Silver Girl: Book Review

Elin Hilderbrand has been one of my favorite authors for about a year now.  Her stories are often set at on Nantucket beach and her characters are always relatable and interesting.  In fact, Hilderbrand is one of the only fiction authors I have ever found interest in.  Last summer when I was working at a used book store I ran across her novel Summer People.  I shocked myself by selecting a fiction, but quickly fell head over heels for the book.  I wouldn't put it down until it was finished.

Hilderbrand's stories are perfect for warmer weather.  In fact they are responsible for a lot of my beachy daydreams.  I always feel like I'm on vacation when I am reading about the lives of her coastal characters.

Two weeks ago I found "Silver Girl" on the shelf at my local library.   Because I love Hilderbrand I knew it would be good.  Indeed I was right, it was another read I could not put down.

Silver Girl is the story of two women who have been best friends since birth, essentially.  The story starts when they are both in their fifties and encountering some very rough times.  Through scandal, death, separation and humility, the two women lean on one another and support each other's weaknesses.

Meredith and Connie go through so much throughout the book.  The novel depicts a true picture of love, forgiveness and friendship.  Though men may come and go, the friendship between women has power to stick forever.

It took me a while to understand the meaning of the title, but once I did the story was that much deeper.  There were so many hidden themes and messages that I wish I had someone to sit with me and pull these things out.

Though much of the story is wrapped in devastation and disappointment, it is hope that keeps the characters alive and joyful.  Sometimes we need to read about other people's lives so we can better appreciate and understand our own.

 Although this is a spoiler alert, I am going to bring up the tiny detail that Meredith had a wonderful relationship with her father.  His love for her gave her confidence to conquer life head-on.  As I found myself mesmerized with the story of her father, I couldn't help but be deeply reminded of the love of my own father and how I often times take that for granted.  This of course, I believe was a bigger picture of the father's love for us.  Even in our lowest hours, he is always there with us and he never leaves.

There is also a pressing importance on healing and finding strength within yourself.  At the very end of the book we see tough and strong Meredith break down into sweet vulnerability with herself.  She spent enough alone time with herself that she finally felt confident in letting down her pride and fully feeling the emotions she had experienced.

Alone time is such an important part of the self-growth process.  I feel that when I am home alone or living by myself I seem to grow twice as fast.  I challenge myself with activities I wouldn't do around others, and I am always finding new ways to entertain myself without depending on others.  The reflection and meditation one finds inside themselves is full of restoration qualities, plus the more a person fills themselves up with the presence of God alone, the more easily they can pour out love and affection towards others.  It's a win-win cycle.

Overall I learned a few lessons from Silver Girl,  and I felt many emotions that caused me to see things more clearly in my own life.

I highly recommend this book as a relaxing summer read to bring you sympathy, joy and forgiveness.

Night Swimming: Book Review

A new joy of mine is wandering through used bookstores and picking up interesting fiction titles.  I guess I haven't really taken the time to read fiction since I was a little kid, mostly because I have always seen it as a waste of time.  However, my summer working at the bookstore really changed my view on this.

 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: 

1. "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!
2. 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.  :)
3. 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!