I pre-ordered LEAVE ME because it is by Gayle Forman! I've read everything else by her, so purchasing her newest book was a no-brainer for me. As I began reading LEAVE ME, though, I was a bit disappointed. Not in the story. I can relate to the story more than many others considering the fact that I was at death's door myself--but with a severe infection from diverticulitis, rather than a heart attack, that almost killed me and then took quite a while to recover.
What concerned me was how often Maribeth used the f-word. It made me feel as if Gayle was throwing the word around a lot, through the voice of Maribeth, because LEAVE ME is her first adult novel and, well, she could. I was frustrated because I simply did not feel that Maribeth was the type of person (character) who would use it as often as she was.
As I read further, though, it became apparent that the use of the f-word was out of Maribeth's extreme frustration, discouragement, and simply her disappointment in her LIFE--how things had taken a complete 180 from what she'd dreamed--how she and her husband Jason spend more time apart than together--how she and Jason didn't "get" one another any more or support one another any more--how her friendship with Elizabeth had dissipated over the years--how life with twin 4-year-olds was not everything she had dreamed it would be--and on and on her frustrations went.
Such frustrations, discouragements, and disappointments I could relate to. I think every woman--and man--can relate to how LIFE takes us down a completely different path than what we expected. And then when our expectations become too overwhelming, we have no idea how to change directions--by then, we're so lost, even a roadmap--or a GPS nowadays--can help us get back on the right path.
So Maribeth does the ONLY thing possible to find her way home: she runs away. Ironically and miraculously, it actually works. And to make it even more of a "right-track" experience, along the way, Maribeth meets and makes some new, long-lasting wonderful friendships. Best of all, Maribeth loses her previous expectations and eventually finds herself again--her REAL self.
So in spite of the fact that I wondered if I would finish LEAVE ME because I simply didn't want to read the f-word one more time, as I turned the last page, my sobs of joy for Maribeth were blurring the page and I can truly say that Gayle Forman has another winner on her hands. I will definitely continue to pre-purchase any and every book Gayle writes!!!
"SOMETIMES (emphasis mine) leaving someone is the most loving thing you can do." (301)
I don't know what to say about Glennon's heart, LOVE WARRIOR. So much of her words resonated with me in every fiber of my being. So much of her story is so very different from mine, but yet so very many of her FEELINGS are MY feelings, too. What makes LOVE WARRIOR so incredibly amazing, as has already been discussed greatly, is the power of Glennon's TRUTH--her willingness to be vulnerable. (It's no surprise at all that she is teaming with Brene Brown to teach about being Love Warriors!)
Truth is something we have been studying in my Sunday School class, specifically as it relates to Priscilla Shirer's ARMOR OF GOD, and how we must take EVERYTHING and compare it to the Word of God--the TRUTH. It has been quite powerful studying the belt of truth of how truth gives us Freedom. The more we acknowledge TRUTH and allow TRUTH to be our guide, the free-er we are.
Glennon says the exact same thing, but in her own way, using her own personal experience. I heard Glennon say that she was more nervous about the release of this book than she has been anything else she's written because of the fact that she has shared so much of herself--she has exposed so much of her own TRUTH. I admire her so much for being willing to lay her heart before us, not asking us to love her as she is, but saying that regardless of whether we love her or not as she is, she loves herself--and she loves.....
As I have been sharing my story in my blog and with people around
me, I hear over and over again how these people find me "brave" in being so vulnerable in sharing my own personal truth. I don't feel that I'm being brave. To me, it's sharing my own Truth and telling others that I love myself exactly as God has created me, and I love.....
We hide behind our masks and only reveal our true selves when someone else shares her truth. Well, who is going to be the first one to open up if we all hide?
Like Glennon Doyle Melton, I am choosing to be unmasked and face the truth of my hurts, pain, sorrow, joys, love, life, friendships, faith, and on and on. I will sit in my "hot lonliness" and FEEL and become the LOVE WARRIOR I am meant to be.
Will you?
As a short story in preparation for the release of SMALL GREAT
THINGS in a few short weeks, SHINE by Jodi Picoult has certainly done a great job in whetting my appetite for her next release!!! Ruth is an amazing young girl and I am excited to see more of her and of what happens with her. She is strong, adorable, smart, and bold in a way that is unusual for a girl of her age. At this age in SHINE, she is precocious and just plain adorable. I am excited to see more of her soon!!!
