The Grieving Atheist book reviews

I want to list a few books on death and grieving  of which I've read all or most.

It's OK That You're Not Ok by Megan Devine. This is a book for the truly heartbroken. The author helps you to look at what you are thinking and feeling, with her own loss experience as a guide, she passes no judgment and goes with you into the tough, awkward places. Through it all, she tells you over again that there is nothing wrong with the things you are naturally feeling. Grief is not something to be cured but something we must learn how to carry. There are as many ways to carry as there are people.

A Time to Grieve: Meditations for Healing After the Death of a Loved One by Carol Staudacher. Each page encapsulates a thought about grief and grieving, using a statement from a griever, a quote, a paragraph of validation, and a short passage for the griever to repeat to themselves. It was helpful to me in those times when I was in a negative feedback loop or could not stop crying.

No Death, No Fear: Comforting Wisdom For Life, by Thich Nhat Hanh. I am still reading this. It is a Buddhist look at death and how to think of it in the ultimate perspective (infinite) rather than the historical (our lifetime).  It is bigger than the big picture. I find it paradoxically comforting and frightening at the same time. This is as it should be. Death itself is paradoxical. We don't like or want death, but viewed in the long term, it ends up being a blessing. We are encouraged to consider ourselves and others as both dead and alive, just as we are both up and down, good and bad, etc. it caused me to come up with my own applicable paradox: We are simultaneously far more important and far less important than we imagine ourselves to be.

A Grieving Atheist Book Review: The Grief Recovery Handbook.

I've recently finished reading The Grief Recovery Handbook by John James and Russell Friedman. This book is outlines a method for coming to grips with all types of loss in your life, from horrendous death to moving. The title is a little misleading because, as the authors recognize,  we don't always get over major losses but can live with them in a way that they call "completing our emotions." They discuss how we are poorly socialized to deal with loss because most of our culture is concerned with gains. I agree with them that modern therapeutic methods and language are often not very helpful. Every loss and every grief is unique to the individual and can not be reduced to stages or timelines.

As I was reading through the book and finally arrived at the steps to the implementation of the grief recovery method, I felt a sense of familiarity. This book was originally written before Marie Kondo put out her best seller on the Joys of Tidying Up, but it promotes metaphorically similar actions. I realized that this practice of "emotional completeness" was the explanation I had missed when I read Miss Kondo's book.

In a nutshell,  the authors of the grief recovery handbook suggest a method for reviewing your relationship to an idea, a person, a place, or a thing. It is recommended to find a partner to share the exercises with in six sessions. They want you to examine the good and the bad related to the whatever or whomever was lost, then write your thoughts down in an orderly fashion. For the loss of a person, you reminisce, you apologize if needed, you forgive if needed, you make any emotional statements that you might need to get off your chest, and you write a final good bye. This letter is to be read aloud, even if you do not have a partner in the process. It is recommended that the letter be burned afterward.

Basically, the idea is to practice letting things go in a way that gets all the thoughts and feelings off your chest, hopefully once and for all. The reason I said this reminded me of Marie Kondo is she advocates a telling each of your possessions good bye when you decide to get rid of them. You remind yourself how you got it, what joy or sorrow it brought you, and then release it to move on from your life. People tend to make fun of her thinking of things as conscious beings, but I am seeing another side of this. We do develop all kinds of relationships, attachments if you will. There is no condemnation in that. But when we need to let go, or are ready to let go, we need examples of how to do that. This book provides them.

Do I think it is perfect? No. Grief will still remain.. Sorrow still happens, but unresolved emotions have been addressed and dealt with. This can only be helpful, in my opinion. There are two things of note. First, you must be ready and willing to say goodbye, at which point I have not arrived yet. Second, though the authors stress doing the method their way, I think it's perfectly fine to adapt it in a way that works for you.

There is very little talk of faith, even though the authors let you know they are believers. They make a point out of taking faith out of the recovery process. Their method is completely accessible to those without supernatural beliefs.

A Grieving Atheist Book Review: Modern Loss

I'm currently reading Modern Loss, a compilation of essays from the Modern Loss blog, by Rebecca Soffer and  Gabrielle Birkner. The subtitle is Candid Conversations About Grief, Beginners Welcome. Each essay is about 4 pages long and written by someone who has experienced the death of someone who was part of their life.

