I really do like hiking Otter Creek. I almost always find solitude there, and the entire hike is beside the creek, which is one of my favorite sounds.
I’ll be honest–all these pictures are simply ones I liked, rather than ones that show the landscape. These stills reflect how being there makes me feel.
It was a lovely day.
Canaan Valley State Park
Blackwater River Trail, Canaan Valley State Park
Table Rock, Canaan Mountain Backcountry
The forecast was rain, but there was a night, home game, so we settled on a series of short hikes to waterfalls.
Douglas Falls is just outside of Thomas, and although the Blackwater Canyon trail is easy, there is a scramble down to the waterfall.
My favorite spot is along the top of the old (and crumbling) retaining wall, and down past the falls a bit.
Then we headed to Blackwater Falls to hike along the Falls of Pendleton.
This hike is not an easy one.
But the views were lovely.
Sadly, as much as I enjoyed sitting there watching the falls, my pictures don’t really show just how amazing the views were.
On the other hand, the weather meant we didn’t see anyone anyone else, which is always a plus.
Quite a few audio books this month. One was our travel book, the others were my exercise / cleaning books.
I’ve had a lot of cleaning to catch up on.
Lots of rereads, but I did manage some new releases–including three books that were released in August. That rarely happens–I tend to put off reading new releases for no rational reason. But these were mostly cozy mysteries, and I was very much in the mood for cozies.
Plus Husband Material, which is not a cozy, but a rom-com is just as good. And it was Alexis Hall! HUZZAH!
I want to give props to That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf. You’ll not I only gave it a middling rating, but it was a bunch of stuff I don’t care for (fated mate, weird mating rituals, tentacles, and a LOT of sex) and I still really enjoyed it.
I was just a little weirded out by some of the boinking bits.
If you like cozy mysteries, I highly recommend Charlie Cochrane‘s Lindenshaw Mysteries. The first book I was a little meh on, but I’ve loved every book since.
Mystery
Lock, Stock and Peril (2022) Charlie Cochrane (Lindenshaw Mysteries) (8/10)
Death at the Deep Dive (2022) Josh Lanyon (Secrets and Scrabble) (7.5/10)
Purloined Poinsettia (2022) Dahlia Donovan (Motts Cold Case Mystery) (7/10)
Give Unto Others (2022) Donna Leon (Commissario Brunetti) (7/10)
Fantasy
That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf (2022) Kimberly Lemming (Mead Mishaps) 7/10
Of Claws and Fangs (2022) Faith Hunter (Jane Yellowrock) (7/10)
Romance
Hottie Scotty and Mr. Porter (2016) R. Cooper (8.5/10)
For Better or Worse (2017) R. Cooper (8/10)
Husband Material (2022) Alexis Hall (London Calling) (8/10)
The Labours of Lord Perry Cavendish (2021) Joanna Chambers (Winterbourne) (8/10)
The Turners by Cat Sebastian: The Soldier’s Scoundrel (2016) (7/10), The Lawrence Browne Affair (2017) 8/10
Non-Fiction
Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions (2009) Dan Ariely (8.5/10)
Audio
The Rook, Audio Edition (2012) Daniel O’Malley narrated by Susan Duerden (10/10)
Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith: Midnight Riot, Audio Edition (2012) (9.5/10), Moon Over Soho, Audio Edition (2011) (9/10), Whispers Under Ground (2012) (8.5/10)
I’ve only (only! HA!) read 160 books so far this year, but only 38% have been rereads, which is down from last year (and those rereads include 18 audio books (Almost all my audio books are rereads.) Plus, I’ve read 11 non-fiction books so far–I read only one last year. And that’s actually a decent pace for me for non-fiction, as I tend to read it much slower, and often go back and reread passages.
Plus, according to Goodreads I’ve read 1292% of my goal for the year!
(Yeah, goodreads numbers are off–but that 160 is the number of reviews I’ve written, so that’s the accurate number. (Except that I haven’t written reviews of a handful of books non-fiction I’ve read, but that’s a tale for another day.))
I’ve been (for quite awhile now) failing at posting about recent hikes.
So here are some pictures from the past month or so.
Addiction
There are several different kinds of stories that deal with addiction.
One is watching a main character spiral until they hit bottom and work to achieve their sobriety.
“I’m not an alcoholic.”
“If I asked you right now to go one solid week without a single alcoholic drink, would you be able to?”
