The Bitter End Birding Society

By: Amanda Cox

Dakota County paperback 311 pages

Published: 2025

Genre: Christian historical fiction

I loved this book! I can't believe how young the author looks. This is the third title of hers I've read and I think she's just getting better and better. I want to read her other books now.

 

The setting alternates between the 1950s with sisters Viola and Cora and modern day with Ana. The connections between these women are unfolded a little at a time. This story is beautifully written.

I'm going to try to just hit some high points in this blog because here's what the book looks like:

There were parts in this book that made me laugh out loud. The author is so clever at weaving together details and themes . . . oh my. But this is just too, too much to blog about (or I'm just getting lazy).

We had a lovely book club discussion last night. As I'm starting to go through the book to remove my post-its, I'm having some "aha" moments (the author laid clues for later), laughing again (Lexi and Ana with Lexi's dates' nicknames, Cora's "unwelcome basket"), teacher moments, the dire Marilyn warnings, fantastic writing and imagery ("She exited the house, the wings that had felt so ready to lift off and soar now tucked tight against her." Viola being reprimanded page 77), the "Wally World" reference that made me think of my sister Louise, the bluebirds and hopefulness, . . . this is just a wonderfully written book!

Page 35: Huh. She'd always thought of God being way up in the sky looking down on His creation, watching them make a right mess of things. But directing people? How did a body know if it was the Lord leading or their own inclination?

Viola's questioning in response to young Trilby's plan to follow the Lord's leading is what I think a lot of us experience. It can be hard to know when it's your own idea / plan and when you are truly hearing from the Lord about decisions.

Page 44: He adjusted the brim of his hat and looked ahead as his truck idled along. "Fine is the biggest lie people tell. You ask someone how they are, and the answer is always fine, but it's rarely the truth."

Yes! I agree with Sam. A more honest answer is, "I'll be okay, but I don't want to talk about it."

 

Oh! The different stories about how Bitter End got its name! These were so interesting. We hear the first one from Frankie (coffee shop) on page 63. She tells Ana about the outlaws on the run being down to the bitter end of their coffee. Then Beatrice (thrift store) tells Ana about the bickering husband and wife hanging over the edge of a ravine, promising to love one another all the way to the bitter end. Cora said it was about moonshiners claiming the mountain's water was bitter to scare others away (page 307). And then Ana's own story (epilogue) to share with her students about a group of people who were in a bad spot and discovered that "hope and beauty were there somewhere, someway. But only if they slowed down and had the patience to watch for it."

There was also the theme of winding down one's life and dealing with stuff.

Page 68: How in the world could seventy-some years of living in one house be narrowed down to a few boxes? How did she decide what to leave behind and what to keep?

 

Page 197: It was a mystery how some trinkets and knickknacks were alive with meaning and memory while others were soulless souvenirs.

Ana is dealing with Cora's possessions and donating the excess. I can relate. Stuff is just stuff. The second is from Marilyn considering her and Cora's friendship and tokens of that time in their lives (corn husk doll and soapstone carving). Again, there are things that I love even though they aren't "valuable." they are just meaningful for me.

Page 127: Viola recognized the emotion. It was one she'd felt many times when someone with more experience stepped into a situation she felt ill-equipped to handle. 

Viola sees the relief on Cora's face when Viola shows up to help with their mother's miscarriage aftermath. That sense of relief when you're feeling overwhelmed and someone else steps up . . . priceless.

Page 134: Frequently getting lost in thought was a trauma response, according to the crisis therapist she saw for a few months after the incident.

This makes sense, but I didn't realize it. Sam was trying to get Ana's attention on a bird watching walk.

 

Page 149: "When your father stands before God someday, will God see the man who sang His praise and helped his neighbor, or the moonshiner who made his living in an illegal trade? Will God know me, who spoke beautiful words about His holiness with no one to hear because I thought I needed to convert people to my way of thinking before they could approach the throne of God?"

Trilby is having an important crisis of faith in his life. I love how the author portrayed faith from different perspectives. God is glorified in this book.

Page 215: "Name five things you can see. Four things you can hear. Three things you can smell. Two things you can touch. One thing you can taste."

Ana is trying to practice what her therapist taught her. I like this and think it's fun to try! Mindfulness is not something I'm adept at! (I actually made a notecard to try this.)

 

Page 231: Why did he constantly find himself in the role of confidant and comforter? It was as though his previous occupation clung to him like woodsmoke in clothes after sitting next to a bonfire.

