Another winner for Gayle Forman

If I could give I WAS HERE by Gayle Forman more than 5 stars, I so would!  Wow.  Of course I read I WAS HERE in one day in one sitting.  I simply could NOT put the book down.  As I came to the end, I was weeping, deep, heart-wrenching, soul-deep sobs because this story is just that powerful and because, yes, I too have once or twice in my life "gone there" (Richard).  My son asked me how I could FEEL THAT POWERFULLY about a book.  Just read it and you might begin to understand.  Gayle has another winner on her hands with I WAS HERE.

It's all about each individual making a statement, "I was here"--having an impact--leaving an imprint--knowing that others CARE--knowing that he/she is IMPORTANT.  Don't we all wonder these things?  Don't we all wonder if anyone would even care if we were no longer here?  Isn't that exactly what IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE is all about--knowing that you've made a difference in SOMEONE'S life???  

But not even all those things....it's also about finding and knowing ourselves--knowing who we are....finding our own identity and

owning it and loving ourselves.  Cody (isn't that a wonderful name for a female character in a 21st century book?!) has lived her whole life in Meg's shadow until Meg does the unthinkable--she commits suicide.  Cody's life is turned upside down, not just because she was Meg's best friend and she misses her best friend, but also because Cody had lived so much in Meg's shadow that she didn't even know who she herself was--what she wanted in life.  It's in her search for answers to Meg's decision to take her own life that Cody finds her own identity and learns that no matter how much we love someone, no matter how much we do for someone, we can never know, truly, ALL there is to know about our loved ones.  We can only know ourselves.

All I can say is, go read I WAS HERE by Gayle Forman NOW.......