Book Review: A Yellow House in the Mountains by Glenn Hileman

 

If you enjoy novels based on true stories, then you will want to consider A Yellow House in the Mountains by Glenn Hileman.

Based upon the lives of the author's parents, Lyle and Marylin Hileman, it follows these two people who fell in love early in life, worked hard, and created a legacy with a long-lasting impact still felt today. 

Lyle had a reputation as a bad boy when he met Marylin, but that changes as he works to prove to her and his father that he is worth getting to know. Through decades of facing obstacles, raising children, struggling to make ends meet, ministering to others, and focusing on their dreams, Lyle and Marylin inspire their children and those around them. 

A Yellow House in the Mountains is a moving story. The author brings his parents' trials and triumphs to life for the reader. While, this reads more like a chronological biography than a page-turning novel, the reader will be eager to see how the Hilemans face their latest challenges. There will be laughs and tears along the way, as you watch two people dedicate their lives to each other, their families, and their community. Numerous black and white photos are a special treasure. 

If you like family drama and inspiring stories, A Yellow House in the Mountains by Glenn Hileman is a good choice. You can visit https://yellowhouseinthemountains.com for more information about the Hilemans and their yellow house in the mountains. 

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CGGL3JKS
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Glh2 Holdings LLC (February 23, 2024)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 262 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8988822813

I received a copy of this book from the author's publicist. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

New Release: Dad: A Novel by Steven Manchester

Steven Manchester has just announced the release of his new heartfelt book, DAD: A Novel! 

Synopsis:

Three generations of dads, playing traditional roles in each other's lives, arrive simultaneously at significant crossroads. The decisions they make and the actions they take will directly – and eternally – affect each other. 

After a life of hard work and raising children, Robert is enjoying his well-deserved retirement when he discovers that he has an illness he might not be able to beat. At 19, Jonah is sprinting across the threshold of adulthood when he learns, stunningly, that he's going to become a father. And Oliver – Robert's son and Jonah's dad – has entered middle age and is paying its demanding price. While reconciling the time and effort it has taken him to reach an unfulfilling career and an even less satisfying marriage, he realizes that it's imperative that he keep it all together for the two men who mean everything to him. 

When different perspectives lead to misunderstandings that remain unspoken – sometimes for years – it takes great strength and even more love to travel beyond the resentment. 

Dad: A Novel chronicles the sacred legacy of fatherhood. 

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Dad-Novel-Steven-Manchester/dp/1611883083/

It's become a bit of a signature for Steven to include a poem at the very end of his novels. Here's what he selected for this one.

The Greatest Teachers
by Steven Manchester

My children have taught me…
that trust is sealed before the first step
and real understanding does not require words;
that a baby’s breath and angels’ wings make the same sound,
and bonds forged on sleepless nights are eternal.

My children have taught me…
that the greatest wonders are found within the smallest moments;
and the grip of a tiny hand slips away much too fast;
that the word “proud” can inspire unimaginable feats,
while the word “disappointed” can scar the soul.

My children have taught me…
that doing something means so much less than being there,
as one day at the park is more valuable than ten visits to the toy store;
that laughter is contagious and can destroy all worries,
and Santa Claus is alive and well—all that’s needed is faith.

My children have taught me…
that the most powerful prayers are made up of the simplest words,
humbled, grateful and spoken from the heart;
and that for most ailments, the best medicine is a kiss
or a hug for someone who wouldn’t dream of asking.

My children have taught me…
that friends can be made with no more than a smile
and real blessings are found amongst family and friends;
that the future promises magic and wonder,
and that dreams must be chased until each one comes true. 

You can visit Steven online at www.stevenmanchester.com

Shelf Control - Sep 26

Shelf Control is a weekly celebration of the unread books on our shelves sponsored by Lisa at Bookshelf Fantasies. Pick a book you own but haven’t read, write a post about it (suggestions: include what it’s about, why you want to read it, and when you got it), and link up!

Want to join in? Shelf Control posts go up every Wednesday. Here's how to jump on board:

• Write a blog post about a book that you own that you haven’t read yet.
• Add your link in the comments!
• Link back to Bookshelf Fantasies in your own post.
• Check out other posts, and…

Have fun!

Here's another Kindle freebie from my ridiculous TBR pile. Love the cover on this one.

