Friends, family and books are the themes this week, with the latter providing insight on the former two.
The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells is a book that every daughter should read. It is the story of the complex relationships between generations of women, and it gets you thinking about the person your mom is and the history she had before you. It is about relationships with your parents and friends, love and forgiveness, and what it means to grow up, get old and dream. This is an incredibly moving, rollercoaster ride of a book. Choice quotation: "Some women pray for their daughters to marry good husbands. I pray that my girls will find girlfriends half as loyal and true as the ya ya's."
The Book Club by Mary Alice Monroe explores the power of friendship. On the surface, it is a monthly book club, but for these five women, it is so much more. It is a support group and a place to let your guard down and dream of possibilities. It offers a sense of community and a haven of acceptance. One passage: "We've gone through meetings where many of us had a child locked to our breasts, meetings where someone nodded, half-awake, on the sofa after a night up with a sick child, and meetings where, for no explicable reason, we drank too much wine and barely discussed the books at all. Today, most of our children are poised for leaving and once more we search for books to give this new phase of our lives meaning."
Let's Take the Long Way Home: A Memoir of Friendship is a celebration of true friendship. It's about the joy of communication with a soulmate and the devastation of unexpected loss. "It's an old, old story: I had a friend and we shared everything, and then she died and so we shared that, too." So begins this wonderful memoir by Pulitzer Prize winner Gail Caldwell. It is the story of the incredible friendship between two women and a powerful bond that can get people through life's most difficult moments, including the final and ultimate challenge. They met over dogs and became best friends. Both writers, Caldwell and Caroline Knapp (the author of Drinking: A Love Story) talked about everything from their love of books and their shared history of struggles with alcohol, to their relationships with men. As her friend is diagnosed with inoperable cancer, Caldwell finds herself "someplace past fear where I had never been." It is difficult to read the rest of this memoir without tears.
The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe is the inspiring true story of a son and his mother who start a book club that brings them together as her life comes to a close. They find a way to communicate their feelings about what is happening to them through their discussions of the books they read. This book brought me to tears but it was also a humorous celebration of life. You will also want to read the wonderful books that Schwalbe and his mother shared.
The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap: A Memoir of Friendship, Community and the Uncommon Pleasure of a Good Book by Wendy Welch is a story of people and books, and how together they create community. Wendy Welch and her husband had always dreamed of owning a book store so they leave their fast-paced, stressful jobs to buy one in an Appalachian coal town. Alas, there are problems: a declining U.S. economy, a small town with no industry and the advent of the eBook. On top of all that, they have no idea how to run a book store. In spite of all this, together with their love of books and the help of their mountain community, they manage to establish a thriving business and become an important part of the community.
If you are looking for more great titles, don't hesitate to ask at your local library. Librarians are always happy to recommend books for you to read.
A Good Read is a column by Tri-City librarians that is published on Wednesdays. Dianne Allan works at Terry Fox Library in Port Coquitlam.
