Birdbaths and Paper Cranes: A Family Tale

This book is a guarantee to make you reminisce and cry and laugh along with Sharon Randall as she writes of her life. It is beautifully written, short and direct ~~ always having her short stories end with a rememberable last line that leaves you thinking more. I found this languishing on my bookshelf after borrowing it from my mom last year. I needed something "lighter" to read after my spree of historical fiction. I thought this one was rather a slim volume and I can surprise my mom by returning it this weekend. But it was a surprise to me! For such a small volume, this woman writes with a punch ~~ a punch to the soul. She shouts, cajoles and whispers to your memories and soul with grace and humor. Just like a mom and wife, daughter and sister and granddaughter. I only wish I had a bigger box of kleenexes nearby. I also couldn't put the book down after reading the foreword by her son. Now that I know why my local newspaper carry her column, I will be reading her work again and again. She speaks to the mother and wife inside of me. She makes me sit and remember who I was long before I have gotten to this part of my journey. She talks as if you're sitting next to her with a cup of tea and you both are just gabbing away ~~ only her stories serve to remind you that life is short and it is even more precious than we all realize. This is a book that should be shared, not hoarded in dusty libraries or in the back of the bookcase. This is a book that everyone should give to their loved ones ~~ male or female. It speaks to all of us. I just love writers like Sharon Randall ~~ they really speak and it is up to us to really listen ~~ with our ears and our hearts.1-28-04

This is an outstanding collection of newspaper columns. Homespun and heartfelt, these stories touched me on many levels. Sharon Randall is a gifted writer and a fine storyteller. She has a magical sense of putting it all together, bringing each topic full circle. No matter the subject-something as light as her daughter's tea parties, as funny as her blind brother's adventure in driving, and as sad and poignant as her husband's battle with cancer, she left me with a feeling of warmth-and more often than not, a smile.I read the beautiful piece, "The Paper Cranes," to my young daughters and their friends and they listened very intently. It led to a question and answer session about the Atomic Bomb and the end of World War II, and then a fascination with origami and the symbolism of 1,000 paper cranes. It was a lot to take away from one small story. This is a book I'll keep on my shelf and I know I'll refer to it from time to time when I'm looking for a friend with whom I wish to share a thought or feeling. Meanwhile, as a former newspaper columnist (in the San Francisco Bay area) I'll recommend it to everyone as classic material of the genre. Looking forward to the next book.Submitted by the author of "I'm Living Your Dream Life," Mc Kenna Publishing Group

I could not put this book down until I had devoured every word! My only regret is that this is her one and only book! How I hope to see another soon! "Birdbaths and Paper Cranes" is not only humorous, poignant, thought-provoking and, at times, heartbreakingly sad, but it is a quick easy read, with lessons from her life that will enrich yours!

Birdbaths and Paper Cranes is a wonderful collection of stories from a woman who has obviously lived a very colorful life. The stories are edited together brilliantly create a seamless appearance despite the fact that many columns took place over the course of months and years. This is an excellent book to share amongst family.

Originally written as a weekly column for the Monterey County Herald (CA) newspaper, journalist/writer, Sharon Randall's debut novel is a collection of personal essays telling a family tale from beginning to end, and back to a new beginning. Ms. Randall is the invisible storyteller here---re-emphasizing the roots of her oral tradition itself by telling a story about a story with her strong sense of place, her depth of characterization, and above all, she does it with a keen and rich sense of humor. We meet her blind brother Joe who got drunk once and tried to drive a car; her husband Coach Randall, the beloved high school chemistry teacher and basketball coach who loved life even in the face of death; son Josh who wanted to be a real doctor, but instead, is playing one on the television series Ed; and, we experience her first "official" date in 30 years. Born into a family of storytellers, Ms. Randall draws on her humble folkloric roots from the mountains of North Carolina to pass on tales and trickster stories. From her Grandma's tall tales that could summon wolves to the door, to her own mother's life that was a story in itself, to her stepfather's loneliness and her own father's suicide, the theme of stories and storytelling is woven throughout the book. Her language is intuitive. She has a story to tell that means something and because of this she is able to connect the reader emotionally to the story. Two thumbs up!