Mary E. Trimble

Lost and Broken Things, a novel by Linda Sandifer is a memorable account of loyalty and bravery set in Idaho’s vast back-country in the shadow of Blue Mountain, 1929.

Lily Statton, fourteen, and her brother Davy, eleven, have been tending sheep all summer. They camp out with Lily sleeping in the sheep wagon, Davy in a small tent. No one has brought them food for two weeks and they’re getting desperate. Lily and Davy aren’t actually brother and sister, they are both adopted. The two are loyal to each other though they really feel no loyalty from either their adoptive mother, or her latest husband, their so-called step-father.

Miranda Oakes, the kids’ adoptive mother, is preoccupied with running a sheep ranch, flirting with neighboring ranchers, and making one poor decision after another. One of her latest decisions was marrying Eddie, or Pretty Eddie as Lily and Davy call him. He is handsome, but mean, to them in particular, but also to animals and anyone who gets in his way. The only thing he really seems to care about is his sheep. Sheep mean money.

When the kids’ plight is brought to light, it becomes apparent that Miranda is missing. There are a few possibilities where she might be, but when Sheriff Jack Tanner is alerted of the situation, a search for her is organized.

Sheriff Jack Tanner has a deep sadness. While he was in France fighting World War I, his wife and baby died of influenza. He is attracted to Anne Blake, who served as a nurse in the War and later went back to school and became a doctor. But he can’t get over the loss of his wife and the baby he never saw.

Lost and Broken Things is an exceptionally fine story. The author describes with vivid detail the surrounding countryside. Conversations are realistic, heart-felt, and flow naturally. The story of the kids’ heart-rending plight, the meanness of their step-father, the selfishness of their adoptive mother, the heartache of the sheriff’s tragic loss, all meld into an inspiring novel of depth. I loved Lost and Broken Things and highly recommend it.

Book Review: The Fossil Hunter

Posted on November 24, 2025 by Mary

“We cannot control the situations that life presents us. We can only control how we respond to them.”—The Fossil Hunter

The Fossil Hunter, a novel by Irene Sandell, is a captivating story that takes place from years surrounding1905 and toggling to 2015, Texas.

In 2015, Meredith Bannon, 73, a flower child of the ‘60s, travels to Troubadour, Texas. It has been fifty years since she’s been there, years of highs and lows, mostly due to bad choices. Her grandmother Grace has passed away and has left the house on 200 acres to her. Meredith was raised in this house by her grandmother, which has left many unanswered questions about her own parents.

Meredith has mixed feelings when she sees the Victorian-style house with its tall white columns. It was already old when she lived there. But now she sees the home as an adult. Inside, it’s like a time-capsule, and memories come flooding back.

In 1905, Grace Freeman is ready for a change. She has taught in a one-room schoolhouse for eight years, and it’s time to move on. At the age of 24 she applies for secretarial school for young women in Fort Worth. She thrives on her new skills and sees the world opening up for her. After graduating, she accepts a position in Troubadour, Texas, working for an insurance company. She meets and falls in love with
a widower, Martin Durham, a barber and the town marshal. They move to the house where he’d lived with his wife, a large Victorian home. Martin is a kind, well respected man, but is adamant that a wife’s place is in the home, that a wife working outside the home is demeaning to her husband.

While both Meredith’s and her grandmother’s stories are unveiled, interesting discoveries of fossils are introduced: a fossil bed that is the largest in the world for Paleozoic fossils, estimated to be 298 million years old. In both women’s stories paleontologists work the fields where the fossils have been discovered.

I found The Fossil Hunter a story with meaningful messages. Times have changed but human needs remain basically the same. We need to be able to express ourselves, to learn, and to grow. There have been times when people can manage no more than survival. And it’s true that many people are content with just being, letting life play itself out. But to learn new things, to expand our knowledge and live up to our potential, that’s living life to the fullest. In The Fossil Hunter, we see both kinds of living. One, a life of poor choices, and the other of striving to learn, but chafing with restrictions. And along the way, we learn of fossils and the work of paleontologists. In The Fossil Hunter we experience the ancient, the old, and the new.

