Martine’s Must-Reads for May 2021

1- Stronger: Courage, Hope, and Humor in My Life with John McCain by Cindy McCain 

Cindy McCain, wife of Senator John McCain opens up about her beloved husband, their thirty-eight-year marriage, and the trials and triumphs of a singular American life. 

2- A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II by Sonia Purnel

In 1942, the Gestapo sent out an urgent transmission: “She is the most dangerous of all Allied spies. We must find and destroy her.” 

The target in their sights was Virginia Hall, a Baltimore socialite who talked her way into Special Operations Executive, the spy organization dubbed Winston Churchill’s “Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.” She became the first Allied woman deployed behind enemy lines and–despite her prosthetic leg–helped to light the flame of the French Resistance, revolutionizing secret warfare as we know it. 

Virginia established vast spy networks throughout France, called weapons and explosives down from the skies, and became a linchpin for the Resistance. Even as her face covered wanted posters and a bounty was placed on her head, Virginia refused order after order to evacuate. She finally escaped through a death-defying hike over the Pyrenees into Spain, her cover blown. But she plunged back in, adamant that she had more lives to save, and led a victorious guerilla campaign, liberating swathes of France from the Nazis after D-Day. 

 

3- Becoming by Michelle Obama

Becoming is the memoir of former First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama, published in 2018. Described by the author as a deeply personal experience, the book talks about her roots and how she found her voice, as well as her time in the White House, her public health campaign, and her role as a mother.

 

4- About My Mother: True Stories of a Horse-Crazy Daughter and Her Baseball-Obsessed Mother: A Memoir By Peggy Rowe

When major league baseball came to town in the early 1950s and turned sophisticated Thelma into a crazed Baltimore Orioles groupie, nobody was more surprised and embarrassed than Peggy. Life became a series of compromises — Thelma tolerating a daughter who pitched manure and galloped the countryside, while Peggy learned to tolerate the whacky Orioles fan who threw her underwear at the television, shouted insults at umpires, and lived by the orange-and-black schedule taped to the refrigerator door.  

Sometimes it takes a little  distance to appreciate the people we love.

5- Finish What You Start:The Art of Following Through, Taking Action, Executing, & Self-Discipline by Peter Hollin 

Practical tactics to grow your willpower, stop procrastination, focus like a laser, and achieve whatever you set your mind to. Following through and finishing what you start are more valuable skills than you realize. They are a combination of traits that enables you to create the life you want — without having to compromise or wait.