November 14, 2016 SOMEONE SAVED MY LIFE TONIGHT

I've been thinking a lot about how reading and running have saved me over the years. Whenever life got tough for me as a kid--VERY dysfunctional family--I could always lose myself in a good book. My grandmother taught me that. I think life was hard for her; hence, the reason her nose was always in a book--EVEN while she was making dinner. It was her escape from reality. We all need to escape from the ghosts that haunt us at times--AND-- life is just easier for some than others. I think it's  luck of the draw-- some of us are born into great, supportive families--AND-- others aren't. It's that simple. I hate the saying--LIFE ISN'T FAIR--but boy is it ever true.  I am thankful, though, that I had E.B. White, Shel Silverstein, Judy Blume, Beverly Clearly, Danielle Steele and Colleen McCullough--I'm sure there are many others--to get me through my younger days. The same goes for running. It has  helped me get through some really difficult times too. It's like therapy. It's helped me face death, disappointment and demons. The miles go by--I unwind--decompress--and  feel ready to face the day--without it, I'm not sure what would happen to me.  I could have gone either way in life--it's a slippery slope--but I believe that reading, running AND a little luck have all helped me stay the course.

Life hasn't been very fair either to Dominick Birdsey, the narrator of my favorite Wally Lamb novel, I Know This Much is True.  This is the story of twins, Dominick and Thomas Birdsey, who reside in a fictional town in Connecticut known as Three Rivers (Norwich). Dominick is supposed to be the brother that has his life together because Thomas suffers from severe mental illness and has been in and out of the state hospital several times. Dominick; however, feels a mixture of responsibility, guilt and resentment toward his schizophrenic brother. These emotions have shaped Dominick's life as revealed in a series of flashbacks of their life together. The brothers endured  a difficult childhood which included a horrible stepfather, an ineffective mother, domestic abuse and Dominick also feeling responsible for his crazy brother. His childhood has really affected his life and Dominick's present life is a mess. He's forty years old -- self- destructive, divorced from the love of his life and confused, but under all of his baggage is a decent person. Dominick finally enters therapy which sheds light on the person he has become. This is a wonderful story of Dominick's family going back three generations that provides insight and finally redemption as Dominick learns to make peace with his demons and begins to really live his life. I absolutely loved this book and will read it again someday. It is a bit of a commitment--or a winter book-- when you want to hunker down and sink your teeth into a good book. It's 900 pages --or a 10 mile run--but it will be an inspiring journey that will make you forget the cold--I promise.