All kinds of death are represented, and all kinds of lives. Each author brings a unique perspective to the grief process, triggers, things to know, inheritance, identity, collateral damage, secrets, griefspeak, etc. There is some humor, and a lot of sorrow that people are dealing with on a day to day basis, in their own way. Grief is very personal and often very complicated. I find it very helpful to read about other's personal experiences. It is like group therapy without leaving your home and dealing with other people.

I'm looking forward to the rest of the book which has sections on Journeys, Shit people say but really shouldn't, and absence + time. I highly recommend Modern Loss for any grieving adult. Also, it has been entirely religion free so far. I haven't checked out the blog yet, but  don't let that stop you.

A Grieving Atheist Book Review: Grief is the Thing With Feathers

I picked up Grief is the Thing With Feathers, by Max Porter, because it was at my local library under the search word "grief." There might be spoilers in this review.

The book is part poetry, part prose, part stream of consciousness, part sarcasm. It is easy to read in one sitting. There are three voices: the grieving husband and father who lost his wife in an accident, their two sons, and Crow.

Crow is a large black bird who suddenly enters the life of the father and sons when grief hits full force. Crow is grief counselor, friend, antagonist, observer of life, and reminder of death, all in one. He insinuates himself into the household as a guest that is barely tolerated and sometimes ignored. He is raucous, rude, and nonsensical, but sometimes wise and witty. He loves rhyming and alliteration.

At the end, Crow is revealed as tender and understanding. He has somehow held the family together and brought them through the worst. His job was to remain as long as hope was absent. He eventually leaves them to their new lives that they have eventually managed to create out of the destruction of the old. However, they do not forget him, but retain a lifelong affinity for crows.

Of course the story is a metaphor for a grief observed. It plays off Emily Dickenson's poem which says "Hope is a thing with feathers." In this case grief has replaced hope, temporarily. I'm sure story is meant to be a message of hope, at the same time understanding that grief comes to live with you for  a while and insinuates itself into everything.

The father in the story is a Ted Hughes expert and is writing a scholarly essay on Mr. Hughes work called Crow, which Mr. Hughes wrote after the death of his wife Sylvia Plath. I believe it would be promote better understanding of imagery used if one was to read Mr. Hughes work, but I haven't done that yet.

Of course I cried in a couple of spots, but the father's situation was different enough from my own for me to not be triggered too much. Weirdly, I'm finding that looking at the grief of others is helping me to see my own more clearly. This was a line from the book that spoke to me: "Moving on, as a concept, is for stupid people, because any sensible person knows grief is a long-term project."

A Grieving Atheist Book Review: A Monk's Guide to a Clean House and a Clean Mind

I recently checked out A Monk's Guide to a Clean House and a Clean Mind by Shoukei Matsumoto. I didn't expect it to have anything to say to help me with my grief, but as is the way with minds, we connect what we are reading to our current self. On the first page of this little book, I read these words, "We don't do this (ritual cleaning) because it's dirty or messy. We do it to eliminate suffering in our hearts."

The monk goes on to tell us that cleaning and clean spaces "serve to calm the mind." The repetitive rituals of cleaning are time for contemplation and learning to focus fully in the moment, a kind of meditation, if you will. 

The book carefully outlines how monks clean each living space, themselves, and their possessions. Much of it seems overly obvious and simplistic. However, each aspect of cleanliness is metaphorically equated with the state of one's heart and cultivation of one's mind. The monk appears to be very serious about the meaning and purpose of cleanliness, but I think it would be a mistake to take his spiritual sounding metaphors too seriously, as some reviewers do. 

I can see how treating cleaning as a meditation exercise could help to calm anxieties and refocus the mind, which I need help with right now. Plus there are chores I have been putting off as a result off my grief. A change in attitude toward the work may help me get to them sooner and accomplish them with more ease of mind. I hope.

A Grieving Atheist Book Review: Zen without Zen Masters

Hello, I have briefly mentioned that there has been a terrible tragedy and I have lost someone very near and dear to me about two months ago. My heart is not just broken, it is shattered. I have been trying to navigate daily life through my intense grief, just managing to hold on to my sanity. I apologize for not giving details, but I don't think that is necessary, nor will it serve any purpose to examine the circumstances of the death. It wouldn't change anything. They are still dead. No reiteration of the past can change that.

