Something Worth Saving by Sandi Ward - TLC Book Tours - Jan. 21

• Paperback: 304 Pages

• Publisher: Kensington (December 18, 2018)

From the Publisher

Sandi Ward’s shrewdly observed, funny, and wonderfully touching novel tells of a fractured family, a teenage boy, and a remarkable cat whose loyalty knows no bounds . . .

A boy and his cat. It’s an unconventional friendship, perhaps, but for Charlie and Lily, it works beautifully. It was Charlie who chose Lily from among all the cats in the shelter. He didn’t frown, the way other humans did, when he saw her injured back leg, the legacy of a cruel previous owner. Instead, Charlie insisted on rescuing her. Now Lily wants to do the same for Charlie.

She’s the only one who’s seen the bruises on Charlie’s body. If she knew who was hurting him, she’d scratch their eyes out. But she can’t fix this by herself. Lily needs to get the rest of the family to focus on Charlie—not easy when they’re wrapped up in their own problems. Charlie’s mother kicked his father out weeks ago and has a new boyfriend who seems charming, but is still a stranger. Oldest son Kevin misses his father desperately. Victoria, Charlie’s sister, also has someone new in her life, and Lily is decidedly suspicious. Even Charlie’s father, who Lily loves dearly, is behaving strangely.

Lily knows what it’s like to feel helpless. But she also knows that you don’t always have to be the biggest or the strongest to fight fiercely for the ones you love . . .

Purchase Links

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

My Perspective

Charlie, Kevin, Victoria, Jeremy, Kate, Lily, and Gretel are a family in distress.

Victor, Mark, and Ronaldo enter their lives, and things get even more complicated. 

This family has more issues to deal with than than most families, I think...I hope...but families are complicated, and there's no getting around that.  Some of the issues covered in Something Worth Saving are: 

alcoholism

prescription drug addiction

dysfunctional families

mental health issues

teenagers

anger

identity questions

adult friendships and relationships

retired police dogs

family relationships with pets

cat personality and behavior

divorce

violence/bullying

Something Worth Saving is told from Charlie's cat, Lily's perspective.  I'm pretty on top of these kinds of stories because I love dogs and cats already, so you can probably imagine why I volunteered to read this in the first place.  I do think it helps the reader to have affection for animals to really understand the nuances of the story...especially Lily's narration

Lily, whose full name is Lily J. Potter (love this) truly cares about her family...like only a cat can.  Lily and retired police dog, Gretel have somewhat of a symbiotic relationship within the household.  They don't necessarily love each other, but they realize that each existence benefits the other, especially if they work together.  As much as I loved Lily's voice and personality, Gretel also tugged at my heartstrings.  I'm a German Shepherd mama myself so I could see Gretel's downtrodden face as Jeremy leaves her behind.  I could see her waiting for him, and I've literally seen that confusion and distress that occurs when the dog is unsure what she did wrong...even if she's done nothing wrong.  

Dealing with the range of emotions the family goes through (as evidenced by the list above), it's hard not to feel like you are part of the family...not really one of them...but you know them so well that you want what's best for all of them.

Yes, the list of struggles is long, but Ward weaves them together so that it doesn't seem like they are just thrown in.  They overlap and mingle...one leading to another, some consequences of others.  The sins of the parents and all that...

One issue that I felt Ward did a really nice job of was Charlie's coming to terms with his gender identity.  Ward doesn't present this as a major family problem, and even though everyone is not thrilled about the prospect, most are cautiously supportive.  This is just the beginning for Charlie, so nothing is hashed out completely, nor did I think it should be.

I don't think this family's problems are over, but I don't think Ward misleads you into thinking this is happily ever after story.  

I enjoyed this story and have put Ward's first novel, The Astonishing Thing on my Amazon Wishlist to read soon. 

