Valentine’s Day and chocolate — they simply go hand in hand. In recent years, the confection has been regarded as the symbol of affection with stores and major retailers selling them by the box. But in its earliest iteration, chocolate carried a completely different meaning. In fact, it was the antithesis of romance. It wasn’t until the 1860s when chocolate became synonymous with Valentine’s Day thanks to one British chocolatier.
Elegy, Southwest is artful and beautifully written, as are the depictions of Southwestern wastelands and the life that somehow perseveres there. There are many questions left unanswered by the end, though perhaps that’s the desert for you: a longing that’s never reciprocated, a need for nourishment that will never materialize.
Without relinquishing any tension, O’Donnell vindicates some of the reader’s fears – and, ultimately, hopes – for Ciara. In the process, she turns the idea of the domestic novel inside out, relocating it in emergency accommodation, where every tiny act that goes into keeping two children fed, clothed and convinced that it’s all a big adventure is at once more daunting and more meaningful.
Having been a Chicagoan now for way too many winters, in the last few years I’ve tried to, if not embrace it, then tolerate it better. But why waste a whole season waiting for it to end? The longer I live, the less of that kind of time I have. In her new book, “How To Winter,” Kari Leibowitz offers practical strategies to help you harness your mindset to thrive on cold, dark, or difficult days.