 I am still having crying jags and emotional meltdowns. I've seen a grief counselor twice. She was not very helpful, but I don't blame her, what can she do. What is done can't be undone, what is shattered cannot be fixed, the dead cannot be brought back to life. I was a little frustrated at the counselor though. Both sessions, she asked me about my loved one and if I could feel their presence, what I thought had happened to their essence, and if I was receiving messages from them. I thought this was inappropriate. She was under the impression that I was a "spiritual" person. I had to tell her I was not religious and she said that would make it harder for me to recover. She also attempted to question why I was not a believer.

Does it make it harder to grieve as an atheist, or just different? Is it even different at all? Does the severity of grief depend on the closeness of the relationship more than religious beliefs? What about the personalities, strengths, weaknesses, and life experiences of the griever? What about the circumstances surrounding the death? Does religion help when the death was sudden, unnecessary, and not understandable?

One thing the counselor  got right is that I have had a traumatic shock. Apparently I have also entered a stage of what is known as "complicated grief." That seems so obvious as to almost be insulting. Duh.

I'm reluctant to go back to that counselor, or any counselor for that matter. I have tried multiple methods of distraction, action, and reaction. They might help for a time but they quickly become useless as a means to ease the pain. I don't drink, smoke, or do drugs of any kind. I have very few responsibilities to occupy my time.  I did get a part time job, but it consists of 4-10 hours a week. For now I have decided to do what comes naturally to me and turn to books. Over at the Roll To Disbelieve blog, I asked for book suggestions to deal with grief as an atheist. I received two. The first was Zen without Zen Masters.

I ordered the book and set about reading it by just opening it to a random page. You can do that with this book because each page is self contained. There is an illustration or mini lesson on each page. I had been pre-warned that it was a bit irreverent. I didn't find it insulting, but it was more flippant than what I needed. Also, there was more about sex than I expected, which was not relevant for me. The most helpful part was near the end, describing various meditations and exercises other than the ones popularly thought of when we hear the words. I would like to examine these more. 1. Breathing meditation 2. Moving meditation. 3. Walking meditation 4. Transcendental meditation. 5. Daily exercise (live in the day) 6. Being exercise (become part of a particular cultural experience) 7. Candle exercise 8.Decisive exercise (using CAN achronism to help decide what to do)  Etc.

The book's main message seems to be: Do not take yourself too seriously. Very hard for me right now under the circumstances. However, I do want to explore a buddhist approach to death and grieving. I found help in some Buddhist philosophy as I was deconverting from Christianity. Maybe it will be of some use again. I checked out a book from my library, called The Five Invitations: What Death Can Teach us about Living. I didn't realize at the time that it was also written by a Zen Buddhist. It has already given me much to think about which I will probably discuss later.

Book Review: No Time to Spare

I recently finished reading No Time To Spare: Thinking About What Matters by Ursula Le Guin. The author wrote many well loved fantasy novels, including the Wizard of Earthsea trilogy. She lived into her eighties and recently passed away. This book is a collection of non-fiction short writings that were mostly taken from her blog, which she started as an octogenarian. She covers many topics with humor and intelligence. Some of the articles are about what it is like being an author, life, aging, politics, and cats. I thoroughly enjoyed every word.

Book Review: The Bonobo and the Atheist

I just finished reading The Bonobo and the Atheist: In Search of Humanism among the Primates by Franz De Waal. The author writes clearly about the application of his lifelong work with chimpanzees and bonobos. He intertwines the narrative with another of his passions, the artwork of Hieronymus Bosch.  In both he sees lessons about the human condition. I personally found the art aspect added additional interest, but some reviewers did not find it relevant to the topic. They obviously did not get that Franz De Waal's thought on the origins of religion was a big part of the human condition he was exploring. However, I do agree with many critics who say that he was too soft on religion and its effect on the human race. He doesn't seem to think humans can get along very well without the guidance of religion, but he does just fine without it.

Besides exploring evidence of altruism and empathy in apes, the author goes into detail describing the changes in the scientific community over the last decades regarding those topic. Science has come around to his point of view, humans are not unique when it comes to basic humanistic traits. Mr. De Waal is obviously fond of his subject of study and irritated with those who would deny any higher order emotions and motivations to all animals. He does a good job of providing multiple examples of compassion and cooperation among primates. I highly recommend this book.

