G Mathews

Surviving and Thriving

Revisado: 02-23-23 El oyente recibió este título gratis

I’ve been a huge fan of Jordan P. Barnes’ books since he wrote One Hit Away, so I have been eagerly anticipating his latest, Late Blight in the Ko’olaus. It did not disappoint and was well worth the wait. In fact, I plan to listen to it again in the very near future.

The book is both encouraging and painful. While a novel, the book challenges our real-world societal and individual responses to mental health issues as the protagonist, Avery, is afflicted with schizoaffective disorder. His integration back into society after a verdict of Not Guilty By Reason of Insanity and a 7-year hitch in the state psychiatric hospital is complicated and not without peril.
It reminds us of certain truths, like that sometimes our best intentions can be the worst idea for the person that we most want to help, that everyone’s journey is theirs alone, and nearly all of us have at least a small village wanting us to succeed if we will let them. Yes, there are lessons here but none of it is preachy, shaming, or sensationalized. It is first and foremost a novel, an unfolding of choices.

If you have anyone, family or friend, that might be struggling, Late Blight in the Ko’olaus is a journey you don’t want to miss. Also, many times I skip epilogues. Please don’t do that here. In fact, I suggest you read it before you read the book since it gives grounding to what is about to unfold.

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Horrible narration

Revisado: 05-22-20

I've been listening to a number of similar books on the subject of psychiatric service dogs and this was by far the worse. The grammar is horrible. It sounds like it was written by a non English speaker using a thesaurus. Couldn't finish it the language and reader were so annoying.

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Fun book but readers were a poor choice

Revisado: 11-03-19

Full disclosure: I’m from Honoka’a, Hawai’i, born in the early 50s, lived for a time in the Teacher’s Cottages next to Honoka’a High, and even attended Japanese School like Ella, so this book resonated on multiple fronts.

The story is a work of historical fiction and Ackerman does a very good job, with great accuracy, of capturing our town during this difficult time. Yes, there really was a Roscoe, although I never was fortunate to met him.

The fail on this book has nothing to do with the book itself but the readers. Island of Sweet Pies should never have been read by someone not from Hawaii. The mispronunciations of all the Hawaiian words and local names (Hawaiian, Japanese and Portuguese) along with the horrible attempt at our local accents almost ruined a great tale. In fairness, I’m sure these two readers would do fine with a book set in a different locale.

I’ll be gifting this to several friends but only in print form since listening to it is truly painful for anyone that grew up in Hawai’i.

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