely around food and weight? “Hunger” by Roxanne Gay tackles this issue head on, honestly and poignantly. After being gang raped at the age of 12, Gay’s life was haunted by trauma that often resulted in overeating to make her own body less attractive, and therefore “safe.” Born to well-off Haitian immigrants, Gay kept her rape a secret while attending Phillips Exeter Academy and Yale. Despite the support of her parents and brothers, she would grow to weigh more than 550 pounds. Despite the fact that her story is so extreme, you can admire and connect with her memoir. Themes of food issues and trauma, coupled with bisexuality, are important issues to talk about openly, no matter your size, color or your gender. There is a chapter that tackles her pure humiliation about bringing on board an airplane her own seat belt extender and then being told by the airline she has to use their seat belt extender, which is regulation. Hers was not good enough. While reading her memoir it makes you want to somehow fight for her, while she was still trying to hone her own skills to fight back and advocate for herself. Why does the world have to be so cruel? As she enters adulthood, Gay finds her own voice through writing, and becomes ultimately more comfortable in her own skin. Today she is an associate professor of English at Purdue University and an opinion writer for “The New York Times.” She has transformed herself into a woman who speaks not only her own truth, but also the truth that all men and women can identify with. Feeling different when all you want is to feel is special is a struggle for all of us, but Gay writes an inspiring tale about learning to live with it. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

“Anything Is Possible” by Elizabeth Strout

I used to think I was too fussy of a person to read short stories so I gave up on them for a while. Short stories are hard work to read. They don’t compare to the ease it takes to fly through a real page-turner novel or memoir. But I decided to give this collection of short stories a shot because they are all interconnected. Jeff talks about connections in data all the time. You might remember my review of “My Name is Lucy Barton” last year also written by Elizabeth Strout. I loved that book about a mother who sits with her daughter in a hospital room and they reflect upon their complicated relationship, sad lives and the small town in Illinois where they are from. You need to read that book first in order to understand this one. “Anything Is Possible” is a collection of stories showcasing the people from Lucy Barton’s hometown. I thought as I was reading this book that there might be one final story in which all of the characters come together, but there is not. Life is just not neat and tidy like that. Life is messy, people make detours and people move on.  You have to work hard to figure out the interconnected relationships in this book, but that is like completing a difficult Sunday puzzle. In April, when Jennifer Senior reviewed this book in the “New York Times,” she said the stories were about “an army of hurting men and women, desperate for liberation from their wounds” and later “many characters walk around with great satchels of unexpressed love.” There are plenty of books about people who find happiness, but to read a small book about people who struggle daily with loneliness is heartbreaking and also life affirming at the same time. Become of fan of Strout and you will not be disappointed. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

“Master Class,” by Terrence McNally

In the summer of 1997, I saw Terrence McNally’s play “Master Class” at the Golden Gate Theatre, starring Faye Dunaway. I remember the evening well for several reasons: I loved the play, and thought Faye was outstanding in her role as opera diva, Maria Callas, in the fictional master class. Also, that night I saw the play, I left my twin two –year-old girls home with a sitter. I remember it felt glamorous to be wearing a clean Ann Taylor blouse without any baby food encrusted on my shoulder, and I stayed wide awake the entire show. This weekend my dad’s beloved Falcon Theatre will be renamed the Garry Marshall Theatre, and the opening show will be “Master Class,” starring Emmy-winner Carolyn Hennesy. It is the perfect play to kick off the inaugural season of this new the theatre. My dad was not only a huge fan of McNally’s, but they also worked together on the film “Frankie and Johnny,” starring Michelle Feiffer and Al Pacino. As they prepared for the film, my dad shared advice with McNally on how to write a screenplay, and McNally shared playwriting guidance with my dad who was writing one at the time. They remained friends for the next 25 years, until my dad’s death last year. “Master Class,” directed by my friend Dimitri Toscas will be running at the Garry Marshall Theatre through October 22. If you can’t make it to the theatre you might enjoy reading the play. Reportedly when McNally was in college he routinely paid $1 for a standing room ticket at the opera because he was such a fan. Clearly, it was money well spent, as he ascended into one of our country’s most talented playwrights.  To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

“Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis” by J.D. Vance

If I said that my descendents were hillbillies, my maternal grandmother Vivian would leap out of her Kentucky grave, slap me in the head with her long purple finger names and say, “Don’t be telling stories like that, Lorraine! Our people were not hillbillies!” However, the truth is that my grandmother was married at 17, had a baby by 18 and made sure her grandchildren and great grandchildren called her “Mamaw” to her husband’s “Papaw.” “Hillbilly Elegy” by J.D. Vance is the story of a boy who grew up in Middletown, Ohio, only 45 minutes from my grandmother’s home in Cincinnati. In Vance’s town, most kids didn’t graduate high school, let alone go to college. His own mother popped pills, then used heroin and was married five times to a disastrous parade of men. When his mom proved too unstable to take care of him, Vance was raised by his grandparents and, against all odds, ended up joining the Marines and then graduated from Ohio State University and later Yale Law School. While reading this book you will be stunned that Vance did not end up using drugs himself, or fall into the depths of frustration or depression.  What is interesting about Vance is that he is not just analyzing the plight of hillbilly culture, but telling his story from inside the conundrum.  How did Vance chart a course for himself that turned out to be so different from the peers he went to elementary school with? Two things: He had a grandmother who loved him and supported him, and he went into the Marines who taught him how to live like an adult, from physical fitness to personal finances.  His grandmother raised him, and then the Marines taught him how to survive on his own. A lot can be said about the broken infrastructure of hillbilly towns across America, but Vance’s story is what happens when someone says to a poor little boy with no future in sight, “You matter. You are important.” It seems like those are two small sentences, but they clearly had a lasting impression on this author’s life. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

“Nevertheless” by Alec Baldwin

I have not lived in Hollywood for many years, but back in the day I could be quite a name-dropper. Julia Roberts and Richard Gere danced together for the first time at my wedding in 1989. I hung out with Natasha Richardson when we were both pregnant. And I once served Pasta Pomodoro on my fine china to Anne Hathaway at my Sea Cliff house and pretended I had made it myself. I confess this to say that I appreciate people who are name-droppers because, more often than not, they are very good storytellers. Alec Baldwin falls into this category. He is a master of the good story and if you have not listened to his podcast “Here’s The Thing,” stop right now, switch apps and listen to a few episodes. “Nevertheless,” his recently released memoir, is filled with interesting stories about his career – from his early years on the soap opera “The Doctors” to his more recent work on “30 Rock” and, of course, his 17 appearances on “Saturday Night Live.” He talks about actresses he admires such as his co-stars Julie Harris in “Knots Landing” and Mary Louise Parker in “Prelude to A Kiss.” He writes about his bouts with booze and drugs, his father’s death and his mother’s depression. And he even reflects honestly about his tumultuous marriage to Kim Basinger and their custody fight that included the notoriously vicious voice mail message to daughter Ireland. Today, you find Baldwin is beyond content in his new marriage to wife Hilaria and grateful for their three children. You are left with the sense that this is a very smart, articulate, well-connected man who has enjoyed an incredible career well-worth writing about, and name-dropping about. Nobody is perfect, but Baldwin handles his successes and failures deftly. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

"The Complete Works of Sam Shepard"

My first loves were Bobby Sherman, Richard Gere and Sam Shepard in that order. I was sitting on a mountaintop in Carmel when I learned the news of Shepard’s death last weekend at 73 years old, and I let out a gasp. How could this be? He was not even old. When I read it was from Lou Gehrig’s disease my heart sank even lower. What a terrible way to die at any age. While his death took me by surprise, my devotion to Shepard is no surprise at all. My dad taught me to love men who could not just do one job, but do all the jobs. Shepard was an exemplary hyphenate. He wasn’t just one of America’s finest playwrights, he also was one of our most charming and beloved actors and even a director, too. I used to watch him on the red carpet with his partner of 30 years, Jessica Lange. He would move through the parade of stars and I would think, “He is the one I want to interview.” I just knew that Shepard would be the coolest person in any room. So how can I just recommend one of his plays? Is “Buried Child” better than “True West?” Or is “Fool for Love” better than “A Lie of the Mind?” The truth is that he was a master storyteller and all of his works are important, daring, significant and part of his legacy. So I suggest starting one at a time, and reading them all. R.I.P Sam Shepard. To purchase a book containing the works of Sam Shepard on Amazon click here.