Golden Lines

There must be a way Gretel and I could work together to repair this family.  There is something worth saving in this family - a love that connects all of us and binds us together.  I include Dad in this even though he has moved out, and Mark even though he is new.  Like raindrops plunking onto the river, causing overlapping circles of waves, each member of our family impacts the next.  (243)

Sometimes the one who receives our love is a very good baby who does not live long.  Sometimes, it is a strange man who shows up to build a bookshelf.  And sometimes, it is an absolutely gorgeous cat with a funny limp who fits right into the crook of your arm.  (302)

The Author

Sandi Ward

Sandi Ward writes books about love, family, forgiveness…and cats.

Sandi grew up in Manchester-by-the-sea, Massachusetts, and received her MA in Creative Writing at New York University. She’s the author of book club novels published by Kensington Books, stories of dysfunctional families told from the point of view of the family cat. She’s also a medical copywriter at an advertising agency. She lives on the Jersey Shore with her husband, teenagers, dog and a large black cat named Winnie.

On December 18, 2018 her latest novel, SOMETHING WORTH SAVING, will be on sale (available now for pre-order) in trade paperback, e-book and audio book.

Find out more about Sandi at her website, and connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Thomas O'Malley Update :)

Remember this little fella?

Well, he's doing just fine :)

Thomas O'Malley joined our family on Memorial Day this year :)

He spends his days and nights roaming around with his squeaky little meow, his sleepy face, playing with Uh-Oh and Beneigt when they actually notice him, and slapping Layla or Hermione's tails as they walk by.

The Head of My Household makes fun of me for having 5 animals.  But, they make me happy...



How could this little face not make you happy?

TGIF

Nuff said...

;)

Thomas O'Malley

On one of our morning walks a couple of Sundays ago, as Layla was approaching one of the culverts that run all through our neighborhood, I swore I could hear the high pitched, scared out of its mind meow of a little kitten.  

We stopped and listened.

Layla heard it too.

I began calling, "Little Kitty, Little Kitty, Where are you?"

Each time I would call, the kitten would answer me back.

Layla and I could hear the kitten but we could not see him and could not be sure of where the cries were coming from. 

"Little Baby?"

"Meow!"

"Where are you Little One?"

"Meow!"

"Tell me where you are."

"Meow!"

I crawled down into the ditch (yes I did) with confused but excited Layla by my side (she must have been thinking we were on a treasure hunt!)

I continued to talk to the kitten and narrowed down which culvert he was hiding in...unfortunately it was a long culvert with no end in sight so I couldn't see anything but pitch black.

As Layla became more and more excited, I realized how silly it was for me to be calling the little kitten while holding a German Shepherd...doh!

Layla and I went home, I told my daughters about the kitten, we went to church and stopped by the culvert on the way back home.

No kitten.

I didn't think about it again.

The next morning was Memorial Day and Layla and I were in the backyard.  I was sitting in the swing watching her eat sticks when I heard that same little scared "Meow!"

What??

The culvert where we had first heard the kitten is down two streets from my house so surely it couldn't be...I followed the sound, again talking to the kitten as I walked. 

I left Layla in the fence and realized that the kitten was under my middle daughter's car.

 Layla began to bark bc she didn't understand why I was outside the fence and she was inside so I decided to enlist my daughter for help.

"Whitney," I said to my still sleeping 17 year old.

"Whitney, I need your help."

"Mama, do you even know what time it is?" she groaned.

"Whit, I think there's a kitten under your car!"

Huh? What? Where? 

She was awake then.

My girls are a lot like me when it comes to animals that need saving ;)

As she began to look under her car and talk to the little kitten (who all the while is still talking back to us), we became afraid that the kitten was somehow in the engine of the car.  

Until Whitney said, "Mama, here he is...awww little one, come here."

Thankfully, Little Thomas O'Malley was sitting on top of my middle daughter's tire.

He was absolutely frightened to death, crying and even shaking.  For the record, I've had cats all my life and I've never seen one shake.

He was petrified.

