A wild ride of a story

WHAT a WILD ride! I don’t like rollercoasters but this is one I actually enjoyed! It’s not too often that I find a book I can’t wait to get to the end of but also don’t want to end so I was none too thrilled 2 hours towards the end as I went from annoyed, tired, bewildered, cringing, thankful, and finally completely satisfied. This is yet another book club read that addressed concepts that went beyond the pages and world of the book and seeped over into my own as the characters made discoveries in their lives that connect to my own in a meaningful and timely way as I wrestle my feelings of being stuck and trapped in an undesirable time and place, incapable of being able to “fix” things and longing for it to be better! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 

                                                                                                                                         At one point, a character reflects “I don’t want to look back anymore. I’m ready to accept that my existence will sometimes contain pain. No more trying to escape, either through nostalgia or a memory chair. They’re both the same thing.....our existence isn’t something to be engineered or optimized for the avoidance of pain. That’s what it is to be human, the beauty and the pain, each meaningless without the other.” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 

 My worldview and belief system goes beyond that to this world SHOULD be perfect but it’s broken. Sorrow and joy are part of that reality and looking back at what felt better or longing for something better is to miss the blessing of a deeper joy that can only be known by going through the pain of now and knowing the One who sees all things, truly transcends time to have already fixed this brokenness and is even now redeeming and moving humanity through it, toward a sure and perfect lasting peace and restoration, and He gives the wisdom for how to live in the now with joy and contentment. Yeah, I didn’t see all of that coming from reading this book. Great book though. Next, I think I’ll check out Dark Matters!