August 23, 2017 FREE BIRD

It's bittersweet. The EMPTY NEST. As much as it's time for them to fly the coop--it's still really hard. Where did the time go? Eighteen years? In retrospect--it's the mere blink of an eye. As parents, we spend an enormous amount of time getting our kids ready for this day. It's our job to teach them how to make their own way in the world--Right?? When the time comes though-- IT'S HARD TO LET GO. Will they eat enough?? Make friends?? Laundry?? Do their homework?? Party too much?? It's really a stressful time because we have to give the CONTROL over to them. They have to figure it out and hopefully learn to navigate life on their own.  I remember when my son left for college-- I could barely breathe for the first few days. I walked around in a DAZE--worried about how he would fare. THAT WAS A WASTE OF TIME--he was born FOR college--it was the first time he actually loved school. Felt the same way when my daughter left too.  It never gets easier--with each child the challenges are just different--THIS PARENTING THING  is a lot of work--a double-edged sword. As much as we want to let go-- we lose a part of our identity--NO LONGER the day to day caretaker. Hopefully--we prepared them well. Abraham Lincoln wasn't so lucky with his son, Willie. Lincoln never got to prepare him for college as he died of Typhoid fever at a young age. George Saunders takes this moment in history and adds a dash of the supernatural in his first novel Lincoln in the Bardo. 

Saunders became interested in writing about Lincoln after he learned that Lincoln was so devastated by his son Willie's death that he actually visited his crypt on several occasions to hold his dead body. Sounds strange, but this is historically documented in the book as are other interesting tidbits that make this novel unique. Set in 1862 during the Civil War, the story takes place in one night and is mostly set in the Bardo. The Bardo is a type of purgatory--taken from Tibetan Buddhist tradition--a transitional state. Young Willie has died and he has not gone over to the other side. He is stuck in the Bardo with a plethora of ghosts who don't realize they're died. The live, argue, complain and even give penance for their sins.  They think that they are just sick and will return to Earth and their lives at some point. Poor Willie is only a child and doesn't belong in the Bardo so a struggle erupts over his soul. If the ghosts don't find a way to get his soul out of the Bardo,  he will be lost forever. What is equally interesting in this novel is that it is set against the Civil War. Lincoln has lost his son, but so have thousands of other parents--in a war that Lincoln's responsibility. So many young men dying. How can Lincoln reconcile that with the death of his own son? This book has many levels. We all live and love, knowing full well that everything must end and yet we do it anyways. Interesting.  If you get a chance, pick up this novel.  It's only about 350 pages--and easy 4 mile run--that packs a whole lot of punch.