A Grief Observed

     To anyone who has ever suffered a loss: a comfort. To anyone dealing with any stage of grief: a companion. This classic book by C.S. Lewis approaches the loss of a loved one in a way that comforts, listens, hurts, holds, and cries with the reader. In his mind-numbing grief, Lewis chokes out the words to somehow enunciate his agony over the loss of a loved one - the loss of his loved one - even when his emotions rob him of words and the breath to form them.


     In all of his floundering to communicate, what comes across is a beautifully painful account of his journey through grief; the musings of an influential man brought down to the same base level as any other individual. His expression is truly humbling. How often do we look at these famous, shining people as other and out-there and unaffected? Apart from "the rest of us"?

     And how often are we all of a sudden proven so wrong?

     To be able to relate so deeply to someone seemingly so far out of reach has an entirely humbling effect. In the shadow of sorrow and grief over loss, I would hug this book to my chest and read it time and time again, in search of comfort. Sometimes all the comfort we need is someone who listens and understands, and A Grief Observed is akin to that, without the ability of interrupting or claiming that your feelings are not right or valid.

     It is so easy to dismiss someone's pain as lesser and to compare it to our own in a cruel way of diminishing their experience, and in doing so, do exactly the opposite of comfort them. Lewis would not - could not - do anything of the sort.

     A Grief Observed is something like a heartfelt guide through different stages of grief, guaranteed to carry you through, step by step, as the author himself undergoes each.

--Elise--

For more information on A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis, visit our website here.

Storm Siren [and her Fury]

"I raise my chin as the buyers stare. Yes. Look. You don't want me. Because, eventually, accidentally, I will destroy you."

                       --from Chapter One of Storm Siren (Mary Weber)--

     Nym is born to a kingdom that does not want her. It controls her. Her kind are killed at birth: Elementals, with powers beyond strength and reckoning, and they are always male. She is the exception. She should not exist.

     In fact, she would prefer not to.

     Sold again and again into slavery, Nym is finally bought by a buyer who knows her abilities for what they are and decides to use them to acquire power. Nym is forced into training, to become Faelen's deadliest weapon. Never having been considered human, she sees little improvement from slave to weapon, except that she is slowly learning to control the curse that draws her emotions into the deadly power of the elements of the storm. A power that, until now, had only ever enabled her to kill people.

     Mary Weber uses Storm Siren and its sequel, Siren's Fury, to touch on the subject of pain, both physical and emotional. While other topics are addressed throughout the books, pain is the most prominent. Being born into suffering. Surviving pain. Accepting. And living with the knowledge of it.

     Nym is a relatable, understandable character, and for anyone going through pain and looking for an escape, even her fictional experience can speak to that. Not only helpful, the Storm Siren series is a web of suspense, intrigue, messy politics and crushing battles, and a psychological journey for everyone to follow. Nym claws for your attention and clings to it with both hands, until the book is done. And even then, her story lingers.

     Mary Weber's words are impactful and punctuating through the eyes of her characters. Her words take hold and force you to read, feverishly, until the very end. It is written as youth fiction, but even a mature mind will appreciate the flow of this trilogy.

     Guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat until the release of Book Three.

--Elise--

     For more information on Storm Siren and Siren's Fury by Mary Weber, visit our website here and here.