John Thorndike confronts grief by reimagining his mother’s life beyond her premature death from addiction at 57. His compassionate narrative explores realms between memory and imagination, crafting an emotional testimony to maternal love and passion that transcends tragedy. He celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the transformative power of second chances. Thorndike, a fellow Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, channels the emotional weight of personal loss into a fictionalized reimagining of his mother Ginny’s life—one that transcends the limitations of biography and ventures into the liberating terrain of possibility. The result is a deeply moving, restrained, and emotionally […]
Continue readingMonthly Archives: August 2025
James by Percival Everett, Reviewed by Mark D. Walker
Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) and Percival Everett’s James (2024) are separated by a century and a half. Yet, both confront the legacy of American racism through the lens of a fugitive slave named Jim. Twain’s novel, which is one of the most popular books in American literature, is simultaneously revered and reviled for its use of racial slurs and portrayal of antebellum attitudes. Everett’s version reimagines the same narrative from Jim’s perspective. Twain’s Huckleberry Finn is a satirical indictment of Southern society’s racism, focusing on Huck’s moral awakening and his decision not to expose Jim. […]
Continue readingMy Latest Journey to Guatemala: With a Granddaughter! And a New Chapter for the Million Mile Walker Dispatch, July edition 2025
Dear friends and fellow travelers from around the world, Anna, Mark and our tour guide, Juan One of the highlights of my recent trek to Guatemala with my twenty-one-year-old granddaughter Anna was birdwatching for some of the 700 bird species at the Finca San Cayetano, at the foot of the Volcanoes of Fuego and Acatenango. We saw the colorful, green parrots as well as exotic birds with strange, long tails (our altitude was too low to see the elusive quetzal). Volcanoes El Fuego and Acatenango By far, the most exciting part of the trip was the 5.7 earthquake that […]
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