Book Review: Ananias By James Case

Book Blurb:

When Ananias Case boards a ship in Fowey, England in 1826 bound for Carbonear, Newfoundland, he’s not looking for adventure; he’s a man on the run. The strictures of class division are left in the wake, while a fractured society in the throes of rapid evolution awaits beyond the sea. An historical novel based on real events, Ananias is the story of a man seeking a new life while struggling with the ghosts of his past. This sweeping adventure of discovery, connection and heartache is also a moving tribute to a rugged island place and its people.

I finished reading this book less then a half an hour ago. Part of me wants to sit and let it all soak in, but the impatient part of me wants to get this down and share this with you. As a writer, I’m expected to always have the perfect words for any situation. But right now words can not express just how much I loved this story. I’m sitting here emotional, if I am to be honest.

Ananias Case is not only the main character of this tale, but he was my fourth great grandfather. And thanks to research compiled by the author James Case (whom is my newly discovered cousin) as well as others in his family, James penned an amazing tale of our ancestor and his life.

I read this with not just the eyes of a reader, but with the eyes of someone learning more about her roots and her family. Of someone learning what her ancestors went through. And not just Ananias. Many of my ancestors left England and migrated to Newfoundland. In the places that is mentioned in the story, I had other ancestors who lived in these places as well. In the last year, I have become slightly obsessed with learning my history. Every so often I would pause and put down the book to take in what I’d just read. My ancestors are long gone, but for awhile, James has brought them back. So, maybe I’m a bit biased in this. But this really is a fantastic story. It’s well written and James makes you feel like you are back in the past, next to Ananias.

*Spoiler Alert*

When Ananias was a teenager, he learned that his youngest sister was being beaten by their stepmother, Mary. Ananias ended up beating Mary, left her for dead, and fled England. He ended up in Newfoundland. He was left to start over, with his guilt and his thoughts, in a new land. It dawned on me one day that had he not done so, I wouldn’t exist today. He met my fourth great grandmother while creating his new life in Newfoundland.

James took all of the research he and his family compiled and wrote the story of Ananias using these real events and people, and in between he wove in fiction to create this wonderful story. It’s a story of second chances, love, heartbreak, hope, family, and lessons learned. This story had me laughing at times, while at others the words became fuzzy with tear filled eyes. Even though I knew the events in this story, I still found myself rooting for Ananias.

If you have a love of historical stories (both fiction and otherwise), you can find the book in several places including Nevermore Press. I can’t wait to read James’s next novel. I will be sure to be posting updates and a review when the time comes!

Want To Start Researching Your Family Tree? Here’s A Few Tips To Get You Started

I got hooked on my family tree after Mr. C gave me a DNA kit from Ancestry on Christmas of 2020. After I sent my DNA off and waited for the results, I began to work on my tree. Which quickly became an obsession. While I am not near being an expert, here’s a few tips I learned in the last year, for anyone starting on their journey.

My great grandfather, Robert Patey. He was killed in a mining accident (runaway trip) as a young man.

Get a DNA kit. Honestly, this has been a huge asset. It’s helped me connect with cousins I never knew existed, and helped me fill in parts of my history. Several cousins have become friends and we even help each other out and update each other with new finds. Whatever company you get your kit from, once you get your results, download your raw DNA. This can be uploaded to several other sites for FREE. Which means you get more DNA info PLUS more matches. I had given hubs a kit as well that Christmas. It wasn’t until he uploaded his DNA to My Heritage that he connected with one of his half sisters. (Mr. C is adopted, and in 2021 he found his birth father’s family, which has been amazing. Bio dad has passed away, but Mr. C has been getting to know his awesome aunts, uncles and cousins). Also our DNA is uploaded to GEDmatch and Family Tree DNA. Oh, and wait for sales. Certain times of the year these DNA companies put their kits on sale.

Talk to family. I wish I had started this years ago. The more time that passes, more of the stories and info you lose when loved ones pass away. Start talking to parents, grandparents, aunts, etc… My mom had dementia when I started this, but on her good days she could tell me stories and she helped identify people in old photos. Her mind was in the past so she was able to help me for a little while. And she loved it. At every visit, soon as I’d walk into her room, she would ask “Did you bring any pictures today?” My aunt was practically a family historian, and I’d give my eye teeth to have one hour with her to pick her brain. So, reach out. Talk to your loved ones. Any little piece of info or photo is a piece of the bigger picture.

Obits are gold. The best obituaries to find are the ones that list as much info as possible. Children’s names, where they lived, if they served in the war. All of these tidbits huge! When my mom passed last year, I wrote her obit. I made sure to mention all her kids and step kids, that she was a grandmother, great-grandmother and more recently a great-great grandmother. I also made it personal, of coarse. I didn’t want her to have a generic obit. I wanted people who didn’t know her to read it and felt that they knew her. This might also help future generations know their great great nan.

Start Small. Start with your parents. Your mom’s maiden name, their details on where they were born, when etc….Then start your grandparents. If they have passed, look for those obits. (And save them! I reached out to a library service program here in Nova Scotia. They located my nan’s obit, sent it to me. It’s been since printed off and added to my records) Look for marriage certificates, birth records, etc…

Join Groups. There are only two reasons I haven’t left Facebook. And one of those reasons is for research purposes. I joined genealogy groups for various provinces my family came from, groups in England and Scotland. There I have learned of websites to read into, and even found distant cousins. One woman in a group based in England pointed me to a distant cousin and a book he had published, which happened to be my 4th great grandfather. I contacted him right away and purchased the book as well. (Book review coming of that in the not to distant future).

My last tip: be prepared for what you find. There might be old skeletons lurking about. I went into this prepared for the good, the bad and the ugly.

What else do you think should go on this list? Are you thinking about digging into your family tree?

New Year, Fresh Start

More like a fresh outlook.

Just because it’s now a new year doesn’t mean that the past two years have been wiped clean. But I am choosing to deal with it differently.

A new way to look at things. *not my image-credit to owner*

Last year was an epic dumpster fire, and I had a hard time feeling positive about anything. I had a lot going on in my personal life, not to mention the mental burnout of the pandemic.

At the end of 2021, I started to *slightly* feel better mentally. And more like my old self. And I want to hang onto that with all that I got.

Over the years I have flipflopped between making new years resolutions and not caring either way. While this year I’m not exactly making resolutions, I am making a bit of a plan.

The biggest thing for me is to keep my focus on the positive as well as projects. I have a massive TBR pile, a secret book project I’m putting together for family in honor of my mother, and getting back to writing daily. Even something small. I won’t beat myself up when I have unproductive days. My goal however is to have many more productive days then I did last year. (Which shouldn’t be hard since I can practically count them on one hand)

In hindsight, the best thing I did last year was write my mom’s obituary and eulogy. Those were hard for me to do, especially having to speak in front of everyone. Family or not, I’m not a fan of doing that. But I did it. And I did it for her. They were the last things I could do for her, and I feel like I did it well. So in that I am proud of myself. I think she’d be proud of me too.

I think a part of my mental burn out was the doom scrolling and so much pandemic talk. This year I won’t be doing so much doom scrolling. And using my creative outlets to think about other things.

Well, if you’d excuse me, I’m off to finish binge watching season four of Cobra Kai.

What do you hope to get out of 2022?