Book Review: Buckeye

Posted on November 17, 2025 by Mary

Buckeye, a novel by Patrick Ryan is a mesmerizing story of two midwestern families that span from just before World War II to the late twentieth century.

In Bonhomie, Ohio, population 6,000, young men are leaving to serve in the military. Some will go to Europe, and later, to the South Pacific. Cal Jenkins tries to enlist, but because he has a deformity—one leg is shorter than the other—the army won’t accept him. Instead, he volunteers for the Citizens Defense Corps. He marries Becky, who has a spiritual gift: she is a seer who can contact the dead. She doesn’t capitalize on her gift, she offers her services for free, helping people connect with lost loved ones. At times, Cal is annoyed with the steady stream of people who come to their home seeking Becky’s comfort.

When Margaret Salt was a baby, she was left at a Bonhomie orphanage with no name or explanation. Although she was placed in homes a few times, she was always returned. She’s treated well at the orphanage, but longs to live a normal life, an exciting life. She dreams of living in a big glamorous city, like Columbus. As soon as she becomes an adult, she moves to Columbus and loves the glamor of city life. She meets and later marries handsome Felix Salt, but is bitterly disappointed when his new job takes him to the small town of Bonhomie, the very town she’d hoped to escape.

War raged in the South Pacific, and Felix is called to serve on a ship that delivers supplies needed for the war effort. He had served 2 ½ years when the ship is struck by a torpedo. Felix is rescued but suffers from much more than his physical injuries.

During all the turmoil of war, chance encounters become a driving force that transform the lives of these two families over generations.

Buckeye is an amazing, sweeping novel that I thoroughly enjoyed. The war years took their toll in many ways, both on the battlefields and at home. Secrets are not kept forever and when they surface the pain can be overwhelming and life-changing. This novel is about life and loss, and about bringing truth to light with understanding and forgiveness.

Book Review: All the Forgivenesses

Posted on November 10, 2025 by Mary

All the Forgivenesses, a novel by Elizabeth Hardinger, begins in the Appalachian hills in southeast Kentucky, 1906. It’s a story of strength in the face of deep poverty, and inspired by the author’s own family history.

Albertina “Bertie” Winslow, fifteen, is the third child and the oldest daughter in the family. She has two older brothers, a younger brother, two younger sisters, and twin baby brothers. Bertie works alongside her mother, cooking, cleaning and taking care of the younger children. Her unreliable father, a so-called horse trader, is often drunk and mean. The older boys leave home to make their own way, but obviously to get away from their father.

The family moves to a run-down farm in Missouri. Bertie’s mother is chronically ill and when she dies, Bertie takes on the responsibility of the housework, her four younger siblings and their unreliable father. Although she attended school in her early years, it’s only a faint memory. She’s needed at home. To make money, Bertie kills and dresses chickens, takes in ironing, does whatever she can to put food on the table. Bertie’s a capable girl and knows how to run a household, but she’s soon overwhelmed. The oldest of her younger sisters, Dacia, is resentful and stubborn, making Bertie’s life even more difficult. To add to her burden, Bertie harbors grief and guilt over past family tragedies.

Bertie has one friend, Alta Bea, a little older than Bertie, who is from a comparatively rich family. Alta Bea’s story is threaded throughout Bertie’s life, and although their backgrounds are entirely different, they remain friends.

When Bertie is sixteen, she marries Sam Frownfelter, a hard-working young man in the draying business. Sam owns a springboard wagon pulled by two mules and hauls goods for pay. He loves music and plays the fiddle. Sam willingly provides for Bertie’s younger siblings, and is a steadying force when dealing with family conflicts.

Bertie, Sam and the children eventually move to the Kansas oil fields. They rent an old run-down house that hasn’t been lived in for years. Sam works in the oil fields, hauling machinery, spare parts and pipe, using 10- or 12-horse teams. Although money isn’t as scarce as before, Bertie is plagued by her sister Dacia’s hateful attitude. Sam remains a constant, steady influence despite the upheaval so often present in their lives.

