Ashley Boulais

After reading Marie Kondo's "The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up" I was so excited to see her companion "master class" on tidying up.  The first book gave a wonderful outline of her principles, but as a Mom I was left with a few questions on how to tackle the "miscellaneous" section and specifically wondered why she didn't address how to organize things like T.O.Y.S.   Oh, the toys!  Marie clearly distinguishes between tidying and cleaning, which I appreciate. Tidying deals with stuff, cleaning deals with dirt. But if you have a tidy home filled with only things you love, it's easier to deal with the dirt.  Instead of looking at decluttering as "what do I have to get rid of?" you think, "what do I get to keep?  What sparks joy?"  I wondered after her first book though about those necessities...surely it is impractical to get rid of my hammer just because I don't feel joy when I look at it??  This second book answers th...

I took a risk on this one, and I was skeptical.  A book about a pubescent  boy who had never been outside, venturing out and befriending a bunch of skateboarders?  How could I, a twenty-something female, relate to this character?  Well, I'm glad I took a chance. Michael Christie writes with an authentic understanding of his subject and story content.  The story takes place in Thunder Bay, Ontario, the author's actual hometown, and is about a boy who grows up with his mother who suffers from an illness called Agoraphobia.  This illness, Christie describes, is like a fear of fear.  And he would know.  His own mother suffered from the same illness in real life.  In addition to this,  Christie was once a professional skateboarder, so it only makes sense that Will, our main character, would find much of his courage and strength in skateboarding.  Michael Christie's experiences and knowledge add a lot to the story. The basic plot has al...