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A Yellow House In The Mountains
Lyle is a struggling teenager with low self-esteem. His poor decisions reinforce his reputation as a troublemaker. Marylin arrives at a new high school and navigates the challenge of fitting in. When Lyle sets his eyes on the new girl at school, he is smitten. He is determined to win Marylin's affection. Eventually, Lyle convinces Marylin to give him a shot, and a relationship follows. Their story together is filled with obstacles, but their commitment to one another provides the foundation for a lifetime of happiness. Together, they dream of a family and a destination to gather friends and loved ones. Against all odds, they secure both. A Yellow House In The Mountains is a story of overcoming adversity. Lyle and Marylin lean on each other to build a legacy never to be forgotten. Challenges come early and often, yet, their determination and faith push them forward in pursuing their dreams. The events of October 21, 2020, were historical and costly. By the end of the day, more than 193,000 acres and more than 400 homes were consumed in the East Troublesome Fire , Colorado's fastest-moving fire in history. Lyle and Marylin understood living in their mountain paradise had risks. How would they prepare? What actions could they take? Did their preparations make a difference when the fire arrived on their doorstep? Their approach to the oncoming fire was consistent with their approach to other challenges in their lives...they faced it together.
262 pages, Paperback
Published February 23, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 7, 2023
Set amid the feral beauty of Colorado's Rocky Mountains, A Yellow House in the Mountains is a tender and touching story about overcoming adversity with faith, hope, and love. It has a warm, rich flavor of family memories and personal growth that will resonate with fans of narrative non-fiction and The Waltons.
Hamner-esque, A Yellow House in the Mountains is a detailed and in-depth look at the lives, lessons, and adventures of one family growing up in The Centennial State in the mid-20th and early 21st centuries. It takes some time for this story to get rolling as we return to the Lyle and Marilyn’s early years. We learn that Marilyn’s teenage pregnancy results in a small, quiet civil marriage ceremony shortly before Lyle leaves for boot camp as a Marine Corps reservist. On their honeymoon, the young couple dreams about buying “a big, beautiful yellow house in the mountains.” A gallery of family photos is included.
After Lyle returns home from boot camp, the young family faces financial, relational, and familial challenges and pressures. Perhaps chief among these is Marilyn’s five pregnancies. All are high risk due to eclampsia. Frustrations boil. Marilyn is exhausted caring for five young children. She feels Lyle doesn’t do anything to help around the house or care for the kids. He feels exhausted, too, working multiple jobs to pay the bills. They’re at loggerheads but learn how to ask for and receive forgiveness.
Together, Lyle and Marilyn face health issues, financial stress, the challenges of juggling jobs and family, house renovations, and a serious tractor accident requiring a helicopter flight and surgery – and a very close call. Much more. Post-retirement and in their eighties, the devoted couple insists on staying in their yellow house rather than moving elsewhere.
Lyle and Marilyn are married nearly seventy years when the devastating East Troublesome Fire breaks out. Later, a lone bald eagle soars within a few feet of the yellow house and a song is born…
It's heartbreaking.
Caveat: The incident with Tank the dog. Un.Be.Lievable. Why anyone thought that was funny, let alone appropriate for a family memoir, is beyond me. I almost stopped reading right there.
That being said, this is a poignant and powerful read, especially the later chapters. Touching and tender, this beautifully written and heartfelt tribute to two remarkable people shows readers how “Things always work out in the end. If things haven’t worked out, it is not the end!”
Patient readers will be rewarded with a rich and warm story about overcoming adversity with faith, hope, and love. It will resonate especially well with readers of a certain demographic.
G’night John Boy.
My rating: 3.5
Hamner-esque, A Yellow House in the Mountains is a detailed and in-depth look at the lives, lessons, and adventures of one family growing up in The Centennial State in the mid-20th and early 21st centuries. It takes some time for this story to get rolling as we return to the Lyle and Marilyn’s early years. We learn that Marilyn’s teenage pregnancy results in a small, quiet civil marriage ceremony shortly before Lyle leaves for boot camp as a Marine Corps reservist. On their honeymoon, the young couple dreams about buying “a big, beautiful yellow house in the mountains.” A gallery of family photos is included.
After Lyle returns home from boot camp, the young family faces financial, relational, and familial challenges and pressures. Perhaps chief among these is Marilyn’s five pregnancies. All are high risk due to eclampsia. Frustrations boil. Marilyn is exhausted caring for five young children. She feels Lyle doesn’t do anything to help around the house or care for the kids. He feels exhausted, too, working multiple jobs to pay the bills. They’re at loggerheads but learn how to ask for and receive forgiveness.
Together, Lyle and Marilyn face health issues, financial stress, the challenges of juggling jobs and family, house renovations, and a serious tractor accident requiring a helicopter flight and surgery – and a very close call. Much more. Post-retirement and in their eighties, the devoted couple insists on staying in their yellow house rather than moving elsewhere.
Lyle and Marilyn are married nearly seventy years when the devastating East Troublesome Fire breaks out. Later, a lone bald eagle soars within a few feet of the yellow house and a song is born…
It's heartbreaking.
Caveat: The incident with Tank the dog. Un.Be.Lievable. Why anyone thought that was funny, let alone appropriate for a family memoir, is beyond me. I almost stopped reading right there.
That being said, this is a poignant and powerful read, especially the later chapters. Touching and tender, this beautifully written and heartfelt tribute to two remarkable people shows readers how “Things always work out in the end. If things haven’t worked out, it is not the end!”
Patient readers will be rewarded with a rich and warm story about overcoming adversity with faith, hope, and love. It will resonate especially well with readers of a certain demographic.
G’night John Boy.