I found All the Forgivenesses an engrossing story of courage in the face of deep poverty and emotional upheavals. Though easy to read, the story, written in first person, is told in Appalachian dialect, and was inspired by the author’s own family lore. I found the story to be a good reminder of what stark poverty looks like and how deep it runs. This is a captivating novel of family loyalty, redemption, and resilience.

Book Review: The Doctor’s Wife

Posted on November 3, 2025 by Mary

The Doctor’s Wife by Myra Hargrave Mcllvain, Book 1 of “A German Family Saga,” mostly takes place in Indian Point, which later becomes Indianola, Texas. The story begins in 1845.

In Germany, Amelia Anton has been hired as a private tutor to a young child. Aboard ship bound for America, the little boy dies of yellow fever, and the mother dies shortly after they reach Galveston. Her employer abandons her in Galveston, telling her he obtained a job for her as a chambermaid at the hotel where they were staying. It’s grim work, emptying chamber pots and cleaning up after guests.

When a handsome physician proposes marriage, she accepts, anticipating a better life than what she has so far experienced in this new land. Doctor Joseph Stein’s destination is Indian Point, a newly formed German migrant camp located along the shore of Matagorda Bay, Texas. Upon arrival they find people desperate to get out of the harsh elements. Most are living in tents, sleeping on molding mattresses, with no decent food to sustain them. The residents had been deceived, lured into coming to a rich land, full of opportunities. Instead they find themselves in an unsheltered bay, with scarce food and endless rain.

Amelia and Doctor Stein are able to stay in a small cabin, which also doubles as his clinic. He treats people suffering from typhoid, cholera, meningitis, and those who suffer from hopelessness with the dire situation that plagues the settlement. Gradually the town’s situation improves, supplies begin to arrive, and the town slowly builds.

But there is something missing in Amelia’s life. She remains a maiden, a virgin. Try as she might, her husband is unresponsive. He is an excellent doctor, well thought of. He is kind and provides for her. They eventually build a store that Amelia manages, with the doctor’s medical practice upstairs. But, although they share a bed, their marriage remains unfulfilled.

As the store thrives, Amelia is encouraged to go to New Orleans to purchase goods to meet the needs of the growing community, a transformative trip that changes how she lives the rest of her life.

I found this first book of “A German Family Saga” series engaging. It’s hard to imagine the hardships our forefathers endured. I loved the section of the novel where Amelia goes to New Orleans, a city I’ve visited several times. One visit was when I served with the Red Cross in late August, 2005, after Hurricane Katrina, an extremely powerful and devastating tropical cyclone. That trip was grim, but previous trips were lovely….and lively. The author does a good job of developing a story of struggling people, and showing that adversity can be overcome, or at least tolerated. I recommend this novel, especially to those who love history.

Book Review: The Gray and Guilty Sea

Posted on October 27, 2025 by Mary

The Gray and Guilty Sea: An Oregon Coast Mystery is Book 1 of 9 of the “Garrison Gage Series” by Scott William Carter. The contemporary novel is set on the rugged Oregon coast.

Garrison Gage, a crusty retired New York private investigator, just wants to be left alone. He’s still grieving over the brutal murder of his wife and his own debilitating knee injury sustained as the result of being shot by the same villain who killed his wife. It’s been five years since the tragedy, and he’s retreated three thousand miles to the quaint coastal town of Barnacle Bluffs, Oregon. He spends his time working crossword puzzles.

On a solitary walk to the nearby seaside, Garrison discovers the body of a young woman washed up on the beach. The investigator in him just can’t let it go—he’s compelled to solve what is obviously a crime scene. While in the process, Garrison manages to antagonize the police chief, become acquainted with a pretty, smart reporter from the local newspaper, and spark interest with some of the local folks who help him solve the mystery of what is obviously a brutal murder.

I enjoyed this mystery, particularly since I have spent time on the Oregon coast and am familiar with many of the sights. Although Barnacle Bluffs is a fictitious town, it is similar to many communities along the coast. The author does a fine job of identifying the crime as a murder, and goes about solving the case logically with a believable sequence. I’m not a crime novel buff, but I appreciate good writing. This mystery series if off to a good start.

