{ No Names to be Given by Julia Brewer - TLC Book Tour }

About No Names to Be Given

Publisher: Admission Press (August 3, 2021)

Paperback: 334 pages

“A gorgeous, thrilling, and important novel! These strong women will capture your heart.”-Stacey Swann, author of Olympus, Texas

1965. Sandy runs away from home to escape her mother’s abusive boyfriend. Becca falls in love with the wrong man. And Faith suffers a devastating attack. With no support and no other options, these three young, unwed women meet at a maternity home hospital in New Orleans where they are expected to relinquish their babies and return home as if nothing transpired.

But such a life-altering event can never be forgotten, and no secret remains buried forever. Twenty-five years later, the women are reunited by a blackmailer, who threatens to expose their secrets and destroy the lives they’ve built. That shattering revelation would shake their very foundations-and reverberate all the way to the White House.

Told from the three women’s perspectives, this mesmerizing story is based on actual experiences of women in the 1960s who found themselves pregnant but unmarried, pressured by family and society to make horrific decisions. How that inconceivable act changed women forever is the story of No Names to Be Given, a heartbreaking but uplifting novel of family and redemption.

Purchase Links

IndieBound | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About Julia Brewer Daily

Julia Brewer Daily is a Texan with a southern accent. She holds a B.S. in English and a M.S. degree in Education from the University of Southern Mississippi. She was the founding director of the Greater Belhaven Market, a producers’ only market in a historic neighborhood in Jackson, and even shadowed Martha Stewart. As the Executive Director of the Craftsmen’s Guild of Mississippi (300 artisans from 19 states) which operates the Mississippi Craft Center, she wrote their stories to introduce them to the public. Daily is an adopted child from a maternity home hospital in New Orleans. She searched and found her birth mother and through a DNA test, her birth father’s family, as well. A lifelong southerner, she now resides on a ranch in Fredericksburg, Texas, with her husband Emmerson and Labrador Retrievers, Memphis Belle and Texas Star.

Connect with Julia

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

REVIEW:

What a beautiful yet heartbreaking story.  

 

I think we have all grown up hearing about the horrific stories of the 1950s and 1960s, where young, unmarried women became pregnant and were not only hidden from society, but forced to give up their babies for adoption.  All in the name of not bringing shame to the family.

 

I've never been able to understand that way of thinking, but then again, I live in different times, and I can't judge those who lived in that era, for their beliefs.

 

No Names to be Given follows the story of 3 such women, who meet in a maternity hospital in New Orleans.  They quickly forge a friendship, while being pressured by the hospital nurses and doctors to give up their children to strangers.  They face a horrible decision, because they're expected to just walk away as if nothing happened, and return to their homes, go about their lives, and forget about the babies they leave behind.

 

These kind of stories have become well known.  We have heard multiple accounts of such happenings, but we don't always understand the repercussions and the consequences of those adoptions.  

 

In this novel, albeit a fictional story, it IS inspired by true events, and the author does a great job of bringing us the insight into what these women were thinking, feeling, and forced to do.  Though there wasn't much character development, and I ended the book feeling like I wished I had known these women a bit more, the accounts that we were given, were enough to make my heart hurt.

I can never imagine being in their shoes, feeling like the whole world is against me, and knowing that the pain of labor I am about to endure, will leave me with empty arms, as my child is whisked away, never to be seen again.

 

Thank you to TLC Book Tours and Admission Press for providing me with this review copy.

{ Happy Homemaker Monday - 08/16/2021 }

Good morning dear friends, I hope this Monday finds you well, both physically, spiritually and emotionally.

The last time I posted this feature, was 2 weeks ago, and I was so happy to report that my Marley was eating again.  I had no clue that just a week later, to the day, my boy would be crossing the rainbow bridge and that my heart would be shattered.  But that's life, we don't know what is coming around the corner, and so we learn to take each day as it comes, love the people around us, and appreciate each moment we are given on earth.

