Somewhere In Between

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Talking about death and dying is considered taboo in polite company, and even in the medical field. Our ideas about dying are confusing at best: Will our memories flash before our eyes? Regrets consume our thoughts? Does a bright light appear at the end of a tunnel? For most people, it will be a slower process, one eased with preparedness, good humor, and a bit of faith. At the forefront of changing attitudes around palliative care is hospice nurse Hadley Vlahos, who shows that end-of-life care can teach us just as much about how to live as it does about how we die. Vlahos’scompassionate,beautifully written book contains profound wisdom. It is for anyone with an open heart who loves a good story and anyone who fears but would like to better understand hospice and the end of life.” —Katy Butler, New York Times bestselling author of The Art of Dying Well The descriptions of the physical beauty of Chilcotin country are so exact, so gorgeous that I wanted to drive up there tomorrow. You can smell the fresh air, hear the wind in the trees, see the sparkling lake waters.

Somewhere in Between by Suzanne Glidewell | Goodreads Somewhere in Between by Suzanne Glidewell | Goodreads

Their visits through the portal bring them teetering along a tight-rope of fantasy and reality, where they don't always believe what is in front of them, not even their feelings for each other. As for the term "dead white girl," it could become one of those weighty book club questions. Darla recounts a story, "The Legend of Crow," that her boyfriend Levi Johnny told. There's a reverence for the story as she recalls the carved pendant of a crow Levi wore and later gave to her. And then she thinks he "takes this spirit guide thing way too seriously now." She mixes honour and a love for her boyfriend with a dismissing of his traditions. I don't always read novels like this, when I do it is very rare. Lately all I have read was surrealism and satire. This novel kind of falls in between paranormal/ supernatural and contemporary. It's a very sweet and touching novel. Nature is a big thing, a theme. There is a whole feast of description of the beautiful land that the three main characters Julie, Ian, and Virgil Blue inhabit. The book cover is also beautiful, and I'm assuming that it is portraying the land in the book. A conversation at Tim Horton's (a coffee shop) begins the story of a couple looking to buy a ranch in the Chilcotin region of British Columbia. Then the landscape takes over and the first chapter becomes a beautiful description of the expanse of land. It helps to ground readers in place and introduces one of the forms of silence explored in Somewhere In-Between. This particular silence is an appreciation of the surroundings: the old-growth forest, the willow-lined creek and "a haze of coastal mountains." This read is a little different for me, but I really enjoyed it! I LOVE books in dual perspectives and the author did a great job writing this in dual perspective! I adored Maura and found myself really rooting for her throughout the story. Thomas kind of got on my nerves a little bit, but I’m excited to see his character growth in the next book. We got hints of it in this book so I think he’s on an interesting journey!Vlahos was raised in a strict religious household, but began questioning her beliefs in high school after the sudden death of a friend. When she got pregnant at nineteen, she was shunned by her community and enrolled herself in nursing school to be able to support herself and her baby. But nursing soon became more than a job: when she focused on palliative care and hospice work, it became a calling. There's some mystery about the couple, Julie and Ian O'Dale. A tragedy has led to Julie leaving her career as a real estate agent and it seems they have lost a daughter. The silence that engulfs them is grief unexpressed. They are in a state, hanging on by a thread, between existing and living fully, between being parents and not having a living child. While Darla shares the past story, Julie is living in the unfolding present. She walks the land in silence and sits in silence with the tenant who lives in a cabin on the ranch: Virgil Blue. She learns of spirit animals and symbols. Gentle and moving, The In-Between takes readers where few think they would want to go: deep into the world of hospice nursing. The combined beauty, faith, and compassion found in each patient’s death is meaningful and sublime.” —Theresa Brown, RN, New York Times bestselling author of The Shift

Somewhere In Between by Donna Milner | Goodreads

While Darla sounds like a sassy teenager and refers to herself as a "dead white girl," she realizes she can't move on until everyone she loves lets her go. Catholicism and faith sit center-stage in this story, which in the beginning I found difficult to read as a Boston Catholic whose family left the church after the 2001 abuse revelations. Glidewell has a really beautiful way of writing about faith that brings a lot of depth to the story, so I found myself able to enjoy the story despite my own experiences in Catholicism. Her journey takes her deep into feminist philosophies as she struggles to understand the unfolding media- driven drama of the Oscar Pistorius trial while researching issues of ethics in the legal profession.

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In The In-Between, Vlahos recounts the most impactful experiences she’s had with the people she’s worked with—from the woman who never once questioned her faith until she was close to death, to the older man seeing visions of his late daughter, to the young patient who laments that she spent too much of her short life worrying about what others thought of her—while also sharing her own fascinating journey.