Book Journal - Quo Vadis

Not long after I arrived at Eden, one of the Chaplains gave me the book “Quo Vadis” by Henryk Sienkiewicz.  I had my wife do a little bit of research on the book for me.  The author wrote it in the late 1800’s.  He wrote it in Polish and this edition was translated into English in 1992.

Just like “The Tattooist of Auschwitz” and “Cilka’s Journey”, this book is a fictional story that follows historical characters and events.

Gaius Petronius is a close advisor to Caesar Nero, the Emperor of Rome.  His nephew is a war hero named Marcus Vinitius, who falls for a young woman called Ligia. Ligia is the daughter of a Ligian king.  She was taken by the Romans as a hostage in order to keep the Ligians from being a problem for Rome.

A man named Ursus had been her bodyguard since she was a baby, and he was still her servant.  He had almost superhuman strength, which comes in handy when you are the bodyguard for a beautiful princess.

She has been raised by two Roman citizens named Aulus Plautius and his wife Pomponio Graecha.  Aulus was also a military hero and he and his wife lived very comfortably.  Pomponio is a Christian woman but Aulus is a pagan, although he allowed Christian influences in his home so Ligia was also a Christian.

When Vinitius goes to his uncle for advice on how to convince Aulus to give Ligia to him for his wife, Patronius has an idea.  He convinces Nero to take her into his palace and then give her to Vinitius instead of trying to convince Aulus to give her up.

Nero’s current wife, Poppaea Sabina, is an evil and jealous woman.  As soon as she spots Ligia, she becomes jealous of her beauty and fears that Nero will replace her with Ligia, so she begins to plot against her.

Nero only plans to follow through with giving Ligia to Viritius though, but not until after he throws a party filled with wickedness.  Once Ligia realizes what she is about to be given into, she decides that she will either escape or die trying.  That’s where this story turns into an adventure full of deceit, murder, and God’s love.

This is an amazing story that’s put right into the middle of a horrible part of human history (A.D 62).  Nero is famous for his wickedness.  He had his brother, mother, two wives, and most of his advisors murdered.  He is also responsible for the murder of thousands of Christian men, women, and children in the Colosseum.

This is a hard book to read.  The author did an amazing job of investigating the events and characters surrounding this story.  The way that the Christians were murdered was brutal.  Here is a little piece of what happened as told in this book:

“When the sound of trumpets was heard in various parts of the garden, as a sign that the spectacle was to begin, each slave put his torch to the foot of the pillar. The straw, hidden under the flowers and steeped in pitch, burned at once with a bright flame which increased every instant, consuming the ivy and rising to embrace the feet of the victims.  The spectators looked on in silence but the victims on the pillars gave out groans and cries of pain which resounded throughout the gardens.

Some of the victims, however, raising their voices to the starry sky, began to sing, praising Christ.  People listened and their hearts were filled with terror, especially upon hearing the fearful cries of children (some so young they can barely walk) and seeing the agonized squirming on the pillars.  It did not take long for the flames to engulf them.”

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves reading.  It is beautifully written by someone who put years of research and work into it long before airplanes and Google.

The title of the book comes from the end of the story when the Apostle Peter is fleeing Rome with a friend named Nazarius.  

Peter sees Jesus walking toward the city and bows before Him, asking him “Quo Vadis?” which means “where are you going?”.  Jesus replies that he is headed to Rome to be crucified again because Peter is fleeing the people whom Jesus commanded him to lead.

As Peter gets back up and heads back toward the city, Nararius asks him “Quo Vadis?”, to which he replied, “to Rome”.

Book Journal - Harry Potter

I have started reading “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” by J.K. Rowling.  My twelve-year-old daughter is reading through the series so I thought I would check it out too.

The author does a great job of telling a story.  If you’re like me and have not ever read any of the Harry Potter series, I’ll tell you a little bit about it.

Harry Potter is orphaned when Voldemort, who is a powerful wizard who went bad, kills Harry’s parents, and tries to kill him too.  Even though Harry is just a baby, Voldemort is not able to kill him.  Instead, Voldemort is somehow defeated, although some suspect that he did not actually die.  The attack left Potter with a lightening bolt scar and also left him without parents.