 

I'm doing ok.  One minute I'm falling apart, not able to handle the pain in my heart, then the next I'm ok going about my day.  It definitely is a process and it will take time, but we will be ok.

 

Thank you all for the prayers and the kind comments, they mean so much to me and my family.

 

But, let's get back on track, let's get back to life and to what God has assigned us to do.  I am planning on being back blogging full time, I have many posts I want to get out, a lot I want to share with you and I just need to get back to normal life.  It's been 5 months, of worry, of fear, of sadness, of sleepless nights and tiring days. That's all come to an end, time to move forward.

Again, I apologize for not posting this last week, I just couldn't.  Hope you all have a blessed week!!

 

♥♥Weather♥♥

It's been pretty hot here, and I'm really missing the rain, but it looks like we will get some of that this week.  My garden needs it badly.     

Monday - Sunshine and a few clouds, 92

Tuesday - Thunderstorms, 89

Wednesday - Isolated Thunderstorms, 89

Thursday - Scattered Thunderstorms, 90

Friday - Sunny,  97

Saturday - Partly cloudy, 93

Sunday - Partly cloudy, 95

♥♥How I am feeling this morning♥♥

I'm ok.  That's the best I can do right now.  I think my body is catching up to me though, we've been going on adrenaline for so long, but now that it's all over, I am feeling exhausted, been getting a few headaches and even my stomach is a bit off.  Nothing some rest won't cure.  

♥♥On the breakfast plate♥♥

Cup of coffee with Peppermint Mocha creamer, will have some toast soon.    

♥♥Looking around the house♥♥

It needs a good cleaning, top to bottom.  I am making a list today so that I can busy with that this week. 

♥♥On my reading pile♥♥

I am reading in Acts in the Bible. 

Have a few more review books on the shelf that I need to get to.

♥♥On my TV♥♥

Started watching Labyrinth yesterday, on Amazon Prime.  It's an old series with just one season, but it's just what I needed to watch while I crocheted.  

Also trying to get back to my homemaking vlogs on Youtube. 

♥♥On the menu this week♥♥

Grocery shopping will be Friday.  I need to start working on my new menu, and I'll do that through the rest of this week.

Monday - Portuguese Steak and Egg, Homemade Fries

Tuesday - Crazy Pizza Bread

Wednesday - Chicken Tikka Masala, Rice

Thursday -

Friday -

Saturday -

Sunday - 

♥♥From the camera♥♥

As I move through this grief process, I find that what helps me, is to stay busy.  Homemaking has and always will be my safe zone, my comfort.  So even just doing laundry, calms my heart. 

♥♥I am thankful for♥♥

My family, my life, and God's mercy.     

♥♥I am hoping to♥♥

Get back into my daily blogging, share some wonderful posts with you, and continue sharing the love I have for homemaking.   

♥♥Something fun to share♥♥

I recently found a really neat Youtube channel called Mother the Mountain Farm.  Here is what their about info says:

We are sisters, Julia and Anastasia — caring for a regenerative farm on Bundjalung Country on the East Coast of Australia. We have a dream to build a self sustainable future and regenerate the land for generations to come. Join us as we learn to build, farm, garden, and care for the animals and land regeneratively. We live and farm on the land of the Arakwal and Minjungbal People of Bundjalung and these practices of regenerative agriculture and permaculture owe their roots and theories to Indigenous knowledge — they have been practiced by Indigenous People around the world for so many years.

They share really neat videos and I thought you would enjoy seeing them too.  

 

♥♥Happening this week♥♥

Our usual homemaking, driving back and forth, running errands, and grocery shopping on Friday.  I hope to get back into my grocery hauls and weekly meals videos as well. 

 

♥♥ Prayer List♥♥ 

♥♥♥ My SIL finished her last round of the Red Devil chemo treatment, which is the worst one.  In two weeks she starts her second round of treatments, weekly.  Praying for her through this battle. 

