December 29, 2019 SOMEONE SAVED MY LIFE TONIGHT

Been distracted. Feeling a little down. The holidays are sometimes difficult for me. When I get like this--I either binge read to keep my mind occupied (4 books in the last week)  or clean random things. So--I was cleaning out a drawer in my hutch last week-- filled with old XMAS cards. Talk about getting distracted. By the time I finished with those--I discovered an old manilla envelope that contained  pictures of me from birth til about fourteen. There were even old report cards including my kindergarten report card--a good year for me--AND  my report cards from grade 7 and 8. Those were tough years for me. My mother got divorced again and our lives were in upheaval. My grades went DOWN in every subject except READING and I  missed a lot of school. Although the report cards were a springboard to some painful memories, they helped me remember that reading was my salvation THEN and continues to be a salve NOW.  If you're feeling like you need a little escape from life-- look no further than The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides.
This psychological thriller begins with Alicia and Gabriel Berenson--a seemingly perfect couple. She is a famous painter while her husband is a famous fashion photographer. They live in a beautiful home near London where Alicia spends her days working in her studio. One night Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot and Alicia kills him--five shots to the head--and never speaks again. After the trial, Alicia is sentenced to The Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London. There she meets Theo Faber--a criminal psychotherapist determined to "cure" her. He becomes obsessed with solving the mystery and getting Alicia to talk again. Why did Alicia kill her husband? Why is Theo risking his career to find the truth? Will Alicia ever talk again? Find the answer to these questions and many others when you read this novel filled with twists and turns that will leave you shaking your head. This book is about 340 pages or a 3 mile run that you won't be able to put down. Have Fun.