Eat, Pray, Love

For quite some time people have been telling me to read Elizabeth Gilbert's book Eat, Pray, Love. Some have felt that the book is similar to my own despite the fact that my main character barely leaves her house let alone travels around the world. But still the message is the same, falling in love with yourself is really what the ultimate goal is. 

Last fall I was assisting my sister Rebecca and her husband Patrick with a photo shoot/advertising campaign for a friend of theirs who owns a dress company called Simple Silhouettes. I was their style assistant and they hired another young woman as their photo assistant. Her name was Marlene, and although she was quite a bit younger than me, we connected on a few levels, which made the week of work a little more fun. 

Marlene was the first person to bring Eat, Pray, Love to my attention. She said she had received the book from an acquaintance who felt she should read it. And then Marlene told me she would like to pass it on to me. She brought the book in the next day with the instructions to pass it on when I came across someone who could benefit from it's message. I was really flattered and happily planned to read the book soon and pass it on to the next deserving young woman.

Well life happened for awhile and then I was reminded of the book again, which had been sitting dormant on my bookshelves for months, and I finally pulled it out and read the darn thing. It was wonderful and it aided me on my current journey in many different ways. 

I just wanted to share a few of my favorite lines from the book… they inspired me and I hope they will do the same for you. 

"You've got to stop wearing your wishbone where your backbone oughtta be."

I want God to play in my bloodstream the way sunlight amuses itself on water.

Let go and watch the stars come out—on the outside and on the inside.

I found the answer—you can finish the business yourself, from within yourself. It's not only possible, it's essential. 

I was never not coming here. This was never not going to happen. 

– All excerpts from Elizabeth Gilberts Eat, Pray, Love 

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The Neverending Story

I'm reading The Neverending Story by Michael Ende and I'm wondering why it has taken me 29 years to get around to this fantastic tale. Of course the movie is a childhood classic that I watched countless times growing up, but being a lover of the "fantasy" genre, I'm absolutely enjoying the book just as much as I did the film. I'm not far in, so I'm sure my affection will only grow, and when you encounter a passage like that which follows and you know the writer comes from the same internal place as you, you know it will be extremely difficult to read the final words, whether they are happy or sad.  

If you have never spent whole afternoons with burning ears and rumpled hair, forgetting the world around you over a book, forgetting cold and hunger –

If you have never read secretly under the bedclothes with a flashlight, because your father or mother or some other well-meaning person has switched off the lamp on the plausible ground that it was time to sleep because you had to get up so early –

If you have never wept bitter tears because a wonderful story has come to an end and you must take your leave of the characters with whom you have shared to many adventures, whom you have loved and admired, for whom you have hoped and feared, and without whose company life seems empty and meaningless –

If such things have no been part of your own experience, you probably won't understand what Bastian did next. 

- The Neverending Story by Michael Ende 

Needless to say, I completely understand why Bastian did what he did! 

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The Joy Luck Club

This is quite possibly one of the best paragraphs I have read in my entire life. It is words at their finest, strung delicately together by a true artist. 

Standing perfectly still like that, I discovered my shadow. At first it was just a dark spot on the bamboo mats that covered the courtyard bricks. It had short legs and long arms, a dark coiled braid just like mine. When I shook my head, it shook its head. We flapped our arms. We raised one leg. I turned to walk away and it followed me. I turned back around quickly and it faced me. I lifted the bamboo mat to see if I could peel off my shadow, but it was under the mat, on the brick. I shrieked with delight at my shadow's own cleverness. I ran to the shade under the tree, watching my shadow chase me. It disappeared. I loved my shadow, this dark side of me that had my same restless nature. - From The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan 

What an absolutely enchanting way to relate such a typically forgotten discovery. I think tomorrow morning I will spend some time getting reacquainted with my shadow - it seems its been to long. 

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Bridget Brilliance

So the good news is, I've found my soul mate. 

The bad news is, it happens to be Bridget Jones. 

Seeing as that I am straight and do not live inside a book, it appears that my true search continues. However, it's always nice to know that someone else's mind happens to be just as crazy as mine!
I have of course seen the Bridget Jones movies, and loved them both, but I had never actually read the books. In one of my weekly trips to the bookstore I happened upon Helen Fielding's work and figured it was time to add it to my bulging bookshelves. My work in progress could find itself in the same genre as this gem, so not only is it a great read, but it's good to know what else is out there.
This book is HYSTERICAL! Honestly, I laid in my bed last night laughing out loud and didn't put it down until 2 a.m. when I finally couldn't keep my eyes open anymore. The novel certainly needs no explanation from me, we all know what it's about. However, if your only experience with Bridg is the movies, then I implore you to read the books. The following excerpt from the first book is quite possibly the funniest thing I have ever read. It's a crime the it wasn't used in the movie! It had me laughing for at least two minutes straight. Which by the way, is a great abdominal workout (v.g.).

