Memoirs – The Hermits' Rest

Book Report: Coming Up Short

Full disclosure: Robert Reich is the American I admire most. So it’s no surprise that I hoped to enjoy his new memoir, Coming Up Short: A Memoir of My America (2025).

Wow, this is an insightful book, both from a historical and philosophical standpoint. I think that, at last, I have a grasp on what was going on in the United States during my lifetime. I think I only had a superficial understanding of who won elections and who promoted wars, improved lives, made rich people richer, etc.

Robert Reich has known so many important political and intellectual figures in his lifetime, from all parties and perspectives. His first-hand accounts of historically significant events clarify my understanding of turbulent times and remind me that ours isn’t the only time of upheaval in the US. He freely admits where he made errors, too, which makes him much more credible than someone who’d claim to have never made mistakes.

I found his detailed analysis of how we got where we are today fascinating. I can see the current US leader’s appeal to disenfranchised citizens and how those folks have been distracted from their actual enemies, which are corporate interests out only for their own profit. I think we educated elites are also being distracted into thinking the enemy is Christian nationalism rather than corporate greed. Yikes.

Reich is someone whose thoughts and commentary I read daily, even though I get pretty alarmed sometimes. He does also try to point out where people are doing good work, speaking out, and standing up to bullies. It’s good to have a little hope. In that spirit, I give you this passage on patriotism from Coming Up Short:

“White male Christian nationalism has nothing to do with patriotism. True patriots don’t fuel racist, religious, or ethnic divisions.

“Patriots aren’t homophobic or sexist, nor are they blind to social injustices, whether ongoing or embedded in American history. They don’t ban books or prevent teaching about the sins of the nation’s past. They don’t censor truths that may make people uncomfortable, facts that are inconvenient, realities that people would rather not face.

“True patriots are not uncritically devoted to America. They are devoted instead to the ideals of America- the rule of law, equal justice, voting rights and civil rights, freedom of speech and assembly, freedom from fear, and democracy. True patriots don’t have to express patriotism in symbolic displays of loyalty like standing for the national anthem and waving the American flag. They express patriotism in taking a fair share of the burdens of keeping the nation going, sacrificing for the common good. This means paying their fair share of taxes rather than lobbying for lower taxes or seeking tax loopholes or squirreling away money abroad. It means refraining from making large political contributions that corrupt American democracy. It means blowing the whistle on abuses of power even at the risk of losing one’s job. It means volunteering time and energy to improving one’s community and country.”

P. 317

In summary, this is an important book for anyone who still cares about truth and ethical behavior. It’s also full of enjoyable anecdotes from a brilliant yet humble man. He will go down as a great American.

Book Report: Matriarch

I had to read it! It’s in Oprah’s book club! Oh, just kidding. I actually read a review of Matriarch: A Memoir, by Tina Knowles that made me want to check it out. Also it’s shiny and pretty. The picture frame effect is very nice

This book was a gift from my spouse. I’m trying to shop local, if I shop.

Truthfully, I was very pleased to have the chance to read this book. I learned a great deal about the early years of my life from a Black perspective. Knowles did a fantastic job of painting a rich and realistic picture of Galveston, Texas in the late 1950s and early 1960s. I also learned so much about the role of Galveston in the history of Black Texans. That was worth reading the book right there.

The end papers for the book come from the cover painting. Very pretty.

I was surprised but pleased to learn how much I have in common with this woman who pulled herself up from poverty to create thriving businesses and became a renowned fashion designer, thanks to her mother’s teachings. Yeah, on the surface we’re quite different. None of my children are rich and famous, for one thing!

But underneath, Knowles had an upbringing that led her to have a similar fear of abandonment and drive to mother every needy soul who showed up in her life. She succeeded at being a great (though flawed and human) mother figure, and ended up having relationships that reminded me way too much of my past messes.

Knowles is brutally honest with herself, but does an incredible job of being gracious to others. There’s no long litany of blaming and accusations against others in this memoir. I’ve read so many where the author never acknowledges their own failures and mistakes, but Tina Knowles accepts her responsibilities and does her best to forgive or understand those who hurt her. Well, except she didn’t forgive those nuns in her first school…once again I thank my dad for not sending us to the Catholic school right down the road from us.