Now, I'm making a huge leap here in assuming that the kitten on Whitney's tire was the same kitten in the culvert...but if he was desperate, and I think he was, I don't think it's too much of a stretch to assume that he followed our scent up the street to our house...probably even traveled through the culverts.

We wrapped him up to keep him warm in case the shakes were the beginning of shock and held him close to our bodies.

He immediately began to purr...sounded like a helicopter...I'm not kidding at all.

As soon as we were sure he was ok, my youngest claimed him.

Then, the oldest and middle daughters started fighting and fussing over who should get to keep the kitten, assuming that there was no way the 7 year old was going to keep the kitten.

"You already have a cat!"

"And, you have a dog!"

"So!"

"So, you don't need another animal!"

"Just because I have a dog doesn't mean I shouldn't get to have another cat!!"

"Yes it does!!  You're leaving in a couple of months anyway...you can't take the kitten to the dorm!"

"He can be my cat and still live here!  What's wrong with that??"

There's plenty wrong with that...I'LL end up taking care of YOUR cat...and I'M not taking care of YOUR cat!!"

By this time they were screaming at each other and my youngest was crying.

How in the world my husband slept through all of that I don't know.

I told the big girls to HUSH!

The Firstborn is leaving in a couple of months and the middle daughter will follow in a year.

My youngest has never had an animal of her own so if ANYBODY got to keep the kitten, I was determined for it to be her.

I told her I couldn't make her any promises, but I would talk it over with Daddy.

My youngest has been in and out of her own bed for 7 years...mostly out...every time I've managed to get her out of our bed, something happens and she's right back in bed with us.  

I told Reagan that I already have a cat; Thomas O'Malley cannot sleep with me...I don't want Uh-Oh any more upset than he's gonna be when he sees this new kitten. Beneigt usually sleeps with Whitney and I don't want him upset either.

If Daddy says the kitten can stay, after a clean bill of health from the vet, he must stay with HER and in HER bed at night. 

She didn't even hesitate.

I honestly did not believe her.

Neither did my husband.

I guess they showed us :)

 

Like his namesake, Thomas O'Malley is a scrapper. He stands up to face even Layla and will give her a 1, 2 punch in the nose if she gets too close.  The vet even said that while Thomas O'Malley stayed with them for his check-up, he was hissing and spitting at everybody :)

Uh-Oh and Beneigt weren't sure at first, but once they realized the feisty little kid wasn't gonna get in their way, they were fine with Thomas O'Malley moving in.  

Even the Head of My Household is ok with Thomas O'Malley...he's like a hero...finally got the youngest out of our bed and all that ;)


Abraham De Lacey

Guiseppe Casey

Thomas O'Malley

O'Malley the alley cat.

Uh-Oh vs. The Strawberry Snacker

After performing his afternoon perimeter check, Uh-Oh reported that something was amuck in the strawberry patch.

Something or someone, he said, is eating our berries.

Some hooligan bird or other small critter has invaded our berry bed and has been secretly snacking on our juicy berries.

The ones under the leaves are safe...for now...

Uh-Oh's honor has been insulted...how dare those critters!!!!

Hell hath no fury like a black cat scorned...

Watch out, birds...

It's on.

 ;)

Almost Wordless Wednesday

What is it with this cat and my laptop??

Btw, that's the youngest in the background...thinking Uh-Oh is the funniest cat in the word :)

Wordless Wednesday

Do you think Uh-Oh is trying to tell me something??

Giving Gifts...just because...

You might recognize this regal fella

He's the header of my blog :)

He loves his mommy (me).

He's his mama's (me) baby boy.

He knows his mommy will take care of him...and let him sleep on her squishy pillow.

I love Uh-Oh...as a matter of fact, I've blogged about him before.

Here, here and here.

Uh-Oh and his brother Beneigt keep us on our toes...

and sometimes up in the air.

Last night as I walked through the house for a last check through, I opened the door from my kitchen to the patio.

As I stepped out off the house threshold into the covered patio, something caught my eye.

Something large.

