Book: Praise Jerusalem!

Praise Jerusalem! by Augusta Trobaugh

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Two stories, one of childhood, one of growing old are interwoven in this narrative of Ms. Amelia. It's a story of compassion, of fear of compassion, of discrimination, of entering the world of 'others', of faith, of love, of aging, of remembering and of starting a new life.

I put this book on my Kindle, free of charge, thanks to Pixel of Ink and am so happy I did.

A few gems:

"things that are over and done with are the saddest things in the whole world" (Location 2796, Kindle)

How true is that? I think of friendships whose seasons have come and gone. Summer days and nights working at camp. Study abroad adventures. Favorite college courses. Jobs. Conversations. Really delicious meals or cups of tea ;)  But mostly those things I know I'll only return to in my memory, because they are no longer a part of my 'in the moment' or 'in the future' rather they are fully, 'my past' and 'my story' ~ valuable but done.

"But sometimes I felt like no matter how long I lived in that town, it would never be any different. Like somebody wrote me into a story, and I couldn't change any of it to save my life." (Location 5888, Kindle)

Who growing up in a small town or living in a small town doesn't feel the truth of such a sentiment? Never had a harder time returning to memories than after having made large life changes...

"You loves folks - all kinds of folks - the strongest of any little thing I ever heard of. But you fight about it with yourself all the time." (Location 7153, Kindle)

"Made in His image. Black as they are. And naked. And hungry - don't matter. Still in His image. All of us are, and the means we gotta love each other. Any way we can and no matter what!" (Location 7735, Kindle)

No matter what. Amen.

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There are so many more passages and quotes that I found profound, hilarious, beautifully worded and descriptive, but perhaps you'd rather just read the book and see for yourself how these are woven into this intricate, beautiful and entertaining read.

(Typed while enjoying that colorful zoo-like mug of instant caramel macchiatto!)