 

Poor Sam! He's a pastor even though he doesn't feel able to fulfill that role any more. But I love Cox's imagery here! I can smell that smoke on clothes smell . . . 

 

Page 237: And in that moment Ana understood why she'd known better than to finish that statement. Because when a wound remained unhealed and untended, it had a way of warping time, keeping painful memories close to the surface.

 

It's easy for readers to say that Cora should have just gotten over what happened in her childhood, but this section really shows that some people still need healing for things that happened far in their past.

 

Page 248 - another place that made me laugh out loud. Oh, how I enjoyed this book. (I cried, too.) 

 

Pages 256-57 - Some of the back story about what really happened between Wild Wayne and Reverend Chambers. There is just so much to this story! Grace, redemption, friendship, forgiveness, 

 

Page 278: Having the capacity to forgive himself was as likely as sighting a blue-winged teal within the next few weeks. He hadn't missed Marilyn's pointed glare after he'd chosen a bird that was not exactly impossible to find but improbable this time of year. 

Oh, I love how this played out. Well done, Ms. Cox. I loved this book!

He Should Have Told the Bees

By: Amanda Cox

Dakota County Library paperback 307 pages

Published:  2023

Genre: Christian realistic fiction

We discussed this at book club Monday! I enjoyed reading it and hearing others' opinions. It's another one of those books that I liked, but didn't love. I re-read my review of her The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery and I'm struggling to find out why I respond the way I do.

Beck (bee keeper) and Callie (candle maker) are very different women who have had different childhood experiences. Beck's mother left when she was little and her dad quit his banking job to stay home with her and teach her about farming and beekeeping. Callie never knew her dad and moved around with her mother (who used drugs and alcohol). I had more compassion for Callie because I've seen the pain of a child who has had to become the adult too early due to a parent's choices.

It's interesting that Cox writes such incredible male characters. In this book, Luke, Isaac, and even George Walsh are pretty stand-up guys. Kind, honest, helpful, respectful, . . . It's an interesting quality to have wonderful men (who aren't very nuanced).

I loved the bee theme running throughout! We talked at book club about the way bee habits and behaviors were paralleled by the humans. I looked up other bee-based books I've read. I may want to re-read The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. It's been a while!

Page 124-5: "Survival had always depended upon control. When the person who is supposed to take care of you falls apart at the slightest puff of wind, you learn to be the strong one. The one who is never shaken."

Callie wants to confide in Luke, but has spent her life stuffing her emotions and worries instead of sharing them. The few times she has shared, her mother has pulled her away to a new place. (Youth director Jenni . . . Ms. Ruthie's death doesn't really count as her mom's fault.)

Page 137: "It seemed the fate of Walsh Farm was now in the determined hands of a sassy sock alien."

I liked Fern (Katya) and her positive impact on Beck. I liked the wild mismatched socks. It was interesting at book club to hear that Fern bugged Jess (and Callie bugged Jean). Although Fern was kind of irritating, I like that she cared about Beck and what happened to the farm.

Page 139-140: "'It's a hard lesson to learn, you know. When you just want your parent to put you first. To love you more than the things they are addicted to. Something every other kid on the planet seems to have and you don't.'

'Does it sound trite if I say that you have that in Jesus, even if you don't have that in a parent.'

Callie sat straighter, stretching out the tension building in the middle of her back. She pondered his words, knowing he meant well. 'In my mind, I recognize the truth of that statement. But it doesn't take away the craving for a mom who still lives in my heart. Sometimes I get really angry at myself. Like I shouldn't need that. Especially from her.' She huffed out a breath. 'But right or wrong, that's how I feel.'"

Wow. This really struck me. First of all, what Luke is saying is true but it can sound very trite! I love Callie's response! She recognized that what she FELT didn't necessarily match what she KNEW. For people who don't have faith in Jesus, Luke's words are going to sound absolutely trite. People who mock the "thoughts and prayers" don't realize that for people who know Jesus, prayers absolutely can change lives. They shouldn't just be toss-away words. And even if you know that Jesus loves you unconditionally, you can still be sad that the person who brought you into this world doesn't truly love you the way they should. I'm so glad my parents loved me.

Page 147: "He should have told her then about the secret language - that those purple blooms were meant to be her mother's perennial apology, coming back every year as a fresh reminder. She would have let him mow them down. Would've helped him rip the rooted bulbs up from the ground."

George Walsh did his daughter Beck a disservice by trying to shield her from difficulty. He did it out of love, but his untimely death really messed with her. The purple hyyacinths had so much significance in the story!