Something right under my feet.

Something dead.

Something that still had blood on it.

Something that was as long as my feet (I wear a size 9 shoe).

If there had been water under me, I would've walked on it.

If it hadn't been 10:30 and I wasn't already 30 minutes late for my absolute latest time to go to bed and an hour and a half after my wannabe bedtime and if all three of my children hadn't already gone to bed (miracle of miracles), I would've screamed my head off.

That's my pretty normal reaction to 9 foot, dead, bloody nasty stuff right under my feet at 10:30 p.m.

In through the patio door sauntered Uh-Oh and Beneigt, sniffing around as if nothing was amiss.

The only thing I could think of that would be worse than the 9 foot, bloody, dead mess under my feet was two cats coming in to investigate, sniffing and waiting on me to congratulate them.

You see, I knew that they were probably the culprits.

As a lifelong cat lover, I long ago chose to take a blind eye, ear and mouth to the fact that cats have a few unsavory habits.

I hopped into the patio, grabbed up both cats and hopped back in the house.

I do not have the slightest idea why I chose to hop.

I think I felt as if the less time my feet actually spent on the floor of the patio, the less chance my feet would be contaminated by the as of yet unidentified 9 foot, dead, bloody mess.

Why I thought it would get up and touch me, I have no idea.

I do know that this 9 foot, dead, bloody mess was much bigger than what these guys usually bring home.

Little birds, moles, or even small mice are much easier to deal with than this thing...whatever it was.

My girls wouldn't even open the patio door this morning when I told them about last night's trauma.

The attempted to identify the dead animal through the blinds of our windows.

They are very much like their mother :)

And, no, you'll be forever grateful that I did not take a picture of the corpse for you to identify on your own.

The Head of My Household pronounced the 9 foot, bloody, dead mess a rabbit.

He knows this because one of the tasks that falls under his job description is the removal of any dead (or alive) unwanted animals/rodents that may find their way into our lives (or our pool).

Have I mentioned that the Head of My Household is not a cat person?

I began to wonder how in the world Uh-Oh and Beneigt could have possibly stopped this rabbit in its tracks.

The rabbits we see around here are fast and hidden expertly in the leaves and woods around our house.

This rabbit wasn't a baby.

He would have had to put up a fight.

Neither Uh-Oh nor Beneigt is that much bigger than this rabbit, ears and all, would have been alive.

Could they have possibly conspired together to take out this rabbit?

I guess I'll just have to be satisfied with not knowing for sure that my guys, in fact, were the murderers.

Because they ain't talkin'

Cats and Birds

Have I mentioned that I'm an animal lover?

Have I mentioned that I specifically love Uh-Oh?

Uh-Oh loves to pretend as if our backyard is his own personal jungle.

A jungle with air conditioning pretty close by.

As much as I love Uh-Oh, I also love other kinds of animals...even birds.

The day I took this photo four bluebirds and one finch were torturing Uh-Oh with their shrieks, fly-by's and little funny jigs to get Uh-Oh's attention.

I'm guessing there was a nest nearby because the birds were making so much noise that they not only attracted my attention, but Beneigt's as well.

Hey, Bro, what's all the racket?

They both became almost mesmerized by the bird shenanigans.

Huh, What'd you say?

There he goes again!

Uh-Oh was too far gone, but Beneigt began to get some of his "cool" back.

C-mon, Uh-Oh, are we really gonna let some bluebird get the best of us???

You might, but I'm not...

I'll just shut my eyes and pretend I'm not in the least bit interested.

As the birds got braver, Beneight lost all control as well.

Where'd he go??? Where'd he go??

Beneigt and Uh-Oh both watched every swoop the birds made.

 
 
 

  A few times they both made this funny meow/purr sound...they were so beside themselves that their jaws shook :) 

The bird Wimbledon continued for quite a while.

I'm no dummy; I know Uh-Oh and Beneigt felt just like I do when I'm standing in front of a warm chocolate fountain. 

