5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Deeply Moving!, December 14, 2004
This review is from: Mountain Shadows: An Adirondack Novel of Courage, Danger, and Love (Paperback)
In the beginning of this outstanding read we are confronted by a rescue of a young man stranded and half dead in the snow. Joe Devlin is on a journey, one driven by love for his wife Alice, who is suffering from tuberculosis. Joe is a simple, honest man, but also a poor man, who is now faced with the cost of the 'cure' that Alice must receive at Lake Placid, New York, if he ever hopes to have her well again.
We are taken along the journey of Alice and Joe and their struggle to play the hand that life has dealt them. Joe soon begins to do things he never thought he would, both in his work and in his personal life and Alice if faced with hard decisions of the heart. Neither life will ever be the same.
The author does an exceptional job of bringing to life the immense hardships that patients and their families endured from tuberculosis during the 1920's. Her description of Lake Placid and the era bring you directly into the storyline as your heart merges with the well defined characters of her work. This is more than a story; it is a walk into part of America's past and the people who lived it. A story that shows love indeed has no end, nor obstacles that it cannot cross. Recommended.
Great job! Great read!
Shirley Johnson
Senior Reviewer
MidWest Book Review
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Delightful Read, August 4, 2005
This review is from: Mountain Shadows: An Adirondack Novel of Courage, Danger, and Love (Paperback)
"Mountain Shadows" is a delightful read. I am impressed by the sensitive and often dramatic treatment of historic detail. Even those of us who thought we knew a lot about the unique story of Saranac Lake, during the half century that we were the premier place in the Western Hemisphere for the treatment and cure of tuberculosis, found new insight and understanding in the telling of a very personal story. The reader learns of the shifting emotions of patients as they see friends improve and return home, and others pass away and leave in coffins at nightfall. We see the strains on family life when one member is sent to Saranac Lake for the cure - some families writing, visiting, sending packages, others distancing themselves from the feared contagion. The supportive and encouraging attitude of residents and caregivers in Saranac Lake toward the thousands of tuberculosis patients who stayed here comes through as well, the positive attitude that surely helped many to survive the "White Plague." "Mountain Shadows" tells a story that is relevant and inspiring today as many struggle with serious illness or strive to provide for the emotional and physical support of loved ones who are ill.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful Exploration, June 26, 2006
This review is from: Mountain Shadows: An Adirondack Novel of Courage, Danger, and Love (Paperback)
This historically-accurate novel is a wonderful exploration of both the natural and cultural environment of the Lake Placid/Saranac Lake area of New York's Adirondacks during the 1920's. The enjoyable story of a couple that is introduced to the region by necessity also provides a glimpse into the area's rich heritage, and illustrates to those of us that live in the Adirondacks that some aspects of that time period remain the same today.
Brooks presents a well-researched description of Saranac Lake's tuberculosis cure cottages and the affluent nature of Lake Placid during prohibition, from the working-class perspective of a young man who finds himself immersed in the conflicting settings of both.
In its exploration of the cure cottages, the book provides an accurate account of this very important time period in Saranac Lake's history, and it showcases many aspects of the High Peaks of the Adirondacks in a different era. However, to those of us lucky enough to live there, it is clear that some characteristics of the mountains in the story haven't changed much.
As the main character makes his way to Lake Placid on foot after his Model T breaks down less than 100 miles away, the reader is taken to a time when the winter made what is now a short drive into an epic journey. In the book, the beautiful, yet remote wilderness is contrasted by the warmth and hospitality of the region's inhabitants.
Today's technology allows easy travel through the mountains; a great advancement from the impassable winter roadways of the prohibition era. But the residents of the region still abide by the same conventions with respect of hospitality as the welcoming rural folks in the book. Though eighty years have passed since the time in which this story is set, that remote wilderness is still there, forever wild, to be enjoyed by visitors and residents alike. And, although the development of antibiotics eliminated the need for the tuberculosis cure cottages, visitors continue to travel to the region seeking a different kind of cure. Today, the High Peaks region blends a rich Olympic history, countless outdoor recreational opportunities, and the chance to get away from it all.
The historic significance of the tuberculosis cure, in the context of such a well-written, heartwarming story, would translate beautifully onscreen, allowing a much larger audience to learn about this important part of our region's past. And, the largely unchanged geographic surroundings here in the Adirondacks would make a spectacular backdrop for a project of that nature. As the President of the Lake Placid/Essex County Visitors Bureau, I am pleased to have had the opportunity to read and endorse this book as a wonderful resource that enhances our efforts to promote the heritage of our region.
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