The Scribe's Portion

"Second-Chance Dogs: True Stories of the Dogs We Rescue and the Dogs Who Rescue Us" Various Authors Edited by Callie Smith Grant This is a heart-warming book containing more than 30 short stories written by several authors about dogs. In Second-Chance Dogs, you will read about the different ways in which dogs have made an impact in the lives of their owners and others. I love dogs so I appreciated these warm stories about how God can and uses dogs in daily life. Sometimes, our teachers are animals themselves and as these stories attest, dogs can play vital roles in our healing.  I enjoyed the different stories contained in this book, written from several perspectives and from all walks of life. The only draw-back is that I wish it would have been more Christian in nature. God is hardly mentioned. For a Christian book, it was very low in Christian content. After all, if God created dogs He can definitely use them to be companions and helpers to humans, I...

"Everything She Didn't Say" By Jane Kirkpatrick The history behind this book was fascinating. I had never heard of the Strahorns and this book made me want to learn more about them and the history surrounding the Union Pacific and the settling of wild territories. However, I wasn't very excited about the format. It read similar to a memoir with the journal entries and the first person point of view but I found it lacking. I wasn't able to connect with Carrie or any of the other characters. It felt like a lot was missing. It would have been nice to know a little more of Carrie's life before she met Robert and how they met, started courting, her emotions when she wasn't able to conceive, how she coped with childlessness, etc. A lot of her feelings are missing as I'm sure, sacrificing her desires for a family and a settled life to follow her husband throughout unsettled territory was not an easy feat.   There are some big gaps in between ...