I'm happy to report that no birds (or cats) were harmed the morning I took these photos.

SSSSSSSSSummertime Visitors

When the Head of My Household and I moved into our house 5 years ago, we were able to buy a lot in our neighborhood that was a larger lot than most and one of the few lots that was not surrounded by other houses.  Our lot backs up to woods (formerly a horse pasture), and we purposely chose to keep most of the trees around our home.  I hate nothing more than to see a contractor come into an area and completely decimate all the natural plant habitat.  I have never and still to this day do not regret our decision to leave the trees and brush surrounding our home. 

Within sight from our front porch and higher ground in our backyard, we can see the lake that runs the length of our neighborhood. 

We purposely did not buy one of the lots actually ON the lake for a couple of really important reasons.

Reason #1: Price - lake lots are ridiculously expensive.

Reason #2: This frightening fella...

This dude's name is Water Mocassin.

Remember please that I am a Liberal Arts major and will do the very best that I can to explain biological matters with as much accuracy as is possible for me and in words that my book loving self can handle.  Thank you.

The most important thing about this snake is that he bites, and his bite is incredibly poisonous.  According to the Mississippi State University website, one person in Mississippi dies each year from this snake's bite.  However, most of the folks who are injured or killed by venemous snakes have tried in some way to either catch or kill the snake. 

In other words, they've lost their minds.

Water Moccasins are common in Mississippi and they love (as their name implies) semi-aquatic environments (um....like the lake in our neighborhood).

Now, you might as well call me Eve.

Cause I don't like snakes.

Never have...never will.

The Head of My Household, however, is not afraid of snakes.  Now, he's no dummy either...he doesn't try to catch them and he respects their boundaries.  He can, thank goodness, tell the poisonous from the non-poisonous ones.  He doesn't squeal and run when one is sighted in our vicinity.

And, most importantly, he doesn't feel nauseous at the simple idea that snakes are very possibly all around us.

That would be me.

Anyhoo...Water Moccassin dude visited my house Wednesday night. 

Oh

yes.

He

 did.

Uh-Oh and Beneigt took it upon themselves (as they have on several other snake occasions) to keep us safe from the interloper.

Lord, have mercy.

This past Wednesday night my neighbor came in from church and saw our cats chasing and swatting at something near the end of my driveway...of course it's been raining like crazy and the ditches are full of murky water.

Upon closer inspection and the realization of what was happening, my neighbor introduced Mr. Water Moccasin dude to the sharp end of his shovel.

He actually had to bury Mr. Water Moccassin so that Beneigt would leave him alone!!

My youngest grounded the cats from going outside "FOREVER!"

 

We were barely over Mr. Moccassin when Thursday after another pounding rain, my youngest and I were in the yard around the pool.  My youngest had walked over to the garden beds (yes, in her bare feet as most all Missisippi kids do).  I was standing by the diving board watching her.

I happened to look down in the grass maybe 2 feet in front of me and saw this:

I almost vomited right then and there.

This snake was

BETWEEN

me

and

MY

BABY

!!!!!!

I knew if I screamed "SNAKE!!!" that she would run straight for me.

She had already probably stepped right over the snake once unknowingly (Thank you, Lord)...I knew we wouldn't get that lucky again.

I suggested we check the pool skimmers (which she is fond of doing), and she walked diagonally toward the skimmers instead of the direction of the snake.  I took her by the arm and walked her all the way around the pool sidewalk, passing right by the skimmers, and up onto the deck where I could hold myself together no longer and started squealing, "SSSSSNNNNNNAAAAAAKKKKKEEEE!!!!"

My middle child came running to the door to see what in heaven's name was happening.

We stood up on the sides of the deck to see the snake without going anywhere near it.

It wasn't moving.

After several minutes of wondering what the heck was going on with this snake, and trying to find the Head of My Household, my middle child's friend who lives in our neighborhood who likes snakes, and calling my friend Missie who's husband is a biology major, the snake still hadn't moved. 