I made a complete arse of myself today, though. I got in the lift to go out for a sandwich and found Daniel in there with Simon from Marketing, talking about footballers being arrested for throwing matches. "Have you heard about this, Bridget?" said Daniel.
"Oh yes," I lied, groping for an opinion. "Actually, I think it's all rather petty. I know it's a thuggish way to behave, but as long as they didn't actually set light to anyone I don't see what all the fuss is about." - Bridget Jones's Diary  by Helen Fielding

I'm laughing again just typing it out. I love it!! Thanks to Helen for bringing women to life, in all our neurotic glory! 

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Moloka'i

But in that collective wail Rachel heard some distinctive voices, and now she saw, on the other side of the barrier, Mama and Papa and he siblings, and seeing them, Rachel's resolve crumbled, her tears flowed. The police herded the patients along, discouraging contact with friends and relatives. Already the first of the exiles were being taken up the gangway and onto the ship. Rachel, adults towering on every side of her, could barely make out her family and felt suddenly afraid; she had to see them one last time! She began pushing her way through the mass of people, struggling to get closer. "Let my through! Let me through!" she cried out, barely able to see past the barricade of her own tears; she shoved and elbowed her way over, until at last she broke through the bulwarks of leprous flash and saw them, saw Mama and Papa and Ben and Kimo and Sarah pressed against the wooden fence. When they saw her their hands shot out, they called her name, their bodies strained against the barrier. The crowd surged behind Rachel, she was propelled forward like a speck of foam on a billowing wave; her hand reached out, the tip of her fingers just grazing Mama's palm as she passed, the human wave carrying her away. Rachel would cherish that last touch for years to come, remembering the warmth of her skin, the way her big fingers almost closed around Rachel's, and the desperate love in Mama's face as it was stolen away from her. – Moloka'i by Alan Brennert

I love this book, it's one of my all time favorites. Not necessarily because of the writing, which is what normally wraps me up, but the story is so captivating. The book is set in the Hawaiian islands, with the story beginning in 1891 and ending in 1970. It is the tale of a girl, Rachel, who contracts leprosy, known as the ma'i pake on the islands, at the tender age of six. At that time in history there was no cure for leprosy and the disease was widely misunderstood. Through out the world people were shipped off to colonies in hopes of not infecting others, and Hawaii was no different. The colony serving the islands was known as Kalaupapa on the island of Molokai'i. Rachel is forced to leave behind her loving family and all that she knows to go to the colony. "Luckily" her uncle contracted the ma'i pake before her, and he will be on the island to bring her some comfort, that is until the disease claims his life, leaving her alone.
Rachel's story, although fiction, is still a true story. Thousands of people were shipped off to leprosy colonies around the world, and many were children, left to find their own way. This story is one of adventure, sadness, love and self discovery. It's fantastic, a story that has you crying one chapter and smiling wide the next. I recommend it to everyone, not only because it's a good book, but also because it's a part of our history, one that typically gets no mention in the classroom.

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The Wolves of Willoughby Chase

It was dusk– winter dusk.
Snow lay white and shining over the pleated hills, and icicles hung from the forest trees. Snow lay piled on the dark road across Willoughby Wold, but from dawn the men had been clearing it with brooms and shovels. There were hundreds of them at work, wrapped in sacking because the bitter cold, and keeping together in groups for fear of the wolves, grown savage and reckless from hunger.
Snow lay think, too, upon the roof of Willoughby Chase, the great house that stood on an open eminence in the heart of the wold. But for all that, the Chase looked an inviting home– a warm and welcoming stronghold. Its rosy herringbone brick was bright and well-cared for, its numerous turrets and battlements stood up sharp against the sky, and the crenelated balconies, corniced with snow, each held a golden square of window. The house was all alight within, the joyous hubbub of its activity contrasted with the somber sighing of the wind and the hideous howling of the wolves without.
In the nursery a little girl was impatiently dancing up and down before the great window, fourteen feet high, which faced out over the park and commanded the long black expanse of the road.
"Will she be here soon, Pattern? Will she?" was her continual cry.
– The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken

Don't you just want to be inside, peering out one of those golden squares of a window!
I discovered this book at a yard sale when I was probably around 12. I still remember what the yard looked like, and what the experience was like when I found what would become my all-time favorite book. The pages have become a light brown over time, and the smell when you bury your nose in this tome is heavenly. The copyright on my copy is 1962, and it shows, but that just means its been well loved.
Before it fell into my hot little hands a girl named Patty owned it. She left her mark on the inside cover, and when I was younger, I often wondered who Patty was, where she was, and why in the world she was willing to part with this wonderful story.
The saga is set in Britain in what I can only assume is the later part of the 19th century. It's the tale of two young girls who must travel across England, with the help of a young boy, in order to find safety from a wretched governess. I will say no more in hopes of luring you into reading it. Yes, it's a children's novel, but I still think it's worth reading. After all, the Harry Potter series is supposedly for children.
I just went on Amazon to make sure this book was still available, and it turns out it's the first in a series of 13 books, entitled The Wolves Chronicles. Now I have to go buy the other 12!

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The Wisdom of Wallace Wattles

God, the One Substance, is trying to live and do and enjoy things through humanity. He is saying "I want hands to build wonderful structures, to play divine harmonies, to paint glorious pictures; I want feet to run my errands, eyes to see my beauties, tongues to tell mighty truths and to sing marvelous songs." … God wants those who can play music to have pianos and every other instrument… He wants those who can appreciate beauty to be able to surround themselves with beautiful things; He wants those who can discern truth to have the opportunity to travel and observe; He wants those who can appreciate dress to be beautifully clothed, and those who can appreciate good food to be luxuriously fed. He wants all these things because it is Himself that enjoys and appreciates them; it is God who wants to play, and sing, and enjoy beauty, and proclaim truth and wear fine clothes, and eat good food. – The Science on Getting Rich by Wallace Wattles 

I'm loving this book. I'm typically a Fiction maven, however, this publication is a must for anyone trying to get a strong foothold in the rock face of life. It's actually some of the inspiration for the movie and book 'The Secret' by Rhonda Byrne. If you practice the law of attraction in your life or have no idea what I'm talking about you should navigate yourself over to Amazon and get this wisdom filled book. 

I'm having a good time working it into my life and making it work for me. For instance, just this morning when I was sweating it out on the treadmill working off last nights coconut confections, I felt God trying to enjoy life through me. Of course it didn't come in the form of a burning bush, just a burning desire to eat more cake. Who am I to deny God the chance to enjoy cake… it's my duty really. I considered eating the cake while on the treadmill in an effort to save myself some time, but my abilities to multitask are often in question, so I left behind the rotating runway for the reason I was there in the first place. 

I think every day should start with real cake… not just the pan variety! 

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Watership Down

The two rabbits went up to the board at a hopping run and crouched in a patch of nettles on the far side, wrinkling their noses at the smell of a dead cigarette end somewhere in the grass. Suddenly Fiver shivered and cowered down.

"Oh hazel! This is where it comes from! I know now–something very bad! Some terrible thing–coming closer and closer." 

He began to whimper with fear.

"What sort of thing–what do you mean? I thought you said there was no danger?"

"I don't know what it is," answered Fiver wretchedly. "There isn't any danger here at the moment. But it's coming–it's coming. Oh, Hazel, look! The field! It's covered with blood!" 

– Watership Down by Richard Adams

When I was a young doe I watched an animated movie about rabbits, but other than being frightened of what took place, I couldn't remember a single thing about it, let alone its title. Something as an adult must have sparked my memory of this story because I became intrigued in finding it. Years passed and my memory continued to fail me, so I gave up on finding the story. Many years had passed when I started noticing a book in my favorite book store. Each time I went in it seemed to be displayed prominently for me to see, even though it was an older paperback. Finally I picked it up one day and discovered that long lost bunny tale that I had been searching for since childhood. 

Whether you remember it from your younger years, or you've never heard the tale of this group of daring rabbits, it's a must read. In fact I think it's better as an adult as it's not so scary. Although I did question the motives of a rather brave front yard rabbit the other day… 

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Love in the Time of Cholera

Little by little, listening to her sleep, he pieced together the navigation chart of her dreams and sailed among the countless islands of her secret life.

- Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

A good friend Rachel had recommended this book to me about a year ago, and once I finally got around to reading it I was delighted. Sure I'm certainly not the first person to talk about this book, but it's worth the praise once again, even just from little old me. The above line is so freaking delicious I didn't even know what to do with myself the first time I read it. As a writer that's a line that makes me want to be an even better writer. Of course I would never presume to put myself in ranks with the likes of Garcia Marquez, however, if I'm lucky someday in the future, someone else will do it for me! 

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