My rating: 3.5
January 7, 2024
This book is about the lives of Lyle and Marylin Hileman written by their son. It begins when they are in high school. Lyle was a bad boy and his low self esteem caused him to make some bad decisions. When he meets Marylin, the new girl in school, he is smitten and wants to get to know her better. Eventually, they become a couple and have a small wedding before Lyle leaves for boot camp. She is pregnant when they get married and they quickly have five young children. When they were first married, they dreamed of owning a yellow house in the mountains. But mounting debt and taking care of 5 children, makes their dream seem far in the future. No matter what faces them, they remain strong and eventually they get their yellow house in the mountains of Colorado. Over the years, they face many obstacles but no matter what, they remain each other's best friends and their family is the most important thing in their lives. Even when they are faced with the fastest moving fire in Colorado history they faced it like they had faced other obstacles in their past...they faced it together.
This book is a story of the lives of two very ordinary people who put their trust in each other for over 70 years and always treasured their family. They faced the obstacles with their faith and their trust in each other. The last part of the book is sad as they both begin to have health problems and then face the fire together. Overall, it's a story of family, love and a couple learning to face obstacles together.
This book is a story of the lives of two very ordinary people who put their trust in each other for over 70 years and always treasured their family. They faced the obstacles with their faith and their trust in each other. The last part of the book is sad as they both begin to have health problems and then face the fire together. Overall, it's a story of family, love and a couple learning to face obstacles together.
January 1, 2024
Lyle had a reputation as a bad boy when he met Marylin, but that changes as he works to prove to her and his father that he is worth getting to know. Through decades of facing obstacles, raising children, struggling to make ends meet, ministering to others, and focusing on their dreams, Lyle and Marylin inspire their children and those around them.
A Yellow House in the Mountains is a moving story. The author brings his parents' trials and triumphs to life for the reader. While, this reads more like a chronological biography than a page-turning novel, the reader will be eager to see how the Hilemans face their latest challenges. There will be laughs and tears along the way, as you watch two people dedicate their lives to each other, their families, and their community. Numerous black and white photos are a special treasure.
If you like family drama and inspiring stories, A Yellow House in the Mountains by Glenn Hileman is a good choice.
A Yellow House in the Mountains is a moving story. The author brings his parents' trials and triumphs to life for the reader. While, this reads more like a chronological biography than a page-turning novel, the reader will be eager to see how the Hilemans face their latest challenges. There will be laughs and tears along the way, as you watch two people dedicate their lives to each other, their families, and their community. Numerous black and white photos are a special treasure.
If you like family drama and inspiring stories, A Yellow House in the Mountains by Glenn Hileman is a good choice.
March 24, 2024
Trials, tribulations, and all that goes with it, including the good and the bad. A Yellow House in the Mountains tells a love story set over the course of the lifetime of Lyle and Marylin. But you get that from the book blurb.
For me, as with a lot of books these days, I had to push through the first few chapters to get going. Then you want to read more.
Between those slow beginnings and end you see the authentic life of a couple who started out hard and unexpected and kept on that path in many ways, from high risk pregnancies to life threatening accidents and from faith threatening struggles to faith believing events.
As with any story of true life there are moments people won’t like or understand but they are real and show the reader how life continues and how two people work through them to stay together for 68 years.
Through it all they made their dreams come true, a family and their yellow house.
For me, as with a lot of books these days, I had to push through the first few chapters to get going. Then you want to read more.
Between those slow beginnings and end you see the authentic life of a couple who started out hard and unexpected and kept on that path in many ways, from high risk pregnancies to life threatening accidents and from faith threatening struggles to faith believing events.
As with any story of true life there are moments people won’t like or understand but they are real and show the reader how life continues and how two people work through them to stay together for 68 years.
Through it all they made their dreams come true, a family and their yellow house.
June 17, 2024
I knew from the start how it would end because it's a true story. I didn't know how sad it would be. This book tells the life stories of the elderly couple, Lyle and Marylin Hileman, who died in their home in Grand Lake because the firestorm in Oct 2020 came so fast they couldn't safely get out. They had very interesting lives and this book chronicles their growth and their strength and their determination to reach their goal of having a big yellow house in Grand Lake when they retired. It's amazing how their dreams came true with much hard work and many unforeseen blessings. I was particularly touched when I realized toward the end of the book that our lives had crossed about 11 or 12 years ago. They worked on the same Denver Temple shift that we did. The name was familiar and his picture definitely was familiar. One of their sons wrote the book and did a wonderful job.
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February 16, 2024This story follows Lyle and Marylin from their teenage years, till their golden years with grandchildren. A true love story with redemption, refinement, faith, and a love of simple living. I loved the details of their daily life, their house, the land they lived on, a love for all time, family, the dedication to each other, and even the descriptions of family meals and get togethers. This story would be perfect for a Christian romance reader, or even just a faith filled story about life. Be prepared though....there is a bittersweet ending. Your heart will ache with happiness and sadness. I for one was not ready.
April 21, 2024
A very easygoing and interesting narrative about this family. I sure wish there could have been a better ending. Having faced 100+mph wind gusts recently is something I associate with climate change.
One thing I picked up on is that it was not edited well to correctly spell names of roads, or the locations of hospitals. But that's because I have lived in Denver Metro all of my life, of course I would notice!
Beth, if you read this comment, this is a book you would enjoy.
One thing I picked up on is that it was not edited well to correctly spell names of roads, or the locations of hospitals. But that's because I have lived in Denver Metro all of my life, of course I would notice!
Beth, if you read this comment, this is a book you would enjoy.
April 12, 2024
This is a super sweet true story of love, loss, trials and Faith. Worth the read!
September 16, 2026
A poignant story of growing up, hardships, love and loss. Family is everything.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews