2026 Book Review #26:Theo of Golden

 

What a lovely novel with a lovely premise. 

This is the author's book debut and it's a hit. 

STORY SUMMARY

The man's name is Theo. He doesn't reveal his last name. He asks people lots of questions about themselves yet rarely  talks about himself. He appears in the small town of Golden, Georgia one Spring day. 

Theo likes to visit the local coffeehouse called The Chalice and likes to visit Tony at the Verbivore book store.  

It's in the Chalice that he discovers 92 portraits done in pencil by a local artist named Asher Glisson. The portraits are of various Golden residents. 

Theo begins to buy them, one at a time, and then gives them to the people the portrait is depicting. When these exchanges occur, stories are told, friendships are birthed, and lives change. 

What is  Theo trying to teach the people of Golden? What does this book teach us? 

MY THOUGHTS

I loved this book the moment I opened it. First of all, there were 298 people ahead of me on the waiting list when I first signed up for this book from our towne library. 

Finally 12 days ago, it was my turn.  

The book is one to be savored. It's not a page turner meaning it's not like a thriller or mystery or family drama. It's kind of like an experience. It's the kind of book where I would read a chapter, think about it, set it aside and pick it up again later in the day. 

The characters are very well developed as is the setting.  I just love the descriptions of each character and the various establishments around Golden. 

But more than that, I love the story of Jesus entwined in these pages....this mainly comes out in the end but like I originally thought...Theo is  an example of how Jesus wants us to live.......

the themes of kindness, compassion, gentleness and self control are apparent in this story....the intentional generosity of Theo.....the connection between art/music and redemptive joy. 

The ending is simply exquisite. I cannot reveal what it is because it would totally ruin it for you.  But it's just beautiful and this story will resonate with me for days to come. 

There are many great quotes throughout the story and I'll share a few of my favorites: 

 "For anything to be good, truly good there must be love in it. Whether the art is sculpture, farming, teaching, law-making, medicine, music, or raising a child----nothing is what it's supposed to be if love is not at the core." (pg 119 Theo of Golden by Allen Levi, c2023)

"What does it mean that we place permanent boundaries around transient moments? what it it say of humankind that we take such trouble to freeze specific memories, that we devote such energy to capturing and preserving the "minute particulars' of our lives?" (pg 123) 

"...the best portion of a good person's life is "the little, namelss, unremembered acts of kindness and love." (Theo speaking of Wordsworth on pg 207)

"God gave us faces so we can see each other better." (pg 259)

"They are also told that faith, hope, and love endure, but the greatest of these is love." (pg 384)

If you only read one book this summer, make it Theo of Golden.

In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 14 and older.

On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 10.  It's exquisite.  

Sunday Stealin' Meme

 

Haven't done one of these in  a long time.......loved this easy, fun meme!

The things I've done are in the bold type. Head to this blog to link up your own!

Have you ever........

1. Slept under the stars (in my 20s camping in the western ADK)

2. Played in a band (during my freshman year of college; I was lead syntheziser/keyboard and alto vocalist)

3.Visited Hawaii 

4. Visited Easter Island

5.watched a meteor shower 

6. seen the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace (on the bucket list!)

7.been to Disneyland or Disney World (um...no thanks!!) 

8. climbed a mountain (um.....yeah....I founded and lead a hiking group and have climbed mountains since about age 8).

9.Held a praying mantis (no, but I got super close to one before it got spooked)

10.Been to the Louvre (loved it! was April 2010)

11.had food poisoning (yup....twice as an adult...not fun...both times from fast food: Chipotle and a sub shop)

12.eaten vegetables you grew yourself (yup: buttercrunch lettuce this year and cherry tomatoes in 2020)

13. slept overnight on a train (no, we usually drive or fly)

14.built a snow fort (i'm originally  from central NYS...what do you think??)

15. held a lamb (yup!  at the Catskill Game Farm and got to feed it a bottle!)

16. gone skinny dipping (no but we had s*x on the beach! (berkshires! and we were newlyweds so....and it was remote where we were) 

17.been on a cruise; dinner and day cruises count (several on Lake George, eastern ADK; a dinner/dance cruise down the Hudson River;  and a sunset cruise on Seneca Lake in the Fingerlakes region of NYS)

18. seen Niagara Falls (yup...more than once! I went to undergrad school in western NY and that was our escape place). 

19. visited the birthplace of your ancestors (yes...of my great grandparents)

20.sung karaoke (yes, at company xmas parties with my hubby's workplace) 

21. sat for a portrait (photography only; not painting)

22.walked on a beach by moonlight (many times!!)

23. been transported in an ambulance 

24. gone scuba diving or snorkling

25. Kissed in the rain (oh yes!  my first time was when I was 17)

26. played in the mud (many times as a child and as a mom and as a special ed prek teacher!!  Children learn best through play! and mud is so satisfying!)

27. gone to a drive-in theater (oh yes...but not in a long time!)

28. changed your vehicle's oil yourself (um. no. there's people for that)

29.taken a martial arts class

30. visited the Vatican (oh yes and it was just wow.....the Sistine Chapel made me cry....July 2017)

31.volunteered at a soup kitchen or food pantry (yes....both times were on Thanksgiving day )

32. sold girl scout cookies (nope.....was not a girl scout but i sure do buy them every year from a friend's daughter)

33. Bought a used car (yup, 5 in my lifetime since age 20;  and 2 brand new ones)

34. sat on a jury (nope, i was dismissed due to working for a non-profit agency)

35. ridden an elephant (at a zoo when our oldest was about 3 yrs old)

That was a fun easy meme!  

Happy Sunday, everyone! 

STAYCATION WEEK FAVES

 

This week has been unusual......Sunday was like perfect summer weather....as was last Saturday.....

Monday was ok and then Tuesday - yesterday morning was rain, rain, rain and very high humidity (with much lower temps).  We had flooding in our area of NYS, as did places down by NYC). Thankfully, we live on the Latham ridge so we had no flooding but our sump pump sure was working hard!  

It was also a 2 day work week for my husband....he wanted to do a staycation from Wednesday to Monday. We were supposed to go kayaking and an outdoor art park in the Catskills which of course didn't happen due to all the rain....as in pouring down in sheets rain.  So we went here instead and it was awesome!! Our oldest daughter came with us as she took the day off and it was her 2nd time there.  Highly recommend if you're ever in the Berkshires of MA. 

I'm here to share FIVE of my favorite blessings that came into our week.  Join in by heading over to Susanne's site to see what the FFF is all about.

FIVE FAVES

a wonderful trail through pine woods
for 1.7 miles to the end

• AFTERNOON HIKE:  Saturday was a perfect summer day.  Temps in the mountains ranged from 70-82 depending on where you were.  There was only a slight bit of humidity in the air.  And the skies were clear from the Canadian wildfires!  I had had 10 people signed up for hiking in the eastern Adirondacks to a remote pond.  It ended up being just 5 of us but that was actually perfect as the destination was rather a small area. I'm thankful two new members (a married couple from Indonesia) were signed up.  This was their 2nd hike with SoulSteps and it was really awesome getting to know more about them. They have only been at the church for about a year.  I'm thankful, too, that everyone loved the trail and the final destination was just so beautiful! The entire hike was 3.4 miles.  

Spectacle Pond
with Pharoah Mountain in the background
Pharaoh Lake Wilderness Area, eastern ADK

photo used with permission
SoulSteps hikers: Cindy R, Maggie, me, Lisi and Ridwan

all the ladies (photo by Ridwan)
Cindy, Lisi, me, Maggie
(Cindy and I have been friends since 2009
and she now goes to a different church...i love that she joined SoulSteps!)

• FUN WITH FRIENDS:  After the hike, it was only about 3:45 pm so the ladies who traveled with me in my car decided we should go get soft serve ice cream and find a real bathroom.  The married couple wanted to head over to Schroon Lake and check it out so we went our separate ways. Maggie and Cindy had never been to the Adirondack General Store and I knew there were real bathrooms there. It's located on the edge of the eastern side of Schroon Lake in the town of Schroon but the hamlet of Adirondack.  Got that?! We headed over as it was only a 6 minute drive from the trailhead. And the owner was just closing!! They close at 4 pm. BUT...he insisted he take our photos in front of all his iconic 60s/70s themed signs. I had so much fun and it was a day I really needed without even realizing that I needed some fun with good friends. I'm thankful for friends in Christ to do life with!

Cindy, me, Maggie
in front of the very iconic
Adirondack General Store
in the hamlet of  Adirondack NY

He has the smallest liquor store in NYS!

He said we were like models...HA! 

After we spent some time talking to him about hiking, and all the iconic treasures of the mountains, we headed over to this place for soft serve. That was my dinner!  I  chose chocolate orange twist in a dish and wow did that taste great!  It's my 2nd fave place for soft serve in the ADK. 

• PRAYERS/Encouraging Emails: I had an answer to something I had been praying for on and off for many years....regarding a former student.......I was so thankful to see she is alive, well, a Christ follower (!!)  and thriving as a young adult. God is so good.  I'm not at liberty to share more but I'm so thankful. Also,  3 different friends who are very special to me, sent me some encouraging emails and texts. One was my counselor-friend and her email blew me away because it was so confirming of some things I'm currently working on.  I'm taking a sabbatical of all the ministry duties I volunteer with (it started Sunday) until August 14th and between my friends Joan, Shawna,  and Cheryl, it was just so encouraging to me to read the Scriptures they sent, the wisdom, the Truths.....I'm thankful for my dearest friends who aren't afraid to tell me Truth. And who aren't afraid to hear the hard stuff. They understand that even small group leaders need help sometimes.  One of the triggers for me this past week was running into a couple from our former  church at our current church and the whole exchange was odd and unsettling. Mainly because of the timing...the very week I'm dealing with what went down there! (if you're a faithful reader here you know what I'm talking about). They had a relative getting baptized. I can't get into it here but let's just say some very odd verbal exchanges were made with me and my husband.  I needed some major help afterward.....the timing of this was uncanny. But my friends totally saw it for what it was....and Every single one of them have been through either the same thing I'm going through or something similar. I honestly can't imagine doing life without my good friends. I'm so thankful to God for safe people and safe leadership. And I'm so thankful we transitioned to our church 21 years ago!  We have felt so safe here and have grown in so many ways! 

backsplash for new stove 

resized birthstone

• CHECKED OFF!  This past week, I was able to get several things checked off the "to do sometime this month" list:  order and put up the new tempered glass backsplash for our new stove; get my birthstone re-sized and polished; get items for Dave's party tonight; get all the rooms dusted, and gather the items I need for an interview I need to conduct on Sunday with a potential new member for the hiking group.  I've never met him so I had a few exta things to gather. I'm thankful I got everything done and now I'm working on the list for August. 

Dave enjoyed crab cakes as an appetizer....
I enjoyed the peach martini

Dave was thrilled to get lobster, clams and the works
He also enjoyed the white zinfandel to go with it

A free piece of cheesecake was a surprise 
especially because we had ordered the  chocolate lava cake to share

fun decor!

• BIRTHDAY DINNER!  Wednesday was Dave's 60th birthday.  Yes, he's 6 years younger than me and yet more mature than any older guy I dated in college!  When I asked him where he'd like to go for his birthday dinner, I figured he'd be like me and choose one of the more upscale restaurants here in town, in Albany, or Saratoga. Nope. He actually wanted to try a new-to-us seafood place that is kind of like a step up from fast food but much more casual than a fine dining restaurant.  He chose The Mighty Crab and WOW.  The seafood was Louisiana style and SO good. I was shocked. I am not a huge sea food fan as I grew up in central NYS and we rarely could get good fresh seafood. It's actually hard to get it here in eastern NY too (but we get great seafood in Boston!).  I like tilapia which was the only seafood choice I was willing to put into my body. I ordered it with the cornbread topping and it was fantastic! Too much sodium but oh so good. It came with cajun fries and I couldn't finish them..they were delicious but way too salty.  She heard me talking about his birthday gift and at the end of the meal surprised him with a free piece of cheesecake. I can't have cream cheese so I stuck to helping him eat the lava cake and he brought the cheesecake home to have another time. I'm so thankful we had a fun evening out.  We will definitely be back to eat here. Dave was in heaven that the lobster was good. He said the  clams were not great. He gets better ones on the Cape. 

Another blessing was a road trip yesterday to Mass MoCa.  Oh my goodness. We had such fun with our oldest daughter and the restaurant in the museum had such good food...we had a late lunch (Chicken caesar wrap for me and kiwi lemon sparkling water) and spent from noon to 5 pm closing time looking at every single exhibit. Here are  a few amazing pics from contemporary artists.  Everything was quite poetic.  There will be more on FB. 

The artist's hand....he's a potter....
my fave piece because this hand reminded me of Jesus, our Master Potter, 
reaching out for us......

I loved how vibrant this was. 

This hallway  reminded us of the 
Hall of Mirrors at Versailles
(we were there in 2010)

That wraps up my list of fave blessings.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and if you're in the midwest, be careful out there with all those high temperatures we are seeing on our news!!

it can't be meaningless........

 

some trials are easy to get through.......

..........physical pain is like that for me........

...........labor and delivery was not too bad for me and although all the pain was in my back, how quickly I forgot it once that baby girl was lifted onto my chest.............both times.......I chose not to do drugs/medical intervention as I wanted to experience every single pain, every single push, every single cry..........plus I didn't want medication in my bloodstream entering my baby's as I was choosing to nurse her full time. 

this is how it's been with a cervical spine/daily headaches issue (which praise God, the daily headaches have greatly eased up thanks to work out routines and supplements).....I have been able to push through the pain........

..........not so much the pain of  spiritual/church abuse and childhood s*xual abuse.  The latter?  I've worked through it via an amazingly gifted counselor whom I'm thankful is also a good friend........but there are triggers that often pop up and when they do.....that emotional pain cuts deep......yes, even 30 years after the healing Presence of God showed up via theophostic prayer.........

.............maybe because he was a church leader........

................which leads me to the church leaders who also caused a different kind of abuse...an abuse of power, of cult-like activity, of not understanding that they covered up a crime,  of legalism, of not understanding the difference between preferences, convictions and core Biblical truth.......

....that emotional pain leads to needing to have meaning......

there must be meaning in this pain..........there's a reason for it.......

........to deal with it as a loss...to grieve it....and to then fully surrender to the One who makes it all possible.......??? that's a tough one..........

the pain of church abuse cuts very deep when you used to trust the people who did the betrayal.  Just when you think you are past something, along comes something to rear its ugly head and wham......you realize you only shoved it down to no longer dwell on it, rather than facing it, owning it, grieving it and then releasing it in surrender.........

the forgiveness part took awhile but it's done....

......now to grieve the loss and learn to trust God all over again......

it can't be meaningless......

The heart's cry: don't stop the madness, chaos or pain surrounding me......

God has to break my heart to bring me to my knees.........

and in that madness, there is meaning.......

.........to get me to a  place of surrender instead of living in survival mode.....

........because as my counselor friend just told me the other day........

..protection of the heart (a symptom of survival mode) and fully surrendering to God cannot be lived simultaneously........it's one or the other......

.......it's a struggle to be free.........

but it can't be meaningless........