I’ve been rereading my way through the Betsy-Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace lately, starting with Betsy-Tacy when they’re five years old and on up to Betsy’s Wedding. I might write about the whole series some other time, but right now I want to write about one of the companion books. Ten of the books focus on Betsy (and friend Tacy), two focus on close friends of Betsy, and just one focuses on an entirely separate character who happens to live in the same small town and share a few acquaintances. And that one, oddly enough, may be my favorite.

Emily of Deep Valley starts when Emily graduates from high school (a few years behind Betsy, for those who are keeping track at home). She has always been a bit separate from her peers, an orphan living out near the slough with her grandfather. Now all her acquaintances are setting off for college while she has to remain in Deep Valley, feeling adrift with no purpose or future.

Deep Valley is the most charming of small towns. The series is set in the early 1900s, with a distinctly nostalgic and idyllic view of the time. Other books can explore class and gender and social issues of the time, but the Betsy-Tacy books are just an innocent delight. And fairly progressive in their way, as Betsy dreams of a career as a writer, and Emily feels that she needs a purpose beyond caring for her grandfather.

Of course the book ends up being about Emily finding her purpose, her confidence and a belief in herself. She’s not like Emily of New Moon (or Betsy) with her sure flame of belief in what she’s meant to do in life. This Emily has to find her way, an ordinary girl who sets out simply to help some people in her community, and to explore a few interests

That’s what I love about this book. It’s a coming of age story without trauma, a quest for meaning without traveling anywhere, a story about finding oneself without needing to find out that one is anything unusually gifted or extraordinary. And it’s just lovely.

There is a romantic element in this book, but it felt very secondary to Emily’s personal growth. Her love interest doesn’t come in until very late in the book, and her romance is an effect of her growth more than it is a cause.  Which feels perfect, although it is a quite sweet romance too.

It’s actually a very sweet series overall. But this particular installment has a little more depth to it, a little more character exploration…while being a lovely delight of a book too.

Author’s Site: http://www.maudhartlovelace.org/

Other reviews:
Live, Learn, Love
The Captive Reader
Forever Young Adult
Anyone else?

Buy it here: Emily of Deep Valley

It’s rare for me to read a book that makes me want to rush out and tell everyone I know to read it—and even rarer with nonfiction. But that happened with Daring Greatly by Brené Brown.

How I came to this book is a story in itself. You may have heard of Brené Brown, and if you have, it’s probably because she has a wildly successful TED talk on vulnerability, with a follow-up talk on shame. Her first one is, I believe, in the top ten most popular talks on TED (which is saying a lot) with over 22 million views. I watched the talk (for the first time) years ago, and vaguely meant to check out her books some time.

And then my book club chose to read a book on rejection: Rejection Proof: How I Beat Fear and Became Invincible Through 100 Days of Rejection. Suffice to say, the author became a supposed “rejection expert” through a series of self-devised experiments setting himself up for rejection. Except. All of these experiments involved no investment, had nothing at stake, did not involve anyone he cared about, and didn’t even put any of his identity on the line. In other words, he managed to take all the vulnerability out of rejection, which seems to rather defeat the point. I got Rejection Proof from the library and did not choose to buy it. But I went out and bought Daring Greatly.

To put it briefly, everyone experiences vulnerability, no one likes it, and yet it’s a prerequisite for connection and whole-hearted living. Brené explores what vulnerability is, how it plays into our relationships, and all the ways we try to avoid vulnerability—and why that doesn’t work. She also discusses shame and worthiness, and how essential it is to believe that we are worthy.

I’ve found that I like philosophical books from type-A perfectionist women who do too much (and are now trying to learn something different). I also appreciate books from people like Thich Nhat Hanh, but the fact is—he’s a monk living in a prayer community. Brené Brown, on the other hand, is coming from where I am.

My favorite section (also one of the longest) was on Vulnerability Armor. One of the major ones? Perfectionism. If we’re perfect enough, it’s supposed to protect us from vulnerability and make us worthy. That doesn’t actually work. But do you know how many years I never missed a scheduled blog post? (Three posts a week, for over four years.)

Another major armor is Numbing. My first thought was that this would be less relevant to me—I don’t drink or smoke or do drugs. But the biggest form of numbing? Busyness. Staying so busy we never have time to stop and think about our lives. That was the point when I decided that this book could be helpful to just about everyone I knew. I don’t mean that everyone I know is desperately avoiding vulnerability—but most people I know are too busy (and me too—again, three posts a week for four years…)

And I think the real point here is that these topics are universal. They relate, more or less and in different ways, to everyone.

So—I’ve been telling people in person and now I’m telling you too. Go read Daring Greatly. Or at the least, go watch Brené Brown’s TED talk. And if it speaks to you at all, then read Daring Greatly.

And if you know me in person, well, I do have a copy…but I’m a little reluctant to loan it out. Partially because it’s one I’d kind of rather keep around. But since we’re talking about vulnerability, I’ll go ahead and admit this—that I’m a little worried about how vulnerable it would make me to let someone see which parts of the book I highlighted!

Author’s Site: http://brenebrown.com/

Other reviews:
The Pioneer Woman
Pop and Banter
Tell Me About It, Sister
Anyone else?

Buy it here (seriously): Daring Greatly