Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life by Queen Noor

Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life by Queen Noor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Having recently read Becoming by Michelle Obama may have influenced, in a small way, how I felt about this book. It was such a contrast to the other book, although there were many similarities to the women themselves.
Queen Noor, born Lisa Halaby, is a graduate of the first coed class at Princeton, and the daughter of an aviation executive. She was working in the airlines industry when she became friends with King Hussein, an avid aviator himself. They fell in love, and soon married, she becoming his 3rd wife and stepmother to his three children, and eventual mother to four more.
During their twenty year marriage, she developed many humanitarian programs to better the life of women and worked side by side with her husband to promote peace in the middle east. She devoted her life to being a helpmate to the king, while still having her own identity.
I particularly enjoyed seeing a different perspective of the Arab-Israeli conflict, knowing that each story has multiple sides. Queen Noor seems like a generous, gracious woman, who didn't come across as whiny at all, and served her country and the world for many years.

View all my reviews

Warmest holiday greetings, friends

Welcome to the 2022 Myers holiday news letter. I hope your year was wonderful and filled with happy memories, as ours was. It was a busy, productive year the highlights of which include: - Conversion of our garage to a great room/office, where we spent much of our waking hours. It's easily my favorite part of the house. - My sister and brother-in-law moving to Crossville from Gatlinburg in June. Having Gail nearby to do things with has brightened my life! - Visits from the Cayeas, including the grandsons, and Corey and Jess several times. We reciprocated, and went to NY for Arian's graduation, and to Indy several times, including once to see Alton Brown. - Some small trips to Chattanooga for our anniversary, Berea,KY for a crafting weekend, and Athens,TN for a beekeeping conference. - Hobbies such as geocaching, gardening, and genealogy have also kept one or more of us busy this year. The garden did well (squash, anyone?), and the family tree keeps growing. Send me your family stories! - Finally, a couple of big trips created some great memories for us. We went to New Orleans in the spring with John's aunt and uncle (Sharon and Chuck). We've wanted to go back there since 2005, when we first went, a few months before Katrina. And, we recently returned from a trip to Hawai'i to see Matt, Niah, and little Waffles, who is so much bigger than when we saw her a few years ago. Hawai'i was beautiful, and visiting with family was wonderful. Tourist-wise, we made it to Pearl Harbor (twice) this trip, which was such a moving experience. What was the best part of 2022 for you? Please leave a memory or two in the comments section below. In the meantime, enjoy a few photos of the year.

The Storm Sister by Lucinda Riley

The Storm Sister by Lucinda Riley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is told from the perspective of Ally, the second of six (known) sisters based on the Seven Sisters constellation. Ally is a gifted sailor and musician, and is out on the water with her captain/lover when she finds out that Pa Salt (her adopted father) has died, perhaps mysteriously. At the funeral, she and her sisters are given clues that will lead them to their family origin, and feeling at a loss, and unable to bring herself to sail in an upcoming race, Ally decides to follow the clues to Norway, where her story interweaves with a singer from a hundred years ago, Anna Landvik. The book is cleverly interwoven from that point, alternating from Anna's life to Ally's. I loved reading Anna's story, having a Norwegian heritage myself, it helped me to imagine what life might have been like for some of my ancestors. Excellent, though long, book that encourages me to continue reading the series.

View all my reviews