The parts of the book where she’s struggling to work and raise her girls and when Destiny’s Child is starting were interesting, mainly because I’m not familiar with the world they were living in. But by the end, when they’re all floating around on yachts with helicopter pads and renting out entire islands for parties, I didn’t have much to relate to. Good ole Jay Z can sure spend money.

Now, lest you think Knowles has ended up all jaded and materialistic, I note that she has started many philanthropic organizations and works hard to help young people living in poverty or other bad situations. Honestly, who knows what I’d do if I ended up mega-wealthy? And I can’t begrudge any of her family the rewards from their hard work, because not one of them just stood around and became famous.

Yes, that’s probably the best lesson I learned in this book, that my prejudices against ultra-rich people need to be tempered. Everyone in the Knowles family, from her ex-husband to her famous daughters to the people in their larger circles worked very hard to become great at what they do. That’s important to remember.

Oh, another thing I learned from Matriarch is that I am completely ignorant of every bit of Beyoncé’s music. That entire genre is a mystery to me, though I certainly know what the musicians look like and what interesting clothing they wear. Sigh. At some point popular music and I parted ways.

Book Report: Navigating Rocky Terrain

I got this book, with the complete title of Navigating Rocky Terrain: Caves, Karsts, and the Soul of Unseen Spaces, at the Texas Master Naturalist Annual Meeting last week. It’s a 2024 book by Laurie Roath Frazier, a fellow Master Naturalist in the chapter that hosted the meeting. She wrote the essay collection while dealing with a series of the holes her losses caused in her life by finding healing in the cracks and crevices of the Texas Hill Country, a landscape very familiar to me, where I also found comfort in hard times.

Since I’m also a huge fan of the unique features of the karst formations I lived in for 25 years, I figured I’d enjoy reading about Roath’s quests and observations. I didn’t expect to be so moved by her work with her inner rocky terrain. It reminded me so much of when my life was fractured by divorce, mental health challenges (mine and a child’s), and fear for the future.

She’s a good writer, though I wish there was more of an arc connecting the essays and that there was some resolution to pieces of her life—like, what happened with her birth family? But I enjoyed both the personal parts and the more scientific information about caves, limestone, bats, lakes, and crevices. And of course, it was nice to read about the Sacred Springs in San Marcos, where I’d just had such a moving experience.

If you’re a fan of nature, geology, or personal growth, you’ll enjoy this little book and support a Master Naturalist!

I hope to share it with friends!

Something else I’ll treasure from the meeting last week: I now can tell you that this is a female house fly. Yep. Males’ eyes look like one big eye.

Book Report: The Backyard Bird Chronicles

Yes, I read another bird book. The Backyard Bird Chronicles (2024), by Amy Tan (yes, THAT Amy Tan), is very enjoyable for any bird watcher or wannabe bird watcher. It’s absolutely beautiful, too, with many detailed illustrations by Tan, who didn’t start taking art lessons until she was getting on in years. You’d never guess it. She’s a keen observer of our avian buddies.

Yes, the foreword is by THAT David Allen Sibley.

Tan based the book on her bird journal for a few years, including through COVID. She is a dedicated suburban bird feeder with the funds to give them the best a bird could want. I enjoyed reading about how hard she had to work to thwart squirrels and rats from getting all this fine food.

I learned a lot about songbirds of northern California, of which I wasn’t very familiar before. There are lots of similarities to the birds here, just Western versions. Tan’s charming and sometimes a bit naive observations are quite fun to read, even when you know some of her ideas aren’t entirely accurate. But she has so much fun thinking about what birds are thinking, that you just want to roll along with her.

Even though I observe birds differently (no way I’d feed them and encourage even more mice, rats, raccoons, etc.), I got a lot out of her close observations, which I rarely get out in the woods or pasture.

Most of you would probably enjoy this book, both for the writing and the art. And you get insights into Amy Tan’s life. I have loved her memoirs before, and this was sharing her memories on a topic we both love.

Honestly, even non-bird folks will be charmed by this book. Maybe it will inspire others to look closely at the nature around them.