I started to read a book called The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer. It tells the stori(es) of visitors to an art camp in the early 70's The story is told looking back - remembering - telling the reader about a life or lives lived and celebrated. This is a big book -- about 400+ pages.
The book has a strong, racy beginning. When I first read it, I thought about how when we are young we think we (and we alone) have invented bad language and bad behavior. We forget ( or don't want to think about) our own parents going through the same, or similar journey. We forget there was lust and unplanned pregnancies before rock-n-roll music corrupted everyone. We forget...or choose not to remember.
This book left me introspective. This is a difficult place to be when your list is long and your time frame short. I put the book on the shelf and opted for a book on tape.
The book I listened to (while working on other projects) was What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen. Sarah is a Young Adult author. This genre appeals to me because the narrator is usually young adult or a child. If the book is written correctly, the musings are honest and very real. The book is about a young girl who has moved so often that she coped with the constant change by reinventing herself with each move. She goes so far as to use different forms of her name (Elizabeth) with each move.
When I started listening to the book, I was thinking of my own children. As a parent you are always second-guessing your actions. We moved frequently and it was something that was only minimally within our control. Did we do enough for them? Did they feel they really had a 'home' or just an address? Of course, in the book, the main character learned that home is not an address or neighborhood - it is wherever your parents are.
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