Book Review- We Are Our Brains

I would like to recommend a book I just finished,  called We are Our Brains by D. F. Swaab. This book contains very important information on how our brains develop "from the womb to alzheimers." The author gives lay readers an easy to understand survey of how the biology of our brains determines and influences who we are, our sexuality, our character, and our choices. It also tells how our brains react to hormones, drugs, and other environmental factors. In my opinion, this information is very important, and all educated people should be introduced to it in some way, at least by adolescence.

Refutation of Deism, Book Review

Today I read Refutation of Deism by Percy Bysshe Shelley, found here: (link) it is Shelley's argument against William Paley's Watchmaker/intelligent design hypothesis. It seemed to me that Shelley was trying to use the style of argument found in Plato's dialogues, with two fictional Greek characters having the discussion.

One character, Theosophus, is the deist, the other, Eusebes, argues against deism. However, at first I was confused, because Eusebes starts off rebuking Theosophus for his need for evidence and his rejection of the christianity of faith in miracles and revelation. I think Shelley must have been trying to be ironic or sarcastic. Most of Eusebes's replies to Theosophus's deistic intelligent design argument consisted in dismantling the material necessity for a creator.

The dialog ends with Theosophus conceding that Eusebes gives a good argument for atheism, but since he can not give up his belief in god, he will resort to whatever form and practice of traditional Christianity that he can stomach.

I found the arguments against intelligent design very reasonable and well thought out. They comprised the main body of the dialog. There were many quotable portions, including "To suppose some existence above and beyond (the natural laws) is to invent a second and superfluous hypothesis to account for what has already been accounted for by the laws of motion and properties of matter. "

This essay is only 30 pages long, but does take some time to decode and digest.

Robert Ingersoll

I recently finished reading volume 1 of the collected works of Robert Ingersoll.   I had read that Ingersoll influenced Mark Twain and I had seen Matt Dilahunty talk about reading Ingersoll when he was deconverting from Christianity. This made me curious because I respect the work of both Dilahunty and Twain. Mark Twain has long been one of my favorite authors. You can find the collected works of Ingersoll for free at multiple spots on the web: Gutenberg, the University of Adelaide, and Amazon Kindle.

After reading the first volume, I can definitely see how Ingersoll influenced Twain. The soft sarcasm and deep caring for humanity are shared by both men. While Twain preferred to give his lectures and lessons under the cover of fictional satire. Ingersoll is straightforward and factual about his atheism and disdain for religious prejudice. Ingersoll goes further than Twain in spelling out injustice against women, children, and minorities. He speaks candidly about the science and history scholarship of the day and how it does not agree with the Bible. Of course it is somewhat outdated now, because he wrote and spoke over 100 years ago. However, the main ideas remain valid across time. There were a couple of passages which  revealed that in spite of his forward thinking, Ingersoll retained a few prejudices of his time.

I found Robert Ingersoll fairly easy to read and understand. However, by the last lecture in the book, the repetition of themes began to be a little tiring. All in all, I highly recommend reading at least the first volume of his lectures. Especially for any one interested in the history of free thought in America.

Book Review: The Great Agnostic by Susan Jacoby

I recently finished reading The Great Agnostic, which is a biography of Robert Ingersoll. Mr. Ingersoll was a politician, orator, freethinker, and unabashed atheist, in the 19th century.  He was popular, in spite of his nonbelief. Ms. Jacoby does a good job convincing us that he should be remembered and honored for his contributions to modern free thought. The man was, by all accounts, self taught,  kind, generous, humorous, loyal, and plain spoken. Of course he was human and made errors in judgement at times, but he was also a man of sensitivity and understanding. He showed himself to be far ahead of his time in his humanism, especially his thoughts on the lives women and minorities, and treatment of women as equals. Now I am interested in reading some of Ingersoll's writings for myself.

On Jerome's preface to the book of Job and other thoughts

I have occasionally been reading 18th and 19th century authors who have written their objections to religion, the Bible and Christianity. Recently, I started Diegesis by Robert Taylor and The Testament of Jean Messlier.

I find Diegesis to be a jumbled collection of the author's thoughts and opinions of the origins of Christianity based on his interpretation and understanding of ancient myths, legends, and writings. It is arrogant in tone and often sarcastic. There is also a strong thread of anti semitism. Many of his point are obscure and don't seem especially valid. However, he does make some interesting references to scripture and the writings of early christians.

