The Measure of Silence by Elizabeth Langston

THE MEASURE OF SILENCE by Elizabeth Langston is a work of historical fiction that merits broader readership. The story, set in Texas and North Carolina, spans multiple generations of a single family but mainly centers on life events for Mariah, and her granddaughters, Jessica and Raine. Mariah, who faces abuse as a child, comes of age in the 1960s.  November 22, 1963 is a memorable day for so many Americans, but particularly for Mariah who witnesses JFK’s assassination and the birth of a child. Langston uses flashbacks to describe those events and Mariah’s troubled childhood while also setting several chapters in the present day and highlighting work and relationship challenges for Jessica, a news producer, and Raine, a forensic accountant. The sisters are well-positioned to unravel a shattering family secret and readers will empathize with those involved. Deftly writing about forgiveness (“Good people do bad things, but their reasons matter.”), Langston also explores attitudes towards mental health in the 1960s, specifically PTSD and post-partum depression, and towards neurodivergence today. THE MEASURE OF SILENCE could function well as a book club selection and several thoughtful discussion questions are included.  

Esme Cahill Fails Spectacularly by Marie Bostwick

ESME CAHILL FAILS SPECTACULARLY by Marie Bostwick is ultimately a story about family and finding your purpose in life. Esme is a book editor who loses her job and her husband. She returns to the family’s lakeside lodge for a summer and that’s when she quickly realizes that the financial situation for the family business is in a perilous state, too. Eventually, Esme, her mother, Robyn, her grandfather, George, plus their new chef, Dawes, band together to update the facilities and try to attract new guests. Bostwick’s descriptive writing is full of details about nature, food, and setting: “[if] the gold Formica counters in the kitchen said 1970s, then the brick-patterned vinyl flooring positively screamed it.” Writing and creativity play a big part in this story, too. Esme’s deceased grandmother, Adele, features in her stories about the 1940s in Asheville, North Carolina and there is another writer, Oscar, trying to turn his career around. Plus, some absolutely astounding colorful quilts have their own story to tell. As Bostwick points out, “Everything is a story … The stuff that happens to us is just... stuff. The only reason it means anything is because we attach stories to it, declarations of what we've decided is true and worth passing on. Without stories, there aren't any memories. Or art, or history, or faith... Almost everything that matters is connected to stories, large and small.” Definitely recommended.

Earlene Fowler has also written a series of books about quilting and a special grandmother, Dove.