May 28 On the Shelf

I read mostly on my Kindle reader through the local Libby app; yet, I still love the feel and smell of a book in my hands. 

I walked into my magnificent public library to return a book, yesterday, and that is when I saw the librarians gathered around the new release shelf looking as if they had hit the lottery. I noticed the sort of distantly familiar face of a news reporter and slid the book off the shelf. I read the blurb and almost put it back thinking it was a bit too sappy until Bert piped up, "It's really well written with distinct stories of outside-of-the-box-heroes."

I started the book while I ate my dinner and continued after I settled into my bed for the night. I was still reading at 10, 12,.....and then replayed the stories in my mind as I slipped into a fistful sleep thanks to Martha Raddatz's tales of real brave acts that followed 9/11. It may have been the moms who spent years and years caring for their sons with life-changing brain injuries resulting from their deployment that left me tossing and turning.  It may have been the real-life focus of this book that shook my foundation to a core and made me focus on every breath that kept me awake. It may have been the news that the bombing in Iran has begun again with both sides trading those expensive explosives that have enormous potential to destroy the trajectory of lives that prevented my mind from shutting down for the night. Or, it may have been the masterful writing that brought the hopes, fears and dreams of these people into my life asking me to remember ALL who have served, rethink priorities and recognize my blessings.

Quite a few great books have passed through my life this year, this gave me pause.