Testament is written by a Catholic priest who was disgusted with his religion. It was not distributed till after his death. I've only started reading it today, but I noticed that the author also referred to the writings of early christians and their references to the Bible. So, I decided to look at Jerome, who translated the bible into Latin and created what is known as the Vulgate.

From there I went to Christian Classics Ethereal Library and found translations of some of the writings of Jerome. I read his preface to the book of Job here. Apparently, even in the 4th century, there were abundant problems with various translations of scripture. Passages were often altered, added, or left out. Jerome mentions a few instances. I find this fascinating. Also, he decided to translate the old testament into Latin from the Hebrew instead of the Greek Septuagint. This was an unpopular decision because many Christians believed the Septuagint to be divinely inspired. (And the Hebrew wasn't?) This reminds me of the modern arguments regarding the King James version of the Bible.

I may spend more time exploring the writings of prominent figures in the early church.


Edited for an error in the language of the Septuagint.

Book review: Present Over Perfect

Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic For a Simpler More Soulful Way of Living by Shauna Niequist is  a book written by a modern Christian woman about her "spiritual journey." I read it because a christian friend kind of begged me to be in a summer book discussion group with other Christian friends. I couldn't see any way out without hurting feelings or causing a scandal by announcing I am an atheist. We haven't had the discussion group yet, but I've finished the book.

First of all, the author and I are nothing alike. She is high energy, I am relatively low energy. She is a hare, I am a tortoise. I move slowly, but at a steady incremental pace and try to finish what I start.  She is a career woman, I made home and family a priority from the beginning, because that's what I thought I was supposed to do. I learned hand crafts, sewing, cooking, and gardening, early on. I spend a great deal of time reading and researching. She talks about slowing down to have time for those kinds of things. She is a people person and people pleaser. I am happier doing my own thing and being the boss of my own life, when I can. I have friends, but I limit my social experiences because they exhaust me. I could go on, but I will sum up by saying I could not relate to her life very much.

The book is about how the author found more psychological peace by reducing her stress load, cutting back on outside obligations, decluttering her house, and prioritizing family. All these things are the subjects of many popular self help books which go into far more detail.The author gives a little practical advice and a lot of patting herself on the back, interspersed with obligatory "spiritual" language. The Jesus talk felt superfluous. The author accomplished her reformation by her own power, and the priviledges of her personal background.

 Shauna presents herself as just being honest about her shortcomings, but in many places it strikes me as humble bragging. She and her husband have a lifestyle and income level that many of us only dream about. We are told that they are "makers," a term which I admit annoys me because it sounds pretentious and a little self consciously hip. A maker is basically a person with a skill who creates a unique product or service of some kind, using modern technology/information for the research, production, marketing, and selling. She is an author and he is a musician.

There isn't a lot of lasting substance to this book. It is one of those feel-good ladies' discussion group books. The kind that encourages bunches of women to sit around commiserating about their frustrations and imperfections, while drinking coffee and eating some desserts nicer than those they give their children and husbands. Hey, I'm not knocking that kind of thing. It can actually be a fun and relaxing break from the mundane. However, I doubt these kind of books produce real changes in many people's lives, not like Marie Kondo's Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. (Smile)

Edited for spelling and grammar.

Book Review: The Pentateuch and Book of Joshua Critically Examined

I am reading the Pentateuch and Book of Joshua Critically Examined. You can download it for free here: https://archive.org/details/pentateuchbookof00cole

The book was written by John William Colenso in 1862. The author was a missionary in Africa and was translating the bible into a local language when he realized, with the questions that arose from a native assistant,  that what he was translating was very problematic. In fact, he determined that it could not be true. Unfortunately he didn't give up his belief in God, just his belief in the infallibility of scripture. When you get to the meat of the book, he makes some very intelligent observations, based on reality and observable evidence.

First the cons: The quality of the transcription was horrible, with at least a dozen errors per page. The first 25% of the book contains the author's explanations for writing it and numerous disclaimers that in spite of the truth of what he found, he still retains a kind of belief. This part was very repetitive.