The idea of facing his mother without that barrier, of trying to sleep without the pillow of numbness, made James’s insides squirrelly. He didn’t know because he’d never tried. He’d never had a reason to try.
— A.M. Arthur, Getting It Right
I think some of the books that do this best are the ones where you follow a character over the course of a series, so you have time to see the dawning of awareness that they have a problem, as well as the struggle and work to gain and keep their sobriety.
He couldn’t lie anymore about using alcohol as a way to cope with his anger and pain. Maybe he wasn’t addicted, but his behaviour was just as self-destructive. Time would tell if stepping outside of his life in Cardiff for a few months would actually change anything for him.
— Dahlia Donovan, The Lion Tamer (Sin Bin)
The thing about the Sin Bin series is that although only the final two stories are about Scottie, you watch him slowly get worse in the preceding books, which makes his recovery in the final book satisfying.
A second kind of story is where a character struggles with their sobriety over the course of the story.
Medlock gave him an appraising glance. “It’s like that, is it?” And then he took the bottle and the glass and poured the contents of both out the window.
“What the hell are you doing?” He could ill afford another bottle.
“If you wanted to drink it, you would have done so hours ago. I think you wanted not to drink it, so I helped.”
— Cat Sebastian, The Ruin of a Rake
Beyond the importance of routine, it was vital to stay healthy in times of stress. Swift had badly abused his body for most of his life. His current state of health required consciousness and commitment.
— Josh Lanyon, Come Unto These Yellow Sands
This was what I did. Things got bad, I didn’t want anyone to see me weak and broken, so I decided I’d wait until I was just a tiny bit stronger, and then I’d call. But in the space between shame and a public face lay the ocean of demons just waiting for the drop of blood that would set it churning. And I nicked myself with pride every time.
— Roan Parrish, Riven
I feel like these struggle are incredibly important—they remind us that sobriety is work. Sometimes you fail, but that as long as you’re alive, you can try again and again.
A third type of story is where a main character doesn’t struggle with their sobriety, yet their past still affects their actions as well as how they see themselves.
He hated telling people about his drinking problem, hated the way it changed how they looked at him, how it colored every interaction from that point onward.
— Annabeth Albert, Arctic Sun
“Laudanum.” He allowed the word to settle into the conversation, waited for her face to slowly change to a mask of confusion. “I don’t refuse it because it makes me muzzy-headed, because it gives me vivid dreams, or even because I dislike the taste. I refuse it because I developed an addiction to it when I was young. It was so severe that when I was at Eton, I took a dose that nearly killed me. I stopped breathing.”
She inhaled and tried to pull her hand away. Christian held on tightly.
“When I was… imbibing, I would set my day by my doses. It took over everything I was, everything I wanted. There is no safe dose, not for me.”
— Courtney Milan, Once Upon a Marquess
If an author is going to do this, I want to see the work. Representation is good, but I want it to be more than lip service. Just a mention with no further discussion of the struggle feels like a disservice to those who are currently struggling and want to gain / maintain sobriety.
Just as important is where the main character has to deal with a family member who is an addict—either sober or actively using.
Dad had not had a good day. He’d woken up from a nap to a war movie playing on TV that had triggered some memories and anxiety he’d tried to walk off. Walks helped when he wanted a drink,
— R Cooper, Jericho Candelario’s Gay Debut
I knew what was coming, like following a script written specifically for us. And yet every time I hoped this time would be different. This time he would really mean what he said. This time he would give up his brandy. So when he failed and I stumbled upon him defiantly swigging from a flask or passed out in his chair, an empty bottle at his feet, it was doubly painful.
— Anna Lee Huber, Secrets in the Mist
“It’s a disease. It’s not my fault. I can’t help it!”
“It is your fault! The disease didn’t decide to drink. The disease didn’t go find your purse. The disease didn’t walk out the door and down the street to Lucky’s. The disease didn’t walk to the back row where the vodka is and pick the bottle up off the shelf—”
“I didn’t go to Lucky’s. You never understand.”
“— and walk up to the register and pay for it. The disease didn’t open the bottle, Mom. The disease didn’t drink it, either. You did. It is your fault. It’s always your fault.”
— Heidi Cullinan & Marie Sexton, Family Man
One of the things I appreciate about the last two quotes is that they allow the characters to be angry. And that anger is complicated.
