By Susie Finkbeiner
All Manner of Things is both moving and heartbreaking. Annie Jacobson's family calls Fort Colson, Michigan home but their home has changed over the years following their father's departure from their lives. The horrors of war he experienced in Korea left their mark and he removed himself from their lives. The years that followed found Annie's mother working to support her three children - Mike, Annie, and Joel.
Fast forward 12 years and Mike is about to leave for Vietnam - the one thing Gloria Jacobson never wanted for her sons is about to happen. And considering the changes that happened to her husband Frank her fears are valid. War changes people - the things they saw, heard and did wounded their souls and she feared just what it would do to Mike.
With the war taking center-stage in their lives that should be enough for any family, community or nation but that was just one of the concerns that was gripping the headlines. Civil rights were being demanded and riots were occurring as sentiments reached new highs and boiled over. And then there were the normal and not so normal concerns that affect all lives. But when a personal tragedy brings Frank Jacobson back to Fort Colson and into his family's lives will that have a positive impact or will it be just another ember to stoke these tumultuous times?
These are just some of the things Annie finds herself dealing with as she works through her world as she officially enters into the sometimes overrated world of adulthood. I think the following quote from page 279 sums up the book quite well:
Anyway, Annie my dear. When you become afraid or worried or even
just tired, think of our friend Julian's words.
'All manner of things shall be well.'"
These words of wisdom would serve us all well to remember as we live our own lives.
I really enjoyed this book though I will admit that I may have shed a tear or two a few times. This is a story of family, a story of friendship, a story of first love, a story of loss. Susie Finkbeiner brings to life people that one could have known or been related to. She brings a personal reality to history - giving it a face that one can empathize with. I highly recommend this book as one to add to your summer to-be-read list and can see this being a book worth reading more than once.
I was provided a complimentary copy of this book by the publisher with no expectations. All thoughts expressed are my honest opinions.
About the Book:
After Annie Jacobson's brother Mike enlists as a medic in the Army in 1967, he mails her the address of their long-estranged father. If anything should happen to him in Vietnam, Mike says, Annie must let their father know.
In Mike's absence, their father returns to face tragedy at home, adding an extra measure of complication to an already tense time. Letter by letter, the Jacobsons must find a way to pull together as a family, regardless of past hurts. In the tumult of this time, Annie and her family will grapple with the tension of holding both hope and grief in the same hand, even as they learn to turn to the One who binds the wounds of the brokenhearted.
In Mike's absence, their father returns to face tragedy at home, adding an extra measure of complication to an already tense time. Letter by letter, the Jacobsons must find a way to pull together as a family, regardless of past hurts. In the tumult of this time, Annie and her family will grapple with the tension of holding both hope and grief in the same hand, even as they learn to turn to the One who binds the wounds of the brokenhearted.