Page 166: "'I came home from school the next day and mom had all our possessions packed into her beater of a car. She said that she'd gotten a new job in the next state. I knew she was lying, but I still got in the car. I never saw Jenni again, but my relationship with Jesus that bloomed that year, that was something I could always take with me.' That and one of the discs of lavender soap she swiped from Jenni's guest bathroom. 'No matter what my mom did or didn't do, that was one thing no one could take from me.'"

Taking that soap . . . somehow made me hope that Jenni noticed and understood. I hope that she kept praying for young Callie. It's a reminder to me to pray for the people God puts on my heart.

Page 199: "'But then I get this picture in my head of standing before God someday. And I never want Him to look at me and say, 'You had the chance to help her find wholeness, to find Me, and you chased temporary things instead.' It's hard to know the difference between tough love and giving up on someone.' She scrubbed a hand over her face. 'My whole life has been a desperate mission to build something stead and stable, and every time, right when I think I am about to arrive in the promised land, Mom shows up and finds a way to drag me back into the wilderness. It's so hard to look at this place and not see it as my way out.'"

Callie's phone conversation with Luke (overheard by Beck) is absolutely key! When you love someone and want to help them, where is the line? When are you taking on responsibility you shouldn't? I'm fine with tough love, but I also want to show the love of Christ to people. This is the crux of the story for me. Ultimately, I need to be responsible to God alone. I need to seek His wisdom and direction and obey what He tells me.

Page 251: "It was a hard lesson to learn - that you couldn't be the one to fill the holes in another person's life. Working through dysfunctional patterns, finding healthy coping skills, and letting God heal the wounds the past left behind, those were things you couldn't do for another person. No matter how much you wanted to."

As Callie reads a letter from George to Lindy, she recognizes that he tried to "fix" her the same way Callie had been trying to help her mother. I liked the resolution the story brought to many of the characters' lives. I was wrong about the identity of Callie's father (but don't want to put a spoiler here). I initially disliked Annette as a busybody neighbor, but ended up really liking her. Cox is a wonderful author.

The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery

by Amanda Cox

Scott County Library paperback 313 pages

Published: 2021

Genre: Christian historical fiction

Back cover blurb: "Present Day. After tragedy plunges her into grief and unresolved anger, Sarah Ashby returns to her childhood home determined to finally follow her long-denied dream of running Old Depot Grocery alongside her mother and grandmother. But when she arrives, her mother, Rosemary, announces to her that the store is closing. Sarah and her grandmother, Glory Ann, make a pact to save the store, but Rosemary has worked her entire life to make sure her daughter never follows in her footsteps. She has her reasons--but she'll certainly never reveal the real one.

1965. Glory Ann confesses to her family that she's pregnant with her deceased fiancé's baby. Pressured into a marriage of convenience with a shopkeeper to preserve the family reputation, Glory Ann vows never to love again. But some promises are not as easily kept as she imagined.

This dual-timeline story from Amanda Cox deftly explores the complexity of a mother-daughter dynamic, the way the secrets we keep shape our lives and the lives of others, and the healing power of telling the truth."

 

I liked this book, but didn't love it. It kept me engaged as a reader to find out how the characters resolve their stories. Glory Ann, Sarah, and Clay were my favorite characters. We'll discuss this at book club tomorrow night (5/22/2023).

 

Page 51: "Most wouldn't consider him classically handsome, but she had witnessed firsthand the selfless way he loved, and he'd become so incredibly beautiful to her."

 

This is referring to Clarence and Glory Ann. Some people don't like referring to males as "beautiful," but I think it fits so well. Clarence was a beautiful human being - gentle, honest, loving, loyal. He was such a good man! (So what that he wasn't really good looking.)

 

Page 51: "'Then what do we have to fear? Tell me what troubles you. It's the things we don't say that have the power to rule our lives without our permission.'"

 

Clarence, again, being wise and compassionate as he talks to Glory Ann.  Expressing our fears and concerns can be a powerful first step toward resolving them.

Page 109: "Glory Ann offered up a quick prayer for Mable as she straightened the newspaper stack. She didn't mind the idea of growing older one bit. It was a privilege to see this much life. But the thought of losing her memories? That was a beast she couldn't fathom facing."

I value being able to remember and think. My mom's dementia really took a toll on her, especially as she knew she was losing the ability to think clearly and remember. I agree with Glory Ann here!

Page 121: 'Maybe you and Aaron both made mistakes you can't undo, but you still have breath in your lungs and life to live. You have the chance for that fresh start you're craving. And you don't have to feel guilty about that. I've learned the hard way that punishing yourself doesn't help anyone.'"