Why do I want to read about the struggles of other people? It’s multi-fold, really. It is nice to read about problems that are not my own, and because it reminds me that others might not be going through what I am, but they may be going through their own struggles—ones I don’t see.
National Helpline: 800-622-4357
Substance Use Resource Center (Blue Cross Blue Shield)
Mental Health and Substance Abuse (USA.gov)
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Resources (WVU)
Eating Disorders
In some ways, eating disorders are similar to addiction. Except you cannot avoid the substance you have a troubled relationship with.
“Okay, so Maxine. Coke and booze. Plus she had issues with food. She ditched the coke and the booze, right? Went to meetings, did the whole bit. Took her a while, but she did it. After she’d been clean for about five years, you know what she told me? She said that she didn’t talk about it much at meetings because people didn’t take it serious, but the hardest thing for her to get under control— harder than coke and booze? Her eating disorder.”
“What? Why?”
He nodded. “You can draw a clean line with coke and booze. Say never again, and stay away from them, period. Food? You gotta eat that shit three times a day every day for the rest of your life, and you gotta make choices about it every time.
— Riven, Roan Parrish
(800) 931-2237
National Institute of Mental Health – Eating Disorders (NIMH)
National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders
Eating Disorder Resources (WVU)
Books with Characters Dealing with Addiction
Characters seek help:
The Lion Tamer (2018) Dahlia Donovan (Sin Bin series) main character [alcohol] (Contemporary Romance)
The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue (2017) Mackenzi Lee, main character [alcohol] (Historical Fantasy)
Open for Business (2016) Angel Martinez (Brandywine Investigations) main character [alcohol] (Contemporary Fantasy)
Black and Blue (1997) Ian Rankin (Inspector Rebus) main character [alcohol] (Contemporary Mystery)
Characters are sober, but sometimes struggle:
The Secret, Book, & Scone Society (2017) Ellery Adams (The Secret, Book, & Scone Society) main character [alcohol] (Contemporary Mystery)
Arctic Sun (2019) Annabeth Albert (Frozen Hearts) main character [alcohol] (Contemporary Romance)
The Duchess Deal (2017) Tessa Dare (Girl Meets Duke) main character [laudanum] (Historical Romance)
Clean (2012) Alex Hughes, main character (Contemporary Fantasy)
Come Unto These Yellow Sands (2011) Josh Lanyon, main character [drugs] (Contemporary Mystery)
Once Upon a Marquess (2015) Courtney Milan (Worth Saga) main character [laudanum] (Historical Romance)
Riven (2018) Roan Parrish (Riven) main character [drugs] (Contemporary Romance)
Raze (2019) Roan Parrish (Riven) main character [drugs] (Contemporary Romance)
The Ruin of a Rake (2017) Cat Sebastian (The Turner Series) main character [alcohol] (Historical Romance)
Two Rogues Make a Right (2020) Cat Sebastian (Seducing the Sedgwicks) main character [laudanum] (Historical Romance)
Secondary characters with an addiction:
Baked Fresh (2015) Annabeth Albert (Portland Heat) secondary character (Contemporary Romance)
Jericho Candelario’s Gay Debut (2018) R Cooper, parental [alcohol] (Contemporary Romance)
Family Man (2017) Heidi Cullinan & Marie Sexton, parent [alcohol] (Contemporary Romance)
Secrets in the Mist (2016) Anna Lee Huber, parent [alcohol] (Historical Mystery)
Jar City (2000) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Bernard Scudder (Inspector Erlendur) adult child [drugs] (Contemporary Mystery)
Life’s Too Short (2021) Abby Jimenez, sibling [drugs] (Contemporary Romance)
The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy (2018) Mackenzi Lee, sibling [alcohol] (Historical Fantasy)
Books with Characters Dealing with an Eating Disorder
Getting it Right (2015) A.M. Arthur (Restoration) supporting character (Romance)
Boyfriend Material (2020) Alexis Hall (London Calling) main character (Romance)
Husband Material (2022) Alexis Hall (London Calling) main character (Romance)
Three Stupid Weddings (2018) Ann Gallagher, main character (Romance)
Arctic Sun (2019) Annabeth Albert (Frozen Hearts) main character (Romance)
Haven Investigations series by Lissa Kasey, main character (Contemporary Mystery): Model Citizen (2016), Model Bodyguard (2016), Model Investigator (2017), Model Exposure (2017)
The Nobleman’s Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks (2021) Mackenzi Lee, main character (Historical Fantasy)
Call or text 988
Why Representation in Books Is Important
Mental Health Representation in Books: Depression
Mental Health Representation in Books: Anxiety
Mental Health Representation in Books: Grief
Mental Health Representation in Books: PTSD
Factories
Fields
Mining
Come all of you good workers,
Good news to you I’ll tell
Of how the good old union
Has come in here to dwell.
