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Leaning Into The Wind: A Memoir Of Midwest Weather ReviewAn Anglophile myself, Susan Allen Toth first came to my attention with her three 5-star travel narratives about England (MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH ENGLAND, ENGLAND AS YOU LIKE IT, ENGLAND FOR ALL SEASONS), and then her reminiscences of growing up in Iowa (BLOOMING) and off to college (IVY DAYS). LEANING INTO THE WIND comes across as a stream of musings about the rest of her life, all given unity by their strong or loose association with Midwestern climatology.Many of Susan's weather references are symbolic, as alluding to the "storms" that troubled the eleven years of her failed first marriage to Lawrence, or equating Life in general to the "storm" into which we all must step. Indeed, many of the author's insights come from the philosophical viewpoint of one in the autumn of life. Born in the early 40s, if Susan isn't already sixty, she closing on it fast. There are numerous sentences prefaced with "I used to feel", "over my lifetime", "as I've grown older", "when I was young", and "these days". For that reason, LEANING INTO THE WIND will perhaps not appeal to younger readers. One might have to be of "that certain age", or a die-hard Toth fan.
Having lived in Southern California, where the climate is monotonously temperate 24/356, for fifty of my fifty-four years, I can't relate to Susan's description of weather's excesses. I've never personally seen a frozen lake, or had to take refuge in a storm cellar, or experienced eight inches of rain in as many hours. But the beauty of the author's prose is that I can immediately empathize when our experiences do intersect, as when she talks of leaping into an ice-cold pool from cement broiling under the July sun. Or, as sensitive to mosquito bites as she is, listening with dread to the drone of the summer pest in a dark room. Or reveling in the green, cool lushness of an English spring garden. Or smelling burning leaves in fall's nippy air. Toth brings it all back, no matter at what age I experienced the original. For the rest, of which I know nothing, I happily go along for the ride and trust in my guide.
LEANING INTO THE WIND is perhaps not the author's best book; its twelve chapters, though all under the Midwestern weather umbrella, are disparate from one another. And, at only 124 pages, it's overpriced in the hardback format. However, Toth has previously provided me with many hours of congenial reading, so I'll not be too begrudging. Love ya, Susan!Leaning Into The Wind: A Memoir Of Midwest Weather OverviewMidwesterners love to talk about the weather, approaching the vagaries and challenges of extreme temperatures, deep snow, and oppressive humidity with good-natured complaining, peculiar pride, and communal spirit. Such a temperamental climate can at once terrify and disturb, yet offer unparalleled solace and peace.Leaning into the Wind is a series of ten intimate essays in which Susan Allen Toth, who has spent most of her life in Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, reveals the ways in which weather has challenged and changed her perceptions about herself and the world around her. She describes her ever-growing awareness of and appreciation for how the weather marks the major milestones of her life. Toth explores issues as large as weather and spirituality in "Who Speaks in the Pillar of Cloud?" and topics as small as a mosquito in "Things That Go Buzz in the Night." In "Storms," a severe thunderstorm becomes a continuing metaphor for the author's troubled first marriage. Two essays, one from the perspective of childhood and one from late middle age, ponder how the weather seems different at various stages of life but always provides unexpected opportunities for self-discovery, change, and renewal. The perfect entertainment for anyone who loved Toth's previous books on travel and memoir, Leaning into the Wind offers engaging and personal insights on the delights and difficulties of Midwest weather. Susan Allen Toth is the author of several books, including Blooming: A Small-Town Girlhood (1981), My Love Affair with England (1992), England As You Like It (1995), and England for All Seasons (1997). She has contributed to the New York Times, the Washington Post, Harper's, and Vogue. She lives in Minneapolis.
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