The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon

There are very few books that make me cry but this is one of them and not just once. This book and I however did not get of to the best of starts even though I was very much looking forward to reading it, I couldn't get into it and started to think Oh No when all of a sudden the voice within that had told me to keep going won out and everything went click! And never stopped.
The remarkable story of Homan and Lynnie, who are deaf starts with a bang and takes you on the most unexpected Road Trip your ever likely to take. The words the author uses paint a portrait which both captivates and rewards the reader, rich and evocative, damming and searing, heartbreaking and loving, it is just the most wonderful story of the mountains that love, empathy and persistence can push aside, even if it takes time. Weaving the interlocking stories using different narrative voices can sometimes present the reader with a challenge but in this case it simply gives more power to the story and takes you into the lives of the central and supporting characters in a manner that enhances the story, it shows the power and ability of Rachel Simon to be able to do this and for it to work. The book is a light that tells a story that many disabled people and their families would well recognise. It also has a bundle of humour and some wonderful adventures that are unexpected in so much as you might not expect them to be the experience of the disabled well that's my lack of knowledge not theirs. Never will I forget the Healing Service and the unexpected consequences or all the spot on names that Homan gave to those he encountered along the way, his was a rare and wry genius when it came to summing up people, Lynnie so artistically gifted, a gift that so easily could have been over looked and not nurtured and those who loved and supported them as their paths crossed.
To tell you anything more would spoil your experience but this is a book I will never forget and I will forever be grateful that I listened and kept reading. In case you didn`t realise it I loved this book! I could have actually finished reading it a couple of days ago but I couldn`t  bring myself to do so.
Available in Soft Cover from all good bookshops.

Lady Blue Eyes, My Life With Frank...by Barbara Sinatra.

Being married to old Blue Eyes was no piece of cake, despite the perks. Without doubt the most talented performer to have ever graced a stage, Frank was mercurial, temperamental and volatile to say the lest and managing him was not an easy task at all. Written with Wendy Holden this is an easy read, packed full of gossip and stories from The Old Hollywood, the days of Dean, Sammy, Liza and the gang it is rather witty and entertaining.It was an adventure that took a very pretty young girl from a small town in Missouri to California and via her second marriage to Zeppo Marx into the league of high rollers, with a talent for all things good, expensive and gracious she was propelled into a world that exceeding every expectation she dreamed of. I much admired her honesty in the portrait she drew of Frank, it would have been very easy to candy coat everything but she doesn`t although reality may have been stretched to fit desire in some places. Her devotion to her son Bobby is very admirable but the total exclusion of Sinatra`s daughters Nancy and Tina is a little petty and childish however the choice is hers and she has been written about by both girls in what she may have seen as an unfair manner(evil stepmother etc..)she doesn`t resort to bitchiness where they are concerned and does speak of Frank Jr. This is a book that had alot of humour in it and she doesn`t spare herself...I chuckled at the story she told of Frank working on a movie,the Director approached Frank and told him that they would have to work all weekend as they were 5 days behind schedule, Frank takes the script, rips out 5 pages and says Look, we are now right on schedule! Well what could the Director say to that!
A tale well told, this book is presently only available here in hard cover but when in soft cover it would make a fabulous gift for anyone interested in the Sinatra era or old Hollywood and the people who were a part of it. Equally you could order it from an Indie at a good price while the dollar is high and give it to someone you love for Xmas!