I began wondering if it was dead.  

My so-called BFF Missie said, "Take a picture of it and send it to me via Blackberry Message."

I told her she'd lost her mind.

I did, however, like a do-do bird, begin to slowly walk toward this snake with my Blackberry.

I stood as close as I could without getting sick and worked on the zoom of my BBerry camera.

My middle child was right behind me.

While I was zooming, Middle Child said, "Mama"

I looked up at Stranger Snake to notice that his upper body looked a little different than it had when we first saw him.

I said, "Did it move?"

Middle Child said, "It definitely looks different than it did a minute ago, Mama"

She barely got the word "Mama" out of her mouth when Stranger Snake sprinted (if snakes had legs) off into the woods like a 3 ft. Sidewinder.

Oh.

My.

Dear.

Lord.

I'm sure that the neighbors on the other side of the neighborhood wondered who was being axed to death at our house.

Together, my middle child, youngest child and I let out the most blood curdling screams you have every heard in your life as we knocked each other over to get into the house.

My baby was standing in the doorway like the smart child that she is...I don't even think she saw the snake slither away...but she decided if her sister and I were screaming, it was probably a good idea if she did too.

Once the Head of My Household came home, he sat us down and we looked through the criminal photo books of snakes to find our culprit.

According to the MSU snake identification website, our Stranger Snake was most likely a Black Masked Racer.  He is not poisonous, and he will even eat other snakes.  However, the website said "he will not hesistate to bite if he feels threatened or cannot flee."

I need to take my heart medicine now.

I do not like snakes...have I already said that??  But, the Head of My Household has taught me that the non-venemous snakes will actually keep the population of venemous snakes down.  We will have to worry less about Copperheads and Water Moccassins as long as there are enough natural enemies to eat them. If you can stand to look back at the snake pictures, notice that the Water Moccassin's head is diamond or triangle shaped while the Racer's head is not.  This is not a foolproof way of distinguishing poisonous snakes from non-poisonous ones, but it's a pretty good start.

You're not going to believe what happened on Friday.

Are you sure you can handle it?

I went to the grocery store and left the Head of My Household weed eating around the pool and my garden beds.  Even though the Stranger Snake was non-poisonous, the Head of My Household decided that we will keep the grass around the pool very short from now on.  At least that way we won't accidently step on anything that might bite us.

Guess what he found around my beloved garden beds?

Go ahead and guess.

Did you guess????

Now, this is a black Speckled KingSnake, and if there is a good snake, this is him.

The biggest snake we've every seen at our house was early early one morning and was a KingSnake.  

The Head of My Household actually played with him.

Oy!

Not with his hands, for heaven's sake...I already told you he's not a dummy!

Seems the Head of My Household disturbed King Snake's shady resting spot by weedeating all the tall thick grasses.  I like to think King Snake was hiding and waiting on the other snakes to try and come back in my yard again...so he could EAT them!! 

It's the only way I can make myself feel better...by making up some narrative with a sinister plot, good guy vs. bad guy.

Today there were no snake adventures at my house.

Thank you, Lord because 3 snakes in 3 days is about all I can handle for now.

I need time.

The girls and I went shopping, just in case.

We left the Head of My Household to wrangle the varmints...

Best Buds

We rescued Hermione after Hurricane Katrina, and she is just about the most laid back, gentle dog I've ever had.  She loves everyone and everything.  

Even Beneigt.

Beneigt and Hermione are buds.

Well, sorta.

Beneigt likes to test Hermione's patience.

I think it drives Beneigt crazy that Hermione doesn't act like most dogs and chase him.

C'mon, Hermione...don't ya just want to jump at me??  Even just a little?

Well....nah...no thanks, Beneigt.

You gotta be kidding me! What kinda dog are you anyway?

I'll even let you be the boss.

It would really be a lot of fun.......

Sheesh!

I believe Hermione secretly enjoys driving Beneigt crazy. ;)