“On Living” by Kerry Egan

Jeff calls this column Lori’s Library Party about books of death and dying. He thinks many of these books are too sad, but these are the books that interest me. I’m over reading about early childhood education and how to raise young children with disabilities. I’m onto books about death and love. Dealing with the dying is also a job for me. At the hospice where I work, patients are cared for at their homes and in facilities by a trans-disciplinary team comprised of a doctor, team leader, nurse, home health aide, social worker, volunteer and, if desired, a spiritual support counselor. This last role fascinates me the most because although each one of them has been trained in a specific religion, they offer their assigned hospice patient secular counseling. Even when facing death, some people don’t want a visit from a spiritual counselor, while others find it essential. “On Living” by Kerry Egan is a book written by a Harvard Divinity School-educated chaplain at a different hospice than my own, but I completely connect with the stories she shares about her experiences with hospice patients. Chaplains traditionally are trained to use their skills to teach and preach, but hospice faith counselors are not really afforded the time to do that. Instead they provide support, kindness, a peaceful presence and active listening. Jeff might think that this book is depressing but I found it the complete opposite. Her patients’ end-of-life stories are fascinating and at times uplifting and positive. More often than not, people who reach the end of their lives are not scared, nor afraid, as you might think, but sometimes even peaceful and triumphant. Through these stories I am sure that Egan finds working for a hospice as rich and rewarding as I do. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

"Theft by Finding" by David Sedaris

When Jeff and I went to North Carolina on vacation in June, I took with me only one book. This is a first for me, as I typically bring at least two hard cover books on any trip, as well as additional books on my ipad mini, and audio books on my phone. However, on this trip I only took one book, and while risky, I had complete faith in my selection because David Sedaris wrote it. This is his ninth book and it is perhaps the finest one yet. I have, of course, read all of the other ones and can still remember laughing out loud at each one. But reading this book is like spending days on end with David Sedaris in your head. Every sentence, every paragraph sounds like his true and unique voice. The book is a compilation of diary entries from 1977-2002, a time period during which so much happened not only in David’s life, but also in the world. He is an intense observer of things close and far away. When we meet him in 1977, he is traveling and eventually settles in North Carolina. He smokes, drinks, does drugs and is beyond poor. But he finds the humor in nearly every situation, no matter how grim his circumstances. In an entry from 1982 he wrote, “My phone has been disconnected, so I called Southern Bell… The woman at the phone company addressed me as “Mrs. Sedaris” until I couldn’t stand it any more and corrected her. This always happens. They think I’m a woman—a woman named David.” Eventually he moves to Chicago to study art and becomes a teacher, and colors every class, every student and every experience in different shades of laughter. And then, finally, in the last chapters of the book he moves to New York, gets sober, writes an essay about being one of Santa’s elves at Macy’s, sells it to NPR and the rest is history. This book ends in 2002 when he is on a book tour, flying around first class, and eating in restaurants that serve “Baby Pasta Ears Listening to Artichoke” and “Grilled Prawns Frolicking on Polenta.” I can’t think of a better book to take on vacation, or to just read sitting in your kitchen in your pajamas. David Sedaris is just one of the funniest writers of our time, or any time. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