The book begins with Harry being brought to the doorstep of his mom’s sister’s house by Hagrid.  He is now going to be raised by his aunt and uncle who are Muggles (normal people).  They already have a son who is the same age as Harry.  This family - the Dursleys - had disowned the Potters because they were strange.  So, Harry is treated very poorly by them.

On Harry’s 12th birthday, Hagrid shows back up to prepare him to go to Hogwarts which is the best wizard school in the world.  He finds that Harry has been mistreated and lied to about who his parents were and how they died.

Harry and Hagrid spend the next day purchasing everything that he needs for his first year at school and Hagrid does his best to shine a light on who Harry really is. 

As Harry starts his first year at the school, he struggles to fully understand who he is and how he fits in.  But through his newly found friends, Ron and Hermoine, Harry quickly learns and excels at Hogwarts and lives up to the reputation that he earned as a baby. 

Of course, evil is very alive and well within the students and staff at Hogwarts.  It’s up to Harry and his friends to pass their classes while fighting against unseen forces that threaten everyone at Hogwarts.

I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading the whole series. 

 

 

Book Two “HarryPotter and the Chamber of Secrets”

This book starts with Harry being back at the Dursley’s house with his Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and his spoiled cousin Dudley.

Just as they had done before his first year at Hogwarts, the Dursleys treat Harry with contempt.  Only now, they know that he is able to perform magic and so they fear him.  That is until Vernon finds out that Harry is not allowed to do any magic outside of the school.

Harry finds a creature in his room named Dobby who is a house elf.  Dobby refuses to give any details, but he warns Harry that there is foul play planned for Hogwarts this school year.  Of course, Harry ignores the warning and is able to make the trip to school despite Dobby’s attempts to stop him.

As the school year moves forward, a cat – which is hated by the entire student body – is discovered by Harry and his friends.  The cat is assumed dead, but soon they discover that it’s not dead but frozen.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione discover that the evil creature behind this is in the Chamber of Secrets and is controlled by someone at Hogwarts.  Soon, one of Harry’s best friends falls victim to the creature and anyone could be next.

Harry and company have to find out who and what are behind the attacks before anyone is killed and Hogwarts is shut down for good. 

This book, and the series, is written with teenagers and young adults in mind but these stories are a lot of fun to read for adults too.

After reading this book, my favorite characters are Ron’s family the Weasleys.  His two older twin brothers are a lot of fun, and his younger sister joins them as a first-year student.  She becomes an integral part of the story in this book and has become one of my favorite characters.

I cheated and watched the 5th movie the other day.  I wanted to see how the series progressed and it definitely develops into an exciting adventure.  I won’t watch any more so that I don’t ruin anything else for myself.  My daughter got upset with me for watching it, lol.   

Book Journal - Cilka's Journey

The Chaplain here told me about “The Tattooist of Auschwitz” which I obtained and then donated to the Chaplain after I had read it so that she could share it with others.  In my book review of it, I mentioned the book “Cilka’s Journey” which is the story of one of the real-life characters from that book.

Cilka was forced to become the mistress of a high ranking Nazi officer at the age of 16 and was raped by other Nazi officers.  She was put in charge of the women’s dorm at Auschwitz where the women would go just before they were taken to their death. 

When the Russians came in, they found out what she did in order to survive.  Instead of letting her go home after two years in a German concentration camp, they convicted her of sleeping with the enemy and sentenced her to fifteen years in a labor camp in one of the coldest spots in the world. 

Much of the story has been made up, but it follows the testimony that author Heather Morris was able to uncover in her years of research.

Lale, the tattooist of Auschwitz, is the one who told her about Cilka, calling her the bravest person that he had ever met. 

“Cilka’s Journey” did not replace “The Hiding Place” as my all-time favorite book, but it’s a close second.  It’s amazing to find out what this tiny, fierce young woman did in the face of death in order to survive with her sole purpose of providing for others.  

Please read “The Tattooist” and “Cilka’s Journey”!!

 

Book Journal - Girly Books

It’s been a minute since I’ve talked about the books that I have been reading.  I get busy with everyday things and I forget about doing it!  I finished two books recently. 

