Book Review--A Different Kind of Memoir

After a workshop on blogging that I conducted at our Kansas Authors Convention last fall, a woman approached me and asked if she might give me her book. "I'd like to have your opinion after you read it," she said. Being a lover of books, I accepted happily but told her I had a stack of books to read first. 

When I finally got to Wingin' It Beyond The Veil, I wished that I had read it before the others as it proved to be such a delight. Joan Breit has written a memoir which, in itself, is not unusual. Others have done that. The presentation is what will be remembered as well as the words she penned. Most memoirs read like a book, chapter by chapter with some photos added somewhere. Ms Breit's book offers a series of vignettes that give us a slice of her life at a time. Between the vignettes, she has included scripture verses, poetry (both her own and others) and photos. I found all that is included to be delightful and I thoroughly enjoyed piecing her life together via the individual vignettes. The author has a way with words, both prose and poetry. I'd top it off by saying she has led an interesting life.

The front cover is lovely with its pastel colors, muted view of a veil and butterfly along with interesting and appealing script in the tile.

The back cover of the book states the author's own words that summarize her book so well that I'm going to quote it below:

This book is about veils, the veil between convent life and that of the lay person, the veil between the Divine and human worlds, visible and invisible worlds, the veil of daily life of seeing and not seeing. It is about roads and the 'one less traveled by.' It is about where I began and how I became a writer on the Kansas plains, and who I am at this time of my life. It is about life's experiences and finding the many faces of love. It is about not knowing where my path leads, but, like a butterfly, wingin' it with imagination and intuition lighting my way. It is about living daily in the magic of the present moment of family, friends, and all creation's nature spirits in trees, birds, quiet Kansas creeks, ditches, gardens, house plants, cats, and where the duality of humanity's veils becomes One. 

The book can be ordered through Watermark Books in Wichita, KS. Find the information here.

I loaned the book to a friend. When she returned it, I asked for her thoughts. She felt much the same as I had. She loved the presentation as well as the memoir itself.