Friday afternoon this is EXACTLY how I felt when we finally made it to Christmas break.
Anyone else feel this way?
I know I have really enjoyed the laziness of the break…not having to rush to work every morning, not having to get the kids to school or activities. Friday night we had a Chick-fil-a celebration picnic while watching Inside Out (we are probably the only people who hadn’t ever seen it). Every Christmas the kids all sleep together in a room in the basement, under the lights of a Christmas tree. They usually stay up way too late reading and talking. It’s magical. I love it. After telling them lights out – I finally sat down and got to finish our book club book too!
I felt there was so much grown and development in the second part of the book. It was so hard to put down.
There were a few lines that really stuck out to me. They were simple but really made me think and I kept seeing the same theme pop up over and over again. On age 187 Nick says to Lizzy, It’s okay to need people, you know” Earlier in the book – at the very beginning we hear something similar from Paul when he tells Lizzy on page 16, “It’s not a weakness to bring in experts” Then later on in the story Lizzy has to remind Jane on page 213 that “You can’t beat yourself up because you can’t control it.” These three parts stuck together for me. Maybe because they are what I needed to hear. I have such a hard time asking for help. I am always trying to take responsibility for things that I cannot control. I have to learn to let those go.
Do you ever feel the same way?
What were your feelings about Lizzy and her dad? I felt so much better about their relationship by the end of the book. What did you think about his point about the love needs to be greater than the like?
Do you ever have a moment when you are reading a book and you come to a part where you have to close the book, sign and just think about what you just read? This quote really did that. Did this stick out to you? I totally think life is better at 30 than it was at 18. In fact, I think life is going to be better at 40 than it was at 30!
And then there was this line. That summed up so much of my thoughts of this book. We can’t be exempt from the pain. We have all have circumstances we cannot control. But we can listen. We can learn. We can be made new.
“I don’t think we get exempt from the pain because we live good lives. Some circumstances we can’t control – in fact, most are truly beyond our abilities. Instead maybe it’s how we get made new; it’s one of the only times we slow down enough to listen and receive grace, real grace.” page 280
What did you think of the book? What did you think of the relationships and decisions made in the second part of the book? Were you proud of Lizzy for her decision? What did you think of the final thought of the book. Was the family found?
This was the second book I’ve read by Reay. I really loved both of them. I am looking forward to reading the third book. Have you read any of her other books? Wold you read more books by her in the future?