"Walden, Or Life in the Woods” by Henry David Thoreau

Last Friday night Jeff and I went to see the “Summer of Love” exhibit at the DeYoung Museum. If you live in the Bay Area and have not seen it yet, you should go before it leaves August 20. It is well worth the trip to see art, fashion and rock and roll prints from the legendary summer of 1967. At the beginning of the exhibit there is a small case containing some of the iconic books from that summer. I was so happy to see one of my favorites, “Walden, Or Life in the Woods” by Henry David Thoreau, on display. I first read this book in high school and found it so difficult. I wanted to throw it across the room and never pick it up again because it was nearly impossible for me to understand. My dad would stay up late after work, even though he was tired from producing his televisions shows to help me make sense of it all. It was always one of his favorite books, and he wanted to connect me to it and him. I will never forget the time my dad gave to help me understand Thoreau’s work. This is not a linear story but rather sets forth a manifesto on how to live a different lifestyle than your average one. Beginning in 1845, Thoreau lived for two years on a lake in Concord, Massachusetts. A leading transcendentalist, Thoreau promoted a philosophy of simple living in the wilderness. He built a small cabin for $28, grew and sold his own vegetables and contemplated solitude, away from the modern (mid 19th century) world. Thoreau was a dedicated and highly discipline journal keeper who went to extraordinary lengths to write down his thoughts, observations and dreams. Today the word  “mindfulness” is thrown around as often as “avocado toast.” But in 1854, Thoreau published a book that embraced  true mindfulness and meditation when it was far from in vogue. In 1860, after an excursion to count the rings of tree stumps during a rainstorm, he died from a bout of bronchitis at the age of 44. “Walden” is not the easier book I have ever read, but it is one that has always stayed with me because it was a challenge, in the best possible sense of the word, and a gift of thought from my dad at the same time. To purchase this link on Amazon click here.

“Everyone Brave Is Forgiven” by Chris Cleave

Ten years ago my friend Page moved to London with her husband and three children. I was devastated. I was in the middle of a very complicated divorce, and Page was the most supportive new friend that I had made. I had just started to date again, moved into my first ever single girl apartment and was finally becoming the confident person I thought I was always meant to be. When she left she said we could stay in touch. But how, I wondered, by phone? The last good phone call I had was in 1982 with my high school boyfriend, and honestly he did most of the talking. I’m just not a phone person. Would we write? I am one of the world’s finest snail-mail correspondents (and do have several pen pals) but would Page write back? What about email? At the time she left in 2007 my dial up Internet was so slow that I could drink a full glass of white wine faster than I could connect to AOL. Then, something fabulous happened: The Internet got faster and better. Suddenly Page and I were emailing once a week, then twice a week, and then any old time we wanted. The point of this is to say that Page and I have not only stayed friends for 10 years, but I also am up to date on her job, her daily London walks and her reading. A few weeks ago she told me she was reading a book called “Everyone Brave Is Forgiven” by Chris Cleave. I had to read it, too. The historical fiction book takes place in London during World War II and follows the lives of three people: Mary, Tom and Alistair. Mary and Tom, both teachers, are far from the front line but right on top of it at the same time. While Alastair takes the more traditional road to war, he still is overwhelmed by obstacles. I have read many books about World War II but this one focuses on not only the effects of the war, but also the intimate relationships that were formed during a time surrounded by death, fear, hope and love. Well worth the read. Thank you, Page. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

“Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka

My ankles look like my dad’s ankles. And I don’t mean just a passing resemblance. My ankles look exactly like my dad’s, and I always knew that when he was gone, looking at my ankles would make me sad. So I have worn a lot of socks and tights all winter and gotten by as best I could. But now it is summer time and I have to wear strappy sandals and face the facts. My dad passed away almost a year ago but there is still a part of him that will always be inside of me. In addition to his ankles, I also love to exercise as much as he did. And I covet any flavor of frozen yogurt, especially coffee, as much as he did. I want everyone to fall in love like he did. And I carry the same thimble full of patience as he did. Our biggest fear was being stuck in an airport without reading material. Garry and I also loved Franz Kafka. Many people didn’t know this about him but he loved not only Kafka, but also Albert Camus and Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Kafka’s novella “Metamorphosis” was one of our favorites. Originally written in 1915 in German, the story of how a traveling salesman woke up one day to find himself transformed into a giant beetle always fascinated my dad.  “I cannot make you understand, I cannot make anyone understand what is happening inside of me. I cannot explain it to myself.” More than 100 years after it was written, the story of Gregor Samsa’s transformation still seems modern. He is faced with juggling not only an angry boss but also his disappointed parents and beloved sister’s reaction. He struggles to maintain a life despite his condition until he can’t take it anymore. “He still saw that outside the window everything was beginning to grow light. Then, without his consent, his head sank down to the floor, and from his nostrils steamed his last weak breath.” This Father’s Day weekend I will be reading some Kafka, celebrating my dad, and appreciating my ankles and how strong they are. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