My daddy was a miner
And I’m a miner’s son,
And I’ll stick with the union
‘Til every battle’s won.
They say in Harlan County
There are no neutrals there;
You’ll either be a union man,
Or a thug for J. H. Blair.
Oh workers can you stand it?
Oh tell me how you can.
Will you be a lousy scab
Or will you be a man?
Just a reminder what we’re celebrating today.
Although I cannot judge the accuracy of the presentation, I want to mention books with characters with PTSD.
PTSD has been called a lot of things over the centuries: acute mania, soldier’s heart, shell shock, gas hysteria, battle fatigue, combat fatigue, war neurosis, Combat Stress Reaction. It is not a new diagnosis, just simply a renaming of something that has been around for as long as soldiers have gone to war.
For as long as people have suffered from violence and upheaval and has been in written history since the Epic of Gilgamesh.
Consider that many people need to be taught to kill—that in conflicts, the enemy is dehumanized—seen as little more than animals and thus unworthy of life. It is a small wonder that violence can cause disorder, as one tries to understand the inexplicable.
To me, PTSD isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of our humanity.
In the list of books below, I’ve tried to give some details as to what to expect from the various stories, but it’s sometimes difficult to do without giving away parts of the stories.
Additionally, I’ve ordered the books from makes me a “little sad” to “punch in the stomach” hard to read. So as you get towards the end of the list, you might want to check other reviews if you’re leery. Because I don’t know how to compare the on-the-page violence and horror of Paul Cornell’s Shadow Police series with the on-the-page sexual assault in Patricia Briggs Mercy Thompson series. (I find the Shadow Police series MUCH easier to read than Iron Kissed, FWIW.)
But what all of the books do have in common is the character’s PTSD does not magically “get better”.
Because that is utter bullshit.
In the handful of series I list below, it sometimes takes several books for a character to come to terms with their need for help, and to take the steps needed to work towards getting better.
These are some of the books I like best, because they don’t attempt to sugarcoat how hard the process of getting help is (this is true for ANY mental health issue, not just PTSD). And in some of the books, even characters already in therapy have relapses, which is something often ignored in fiction—that once the character falls in love or goes to therapy everything isn’t immediately okay.
Therapy requires being honest with yourself (and your therapist) and recognizing there will be setbacks.
The reason I think these stories are important is because I am old enough to remember some of the fall-out after the Vietnam war. When veterans were harangued and worse for participating in that war—even when they often had no choice in the matter. It was our responsibility as a society to care for them, and we let them down.
It is our duty to see and acknowledge those who have served our country, and to make sure they are allowed to say what the need—feel what they need.
It is also important for us to see and acknowledge those who have gone through other traumas and are struggling.
Another important point is that one person’s “better” is not going to be the same as another person’s “better” and you can’t judge anyone’s journey to any recovery with anyone else’s. One person’s good day might be finishing a report or running a marathon, while for another a good day might be getting out of bed and brushing their teeth.
With that, I want to give you just one quote that. I adore more than almost any other about mental health struggles.
Calvin hardly ever talked about his therapist or their sessions together. Not that I expected him to. It was his journey. So long as he sought discussion with someone who would guide him to discovering self-forgiveness and healthy coping mechanisms, I didn’t care if he never shared a word.
