Tuesday, March 20, 2007

More than what I bargained for....

I’ve been doing really well with my goal of reading 1 book per month. I’m actually ahead of the curve, and I’m almost to the midway point of my second book for this month. It seems that I’m doing better at managing my time to make sure I take the time to read – especially if I’m enjoying what it is I’m reading. What helps too is that the kids are at a good age, so when they’re eating dinner – I don’t allow the television on at dinner time anyway – so that affords me the time to either read the Herald and catch up on major headlines, or read my book.

So this weekend, I bought “My Sister’s Keeper” by Jodi Picoult. (See the hyperlink on my sidebar for Amazon info on the book!) Jodi Picoult writes about current issues and topics that seem to be engrossed in our teenage/early adult society, though in my opinion – definitively not teenage reading per se. For some reason, I thought it was about teen suicide. And I’d been toying with buying the book for some time now, just because I wasn’t sure that I wanted to delve into that area at the moment. So on Sunday when I bought it, I didn’t even bother to read the back cover – I just grabbed the book and happily paid for my purchase.

Imagine my surprise when I realized it was about something entirely different. I won’t say what it is, incase anyone here wants to read it and would like to investigate for themselves. But I can tell you this, I’m at about page 110 – and it was physically uncomfortable for me to read portions of this book. It made me sick inside. Not because she wrote graphically, or even spent lots of time talking about particulars. But because I’m a Mom – and the crux of this book, and what happened to have “My Sister’s Keeper” be born – is every parent’s worst fear. And I could imagine myself in the place of the Mom. I had to actually put the book down a couple of times, and tell myself “you really want to find out what happens next”.

It’s funny how soft my stomach has become with regards to children. I’ve always been sensitive regarding abuse and mistreatments, or illnesses. But once you have children of your own – wow.
It really hits home for you.

4 comments:

Susan said...

Sheesh...you should read the Ron Jeremy book next. I read it in 2 days. LOL.

Lori said...

I read a book about a year ago that was difficult to finish as well. I can't remember the title, but I should have just put it down from the start. It stuck in my mind for a long while, and not in a good way. I'm thinking I can do w/out some of these supposedly 'good reads'!

I just read a book by Richard Paul Evans called, "Finding Noel" that was more my speed. I may not be up on some of the current stuff, but I'm ok to find that happy little world instead!

And, it's always fun to read here...!

Anonymous said...

Rebecca,
Jodi Picoult's book, The Pact is about teen suicide. It is excellent. So is My Sister's Keeper. I am currently reading Jodi's latest book Nineteen Minutes...about a school shooting. All of her books resort me to tears as some point, but they are amazing and they make you really think about all sides of a situation. Which is why My Sister's Keeper is so great...told from so many perspectives! It's worth the read, enjoy it.

chesneygirl said...

This does not sound like a book I could "stomach"...