fact or fiction

from the time

i was

a little girl...

. 

i've always found

enjoyment in reading

during the summer

my mother and i

would drive to the local library

twice a week

once home

i'd search for unique spots

to open the newest book

it could be on the roof

in a tree

on top of a large culvert pipe

by the pool

hiding in a corn field

it didn't matter

i just loved to pretend

 i was whatever

character i most enjoyed

the fantasy, the dreaming

most intrigued me

today

 i had the privelege of dining

with a new york times best selling author

marie bostwick

she writes fiction

yet as we chatted

 throughout our meal

i learned that

fiction is not always make believe

in fact

it is often just that

facts

 intertwined with dreams

as she described her newest book

i was mesmerized

it so follows segments

of my life

it is almost scary

 the funny thing about fiction

to you

 it will be

more like make believe

and maybe i

can pretend

the happy outcome

is my ever after

getting to forgiveness...

writing memoirs

is not

an easy task...

.

...the timing for one

needs to be just right

over the years

i've been approached to write a book

on more than one occasion

on a variety of subjects

but mostly about

sarah and our life experiences with her

i was never attracted to

the idea

for one

i never had the time

more importantly

who wants to read about me

i wondered

i also have read a lot of

mediocre books

i've never been one to settle

for just average

so that scared me

away

i also found memoirs in book form

 to be so finite

then i found blogging

it seemed the perfect fit

each day or so

i could write a post

help sarah write one too

and the next day move on

to a new topic

then a series of events happened

it started with water dripping

from the family room ceiling

followed by a couple

near death experiences

 in the middle of roads

followed by angels

lots and lots of them

so the book idea

surfaced again

this time it felt spiritual

in a good kind of way

so i sat down

 and started typing

i recently finished chapter twelve

it started out as retelling

 a story

yet somehow it has

evolved into something

much greater

healing

of my soul

through others

and in the process

helping others

get to forgiveness

realizing the importance

of that word

it should eventually get to chapter

nineteen or twenty

not yet though

life still is unfolding

i am still learning

and

some of the main characters

are still in dress rehearsal

memoirs

this past week

two new books

hit the store shelf

.

they are both memoirs

written by women

who have wildly popular blogs

that i have been following

for some time

which is the reason i could not wait

for their release

blogging somehow

 makes us feel like friends

they both were living the good life

handsome husbands

with good jobs

adorable child(ren)

supportive extended families

oodles of great friends

in quality neighborhoods

they often wrote of

fun weekend get-a-ways

awesome vacations

homey crafts were a plenty and

they entertained with parties

that always looked to be

 out of a magazine

then tragedy struck

or so they thought

for kelle

it was the birth of her

 second child

as soon as they placed her baby girl

in her arms

she knew nella had down syndrome

her grief for the perfect daughter

she did not feel she received

 was

intense

for stephanie

it was a plane crash

that left eighty percent

of her body badly burned

she lay in a coma

for over four months

a very different challenge

 each woman faced

yet each one realizing

in their own way

that life is to be lived

and enjoyed

and celebrated

a book critic

i am not

yet i think you will find

enjoyment in

both of these reads

a thread of truth

rarely...

in my fifty years

of reading...

.

has a novel

spoken so directly to my heart

given me such

renewed enthusiasm for a project

that at times seems

risky at best

and never have i read a book of fiction

so beautifully portray a character

with down syndrome

thank you

marie bostwick