The Middle Place

This summer I have been frequenting our local library. I have really enjoyed reading lots of different kinds of books and participating in their Summer Reading Program. I am totally going for the prizes and get to enjoy some good books in the process. :-) If anyone has any recommendations for good reads, I would love to hear them.


Recently, I read 2 books by an author named Kelly Corrigan. The first one I read was entitled "LIFT" and was a quick read. It only has about 80 pages and I think I read it in less than an hour. The author wrote this book as a letter for her two elementary school-aged daughters. I was struck by a section in the book where the reason for the title was revealed. She was sharing a discussion she had with someone who was an expert hang-glider. The person revealed what was required to be successful at hang-gliding, "Basically you go from thermal to thermal looking for lift." When the author asked the question about what exactly was a thermal, he explained that a thermal was a column of hot air surrounded by turbulence. Instead of avoiding turbulence as one might think, it is actually the only way to get altitude or get lift. When the author questioned why would he even want to take the risk because the thermal is surrounded by so much turbulence, he responded that he LOVED hang-gliding and it was worth the risk. This part of the book really made me stop and think that sometimes going through turbulence is worth the risk to do something that you love or passionate about. I am not always a risk taker so this has encouraged me to step out of my "safe place" and begin to look for thermals. :-)

The other book I read by Kelly Corrigan is called The Middle Place. This was her account of a time in her life when she and her father were both diagnosed with cancer and going through treatments. She discussed feeling like she is in this "middle place" where she is trying to care for herself, her family and her parents and the struggle of how to balance all of that. MAN, did that ever resonate with me with things going on in my life right now. While I have not been diagnosed with any life-threating illnesses (and pray that nothing like that happens...I have enough on my plate), I still totally connected with this author's story. Given the issues my dad is having with his health, I feel as if I need to be there doing what I can do to help my parents...but at the same time I struggle with not spending enough time with Anna and Mark. Then when you add other responsibilities of life, it just feels as if I am in this "middle place" trying to balance everything. The Middle Place is definitely a strange place to be. One thing that was so striking in this book to me was the comparison the author made between her reactions and her father's reactions to the turmoil in their lives. Her father had a strong faith and had an upbeat and positive attitude throughout the whole ordeal. Conversely, the author is pretty open about her lack of faith. I know that as I am in this middle place I want to be a person who completely relies on her faith to balance everything that is going on.


Anyway...I really enjoyed both of these books. I think they were well written books and I would have enjoyed them even if I hadn't connected so much with the author's story. As far as the recommendations of good books, they do not have to be books that make me think or allow me to connect on a deep level. I love a good novel that allows me to escape and enjoy characters. I am OK with total fluff and enjoy reading lots of different genres. So feel free to recommend anything...from books about Sparkly vampires and werewolves TO sappy chick lit TO stories about a boy wizard! :-)