BLURB:  Mexico in 1918 was a dangerous place to live. Disease was ravaging village after village. Young Sofia's parents decided to take what was left of their family and brave a perilous midnight crossing into the United States, hoping to save the lives of their remaining children. They did not anticipate the hardships that lay ahead of them. After a family tragedy, Sofia is sent to live with a well-to-do aunt in Phoenix. Sofia's father assumes this is for the best, that his sister would educate her and treat her as a daughter. He could not have known it would plunge her into a life of hard labor and bad relationships with the wrong men. Hungry for love, her first lover leads to a daughter, Eva, born out of wedlock. When he abandons her and their baby, another unsavory man is quick to come to her rescue. But when he tries to convince Sofia to leave what little family she has left to go west with him, to work in the fields of California, she is torn. Weighing what few options are available to her, she believes she has no choice but to go with him. If only that was the lone circumstance in which she had no choice. Sofia's difficult, yet inspiring life unfolds over the next twenty years, through a series of highs and lows, with her devoted, headstrong daughter by her side. As a young woman, Eva hopes to avoid the mistakes her mother made with men, but she is not always able to steer clear of them. When life becomes dangerous and unbearable for Sofia, will Eva and her beau be able to save her, or will Sofia have to save them? This poignant and gripping drama plays out from 1918 to 1960, and is full of love and heartbreak, prejudice and betrayal, lovers, friends and family. It is inspired by the true stories written in Debra Burroughs' book CARMEN.

DATE BOUGHT: 2/2/12 - Ashamed to admit I forgot all about this one.

WHY I BOUGHT IT:  I like to read stories of people coming to America. This sounds like a very emotional story, which also appeals to me. 

What is a book from your TBR pile?

Guest Blogger: Susan Spangler, Author of The Year of the Bird

Frank and funny, honest and hopeful, The Year of the Bird takes you on a journey from grief to healing. It’s about our family—but it could be about any family.

It’s is the true story of some very tough times that we went through—coping with our young son-in-law's death and my mother-in-law's final years, both of which took place around the time of 9/11.

It’s about parents, grandparents and little children. Laughing one moment, crying the next.

Most of all, though, it’s about life. And that means that it’s about people, the members of our family, and how we coped with each other through it all—for better and for worse.

The Bird

One day about a year after our daughter Jenny’s husband died, she came upon a bird in a bush, at a playground where she’d taken her three little kids. Never one to abandon a lost critter, she brought it home. My husband, George, ever the animal lover, took to it right away.

For me, on the other hand, in the midst of caring for three generations of family, while also trying to keep up with my job, the thought of one more living thing to feed, listen to, and clean up after? Well, that was just one thing too much.

My husband felt one way. I felt another. So what happens next? You’ll get the answer on your first guess. We had an argument. A big argument. A whopper.

The Forest and the Trees

Surprise: the argument got us nowhere. So I did what came naturally: I started writing. Writing became my lifeline. Writing helped me to think things through and find my way. To see the forest through the trees.

The forest, of course, was all the tension, stress and tragedy of the past few years. Once I realized that, I could see that the bird was no more than a small yellow speck tweeting on one of the branches.

So even though, when I first sat down, I was planning to write a story about a bird, in the end the story was really about everything else plus the bird. The title became The Year of the Bird. And story by story, the bird turned into a book.

True Stories in Pictures & Words

The Year of the Bird is a rare bird: an illustrated book for grown-ups.

I've been drawing for as long as I can remember, and I've worked as an illustrator my whole adult life. Including pictures is just the natural way for me to tell a story. So much so, that it almost feels incomplete without them.

Once I’d finished writing, I painted the pictures in a bright, colorful, realistic style. Something like snapshots of the moments when the stories were actually happening. Or like the vivid flashes of memory that you have when you’re thinking about something that’s really important to you.

Everyone’s Amazing Stories

One thing I’ve learned from life that everyone’s life is filled with amazing stories. And I think that listening to each other’s stories can teach us a lot about life.

That’s one of the reasons that I collected our family’s stories and found a publisher to bring them to life as a book: to share our stories with other people.

To help people who are going through their own hard times to find the words they need to say—to themselves and to each other. To reassure them that they’re not alone. To remind them that laughter and love really are the best medicines, especially in the face of life’s never-ending surprises.

And to let them know that, with a little help from our friends—and their stories—we can go on from here, a little wiser and a little stronger, into whatever comes next.

The Year of the Bird can be purchased directly from Susan’s website (www.susanspangler.com) as well as on amazon.com (http://amzn.to/LpetzU) and barnesandnoble.com (http://bit.ly/ICy0Y0). It can also be downloaded from iTunes as an illustrated ebook.

Susan Spangler is an artist, writer, and homeschool teacher. Her new book, The Year of the Bird, is a frank and inspiring memoir of an ordinary family faced with extraordinary events, told with heart, humor and love. Susan’s blog about homeschooling will launch in July. Info about her blog plus many examples of her vibrant artwork can be found on her website, www.susanspangler.com, as well as her facebook page, www.facebook.com/susanspangler.pixwords.