Here Clay is giving life advice to Sarah. It was the idea of "punishing yourself" that caught my attention. I think we can be incredibly hard on ourselves sometimes. Grace is grace, and we all need it.

Page 125: "'The Good Book has a lot to say about giving. And about avoiding the bread of a selfish man. Old Depot Grocery isn't the selfish man of Proverbs. We don't give and lord it over people, forcing them to vomit it out for all to see what we gave them. We don't give store credit with the perspective of a lender. We give. And if it so happens they repay, we count it a blessing. I give carefully, Rosemary, as I can afford to do so. It might mean less lining my pockets, but my heart is fuller for it.'"

Clarence (in the past) taught Glory Ann so much by his words and actions about what it meant to follow Jesus!

Page 156: "Her grandparents were old and bent. Their expressions perpetually a bit resigned. Not at all how she'd pictured them based on Mom's sparse descriptions. Of how rigid and unyielding they were. Maybe that was true at one point, but now it appeared the years had not been kind. Or perhaps it was they who had not been kind to the years."

I disliked Glory Ann's mom and dad from the get-go. And the more I learned about them, the more I disliked them. They had some valid concerns, but did NOT deal with hard issues in a loving, Christ-like manner. They were awful! (The passage is from adult Rosemary going to visit them.)

Page 162:     Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,

                    Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

                    Where there is injury, pardon;

                    Where there is doubt, faith;

                    Where there is despair, hope; 

                    Where there is darkness, light;

                    Where there is sadness, joy.

                    O Divine Master,

                    Grant that I may not so much seek

                    To be consoled as to console;

                    To be understood as to understand;

                    To be loved as to love.

                    For it is in giving that we receive;

                    It is in pardoning that we are pardoned; 

                    And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

I have heard this prayer before, but it truly is a beautiful one. Reading it made me want to linger over the words, pray it, and savor it. Glory Ann is praying this as she ponders the future after Clarence has been murdered by a robber at the store.

Page 179: Rosemary finds a letter addressed to her mother and opens it! It's from a man named Jimmy and she is horrified by what she assumes the letter means. So she hides it from her mother. Ugh! I hate this! Secrets and misunderstandings are the basis of this book, but the cost of heartbreak is too high!

Page 189: "Call me anytime you are tempted to freak out about bringing a new life into this crazy ol' world. I've got your back."

 

Libby is such a delightful character. She is just the kind of person Sarah needed to reconnect with as her life changes dramatically. I like that Rosemary had Connie (?) the travel agent friend and Glory Ann had her friends (the poker and prayer group).

 

Page  210: "'Because you are drawn to the way the stories of the past help you make sense of the present.'"

 

Clay is observant and sees Sarah's love of memoirs, reality shows, etc. She is a very story-driven person.

 

Page 261: "I had been a good person who just wanted to make the world a better place, but I'd become so tainted by darkness I couldn't feel the warmth of the sun anymore. And while I was praying, it was like this calm came over me. Even though it was dead silent during that dark night, it was like I heard the words, 'It's not too late.'"

Jimmy sharing his life and what Vietnam did to him . . . powerful.

Page 295: "Thought I'd get a spanking for sure when I told them I did it on purpose, but they prayed with me instead and told me about the importance of confessing and repenting for the wrong I'd done."

(Adult Jessamine telling adult Rosemary that she had found BOTH their parents gluing together the little ceramic dog that had been given to Rosemary as a child.)

How could Clarence and Glory Ann have been so thoughtful and thorough with teaching Jessie life's important lessons (helping her to become a happy, healthy adult) and have missed the mark so much with Rosemary? I honestly didn't like Rosemary very much as a character. She spends her entire adult life playing the role of miserable martyr, which doesn't help anyone!

 

Page 296: "Live, Rosemary. Do the things you want to do. That can mean staying here in Brighton and never leaving. Or it can mean seeing the whole world. Living is about seeing past the challenges and not letting fear or false guilt be the decider for your life. Listen to the passions in your heart that your Creator put there. Maybe it's to stay. Maybe it's to go. Just listen for once instead of coming up with a list of reasons why you can't."

 

You tell her, Jessie!

 

Page 312: The wedding. The misleading info. Duh. Why?

 

Faves: Most of the men, but especially Clay. Jimmy. Sarah's resolve to do things differently. Glory Ann's attitude.

 

Least Fave: Rosemary. Glory Ann's parents. The lame ending.