Thank you Dear Readers!
One of my goals for this year has been to read two books each month and write a review. This was a departure from my regular posts and many of you have indulged me, commented on the reviews, and suggested other books for me to read. As a friend of mine said the other day, "there should be a moratorium on writing new books because there are already so many written I can't keep up!" The second to last review is for Gone is the Angel and can be seen below. My last review will be published soon. Looking Forward...
In January 2018 I will be offering a live weekly online workshop of Cultivating Inner Peace. 2017 had it's fair share of chaos that we don't need to bring into 2018 with us. This is a program designed to give you a variety of tools to help increase the feelings of peace in your life. With those tools you learn how to cope with stressful situations more easily and create positive and lasting changes in your life . Every time I offer this program live in a group setting it is such fun and I deepen my own practice for peace as I share the practice with those who participate. If you think this would be of interest to you please click here.
One more thing Dear Readers,
I wish you a happy, safe, and Holy Christmas and Happy Holidays for those who don't celebrate Christmas. And may you have the best year ever in 2018! With Love, Jacquie
Book - Gone is the Angel
Author - Robert Forbes Genre - Historical, Biography, Canadian Military Gone is the Angel is a biography of Lloyd Vernun Chadburn who was a revered fighter pilot and leader in the Royal Canadian Airforce during World War II. The book answers the question of, "Who was Lloyd Chadburn and why, at the ripe old age of 24 when he died, was he so revered?"
To start with he was a determined young man with a very sunny disposition that seemed to translate into a natural charisma. Though already turned down by the Army and the Navy, he was finally accepted by the Air force as an Air Gunner at the age of twenty. He soon retrained as a pilot and while deemed very average by his trainers he became a natural in the air through dogged practice. No matter what rank Lloyd was what people remember was his ability to relate to all members of his unit, to remember names, to seek people out for a chat or a beer, and to be all-inclusive. It was also his easy going manner and willingness to have fun, even be a prankster, in down times. But those who worked with him also knew he worked hard, always at the front of the line, and never asking anyone to do anything he wasn’t also doing. He believed in practice, practice, practice and it showed when his squadron was the one that always came back to land in formation, unlike any other squadron. Lloyd Chadburn only served in the military for four years but in that time he had many firsts including being the first graduate of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan to lead a Fighter Command squadron, and the youngest squadron leader in the RCAF at the age of twenty-one. By the time of his death he was a highly decorated officer in the Canadian Forces. With a character like this – handsome, fun, respected - and the dramatic times in which he lived it should make for a great story. And yes, the story is great, but this particular account of it, this book, isn’t. The problem is this book lacks feeling and emotion. The facts are all there. Yup. One after another, after another, after another. The list of planes, squads, personnel, all there. Long lists. I'm not sure the book was written for the general public though the author decided that, “this is a story that needs to be told.” I agree! Yet, not even my husband who has been serving for 33 years in the Canadian Forces has ever heard of Chadburn. If you are interested in military history, this is a must read. For everyone else, well, it will be a dry read yet you will have the opportunity to read about a true Canadian war hero.