I don't normally do this, but I'm going to write a short review BEFORE I read THE MEMORY BOOK by Lara Avery. I don't have much to say, but I do want to say that as I read the jacket and a brief synopsis of the book, it reminds me an awful lot of 50 FIRST DATES. I'm curious to see how this story carries itself out. I know the women in both stories lose their memories for different reasons, but the fact is that both women are losing their memories (or have lost) and need to be gently reminded on a daily basis of who they are and, as in the case of 50 FIRST DATES, that she is married and has a little girl--by the end of the movie. That is done via video tape while THE MEMORY BOOK is done in writing, but if I remember correctly, Drew Barrymore starts a journal--memory book--and even shares it with Adam Sandler. Hmmmm.....already, I'm noticing more similarities and I haven't even started THE MEMORY BOOK.....
I hope this book is as good as I think it'll be. I saw it online while shopping randomly and ordered it as soon as I could. I look forward to reading it!!
I finished it. I would have finished it last night, but my night-time medication finally kicked in and I HAD to put the book down and go to sleep. But I finished it as soon as I could this afternoon after school. Yes, I was sobbing and snotting all over my copy as I finally closed the book.
THE MEMORY BOOK ends exactly the way you expect it to end. Her disease is "inevitably terminal," after all. But that doesn't take away from the fact that as I came to the final few pages, my heart felt as if it was outside my body, weeping for me. This is a fairly simple story of a high school senior coming to terms with her diagnosis and her attempt to outrun it and then turn to stand it face it head on--as fearlessly as possible with her loved ones surrounding her and helping hold her up.
Yes, it is very reminiscent of 50 FIRST DATES as I thought before I started reading it, but it is also, very clearly, its own story....Sammie's own, personal story and it is heart-wrenchingly beautiful. Thank you for writing this beautiful story, Lara Avery.
I do have one "complaint": Sammie is quite free with her use of the f-word. I knew when I first picked up THE MEMORY BOOK that it was not advertised as a Christian book. That rarely deters me from reading a book, though, if I really like the plot or have heard that it is a very good book to read. It's simply that, as a Christian, I would prefer not to have to read a book with the f-word littered throughout. It did not diminish my enjoyment of the story; I just didn't want to have to "hear" Sammie use such language.
I definitely highly recommend THE MEMORY BOOK by Lara Avery!
Please don't be thrown off WRITING TO SAVE YOUR LIFE: HOW TO HONOR YOUR STORY THROUGH JOURNALING by Michele Weldon by the fact that I only give it 3 stars. Michele's book is definitely worth the read; I truly am very glad that I read it. I gave it only 3 stars, though, because there were parts of the book where I felt that she could have used a lot fewer words (examples) to make her point. Interestingly enough, I have exactly the same issue! I know my own students often wish that I would just state my point, maybe 1 example--if that many--and move on, but like Michele, I tend to go around my arm to get to my elbow! Isn't it often what we see in ourselves that we criticize in others?! Regardless, WRITING TO SAVE YOUR LIFE is well worth the read.
I am still working on some of the exercises in the book. Some of them are ones that need some real ruminating and time while others are quick and easy to get through.
One of my favorite passages comes in the last chapter "Enjoy the Music in You": "'To love what you do and feel that it matters, how can anything be more fun?' Katherine Graham, the author and businesswoman who steered the helm of the WASHINGTON POST for decades, said it and lived by it. It is joyful to write when you believe what you are writing matters" (227).
I did not have high expectations of enjoying Shauna Niequist's PRESENT OVER PERFECT, but I was definitely very interested in reading it. The back cover and reviews sounded great. Happily, the book exceeded my expectations and I am so much the better for having read it!
My absolute favorite part is the chapter called "Agency." It's as if I've been waiting for someone I respect to tell me that I "get to decide how [I] want to live"..."[I] get to make [my] life" (103)!!! This is something I have been struggling with for years. My counselor has told me over and over that I have to take care of Polly before I can even begin to consider taking care of anyone else--or even caring about others. If I'm not whole and healthy, I am not who I need to be for those I love.
It reminds me of how we are told on a plane that if there is danger, we must put on our own oxygen mask before helping our kids because we can't help our kids if we've passed out. I don't know why it's so empowering to have someone tell me that I get to decide when deep in my soul I already know that truth, but empowering it truly is.
Thank you for sharing this journey, Shauna. Thank you.
"The world will tell you how to live, if you let it. Don't let it. Take up your space. Raise your voice. Sing your song. This is your chance to make or remake a life that thrills you" (104).
