The Power Of Story

Every season of “The Bachelor” or “The Bachelorette” you can guarantee I will be plastered to my TV every week watching in anticipation to find out who will continue on this journey of love.  My enthusiasm and dedication to this show does not come out of my belief that this show works but simply for the brief time I get to be a part of someone else’s story.  Now, whether that story is reality or fabricated for good ratings is not the point-the point is the story.  I am convinced why shows like “The Bachelor”, vlogging and blogging on the internet and, why memoirs and biographies continue to flourish,  comes down to one word- story. 

Now when I say story, I am not talking about the “Once upon a time…” kind of story.  I am speaking of what makes up someone’s life, someone’s being.  Everything that goes into making you, you.  The little events which bring you to big out comes and drive you down a certain road.  All of it comes together to form a unique story nobody else could ever tell.  This is what I mean by story.

Don’t get me wrong, I love getting lost in a new world of fiction, to go on adventures in Narnia, the Cosmere, Hogwarts, or Middle Earth just as much as the next girl.  I love the anticipation that comes when I open the cover of a new piece of literature.  When the days around me are hard and I need nothing more than to get lost in something, fiction is my go-to.  However, in the midst of needing to escape are the times of needing to know I am not alone in this world.  I need reassurance that my mistakes and struggles are things others have gone through and came out on the other side still intact.  These are the days I turn to another’s actual story.

There is something about reading about someone else’s life, his or her problems and heartaches, to get inside another’s mind and thoughts that goes beyond getting lost in a new world.  Turning the page is so much more than finding who stands behind the curtain, it is about why someone even needs to throw the curtain aside.  As the reader I am brought into the journey with the amazing sense of knowing this event actually happened.  Between the covers of someone’s memoir is the reality that not only is it possible to bike across America- someone actually accomplished it.  Not only is it possible to overcome the rejection letter and continue writing but to become one of the best known authors today.

Story is what makes me stand for 30 minutes in the aisle of a book store reading about a former Bachelor’s experience on the show.  It is what brings tears to my eyes when a woman throws her broken hiking boot over the edge and screams in defeat. Story gives me hope in the midst of failure knowing even the most successful stumbled and fell.  It is what draws me to people I have never met and probably never will in a way that is beyond words.  Story can be about escaping but it also can go farther and deeper than that. 

When we share our story on a page or screen we invite others into our lives and our experiences become theirs’ as well.  “Will you accept this rose” is not just about two people saying yes to one another but also about those who take the time to invest in the lives of those on the screen.  I think there is a need and a desire in all of us to be connected to other people and to have someone else care about our story.  When reading a biography or a memoir it connects each of us to one another, even if it is only for a brief moment in time.  They are invitations into someone else’s life and just like when we were children on the playground asking another kid to be our friend, if we reach out, embrace the invitation, we get the opportunity to become someone’s best friend for a while, as we run around and hear her story.

Review: "A Long and Faraway Gone" by Lou Berney

9.5 out of 10 Stars

A well written, fast past mystery crime novel.   The two main characters-Wyatt and Julianna both bring something unique and fresh to the story.  Although the novel is written in duel narratives neither story or character takes a back seat to the other.  Each aspect, each clue, each new development whether coming from Wyatt or Julianna drives the story and keeps you turning the page.

Wyatt is the sole survivor of a robbery and shooting when he was 15.  That same summer, Julianna’s older sister disappears with no leads as to where she could have gone.  25 years later finds these two characters still struggling with the grief and tragedy of their perspective mystery.  Both are looking for closure, answers and will ultimately do whatever it takes to find out what really happened all those years ago. 

The only complaints I have of this other-wise brilliant novel is the ended seemed to wrap up too quickly.  I was hoping for more of…something.  The ending did not kill the novel but it did not hold up to the rest of the story.  The other is there really is no real reason why Wyatt and Julianna’s stories are being told in the same book.  I kept waiting for something to happen to drive these two together but nothing ever happens.  It is not that big of a deal but there is a line on the back of the book that suggests that these two characters will come together but they never really do. 

Other than those two rather small things, the novel is a must read!

 And here is my video review

Review: A Cliche Christmas

"A Cliche Christmas" by Nicole Deese

 

9 out of 10 Stars.  Everything you want and hope for in a Christmas tale and so much more. 

I was expecting your average Hallmark/Lifetime-ish Christmas story chalked full of predictable plots and cheesy characters, but “A Cliché Christmas” blew me away and I did not want it to end.  The story itself was still rather predictable, in that when Georgia and Weston first meet you know that this is the love story that will unfold and you know that Georgia going home for the holiday’s will change her life, however, the way everything plays out is the farthest thing from predictable. 

The main characters themselves were well developed with more depth than one would expect in a 180 page novel.  I enjoyed that throughout the novel they reacted to circumstances, situations and life in a believable way.  Also, their faith was woven so nicely into the essence of the character, that it did not come across as preachy or cliché.  The faith aspect was also not overly done or just thrown in there randomly but it always had a purpose or a reason to be mentioned and displayed. 

One of things I liked the most about this novel was Deese’s description of emotion and setting.  When she is describing a kiss you are right there feeling it too.  Or when she is setting a scene you are there in the snow, freezing as well.  Each detail had a purpose and helped drive the plot or bring more depth to a character. 

I truly have only one complaint and that is the novel was not long enough.  There was enough closure to the story that it was still satisfying but it left me wanting me more.

Highly recommend to anyone who loves a good Christmas story and is looking for a feel good romance.  

Here is my video review of the book if you would like to hear what else I have to say about the book.