“The Bridge of Sighs”
In youth we believe what the young believe, that life is all choice….To see a life back to front, as everyone begins to do in middle age, is to strip it of its mystery and wrap it in inevitability, drama’s enemy.
Richard Russo, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Empire Falls wrote the Bridge of Sighs nearly a decade ago although the book is timeless in the classic Russo style of writing about life in a small town in upstate New York. A 640-page novel divided into 24 chapters (of which 23 are named), the Bridge of Sighs is primarily the story of Louis C. Lynch (also known as Lucy), a 60-year old business owner who has lived his whole life in Thomaston, New York – a small industrial town described as a trifecta of “stupidity, ignorance, and violence” and not unlike the real Johnston or Gloversville in New York which were known for their tanneries and glove making industries. Read more 
Wholeme Clusters
Wholeme Clusters are a delicious alternative to preservative-filled sugar laden snacks, that can be eaten right out of the bag, on your favorite yogurt or frozen dessert, in a parfait, or with your favorite fruit.
Chewy and moist yet crunchy, Wholeme Clusters are the perfect answer to the “give me something good to eat” that is wholesome, naturally sweetened, nutrient dense, and out of this world delicious without grain, gluten, preservatives, artificial flavors, colors, or added sugar. Read more
Hungryroot Deliciousness
Pure. Comfort. Food. Vegetable-centric foods that satisfy on every level.
Anyone who eats vegetables knows the worst part of enjoying nature’s most nutritious food group is the chopping, cutting, shredding, and for those who love vegetable noodles – spiralizing which turns nearly any vegetable into a mound of noodles (provided you have a spiralizer, time, and muscles). Read more
McDonald’s and US Hospitals
You have to hand it to McDonald’s for getting their fast food inside hospitals. Having a fast food chain like McDonald’s in a hospital is like having a candy store in the American Diabetes Association headquarters or a liquor store in a building that hosts AA meetings. When I was growing up, there was a word – nimrod – for someone who did something stupid or for someone who was inept. But allowing McDonald’s within the walls of US hospitals goes deeper than that. Read more
Almond Cherry Chewy Bars
Making your own energy bars is simple and easy (and not nearly as difficult as it may seem) with the benefits (flavor, taste, freshness) greatly outweighing the convenience of buying them. All you need is a food processor, parchment paper, a pan (a 7 x 10 rectangle or 8 x 8 square or 9 x 9 square) and fresh wholesome ingredients that include nuts, seeds, fresh fruit, dried fruit, and a few other special ingredients from your pantry. Read more
The Light Between Oceans
The oceans never stop. They know no beginning or end. The wind never finishes. Sometimes it disappears, but only to gather momentum from somewhere else, returning to fling itself at the island, to make a point….
Using the two oceans – the Indian Ocean and the Great Southern Ocean – as a metaphor for two families whose lives blend and collide, M.L. Stedman tells the story of the Sherbourne’s and the Roennfeldt’s in a book entitled The Light Between Oceans.
Published in 2012, the 340 page novel is divided into three parts (Book 1, Book 2, and Book 3 ) and 37 chapters. A New York Times bestseller, The Light Between Oceans is also being made into a film that will be released in September, 2016. Read more
Back To The Roots Organic Stoneground Flakes
Food should come from the kitchen, not a lab.
Back To The Roots is probably the only company that tells the consumer exactly what’s in their cereal, where the ingredients are grown and harvested,how its made and how you can make it. Yep, they give you the recipe and complete instructions on how to make their cereal at home. So, if you’re feeling the inner Martha Stewart and want to get adventurous in the kitchen, knock yourself out by making stoneground flakes cereal in the comfort of your home. Read more
Coco-Roons
Coco-Roons are what every sweet tooth has been waiting for.
Classics are classics but sometimes things need to be shaken up a bit and that’s just what Wonderfully Raw of Watsonville, California did to the coconut macaroon – a cookie that generally falls into two categories: plain or dipped in chocolate. Not anymore. Drum roll please. Read more
Pasta with Roasted Vegetable Sauce and Broccoli
If you’re longing for creamy pasta without the dairy, then Pasta with Roasted Vegetable Sauce and Broccoli is just the dish. Roasted butternut squash, sweet potatoes, onions and corn mixed with low-sodium vegetable broth and unsweetened cashew milk form the foundation of a thick sauce that goes perfectly with pasta and steamed broccoli. Read more
Imagine Me Gone
So like a cripple I long for what others don’t notice they have: ordinary meaning.
Imagine Me Gone is the very emotional story of a family living with mental illness during the later half of the 20th century (1960’s, 70’s. 80’s, and 90’s). The story begins in 1962 in London. A young American woman named Margaret is working at a library in the suburbs when she meets John – “a showman when he’s on, capable of great largesse” – at a a party. Eighteen months later, Margaret and John become engaged but after Margaret returns from visiting her family in Massachusetts over the holidays, she wonders whether they will marry after she learns that John is in a psychiatric hospital with what is described as an “imbalance.” Unsure of what this really means, Margaret remains committed to John and helps him return to his former self although in retrospect years later she realizes “we live among the dead until we join them.” Read more
Paddock Post 