Category: On Life

Posts about family, work, life, existential dread… the usual.

Book Review: OATH AND HONOR presents frightening account of Jan. 6

On By Steven D'AdamoIn On Life, ReviewsLeave a comment

When I saw Liz Cheney’s memoir, Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning, available for preorder, I knew I had to read it. While I did not closely follow Cheney’s political career, I had a vague sense of respect for her; she seemed like the type of politician who stood by her principles.

I got this sense in the aftermath of Jan. 6 and during the news cycle around the Select Committee in the House of Representatives to investigate the events that allowed the insurrection to occur.

I have even more respect for her now, having read this..

Oath and Honor is a frightening narrative of the January 6 insurrection. I have felt since that day that Trump and his supporters in Congress were somehow culpable, that they should be held accountable. I now have no lingering doubts. Trump and the members of his administration and Congress who supported his attempted insurrection must all be held accountable.

Cheney discusses in detail the amorphous uncertainty she had around Trump’s administration in the weeks between the 2020 election and the planned inauguration of President Biden. According to her narrative, she had a feeling and even had conversations with others in power that something was not right.

Her account of the insurrection itself is harrowing; to know that the organizers behind the mob had planned to lay siege to the Capitol and return armed after dark is a nightmare scenario I won’t soon forget.

Cheney then lays out what came to pass over the following eighteen months, her involvement in the Select Committee, and her bid for reelection in Wyoming, which she lost to a Trump-supporting election denier.

This moment in US history is still too near, too real and present, for me to take the critical view of Cheney’s narrative from a historical perspective. I think there may be a few minute moments in this account where she comes off as self-righteous, where she lingers just a little too long on her own admiration for figures like her father, and Reagan.

But, this is a memoir, after all. Perhaps in five or ten years, when all of this is (hopefully) in the history books, I will be able to reread this with a more critical ear for Cheney’s own version of these events compared to other accounts that will surely be published. For now, I have to take this accounting of January 6th at face value…

As a warning.

Anyone who cares about the US or who feels compelled to understand what actually happened that day, please read this book.

Steve D

January Write Day: Continue Down the Path

On By Steven D'AdamoIn Fantasy, On LifeLeave a comment

December was crazy, as should have been expected. We had a great holiday season, even if it was busier than we intended. I’m also coming into January busier than intended – new hire at work, new class starting this week, new projects to work on at home…

It already feels like a lot, so I’m just trying to stay focused on what’s in front of me each day.

Last Month’s Goals

  1. Read three books.
  2. Exercise at least every other day and go to the gym more than once per week.
  3. Finish current round of revisions for New Earth.
  4. Create character sheets with physical descriptions/clothes for main characters.
  5. Outline New Earth for chapter structure.

Ahhhh, the optimism of a new month. Let’s get this over with.

Read three books?

I finished one book and made some headway on two others. We had busy weekends leading up to the holidays, and I generally don’t bore my family with my audiobook choices in the car, unless they’re all asleep.

I’ve taken an unintended hiatus from Black Leopard, Red Wolf. I’m enjoying the story, and it feels like it’s really moving now after several chapters of… prelude? It’s just an incredibly heavy book, in tone, style, content, and detail. This is not the type of book I can zone out for, so I’m only inclined to listen to it when I can really focus.

I still managed to achieve my GoodReads challenge of reading 26 books, and I feel like I can do more. I’m aiming for 30 in 2024. I’ll also do a recap of my GoodReads list for 2023 this month.

Exercise and go to the gym?

Not really. A little bit. I only went to the gym once, and I did just enough yoga at home to not feel like total crap. The holiday season has always been tough for me maintaining an exercise routine, because of travel, and because of my desire to be lazy and cozy at home.

Finish current revisions?

Not quite. I had a little bit more to complete in New Earth than I had anticipated, and I was also lazy in December. I’m nearly done, though, and I’m still really enjoying the way this story has turned out. More revision phases will be needed, but it’s coming together.

Create character sheets?

In a way. Rather than creating individual documents or sections for each character, I used an existing reference. I had laid out a basic family tree for the clan at the center of my story in a spreadsheet. Each character’s role in the clan is absolutely a part of their characters, so it made sense to use that format as the basis for character sheets. Each character has their own cell in the spreadsheet, so I just added a note to each cell. The information is readily accessible, but it doesn’t take a lot of time for me to sift through.

I created the character sheet template for each character and filled out the details I knew offhand. What I now need to do is find references to other character details in my stories, record them in the character notes, and then do another round of revisions for those (and other) details across both stories.

Outline New Earth for chapter structure?

Nope. I’ll aim to do this after I finish this round of revisions.

Goals for January

  1. Read three books.
  2. Exercise at least every other day and get back to the gym.
  3. Finish current round of revisions for New Earth.
  4. Outline New Earth for chapter structure.
  5. Begin revisions based on character notes.

So pretty similar to last month, but I still feel alright with where I’m at. Work in progress, as always.

Steve D