Hi, hey, hello, and welcome to my first participation in Top Ten Tuesday with Jana!
I’ve been reading these posts for ages but it never quite lined up for me to participate until now and I figured the prompts are perfect for sharing a bit about myself and learning a bit about all the other participants.
Admittedly, identifying book titles that describe my life led me to overthinking a bit about the titles versus the content within the pages of each book. I have read all of these books and while they are all excellent, the stories themselves do not necessarily reflect my journey, but the titles absolutely do.
In chronological(ish) order:
A Spoon for Every Bite by Joe Hayes – Early morning tortilla making with our neighbor was one of my favorite things to do as a little one. Not sure how helpful I actually was, but Martha never let me believe I wasn’t.
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid – Youth is truly wasted on the young. Would I go back? Hell no, but the 80s and 90s definitely held some great times!
A Poem Travelled Down My Arm by Alice Walker – We all have a little Poet that lives inside of us, don’t we?
You Look Too Young to be a Mom edited by Deborah Davis – It’s only been in the last few years that people haven’t looked at me in shock when I said I had a daughter that was X years old. Now at 31 and 49, the conversations are smoother, though the math is the same.
The Impossible Will Take a Little While edited by Paul Rogat Loeb – The work, all of the wildly intense and heart-wrenching work, must be done.
Open Me Carefully by Emily Dickinson – Falling in love with my forever human was the most vulnerable and beautiful experience. I am so deeply grateful to be the wife of my wife.
Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman – Embracing my inner kitchen witch, working with the land and ancestral spirits, and learning to trust my intuition have been such a cool integration of self. My inner child, the one who was never not experimenting with all-things-nature-related in the kitchen sink when not running amuck in the hills and acequias, is very happy now.
The Stranger in My Genes by Bill Griffeth – DNA tests can be life-altering and mine turned my whole world inside out. Would I take it back? No. But did it wreck me and piece me back together in previously unimaginable ways? Absolutely.
The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden – Shadow work has always been an important part of my evolution and understanding of this life and I am ever grateful to have my Ghosties (ancestors and guides) by my side.
Absolute Trust in the Goodness of the Earth by Alice Walker – The title truly says it all. As a homesteader/diversified farmer, the humility involved in working with the seasons, seeds, and soil requires deep trust and honest hope. “Touching grass” is my job now, and I couldn’t be more grateful.
This prompt was a lot of fun and offered some solid reflection as I looked back on my life so far 🙂
Life is, truly, so very good, even when it’s hard.
Which titles would you include in your own list? Did you see anything here we might have in common?
Onward,
Melissa
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Good choices! I like that you included your reasoning. 😊
Thank you! It felt necessary 🙂
Your job sounds wonderful.
It truly is, I’m very lucky!
So glad you joined in! And well done on your list of titles / explanations of what they fit. 🙂 Appreciate you visiting my list.
Thank you so much! It was a fun way to reflect and jump into the mix! Hope you have a great day!
I love your take on this week’s prompt! It’s been a lot of fun to learn about everyone
Here’s my TTT: https://readintowonderland.blogspot.com/2026/04/t10t-books-titles-that-describe-memy.html
Thanks, Harlow! I’m enjoying seeing everyone’s list! Off to see yours now 🙂
Your choice to describe your relationship with your wife is beautiful.
Thanks for sharing your #TTT
Thank you so very much!
Gosh that sounds a difficult task! I don’t know where I would begin….you have got me thinking!
It was truly a challenge! When I first started my list, I had an entirely different direction in mind, but it came together well in the end 🙂
Interesting list of books. This week was a hard one for me, but it was fun and it’s even more fun to read everyone’s answers.
It was definitely a challenge for me as well, but I’m happy with how it turned out! I’m really enjoying seeing everyone else’s lists too! Thanks for popping over!
Welcome to TTT, Melissa. I enjoyed reading your list, and as you said, it helps us get to know a little about each other.
Thank you, Carla! It’s been a joy to read everyone’s lists and learn a bit about each writer 🙂
Great job! Any list that has Practical Magic on it is the perfect list in my book.
Oh yay! The big question is, did you like the book more, or the movie?
You look too young to be a mom could have been my motto too, I always looked younger than I was (I think it’s caught up to me now, LOL!).
So glad to know I’m not alone, in the “too young” and in the catching up 😉
What a wonderful post! I, too, was a young mother and received similar comments. Now, as I approach 70, not so much. 😉
Thank you, Laurie. It was a fun one to pull together!
Welcome to TTT! This is such a fun event and a very nice, welcoming community. I hope you keep participating.
I’m a genealogist, so I love hearing/reading stories about searching out ancestors, DNA discoveries, adoption, finding lost family members, etc. I know (not from personal experience, but from listening to others) that DNA surprises can be difficult. It sounds like yours was a doozy!
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
Oh Yay! So happy to find a fellow genealogist who loves reading! Yes, my DNA experience was quite the surprise but I’m a firm believer in the truth, so I wouldn’t take it back…and I got an amazing sister out of the whole shebang, so there’s that 🙂 Anyhow, so happy to meet you!
What a great glimpse into your life! I’m getting a picture of a content person.
Hi Olivia! Thank you for you kind words 🙂 It’s been a wonderful (if sometimes rocky) evolution of self.
Beautiful list!
I especially like these titles:
A Poem Travelled Down My Arm
The Stranger in My Genes
💚
Thank you, Rebecca! I like those two in particular as well 🙂
I did the same overthinking re: titles vs content — I ended up including a couple books I didn’t love because the titles were perfect.
Excellent choices on your part!
It was definitely a challenge, wasn’t it?! Thank you for your kind words! Hope your week is wrapping up wonderfully!
Oh I love this.. what a fun challenge and a little more to learn about you.
Thanks, Hena! I’ve really enjoyed the process and learning about the community this week! Such a fun intro.
I love your titles and accompanying comments! I don’t think I came across “youth is wasted on the young” before, it’s such a good line, I’m going to be thinking about it for a while haha
Thank you so much! And yes, definitely food for thought there in those few words 🙂 Have a lovely day!
You did so great with this prompt! My mind immediately went blank when I heard this prompt (usually I can at least come up with a few)… but not this time.