March 14, 2016 SUGAR MOUNTAIN

 This jumping ahead business is really too much. Hello people--I  need ALL the sleep I can get. THANKFULLY--we have a snow day today to help ease the pain.  It really does take a good week to get used to the time change though. I like the fact that it stays lighter out longer, but I feel like I'm getting up in the middle of the night. It's a real catch 22. While sleeping in this morning, I started thinking about choices. No, I am not good at making decisions. I mean the choices we make throughout our lives that ultimately define us. We really are the result of all the decisions we have made--BOTH-- good and bad. Our decisions are shaped by the people around us and if we are lucky enough to be surrounded by good, sound people, hopefully the journey is smoother. But many people aren't SO lucky. Their journey is more like climbing Mount Everest ALONE.  I, for one, count myself really lucky to be where I am and who I am today. It wasn't easy. Breaking cycles is  difficult--especially dysfunctional ones--because they are all we know and change is a scary thing. I've come up with a recipe though: a HELL of a lot of  determination, serious self-reflection, SOME intelligence, a pinch of LUCK and a few good choices.  Stephanie Kallos' beautifully written debut novel and National Book Award Winner from 2004 deftly captures this theme in Broken For You.

Meet Margaret Hughes. A 70 year old woman who has just been diagnosed with a "star" tumor--a brain tumor that will end her life. Margaret lives in a beautiful old mansion and refers to her massive collection of antiques as her family. She spends her days conversing with and cleaning antiques that her father acquired during World War II from the Nazis after being stolen from Jewish families. Knowing her time is limited, Margaret decides to change her life and takes in a boarder--Wanda Schultz. Wanda is a young, sad, lonely woman who has just traveled half way across the country in search of her wayward boyfriend. She has been left behind by many men including her father when she was 6. Both women have spent years building walls, harboring secrets and hiding pain. Find out what happens when they become friends and decide to open up--take that risk--to trust and love again. The writing is reminiscent of Dickens or Anne Taylor--with eccentric but lovable characters that will remain in your heart long after finishing the book--which you really won't want to see end. It's one of those wonderful stories that you will want to savor. Its about 380 pages or a 5 mile run that I will definitely read again.