May 13 2018 IT'S A HEARTACHE

Mother's day--Part 2. This can be a VERY hard day for many people. Especially--for those who have  lost a mother or child. I had the privilege today to be part of a very special event. This morning, I participated in the first annual Dylan Konakowitz Memorial Foundation 5K Walk/Run. AND PEOPLE CAME--on Mother's Day--IN DROVES--to honor him and his family. What a testament to how much he is loved--how much he means to SO many people. I  hope that helps ease your pain a little bit.  Watching his mother and family cope with their loss with such grace brought me to tears.  Bless you--the courage you show every day in the face of such a daunting loss humbles me. That's the thing about life though. There are NO GUARANTEES. We live--love--hope--and carry on because we have NO choice. Life SOMEHOW goes on. We have to find a way to continue the journey and you have done it with such dignity. No one  knows this lesson better than Paul, the main character of Julian Barnes' new novel The Only Story. 

Set in a suburb of London, Paul is an old man remembering his younger self--telling his only story. The story begins in first person narration as Paul, a nineteen year old college student comes home for summer break. His mother buys him a summer pass to the local tennis club where he meets Susan Macleod, a forty-nine year old married mother of two. Although there is a thirty year age difference between the two, they fall in love and actually flaunt their affair--unheard of in the 1960s--and  eventually run away together. That's when the narration  changes to the second person. By the end of this tale, the voice has changed, yet again,  to third person--flawlessly. This is the story of an unusual relationship and the consequences of the decisions made by the characters. Barnes is a beautiful writer who clearly understands the human condition on many levels. Whenever I read one of his books, I feel as though I am visiting an old friend. I'm immediately drawn into the characters and story because of his prose. Find out what happens to Paul and Susan when you read this book for yourself. It's a somber book of about 270 pages --or a 3 mile run--that teaches so many lessons about life.