Once upon a time I would do a monthly book review of all the books that I read in a month. It was great fun to share with all of you my reading life. Time moved on and I had less time for blogging and so first to go was the book reviews. Every once in awhile when I read a really good book I would think, “I should do a review of that”, but for the most part I didn’t. Well, that changed this summer and I’m about to share not only a book review but a life story. When all of this was unfolding, I was amazed by not only the book I was reading but a story about another blog post that I had written a few years ago . You might want to grab a cup of tea because this could turn out to be a story that I would have shared with you as we sat around my kitchen table sipping tea and eating scones…go make the tea…I’ll wait.
Most of you know that I am a bibliophile. Not a day goes by that I don’t take time for reading and along with being a bibliophile, I’m also a collector of books. I never miss a book store no matter where I go on vacation, I never miss the book swap at Woman’s Enrichment at church. And I most assuredly never miss the twice annual book sale at the Wenham Public library. I am a member of the library so that gets me into the book sale on Friday night, while all the regular folks have to wait until Saturday morning. I’m always looking for my next favorite book. So, at our spring booksale I hit the jackpot. Check out the cover and title of the book above. What caught my eye right away was that this was a book about World War II. I never paid much attention to the wars growing up except World War II and the Korean War, both of which my father was in. The photo of the man remind me a bit of my Dad in his fatigues, although honestly, I never saw him in any field gear when he came home on leave. So of course, I bought the book. I came home and set it on my overcrowded bookshelf. I was awhile getting to it but when I did it blew me away in so many ways and when I finished, it took me weeks, to sort out in my brain, when while reading the book, that two worlds collided and secrets I didn’t know anything about were revealed.
First of all, my Dad never talked much about what he did when he was in the service. We knew he joined the Navy and after two years and claustrophobia, he quit the Navy and joined the Army, where he stayed until his retirement. As little kids we didn’t pay much attention to where he was or what he was doing but as we got older we knew some of the places he was stationed and also that he was a Staff Sargent, which technically meant he had an desk job…so in my mind that is what I thought he always did. I really didn’t get to know my father until many years later so by then he was already retired and had moved back to Salem where we lived. Also by then and for many years, my parents were divorced, so my Mom didn’t give out any info either. Long story short, him and I eventually made a connection and we became close and at the end of his life I took care of him. After he died when I cleaning out his apartment I found a box with some personal papers and also some very old photos from his days in the Navy and the Army. And that is where this story about the book above took a turn in several different directions…
On June 11 of this year, I started reading When Books Went to War and in the bio it mention the book, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, which I was sure I had read…I checked and I had two copies. The photo below is the original copy published in 1943 by Betty Smith. The next day, Friday, June 12th, as I do every Friday, I was watching Ann Patchett from Parnassus Books. Each week she does two segments on books. Tuesday she does a show on all the latest releases for that week and on Friday she does a show called, if you haven’t read this book, it’s new to you. She proceeds to tell you about an older book that she loved that you might have missed and this weeks book was, are you ready, A tree Grows in Brooklyn. How uncanny is that…because as she was describing this old book as new again she stated that it was the most loved book by the men at war and she told the story of how those books were distributed. I was stunned. Here, by chance, at the library sale, I come across this book of books going to war and a few days later I see that a Tree Grows in Brooklyn is Ann Patchett book for Friday and she referenced the book.
Then another memory slides back into my brain. I start remembering that I wrote a blog post about my Dad and those photos that I found after he died. And I remembered one in particular…Off I went down the rabbit hole of trying to figure out when I wrote that and because all the blogs are dated and titled it wasn’t long before I figured out I posted that blog on May 27th, 2019. I went to look it up and what to my wondering eyes did appear but my Dad sitting on a stump in field gear with a book on his lap and a rifle leaning against a tree.. He was one of the lucky ones who got a book. As the story goes, those books were saved by the men who got them and read over and over again. They also swapped the books out amongst themselves. The stories helped to get them through the war as it was the only entertainment and quiet time that they had. I have so many pages underlined in this book…especially about the boys who wrote to Betty Smith and thanked her for her book…one soldier felt such a strong connection to Smith’s characters that he compared A Tree Grows in Brooklyn to a “good letter from home”. Smith estimated that she received approximately 4 letters a day from servicemen, or about fifteen hundred a year. That’s pretty amazing and it tells me so much about how it must have been for those men, just looking for a bit of comfort when they had some down time. A reminder of what they left behind and perhaps what they were fighting for. Of course, many other books were also sent and enjoyed by the men. An important note…in the book, When Books Go to War, it describes how they were able to get so many and mail them. Every book had to be made a certain size…small enough so that they could fit inside the pockets on the men’s jacket or inside the back pocket of their fatigues. It was a monumental task to get 100’s of books where they needed to be. After reading the book I knew that it was probably what saved a lot of men from severe depression.
So, what did I do with all of this information and with how the stars aligned from one very old library book to Ann Patchett’s, If You Haven’t read this book It’s New to You. Well, I dug out my old copy of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and reread it. Just as good the third time around. Also looked up that blog post I wrote about my Dad and this time I focused on the book in his lap instead of the background noise I was intrigued with my first time around. It would have been fun to see what book he was reading and it sure would be nice if he were still here so I could ask him. What I will take away from it, as far as he is concerned , is that I am grateful for another piece of the puzzle as to who he was and maybe someday the puzzle will be complete…but I don’t think that It possible now. It also reminds me to look closer and pay attention to those around me. Life stories are happening every day and lots of times we find out so much just from picking up a book. But what I think mostly though, is if my Dad were still here I would thank him for his service during two wars. I don’t know if I ever did that but I do know that I spent plenty of time with him taking him to “the base” for all his treatments and dr. visits and shopping. Between him and my Mom, both avid readers, I am also grateful for the gift of books and words and worlds we get to travel to without leaving our homes…
And for those of you who have never been, try the library book sale. It happens twice a year and it will be here soon. September 18…you will be amazed at what you come home with…
I will post the link to my blog post of May 27, 2019. If you figure out the book my Dad is reading, let me know…as for me, I’d like to think he was reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Ya, that would be his kind of story…I love you Dad…if there are books in heaven save your favorites for me…even if they are old, because they will be new to me.
