Driftwood Tides

Summary: Libby Slater is about to marry Rob, a lawyer, in two months. Although her mother Caroline dislikes him, she is trying to plan and micro-manage every detail of the wedding. One day, Libby discovers by accident that the not-so-affectionate Caroline is not her birth mother. Libby confronts her and sets out to find her birth parents with the adoption papers Caroline gives her.

What she finds is the alcoholic husband (Holton) of her mother (Adele), who died five years ago.  He has a dog (Rufus); an assistant (Tess); a crumbling shack and a studio; a mountain of debts; and a rival (Henry), who is hell-bent on destroying him financially.  After finding Holton, Libby’s life changes in many ways. She discovers what her mother was like and then even finds her biological father.

My thoughts: Driftwood Tides is a story about redemption, restoration, forgiveness and hope. The characters in the story face challenges and find ways to overcome them. The events are described in a subtle way so that they do not overwhelm you.

The relationships between Holton and Tess, Libby and Rob, and Libby and Caroline are shown as evolving and reaching a comfortable phase.

Holton is similar to driftwood—broken and useless. By the end, he changes so much so that he resembles the sculptures he fashions out of them—worthwhile and appreciated.

The book contains no profanity, overtly sexual scenes or extreme violence. It has lovely descriptions of the ocean, the beach and the art that Holton and Tess create.

It gives valuable insight into alcoholism and Al-Anon. Although the story has Christian undertones and could have easily turned preachy but Gina Holmes has not let it be so.

I laughed and cried when I was reading it, which is a huge plus in favour of a book.  There is so much more to say about this story. I won’t because you should find out for yourselves.

Note: The book was given to me by Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for an honest review. I thank them for that.

Zen Miracles: Finding Peace in an Insane World

by Dr. Brenda Shoshanna

In the book Zen Miracles: Finding Peace in an Insane World, Dr. Shoshanna uses her own experiences with Zen to explain its common concepts and principles. Sometimes the writing is quite subjective; however, it is enjoyable even for someone not familiar with Zen.

I don’t understand many of the koans in it but they say it takes a lifetime to understand some, or sometimes, you don’t understand them at all.

I leave you with the Zen Miracle Commandments at the end of the book. Brenda asks the readers to keep them as companions and enjoy living with them.

• Do not lean on others. Do not lean on anything.
• Keep your back straight at all times. Your spine connects heaven and earth. Honor it.
• Loneliness is an unwillingness to communicate freely with all of creation. Remedy this.
• Do not puff yourself up and put others down. We are all treading on the same earth.
• This particular breath will not come again. Pay attention to it.
• We cannot stop the noise, but we can stop ourselves. We can accept the noise.
• What you are at this moment contains the whole message of what you were.
• You can never see anything worse than yourself.
• Place after place is the right place.
• Don’t put a head on your own head. What’s wrong with your own?
• Going somewhere doesn’t take you anywhere else.
• Doing nothing is more than enough. Flowers grow on their own.

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari

by Robin S. Sharma

This is the story of Julian Mantle, a lawyer whose life drastically changes after a major heart attack. He is forced to face the spiritual crisis in his out-of-balance life. He travels to India where he hears of the Sages of Sivana and tries to trace them. He finds them in the Himalayas. During his stay with them, they teach him a step-by-step approach to living with greater courage, balance, abundance and joy through a story.

He comes back rejuvenated and shares the story with his friend John.

The story starts in a beautiful garden with a lighthouse in the middle. Out of the lighthouse walks a 9 foot tall, 900-pound Sumo wrestler who wears only a pink wire cable covering his privates. He slips and falls on a stopwatch on the floor and loses consciousness. However, he wakes up to the fresh fragrance of yellow roses. He looks over and discovers a path studded with diamonds, through which he goes away.

So the story progresses through the elements garden, lighthouse, Sumo wrestler, pink wire cable, stopwatch, roses, and path of diamonds. Each of these elements symbolizes virtues, which are also explained in detail with techniques on how to practice them etc.

Symbol: Garden (Your mind); Virtue: Master your mind

Symbol: Lighthouse (Purpose of your life); Virtue: Follow your purpose

Symbol: Sumo Wrestler (Kaizen, meaning constant improvement of oneself. It signifies pushing the boundaries to develop mind, body and spirit in spite of fear, adversity and discomfort.); Virtue: Practice Kaizen

Symbol: Pink wire (Discipline); Virtue: Live with discipline

Symbol: Golden stopwatch (Mastery over time); Virtue: Value your time

Symbol: Sweet yellow roses (Service); Virtue: Serve others selflessly

 Symbol: Path of Diamonds; Virtue: Embrace the Present

The funny thing is that until I started reading it, I did not realize that I had read it before. It is not that forgettable. Maybe, it was just not the right time then!

Initially, I had read an e-book version and maybe that is why I did not enjoy it as much. I like to hold and feel the books I read. This time, it was a paperback version.

1. The book’s back cover says that “this inspiring tale provides a step-by-step approach to living with greater courage, balance, abundance, and joy.”

Inspiring? Yes.

Step-by-step? No. Slightly disorganized.

2. It also says: “On a life-changing odyssey to an ancient culture, he discovers powerful, wise, and practical lessons that teach us to:

• Develop joyful thoughts,
• Follow our life’s mission and calling,
• Cultivate self-discipline and act courageously,
• Value time as our most important commodity,
• Nourish our relationships, and
• Live fully, one day at a time.”

All the above? Yes.

Unique lessons? I don’t think so. They are from old Hindu and Buddhist philosophies and practices.