Book Review: Call of the Camino

Posted on October 20, 2025 by Mary

Call of the Camino: A Novel by Suzanne Redfearn is a fascinating story from beginning to end. Most of the novel takes place along the Camino de Santiago trails, a religious pilgrimage undertaken for more than 1,000 years. The story toggles between 1997 and 2024. The novel is partially based on a true story about thirteen founding families and a land dispute involving opposing views for Dur, England’s future.

The story begins in 1997 with Isabelle Vidal, almost 18, a cattleman’s daughter. Her home is in Dur, England, but she attends a Catholic high school in Pau, France. She’s an exceptionally bright girl, can speak six languages, and wants nothing to do with the Dur land dispute between families. To avoid having to take sides and vote, Isabelle runs away from school and ends up on the ancient 500-mile Camino de Santiago in Spain. She insists on paying her own way and works at the various stops to pay for lodging and food. Isabelle is a strong healthy girl, used to walking, and makes lasting friends along the way. But her journey isn’t easy and takes an unexpected turn.

Sign along the trails of Camino de Santiago

In 2024, Reina Watkins, a New York journalist, is copy-editor for a popular magazine. She still grieves the death of her father who died when she was eight. Through a quirk of fate, she has an opportunity to write about the Camino de Santiago and finds herself on the same journey her father walked at her age and wrote about in his journal. Unexpectedly, her nemesis, Matt Calhoun, a fellow journalist, is also on the trail, putting a damper on her Camino experience. Reina gives the journey her all, enduring the dusty trails, the ensuing blisters and aching muscles, but also appreciating the beauty and history of the trail. She makes friends with interesting people and finds unexpected strength within herself.

I found Call of the Camino a deeply moving story of two women whose entwined paths in different eras result in transformative journeys. The author, who has walked the Camino herself, does an outstanding job of describing the sights, the spirit of the pilgrimage, the cuisine, and also the difficulties of the journey. As Isabelle and Reina each meet and make friends among their fellow pilgrims, their worlds are enriched. I recommend this book to anyone with an adventurous spirit, for those who have walked Camino’s hallowed trails, and especially for people who might take this epic journey.

Book Review: The Alchemist

Posted on October 13, 2025 by Mary

“Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own.”
—The Alchemist

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho provided hours of magical reading. It isn’t a plot-driven book, but rather a novel that provides a quiet sense of purpose and a deeper understanding of the universe. The period the story takes place isn’t clear, but it begins in Spain.

Santiago, a young man, perhaps in his teens, studied to be a priest, but realized what he really wanted to do was to be a shepherd, to move around, see new places. With the blessings of his family, he sets out with his flock of sheep and discovers not only the world, but himself. It soon becomes clear that what he searches for is an alchemist, a person who transforms things for the better.

Santiago meets people along the way who teach him many truths, some good, some evil, but each experience leads him closer to life’s true meaning.

This novel has an interesting history. “The Foreword” written by the author in 2014 speaks about the interesting path the novel has taken. The book was first published in 1989 in his native Brazil. Only one person bought a copy the first week of its release, then six months later another copy sold to the same person! His publisher cancelled the contract. Another publisher agreed to take the book and gradually had great success. An American read the book and wanted to translate the book from Spanish to English and find a publisher in the United States. It didn’t happen overnight, but the book became a phenomenon, has been translated into more than eighty different languages, and has sold thousands of copies.

Paulo Coelho never wavered in his faith in the book because it speaks of his own beliefs: A man sets out on a journey seeking a beautiful or magical place and then realizes the treasure lies within himself.

Reading The Alchemist was an enlightening experience for me. I highly recommend it for those who appreciate life’s purpose and who seek wisdom of the universe.

Book Review: The Girl Behind the Gates

Posted on October 6, 2025 by Mary

The measure of our greatness is in how we stand up after we fall.
—From The Girl Behind the Gates

The Girl Behind the Gates, a novel by Brenda Davies, is based on a true but fictionalized story that spans from 1939 to 1991. The story takes place in England.

