The Walk

So, I just finished an awesome book. The Walk by Richard Paul Evans.  I have to say this was not a book I was in search of when I visited the community library yesterday. Truth be told, I was only there to see my husband who was working.  Since he was busy, I figured I would peruse the stacks to see if something other than Dean Koontz would interest me. 

I was on the 2nd row when I saw this on on the shelf propped for display.  I liked the look of it as well as the title.  I scanned the summary and decided to hold on to it in case something better came along. Well, I found 2 more books but this one stayed with me.  I checked all three, kissed the husband goodbye and made my way back home.  I sat down and picked it up and started to read but 15 minutes later I stopped.  I started to feel guilty for sitting there doing nothing when the house was in need of a good cleaning.  I do that.  It's very hard for me to sit and do nothing. So, I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned some more. I worked for 2 hours until the living room was clean, the kitchen organized and 2 trash bags of clutter was carried to the dumpster. I toasted a wheat English muffin and spread it with peanut butter and bananas for a quick lunch.  After a quick shower, I felt like I could sit down and relax. 

Putting on some music, I sat down my peanut butter lunch and water in front of me on the coffee table and finally started reading again.  I read until my husband came home about 5 hours later. I was almost done with the book.  Probably would have been finished had I not had to take the dogs on a couple of walks, talk to my Dad on the phone as well as 2 sister phone calls. I didn't pick the book back up until just before I went to bed. I read a little until my Advil set in and I was asleep. 

I got up this morning with the book on my mind. I had to finish it today.  I made a wonderful Sunday breakfast and decided to finish.  I did and what an experience it was.  From my last post I'm sure you know of recent events.  I've been working to make sure I don't let it get me down.  After all, I made a promise to myself to turn every bad experience into something good.  Well, this book most definitely was a message to me.  I won't give a summary but I will add a quote from one of it's last pages. 

'This is what I've learned.  We can spend our days bemoaning our losses, or we can grow from them.  Ultimately the choice is ours.  We can be victims of circumstance or master of our own fate, but make no mistake, we cannot be both.'

The book's message was obviously something I needed to hear.  I wasn't feeling down yet, but who's to say I wouldn't slip?  After reading this book, I have to say my will to turn this into something good is much greater than it was before.