🍁🇨🇦 Canadian Mystery, Facing Anxiety 😬, and Juicy, Literary Family Drama 🌊🐳

 

   At its heart, Every City is Every Other City by John McFetridge is a missing-person story. Gordon Stuart is a Canadian whose primary job is as a movie location scout. When that season ebbs, he works as a private detective for a security firm called OBC. Gordon doesn't like to get involved in the action, but circumstances force a change. I found this book quirky, but enjoyable. Its flavor is deeply Canadian. (If I had a bent toward poor metaphors, I might say as Canadian as maple syrup and ice hockey--thank goodness I'm not!) I found the book engaging. I liked the main character and learned about the life of a location scout, the city of Toronto, and the suicide rates of Canadian men of a certain age. 

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    It took me a while to read The Anxiety Opportunity: How Worry is the Doorway to Your Best Self by Curtis Chang. I heard him interviewed on The Allender Center Podcast and found his ideas intriguing. Chang is someone who has anxiety. He was a church pastor in San Francisco, but had to resign because of crippling anxiety. I also have anxiety and have read many books and articles aimed at anxious Christians. Most advice boils down to this: stop being anxious and trust in God more. The try-harder-do-better approach hasn't worked for me and, in fact, contributes to my anxiety. Chang's perspective is that anxiety can lead to deeper faith and trust. He gives practical advice like getting out in nature, eating and sleeping well, and talking with a therapist. He urges the reader to have the courage to face the roots of anxiety in their lives and also to understand God is not disappointed in them. I think I will always be an anxious soul, and instead of beating myself up, I want to pivot to the question of what my anxiety is showing me. Chang's encouraging book helped me consider what my anxiety can do for me and know God is with me. 

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    Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur is well-written literary fiction about a perfect-looking family with secrets living on Cape Cod. It contains thoughtful images and language with complex, somewhat unbalanced people. The mental state of the main characters gives the book an edgy suspense. Little Monsters made me think about the roles of men and women, art, the ocean, whales, and Cape Cod. Brodeur is an experienced, talented writer that I want to read more of.

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