The pros: The author examines the historicity of the Pentateuch and Joshua with great practicality. He concentrates on the numbers of the people and animals that came out of Egypt during Exodus, giving detailed reasons for his conclusions that they are impossible. He then covers the sacrificial system, again concentrating on the numbers of animals and people involved and the practical concerns. He obviously spent a lot of time trying to reconcile scripture with facts, but was unable to do so.

Mr. Colenso does not think his observations about scripture will have a great impact on Christianity because: "One has great faith in the mere inertia of religious belief."

Even over 150 years later, Mr. Colenso's argument stand up well.

Book review: Undeniable by Bill Nye

Bill Nye's book was written after he had his well publicized debate with Ken Ham. It covers some of the points he covered in the debate and a little more. Undeniable reads in a rambling "folksy" tone which makes  me hear Bill in my head. I enjoyed it for the most part, but felt that the flow of information was a little choppy and unstructured. Also, though informative, it was pretty basic stuff that most people should know. If you don't know the basics of modern evolutionary thought, this will help get you on track. But,  if you already have a good awareness, it is mostly entertaining, with maybe a few tidbits that you haven't covered before. I was especially interested in the info about viruses, which I will look into further.

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, book review

Good Omens is an hilarious satire of the supposed impending apocalypse. I started laughing at the forward and every page held a chuckle or a snicker. It has angels, demons, an anti-christ, witches, witch hunters, and the forces of good and evil lined up waiting for the coming war. I musn't forget the four horsemen (?) of the apocalypse: War, Famine, Death, and Pollution. (Pestilence resigned in discouragement with the advent of better hygiene and vaccines.) Everything that can go wrong does, for both sides. Through it all there are the "nice and accurate prophecies of Agnes Nutter, witch," which are amazingly nice and accurate.

This is a fun book for all of us who roll our eyes at every new prophecy of apocalyptic doom. Take a spin through the book of Revelation first, if you haven't yet. It will give you some context.

The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury, book review

I post book reviews when I think they might contribute to the conversation about religion. Every October, I try to read a few classic books based on a "spooky" theme. The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury, which I finished recently, fits both those criteria. It is in the format of an old fashioned boys' adventure story. This Halloween adventure carries a group of boys into the past for a look at ancient religious practices that are the precursors of  a modern Halloween. It covers rituals by ancient Egyptians, Ancient Greeks, Druids, Ancient Romans, Christans, and South Americans. It also looks at philosophies of death up close and personal. One of the boys' friends is ill and on the threshold of life and death as part of the story.

Mr. Bradbury weaves all the stories, past and present, into a narrative that gives perspective to the present by exploring the past. He doesn't come right out and say it, but he implies that all the rituals and superstitions are fantasy, sometimes fun, sometimes spooky. Take them away and what remains is the ever present reality that we all must die.

Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier, book review

Remarkable Creatures is the fictionalized account  of two real fossil hunting women in the 19th century, Mary Anning and Elizabeth Philpot. Mary is unmarried, uneducated and poor, searching for fossils on the beach in Lyme, England, to sell for money to buy the necessities of life. Elizabeth is of the class called the "genteel poor." She is unmarried, educated, intellectually curious, slightly cynical, and fascinated with natural history.

Elizabeth and her two other unmarried sisters move to Lyme to economize in their housekeeping. There, Elizabeth and Mary meet on the beach hunting for fossils. They become friends in a class conscious kind of way and Elizabeth encourages Mary to become more educated about the fossils she is so adept at finding.

Mary makes some remarkable fossil finds, including ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs. These fossils find their way into museums and the hands of famous naturalists and cause quite a stir in the scientific world of that time. The creatures Mary found no longer existed, and were far older than 6,000 years old.  Did that mean the Bible was wrong? The author addresses the religious issues that come up by skirting around the question of the authenticity of the Bible and instead choosing  to show that it is possible to interpret Genesis in a metaphorical rather than literal  sense.

The story has the feel of a Jane Austen type book, without the witty dialog. Social issues of the day, including intellectual property rights of women, were naturally brought to the reader's attention. There was a slightly clumsy attempt at romance between Mary and a male fossil collector, and a falling out between the two women because of it. With Elizabeth's intervention, Mary's reputation as an honest fossil hunter is saved from disrespect in the scientific community and the two friends are reunited.

I enjoyed the book very much and would recommend it to readers of historical fiction. I want a fossil ammonite of my own.