Book club is this week so I spent a marathon weekend finishing this book. I think it is a great read - it accurately reflects (in my opinion, based on limited exposure) how to courageously battle the end of your life with grace, realism and optimism.
It also talks about mother-son relationships which speaks to me at my point in my life. It's sometimes difficult to "create" conversation with your grown children. Being able to talk "through" books helps to bridge this challenge.
And finally, it talks about books. There are a wealth of titles in this book - some I have read, some I would like to read and some I don't think I would touch with a ten foot pole. But then again, that is why I'm in a book club. If I only read what I think I want to read, I would have missed many great books over the past couple of years (The Rosie Project, Half Blood Blues, the 100 Year Old Man, and so on).
This was a great ode to book clubs and to family relationships. It was a great read.
A couple of passages that stuck with me included (I read it on my ereader, so I don't know what actual page it's on, so I'm only referencing the chapters.)
"I was learning that when you're with someone who is dying, you may need to celebrate the past, live the
present and mourn the future all at the same time." The Uncommon Reader
"Just by giving friendship and love, you keep the people around you from giving up - and each expression
of friendship or love may be the one that makes all the difference." The Price of Salt
"If you do not wish for His kingdom, don't pray for it. But if you do, you must do more than pray for it;
you must work for it." Too Much Happiness
"Evil almost always starts with small cruelties..." Continental Drift
"If you believe in good, you also believe in evil, pure evil." My Father's Tears
Happy reading