♥♥♥ My husband and children, that we continue to move forward through this grief over losing our sweet boy.  That God continues to heal our hearts.

♥♥♥  For Afghanistan and the innocent people caught in what is going on there.  I pray the Lord protect them through this.

{ There will be Lobster by Sara Arnell - TLC Book Tour }

 

About There Will Be Lobster

• Publisher: Savio Republic (July 20, 2021)
• Hardcover: 176 pages

You know her. You’ve seen her. You may even see yourself in her.

If you’re arriving to the midlife crisis party—the one that’s serving low self-esteem, desperation, unreliable behavior, forgetfulness, carelessness, and the loneliness of loss—the stories and anecdotes in this memoir will assure you that you are not alone.

For Sara Arnell, it took a rogue lobster, a dying rock star, an eighteen-pound tumor, a meditation guru, a famous medium, and a former monk to put her on a path toward light, hope, and healing. If reading this book helps even one person, according to Sara, then telling this story is all worth it.

Purchase Links

Simon & Schuster | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

 

About Sara Arnell

While working alongside acclaimed fashion icon Andre Leon Talley at Vanity Fair magazine in her mid-20’s, Sara was offered an opportunity to write a press release for fashion designer, Donna Karan, who was about to launch one of her acclaimed collections. This moment marked the beginning of Sara’s impressive thirty-year career in fashion, writing and advertising.

Sara worked as Chief Strategy Officer at one of New York’s most renowned and successful advertising agencies, eventually rising to CEO. Under her long tenure, she broke new ground, winning awards and global recognition for her agency and its clients. She traveled the world, working with some of the best known and most beloved consumer brands such as Pepsi, Samsung, McDonalds and Goop.

Today, Sara is a Professor at The New School’s Parsons School of Design and continues to consult with the world’s top brands on marketing strategy and brand design. She regularly advises start-ups and entrepreneurs and has served on several boards for educational institutions. She is a sought after speaker and founder of Karmic, a platform for ‘what-you-do-comes-back-to-you’ ideas and advice. Sara has a BA from Skidmore College and an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College. She is the mother of three children and one small poodle.

Find out more about Sara at her website, and follow her on Instagram.

 

REVIEW:

Sara Arnell digs into the midlife crisis phase that hits us all, but specifically told from a woman point of view.

As we get older, we tend to start questioning certain things.  What is our role in our children's lives, our husband, our family, in society in general?  Do we fit in, do we know what we're doing, or are we missing something that needs to yet be found?

Sara tells of her own struggles through the midlife crisis party, through short chapter filled with anecdotes and stories, that will definitely have you nodding your head in agreement and laughing along at times.

I related to so many things the author mentioned.  Aging does bring about a need to self reflect and look deep within.  And it's that realization that Sara taps into, as she navigates life.  

I enjoyed this memoir, it made me reflect on my own life, but brought some comedic relief too through the authors own stories.

Thank you to TLC Book Tours and Savio Republic publishers, for providing me with a review copy.

{ My sweet Marley is gone }

 

October 5, 2016 - August 9, 2021

I wish I had the words right now to begin to tell you, how heartbroken I am.

Marley started getting worse last week, and very quickly declined.  Sunday he became quite lethargic, wouldn't eat or drink, go potty etc.  And he also began to throw up.  It continued all Sunday, and into Monday morning.

By Monday he was throwing up blood too, and we knew that it was time to say goodbye.

We called the vet, and she said she would be over at 1pm.

Curt, myself, Jasmine and Nick sat with him from 8 am, loving him, kissing him, hugging him, and telling him what a good boy he was and how much he changed our lives.

Everyone was able to hug him and love him, but he was very offish with me.  He would look away when I tried to love him, or would actually stand up, in his very weak state and try to go hide under the table or by the couches.

I couldn't understand it at first, and it broke my heart that he wasn't allowing me to be with him the last few hours of his life.

Ten minutes before he passed, he walked over to me, lay his head on my legs and had his first peaceful nap, since weeks.

I stroked his head, kissed him, told him how much mama loves him and that as much as it was going to hurt, he would go home to Heaven.

10 minutes he napped, then got up, walked over between the couch and futon and started throwing up again.  Curt was immediately by him cleaning him and as I was walking towards them with paper towels in hand, he looked back, straight into my eyes, and the look he gave me.......oh my gosh.  The look my sweet boy gave me told me immediately he was going.

He dropped to his side, and began his passing over to Heaven.

He died pretty quickly, while I held onto his face and told him over and over how much I loved him.  I lost it, I'm not going to lie.

I didn't even think that I would react that way, but the pain I felt when he passed was unimaginable.  My heart broke in a million pieces, and I'm struggling, really struggling to come to terms with what just happened.

He came to help me deal with the passing of Lola, and I never thought I would love another dog after her.  I can tell you at this moment, that as much as  I loved Lola, I loved Marley even more.  There was something about this baby boy that was so special, so pure, so full of love.  He didn't have a mean bone in his body, and everyone that met him talked about the sweetness he radiated.  

I don't know how I will get through this.  Both Curt and I are completely devastated beyond all words.  We are broken, totally broken over this loss.

I apologize for not posting my Happy Homemaker Monday yesterday, I think it was the first time I haven't posted it since I began it years ago.  But, Marley was not well, and we were with him, where we needed to be.

I pray that now that this season of heartache is finally at and end, I may be able to start blogging again, and doing the things I love again.  I hope soon, but just know that right now, in this moment, it feels like my heart is broken beyond repair.  The pain I feel is so real, so strong that I can't even breathe at times.

If you have fur babies, love them for me today.  Give them a huge hug and kiss, and let them know just how much you love them.  

Thank you all for the countless prayers, thoughts and love sent to me, my family, and especially our sweet boy Marley.  It means so much.

 

To Marley, my sweet boy, my heart.  I am so thankful for the 4 years God gave you to me to care for.  You taught me how to love again, you healed my heart, you made me laugh, you brought me immense joy and never left my side.

I will miss our afternoon naps where you would jump onto the bed and right onto my lap.  I will miss you laying next to me when I was sick, giving me kisses when I was sad.  I will miss you coming to the kitchen to stand at the counter where the treats were, and barking for me to give you some.  I will miss the times you stood up on the counter to see what I was doing.  I will miss you laying between me and daddy at night, all stretched out, on your back happy as can be.  I will miss you laying your head across my neck to sleep at night, or the way you would curl up beside me.  

I will miss you bringing me your squeaky ball to play with, nudging my arm at dinner time hoping for a bite of whatever we were eating.  I will miss how you clung to me the last few weeks of your life, nudging me awake at night to let me know you needed a hug, comfort, or that you were feeling sick.

I will miss your sweet face, your beautiful eyes and the love you showed me.  And I will miss seeing the love and the bonds you had with your daddy, and your brother and sister.

I hope you know just how much you were loved and how much we are going to miss you here, by our side.

My only consolation is knowing that your fight against this horrible cancer, is over.  That you are in Heaven running free, completely healed, with a perfect body, eating all the treats you want and playing for hours on end.

I count down the minutes until the day I see you again.

I love you Marley!!!

♥♥♥♥♥

{ Happy Homemaker Monday - 08/02/2021 }

Good morning friends and a happy Monday to you all!

 

I hope you woke up feeling refreshed and ready for the week ahead.  I had a good weekend when it comes to getting rest, but emotionally and mentally it was exhausting.  

 

Marley stopped eating on Friday night, went all Saturday without one bit of food, just drinking water.  He is so thin and so weak at this point, and we are basically keeping him comfortable.  The vet has said there is nothing else we can do for him.  

 

But Sunday morning, Curt and I had to go to church because he was being baptized.  We were torn between leaving him for an hour, because he is so sick.  But we made the decision to leave it in God's hands, let Him watch over Marley for us while we went.  After making that decision, 30 minutes before leaving for church, Marley started eating again and walking around, and being more like himself.