It’s 1939 and Nora Jennings, a typical seventeen-year-old, has a bright, happy future. However, she has a terrible, nagging fear: she might be pregnant. How can that be? After only one night of passion, could it happen? Apparently so. She tries to end the pregnancy with pills someone gave her. That didn’t work, so she clumsily tries to take her own life. When her parents learn of the pregnancy, they call the authorities. According to the Mental Deficiency Act of 1913, what Nora has done is illegal: getting pregnant out of wedlock, attempting to take the life of the baby, then attempting to take her own life.

Nora is admitted to Hillinghurst Hospital, a place of fear and shame. Although there are some good people among the staff, many are hardened against the needs of patients; some are actually cruel. Nora, labeled a moral defective, is forced to endure years of unspeakable cruelty by the very people who are supposed to care for her.

It’s 1981 and Dr. Janet Humphreys, a psychiatrist, reviews the records of Hillinghurst Hospital patients. As she studies Nora’s file, she realizes the woman has been there forty years, longer than Janet has been alive. The 1913 Mental Deficiency Act was abolished in 1959, but by this time Nora suffers from being in an institution too long. Although many institutions, including Hillinghurst, are being shut down, the thought of leaving is frightening to Nora—she knows no other life. All those years of no hope, no responsibility, no choices for themselves has taken its toll for many, if not most, of those institutionalized.

As Dr. Humphreys and Nora work toward her freedom, it becomes clear how much of Nora’s life has been denied her, and how difficult the path ahead will be.

The Girl Behind the Gates is a heart-wrenching story written by a consulting psychiatrist who has worked with patients with tragic stories like Nora’s. The story goes into some detail of the horrors that many patients endured. It’s not always easy reading, but it is informative and full of heart when people of influence step up to attempt to right what is obviously so wrong. I can’t say I enjoyed this book, but I’m glad I read it. The Girl Behind the Gates opened my eyes to the harm correctional institutions can do, but also how kindness among the staff can make lasting changes to those lives entrusted to their care. It is a story of perseverance, and strength of the human spirit.

Book Review—Oregon Trail: One Family’s Story

Posted on September 29, 2025 by Mary

Oregon Trail: One Family’s Story by Cyndi Rivers is a fascinating true account of an extended family’s journey across the Oregon Trail in 1853.

Lewis Ray and Nancy Kimes and their two little daughters ages 3 and 2, plus Nancy’s widowed mother Elizabeth and her three children, left their Missouri homes for the Willamette Valley in Oregon. Their ambitious goal was to live close to Nancy’s older brother and his family.

Preparing for such a journey was challenging. They would travel in two wagons that were about 10 feet long and 4 feet wide. They had 6 oxen for each wagon: 4 to pull at one time and 2 to rest by just walking rather than pulling the heavy loads. The wagons were full of essentials with not much sleeping space, so they had to provide for outside sleeping. Food and water had to be carefully planned and doled out, plus adequate clothing to last for the long, arduous trip.

They could only take essentials which meant leaving behind family treasures. Later, they would see discarded items along the trail—furniture, heavy tools, even a piano— items that families had brought but later had to abandon to lighten the loads.

They traveled for several days from western Missouri to join a wagon train in St. Joseph. The trip with the wagon train had barely begun when Lewis Ray died crossing the Missouri River, leaving his pregnant wife and their two little daughters. It was a crushing blow to the two families, and left them in a bad situation since he had been the only adult male in the group. In addition, they were a liability to the wagon train since now their group consisted of only an elderly woman, a pregnant woman, and 5 children. Luckily, there were two adult brothers on the wagon train who could drive the wagons, allowing the party to resume their journey. After traveling six months, they arrived at their destination, the Willamette Valley.

Oregon Trail is a captivating story of determination and struggle. People often died along the way from drinking contaminated water, often the cause of cholera, drowning, wagon accidents, children crushed by wagon wheels, cattle stampedes, etc. The author has included pictures, maps and documentation of the period. This account of her family’s history—the Kimes were her great-great-grandparents—is a story of determination and grit.