The request was simple enough. "Want to do a book club?" she asked. I read a lot more than usual this summer as I took the summer "off" from my teaching tasks. Kristen Hannah and others had filled my summer evenings with stories of people who interfaced, ever so briefly, with my "real" life. I often thought about how this chapter of my life mirrored those middle years when books and their characters filled the crevices of my mind that had been filled with teaching, family, and life demands for so many years.
"Sure," I responded and ordered the book (back ordered) from Libby, my free online library. Worse come to worse, I could always order a Kindle version if it took too long.
Then, one day, I noticed the e-book had arrived. I "knew" Lois Lowry from many books shared with students and teachers over the years of my professional life as a literacy specialist.
From the first words, I recognized the familiar "memory" assessment that is part of nearly every doctor visit after a certain age. Often, we joke about that 3-word assessment; however, we also dread and respect the potential of 3 words to a life's path.
The themes, mostly heavy duty, included those nearest and dearest to my heart: aging, friendship, and the power of stories.
I read deep in the night and finished early in the morning while my eyes were still encrusted with sleepers. The "inter-generational" reading-inspired-book-club was weeks away and there I sat, deep in thought, early on a late summer morning, rocking gently.
It was a feeling similar to how I felt as I finished The Women earlier this summer and wondered why I had never talked about the impact of the Vietnam War on my generation. Families and friends had been divided by differences. These days, it's more likely political and lifestyle choices that divide and separate people
Yet, there are some aspects of life that cut through all the "red tape" of life and Lowry answered the question about what is most important exquisitely: the perils of aging, demands of friendship, and the power of stories. Consider it a must read.
Tree, Table, Story
By Lois Lowry
