It is about a young girl raised by a mentally ill mom with an absent dad. When mom is hit by a bus, a great aunt arrives and her life really begins. There are nuggets of wisdom throughout the book.
I was on the phone with Michael's sister yesterday when her college freshman son announced that he was going to the club house. I heard a commotion. His sister told me that he had not gone to class because he had not been feeling well yet he now wanted to go to meet a new girl at the club house. She has been telling him that he needs to focused on school and that it is not necessary to have a girlfriend every moment. New girlfriends have been announced almost weekly on Facebook.
Anna has also been trying to help him understand that he is not in high school anymore. He needs to turn a page to begin a new chapter in his life. It sparked something I had read in the book earlier in the day. She asked that I send it to her. Here it is:
"Mrs. Odell, couldn't I live with you?"
"I wish you could," she said, pressing her check to mine. "But, that's not the way it's written in your Life Book. This is the beginning of a big adventure, and you won't want to miss it. Your Life Book is about to revel a brand new chapter, and so is mine."
I sat up and searched her face. "What do you mean?"
"The winter months are hard on me. A few weeks ago my cousin Adele called and asked me to move down to Florida, to live with her. I knew it would be a nice warm place to spend the rest of my days, but I just wasn't sure if that's where I belonged. So I thought about it awhile, and after your daddy told me that you're moving to Savannah, I decided I'd go ahead and accept Adele's offer. Life is full of change, honey. That's how we learn and grow. When we're born, the Good Lord gives each of us a Life Book. Chapter by chapter, we live and learn."
"But, Mrs. Odell, I've never heard of the Life Book."
"It's not a book you can see or touch. It's a book that's held deep within your heart. It's guarded by your spirit."
"My spirit?"
"Yes," she said, smoothing a loose strand of hair from my face. "When a chapter of your Life Book is complete, your spirit knows it's time to turn the page so a new chapter can begin. Even when you're scared or think you're not ready, your spirit knows you are."
Your spirit knows when you are ready. Being diagnosed with a fatal disease is a new chapter of a Life Book. It was not one I would choose and it has been probably the most terrifying part of my life but it is the chapter I have learned so much about myself and others. It strangely has made me stronger.
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