Hope Fights Back: Fifty Marathons and a Life or Death Race Against ALS by Amanda Lytle Peet and Meredith Atwood.

Against my strong Type A sensibilities, I’m going out of order with these books. The thing is, I finished this one and it was so good I just don’t want to forget it, so I’m jumping the line and posting it now. Last year I caught an interview with Amanda Lytle Peet and immediately added her memoir to my TBR (to be read) list. When it came available via audiobook, I snagged it right away and finished it within a matter of days.

Amanda’s story is one of incredible grace, courage, tenacity, and even humor. *After* she found out she had ALS, she set out to complete 50 marathons, one in each state. She cannot run due to the ALS, but she is still able to ride a recumbent trike, and she lobbied with race directors for permission to participate in all these races. Even on wheels, she was still only moving at a “back of the pack” pace like 13 minutes per mile, so that didn’t seem to be an issue for most race directors.

Even though Peet and I are living entirely different lives, I felt like her story held so many parallels to mine. She had to give up a successful career as her ALS was quickly progressing. She has a husband who takes care of her but does not coddle, and is walking with her in this journey arm in arm. She continues to push her limits and squeeze the most she can out of life. She does not wallow in pity at her circumstances. She’s become one of my heroes.

She had help writing the book (by co-author Meredith Atwood) but I don’t think that detracted from her voice shining through. I loved her sense of humor and snarky and stubborn attitude. In the bonus material she stated that in order to know what she thinks about something, she has to write it down, and that is me 100%. Same here, same. I think if we lived near each other, we would be great friends. I learned a lot about the ins and outs of her experience with ALS, and was encouraged and inspired in my own life to keep moving and challenging myself to fight against my own struggles with MS. It was a great book to read, and I rated it 5 out of 5 on Goodreads. I would purchase and reread this book without hesitation. Go check it out!!

The Queen of Sugar Hill: A Novel of Hattie McDaniel by ReShonda Tate

I started reading this book a couple months ago, but didn’t finish in time for the digital book to be returned to the library. I picked it back up with the audio version recently because that’s what was available. I was able to find my place and pick up where I left off.

This was a work of fiction, but was based on true events. Hattie McDaniel was an actress in the early 1900’s, with the bulk of her work in the 30s and 40s. She was probably best known as the first African American actress to win an Oscar, for her role as Mammy in Gone with the Wind. She fought hard against segregation, and for equal rights for black Americans. I think the author succeeded at taking on the challenge of honoring Hattie’s McDaniel’s true accomplishments, while fictionalizing events along with the way. It made for a really fun and interesting read. I felt like I learned a lot more about history that I’ll retain. It wasn’t so much about collecting facts, but more about living McDaniel’s experience as a black actress struggling to not be pigeon-holed into stereotypical roles. Also, the audiobook portion I listened to was pretty outstanding.

I gave this book a 4 out of 5 on Goodreads. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good fiction read with a healthy dose of history!

I love memoirs. I love getting that glimpse into other people’s lives. Especially when it’s a famous (and likeable) actor like Matthew McConaughey! So I was happy when the digital version of his book, Greenlights, became available from my local library.

The title is in reference to the moments in life when things just sort of work out for you, or give you a strong hint that you are headed in the “right” direction. I would not say McConaughey has had an easy life full of greenlights, but he’s definitely made the best with what he was given. His attitude towards life is overall positive, but with a healthy dose of pragmatism. He’s also lived a *very* interesting life, which kept me intrigued. The way he writes did get a bit intense at times, but I enjoyed reading it. He kept me laughing at times, and pondering at others. I highly recommend this book and I’d give it a 9 out of 10, just because some sections did require a lot of brain power and some of his poetry was visually difficult to read. All in all, a fun and thought-provoking read.