For whatever reason I found a fiction book that interested me and I loved the escape it brought. I loved going home in the evening and actually unwinding with a book for once, instead of the always-learning-always-growing reading approach I had always taken in the past.
A month or so ago I found a couple of good reads at a wonderful and hidden used bookstore in Norman called "The Book Stoll". One of those good finds was a book titled "Night Swimming" by Robin Schwarz. Talk about a wonderful escape from reality! If it weren't for life getting in the way, I would have finished this book the first night I opened it. This was truly one of those books that pains you to put it down.
Protege of best-selling author, James Patterson, Schwarz is a new author on the rise. Originally from England, Schwarz truly is a writer through and through. Her resume includes writing gospel and being the first ever writer hired at The Kaplan Thaler Group. I am impressed with the later because I know a little bit about that world. (The Kaplan Thaler Group is owned by Publicis...that's a major advertising and public relations company!)
Schwarz does an awesome job of keeping the novel interesting and surprising. I kept thinking to myself, "surely it will get boring at some point" but to my pleasure, it never did. In fact, the story got better and better as it went! This is the best kind of book, but it is oh, so rare to find.
In Night Swimming,the reader is pulled into the life of a very ordinary (yet maybe not) woman in a small town in New Hampshire. When she suddenly gets the news one day that she only has a year to live, she does the unthinkable and wrecks havoc on the mundane life in Gorham.
Her story is one of courage, living and accepting. Charlotte, I guess I will call her (the main character), transforms from unhappy and overweight to a beautiful, happy go-lucky woman after her own dreams! I feel like I learned so much from reading about Charlotte. She is an inspiration to women (and men) everywhere.
Three things I took away from this book:
- "Life is a tasting plate. You have to try everything...at least once." This is the advice Charlotte's mother gives her on her death bed. I love this philosophy and it has instantly been adopted as my own. I agree whole-heartedly. Life is short and we ought to try everything we can before we die...no matter how crazy the idea!
- When we crave things too much, even good things, they become an idol, and when they are an idol, God does not give them to us, because we want for wrong reasons. After meeting the love of her life, we read this narration, "But because Blossom (Charlotte) craved love so badly, she couldn't seem to appreciate the gift he gave so freely. The gift of friendship." Charlotte had to learn to accept and appreciate herself outside of everyone else before she could truly appreciate and love another individual. This theme is carried throughout the story as Charlotte learns lessons of forgiveness, acceptance and contentment. She learns to love and laugh at the little things. :)
- Fear is invisible. In one particular scene Charlotte wants to sing karaoke but has a hard time mustering up the courage to do it. Eventually, she breaks through, triumphantly and realizes that fear isn't anything. "...she had broken through that invisible wall of terror that surrounded her, and lived to tell the tale." We all have those invisible walls. They give us anxiety, worry, stress, defeat. But really, what is it other than an invisible wall we build around ourselves? Bust through it and do what you desire!
If you are looking for an inspiring, brilliant and fictional read that journeys through self-discovery, spirituality and living your dreams--Night Swimming is definitely the book for you. I highly recommend it and am passing it along to a friend as we speak! 5 out of 5 stars Robin Schwarz!
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