— CS Poe, The Mystery of the Moving Image (2018)
Call or text 988
Veterans Crisis Line Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) and press 1 or text to 838255
PTSD and Shell Shock (History.com)
The Shock of War (Smithsonian Magazine)
History of PTSD in Veterans: Civil War to DSM-5 (VA)
A Brief History of PTSD and How it Was Discovered
Books with Characters Dealing with PTSD
Hottie Scotty and Mr. Porter (2016) R Cooper, tertiary character [war] (Contemporary Romance)
Jericho Candelario’s Gay Debut (2018) R Cooper, parental [war] (Contemporary Romance)
Lessons in Love (2008) Charlie Cochrane (Cambridge Fellows) main character [parental suicide] (Historical Mystery)
A Sanctuary for Soulden (2021) J.A. Rock & Lisa Henry (The Lords of Bucknall Club) main character [war] (Historical Mystery)
McAlistair’s Fortune (2009) Alissa Johnson (Providence Series) main character [war] (Historical Romance)
Hither, Page (2019) Cat Sebastian (Page & Sommers) main character [war] (Historical Mystery)
The Anatomist’s Wife (2012) Anna Lee Huber (Lady Darby) main character [partner abuse] (Historical Mystery)
The Duchess War (2012) Courtney Milan (Brothers Sinister) main character [parental neglect, mob violence] (Historical Romance)
A Dangerous Deceit (2017) Alissa Johnson (The Thief-Takers) main character [institutionalization] (Historical Mystery)
Snow & Winter by CS Poe, main character [war] (Contemporary Mystery): The Mystery of Nevermore (2016), The Mystery of the Curiosities (2017), The Mystery of the Moving Image (2018), The Mystery of the Bones (2019)
Nearly a Lady (2011) Alissa Johnson (Haverston Family) main character [war] (Historical Romance)
Love In The Afternoon (2010) Lisa Kleypas (Hathaways) main character [war] (Historical Romance)
Two Rogues Make a Right (2020) Cat Sebastian (Seducing the Sedgwicks) [military, parental abuse & neglect] (Historical Romance)
Big Bad Wolf series by Charlie Adhara, main character [assault & injury] (Contemporary Fantasy): The Wolf at the Door (2018), The Wolf at Bay (2018), Thrown to the Wolves (2019), Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing (2020), Cry Wolf (2021)
Kitty Goes to War (2010) Carrie Vaughn (Kitty the Werewolf) secondary characters [war] (Contemporary Fantasy)
An Agreement with the Soldier (2021) Sadie Bosque, main character [war] (Historical Romance)
Bayou Moon (2010) Ilona Andrews, main character [war] (Contemporary Fantasy)
Burn for Me (2014) Ilona Andrews, main character [war] (Contemporary Fantasy)
Galaxies and Oceans (2018) N.R. Walker, main character [partner abuse (off page)] (Contemporary Romance)
Rend (2018) Roan Parrish (Riven) main character [abuse & abandonment] (Contemporary Romance)
Alpha & Omega (2007) Patricia Briggs (Alpha & Omega) main character [repeated abuse by pack, rape (off page)] (Contemporary Fantasy)
Bone Crossed (2009) Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson) main character [assault, rape (on page in previous book)] (Contemporary Fantasy)
The Soldier’s Dark Secret (2015) Marguerite Kaye, main character [war] (Historical Romance)
Getting it Right (2015) A.M. Arthur (Restoration) main character, supporting character [assault, abuse, discussion of abuse] (Contemporary Romance)
Inspector Ian Rutledge series by Charles Todd starting with A Test of Wills (1996) main character [war] (Historical Mystery)
After the Scrum (2014) Dahlia Donovan (Sin Bin series) main character [assault] (Contemporary Romance)
The Lion Tamer (2018) Dahlia Donovan (Sin Bin series) main character [parental abuse] (Contemporary Romance)
The Botanist (2017) Dahlia Donovan (Sin Bin series) supporting character [assault (rescue on page)] (Contemporary Romance)
The Onion Girl (2002) and Widdershins, (2006) by Charles de Lint main character [parental abuse, rape] (Contemporary Fantasy)
Shadow Police series by Paul Cornell: London Falling (2013), The Severed Streets (2014) main character [parental death, assault], Who Killed Sherlock Holmes? (2016) main character [murder (on page in second book)] (Contemporary Fantasy)
Tarot Sequence by KD Edwards, main character, secondary characters [assault, rape, attempted murder] (Contemporary Fantasy): The Last Sun (2018), The Hanged Man (2019)
Simply Crafty series by Lissa Kasey, main character [war, kidnapping] (Contemporary Fantasy): Stalked by Shadows (2019), Possessed by Shadows (2021)
Haven Investigations by Lissa Kasey main character [war, parental abuse, sibling suicide] (Contemporary Mystery): Model Citizen (2016), Model Bodyguard (2016), Model Investigator (2017), Model Exposure (2017)
Call or text 988
Why Representation in Books Is Important
Mental Health Representation in Books: Depression
Mental Health Representation in Books: Anxiety
Mental Health Representation in Books: Grief
Mental Health Representation in Books: Addiction and Eating Disorders
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