 

I burst into tears and thanked God profusely.  He is still eating, still drinking, walking around, gaining his strength and feeling so much better.  What any of it means, I don't know, but whatever happens we are leaving it in the Lord's safe hands and just accepting the outcome.  Still praying for a miracle, but if one doesn't come, then we are ok knowing our boy will be happy and healthy again in Heaven.

 

Anyway, just wanted to update you real quick.  I am still quite MIA from the blog and social media in general, just popping in once in a while.  Just need that break right now to deal with what is happening and to spend as much time as possible with our baby.

 

Right, let's move on with our Happy Homemaker Monday for today.  Wishing you all a blessed week ahead.    

 

♥♥Weather♥♥

So hot, but thankfully yesterday we had a rain storm in the afternoon which cooled the temps down a bit.  Incredibly hot, we are in the triple digits around here.  We have another pretty hot week ahead, which means I'll be spending more time indoors.   

Monday - Partly cloudy, 88

Tuesday - Sunny, 89

Wednesday - Partly cloudy, 89

Thursday - Partly cloudy, 93

Friday - Sunny,  97

Saturday - Mostly sunny, 99

Sunday - Partly cloudy, 99

♥♥How I am feeling this morning♥♥

So much better.  The past two nights I have been able to actually sleep, and so has Marley.  He was on a very high dose of steroids which were wreaking havoc on his body, keeping him up all day and night, making his breathing rapid and so on.  Curt and I made the decision to taper down his steroids, and have seen a dramatic improvement.  He is breathing normally, able to sleep and is feeling much better.   

♥♥On the breakfast plate♥♥

Cup of coffee with Peppermint Mocha creamer.     

♥♥Looking around the house♥♥

I still need to go over my dining room carpets one more time.  They are giving me quite a bit of work to get cleaned.  Honestly can't wait to pull that carpet and do wooden floors.  Need to do some tidying up, put some clean laundry away, that is folded and on the couch.   

♥♥On my reading pile♥♥

I am now in John in the Bible. 

Also reading The Ocean in Winter by Elizabeth de Veer. 

♥♥On my TV♥♥

Absolutely nothing.  Haven't watched anything since last week.  

 

♥♥On the menu this week♥♥

Grocery shopping will be Friday, so I'll be working on the new menu this week.

Monday - In n' Out Burgers, Crockpot Macaroni and Cheese

Tuesday - Crazy Pizza Bread

Wednesday - Portuguese Steak and Egg, Homemade Fries

Thursday - Virginia's Baked Spaghetti, Salad, One Hour Skillet Foccaccia

Friday - Take out

Saturday -

Sunday - 

♥♥From the camera♥♥

We get a lot of deer on our property, but this mama and her baby just make me smile.  That is a real Bambi right there. :)   

 

♥♥I am thankful for♥♥

God's hand in everything we do, for His protection and for especially His hand over Marley through this difficult time.   

♥♥I am hoping to♥♥

Have a week full of blessings. 

 

 

♥♥Happening this week♥♥

First our dryer broke and we had to purchase a new one.  Then a few days after that, our water heater went out and we had to get a new one installed.

On Friday, our air conditioning went out, and guess what???   It's broken beyond repair and we need to get a new one.  It is being installed this morning, but my word, how expensive are air conditioning units?  The cheapest was $7500.  Wow!!!     

 

Thankful again for God's hand in it, and providing us a way to pay for such a huge purchase. 

 

♥♥ Prayer List♥♥ 

♥♥♥ My SIL as she continues her fight with breast cancer.  She has one last treatment of the Red Devil which is the horrible strongest chemo treatment for breast cancer.  She then moves on to 12 weeks of weekly chemo but not as strong a treatment.  

♥♥♥ Marley, that he continues to eat, to be comfortable, and to battle this cancer too.  We are still praying for a miracle healing for our boy.