The first book is called “Born in Ice”, by Nora Roberts.  It was given to me by one of my neighbors.  He told me that it’s a “girly” book but that someone else had told him that it was good.  I usually don’t like that genre of books, but I figured what the heck, I’ve got the time.

I was pleasantly surprised by it right away.  It’s the story of an American author who is very well known for writing suspenseful murder mysteries.  He has planned a trip to Ireland to write his next novel.

He books a small Bed and Breakfast, which is run by a beautiful Irish woman.  She is a devout Catholic and is very loyal to her family, even as she learns of some dark secrets about her parents.

This story tells of how these two people who have come from two completely different worlds fall in love.  But it’s destined to fall apart.  Either their broken pasts or his inability to commit will spell an end to their relationship.

It’s a pretty cool book.  I had my wife get it to see what she thought about it and she said that she enjoyed it, too.  She also found out that it’s the second book in a three-book series.  One of these days I’ll find the other two and read them.

 

After my wife had read “Born in Ice”, she sent me the Nicholas Sparks book that she had just finished called “Every Breath”.

This book was a lot like the previous one.  A man from South Africa makes a trip to South Carolina to meet his biological father who is dying.  He stays at his father’s beach house and he is waiting there for a few days for his father to come meet him.  Staying next door is a beautiful woman who is spending some time in her family’s beach house before she has to sell it.

Their chance meeting sparks feelings that neither one realized they could have.  But this is a Nicholas Sparks book, so it’s not a feel-good book.  Read it to find out what happens to the woman when her estranged boyfriend of nine years shows up and has an important question for her.

This book had a personal connection for me because it parallels the relationship that I have with my wife.  I can’t tell you how it’s similar to us because it would spoil some of it for you 😊.

Holidays in Prison

I have had a couple of people either write or ask me over the phone what it’s like in here during the holidays.

First of all, I wouldn’t really even notice the holidays much if it weren’t for the TV.  We do not decorate really at all.  I personally do not view this as my home and to be honest, decorations would depress me more.

Thanksgiving and Christmas is very hard in here.  I only want to be with my wife and kids, especially during this time, so any reminder of being separated is painful and I try to minimize that.

I spent Christmas of 2019 locked up in Mansfield.  I had an inmate there give me a radio and the first Christmas song that I heard was “I’ll Be Home For Christmas”….so I have not listened to Christmas music since then and I’m OK with that.

Overall, I listen to very little music.  I’ll listen to the local pop station while I’m working out or doing my art projects.  I would listen to Christian music but there aren’t any good stations here.  I mostly just listen to sports radio.  Although today I went into the TV room to update my commissary order and someone had the CMT station on.  Right as I walked in, a song called “Little Miss” by Sugarland came on.  It immediately reminded me of my wife, and it gave me some mixed feelings of love and hurt.  Music had a big place in my life, so it reminds me a lot about the life that I gave up.  The same goes for doing traditional stuff for the holidays.

This doesn’t mean that we do not celebrate the holidays or find joy during this time of year.  In fact, I’ve not ever been more thankful for God’s blessings and I have never been closer to my Savior than I am right now.  There are very few distractions in here that take my attention away from God.

It’s not horrible in here right now.  We will find our own way of celebrating that allows us some sort of joy, it just won’t be what everyone out there would expect, but that’s OK.

Someday…..someday, I’ll celebrate with my family again though.

The Gospel of John says that "the light (Jesus) came into the darkness of the world, and the darkness will never put the light out" (1:5). 

Prisons can be dark places, but prison life, as dark as it can sometimes be, can never put out God's light that comes in Jesus Christ. This light shines wherever you are, even in the darkest prison.

Isaiah 54:10

We often long to return to that time where life felt normal, before all these personal and worldly changes.

“Normal” may feel so unachievable right now, no matter how much we want it to go back to it.  But even though so much has changed around the world and in our lives, God has not changed.

Isaiah 54:10 says, “For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.”

We don’t have to achieve normality to feel safe.  The mountains in our lives may have moved.  The hills may have disappeared.  But God’s faithful love for us has remained, and it always will.