“Someday, Someday, Maybe” by Lauren Graham

The summer of 1980, I was 17 years old and worked on the Paramount Studios lot for casting director Bobby Hoffman, one of the nicest men in Hollywood. My dad was making me take this job in Bobby’s office because he wanted me to see what he did for a living, and he thought Bobby could be my guide into his sitcom world. Bobby knew I had no interest in acting, but he generously taught me the ropes. He showed me how to comfort and greet the actors. He demonstrated how I should give them their “sides” or scripts for the scenes they would be auditioning for, and how to staple headshots to their resumes and say, “Mr. Hoffman will see you now.”  The summer turned out to be better than expected, but cemented the fact in my mind that being an actor is the scariest thing one would ever want to be. The fact that so many people aspire to such an overwhelming profession baffles me but Lauren Graham’s story is a testament that some do make it, and they make it big. The star of “Gillmore Girls” and “Parenthood” wrote this fictional story of Fanny Banks, an actress waiting for her big New York break in 1995. Franny describes her quest as  “Peering into the window of a party you have not been invited to.” In the last six months of a three-year-deadline, Franny dreams of having a career like her idols Diane Keaton and Meryl Streep. She waits tables at a comedy club, only gets auditions for dishwashing and peanut butter commercials and falls for a sexy-yet-slippery working actor. Despite the frustrations of feeling invisible, Franny makes herself memorable in a charming and smart way. I can only imagine that when Graham was sitting at her computer writing this book and mining her early acting days for stories, she did it with a big smile on her face. Maintaining your sanity and wit in Hollywood is no easy task but she seems to have done it brilliantly.  (In real life she is dating “Parenthood” co-star Peter Krause, which is just so cool, too.) To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

Siracusa by Delia Ephron

I like to wake up 7 days a week at 6 a.m. and go to bed by 10 p.m. My husband Jeff prefers to wake up as late as possible and stay up well past midnight. So almost every day there is at least an hour or sometimes two each morning when I am up alone writing or reading fascinating articles on my phone. The screen on my phone is so tiny, but sometimes the articles blow me away, as this “New York Times” article did: After 54 Years We Fell In Love. After Five Months I Got Leukemia by Delia Ephron. I read anything Ephron (Nora, Delia, Hallie and Amy), so of course I knew that Delia had lost her sister, Nora, and husband, Jerome within the last few years. However, I did not know that she had found love again. Since Nora died, I have been quietly studying Delia and loved her recent book “Siracusa.” She and her husband used to travel a lot with friends, and this novel is the story of two couples that travel together on a trip to Rome and Siracusa, Sicily. The characters include Michael and his wife Lizzie, and Finn and his wife Taylor and their 10-year-old daughter, Snow. During this trip the relationships between the two couples begin to unravel in a part-thriller and part-soap opera kind of way. The characters take rotating turns narrating each chapter while exploring the themes of marriage, passion, betrayal and aging.  The dynamic of the vacationing couples is forever altered when a new character arrives in Italy. Ephron makes a declaimer at the beginning of the book that this is a work of fiction. But then again, her sister Nora wrote “Heartburn” after her real life husband Carl Berstein had an affair. So there are always many different layers to any Ephron book.  Everything is copy. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.