DELIVERANCE, HAPPY AND NO EASY DAY

I've been reading again.  Here are some of my thoughts and reviews:

Deliverance from Depression by G.G. Vandagriff is a SHORT book about depression and using the Atonement of Christ to help find hope and healing throughout the process.  As most of the people who read this blog know, I suffer from clinical depression.  After reading this book, I wanted my husband to read it so he could maybe understand what it was like to have a chemical imbalance in my brain.  I related to G.G. and her son as they described their depression, turmoil, pain and despair.  I hoped that my husband could relate to G.G.'s husband in the third part of the book.  I liked reading all three points of view, and found it very insightful.  If you, or someone you know, is suffering from a mental illness, I recommend reading this book.  At the very least, it will help people to understand what depression is like.

Being Happy! by Andrew Matthews was another easy read.  After reading about the struggle of depression, I needed a book that was a bit more upbeat.  This one was recommended to me by a good friend, Trina.  It was a good reminder of the simple things that make us happy throughout our lives.  It is a cheerful book and has a great message.  The advice the author shares is common-sense advice that we all know we should be following, but often we get off-track, or forget.  I enjoyed the reminders.  And I also enjoyed the cartoon illustrations that accompanied each thought.  I definitely recommend this book!

And I finished reading No Easy Day by Mark Owen last night.  I normally wouldn't read a book like this.  It is the story of a Navy SEAL, an elite special operations warrior.  The climax of the book was the raid and death of Osama Bin Laden.  After reading a "military book" I've decided:
- The amount of dedication and commitment required by SEALs is amazing.  They are often away from family and friends for LONG periods of time with little or no contact.  And their time training and honing their skills is insane.  For those two reasons, I could NEVER be a SEAL, and I could NEVER be related to one.  BUT I respect them and think of them as heroes.
- I didn't think this book was political at all.  It also was not egotistical or self-aggrandizing.  It has been accused of both.  I felt this book was really just Mark's perspective, and it could apply to many SEALs.
I'm glad I read this unusual (for me) genre.  But I will warn those who want to read it: there is some foul language.  Actually, I was surprised that there wasn't more offensive language than there is in the book.  These are hardened soldiers who don't have the same commitment to clean language and other values that I have been raised with and consider important.

On another, unrelated note:  Someone, somewhere has a great sense of humor.  We saw Papa Smurf on our walk the other day under a wild mushroom.  I had to get a picture.