A Heavy and a Light

I have two more books for you which will require tissues.   One will have you sniffling and one will leave you sobbing at the end.


Jojo Moyes'  Me before You (2013) is one of the most heart-wrenching books I have ever read.  Louisa Clark, an employed, working class young woman in England, accepts a six month job as a caregiver for a quadriplegic.  In a prior life, her charge Will  was at the top of his game, wealthy, handsome, successful, athletic. He had it all - promising career, gorgeous girlfriend, extreme sports and lots of friends.  He lost it all after being paralyzed in an accident.  Now, confined to a wheelchair and despondent, he plans an assisted suicide in six months. Louisa is unaware of the reason for her six month tenure when she takes the job.  We share her horror when she discovers the reasons behind her employment.  However, in the time allotted, Louisa ignores the sarcasm, depressions and acerbic wit of Will, her patient. In an attempt to dissuade him from his choice, she makes contact with other quadriplegics and tries to give Will a reason to live.  Unexpectedly, Will saves Louisa from live choices that are less than ideal.  You will laugh.  You will cry.  Alright, you will cry a lot.  Sometimes in life, love is not enough.


The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion by Fannie Flagg (2013)
Whenever I want a feel-good book, I reach for Fannie Flagg.  Although I am not from the South and Southern culture is often lost on me, Fannie Flagg fills her books with such quirky and heart-warming characters, that I cannot help but smile.  Sookie is a 50-ish Alabama woman who has just survived the weddings of three daughters and is looking forward to her empty nest time if she can escape her domineering mother next door. Sookie's life is turned upside down when she receives a mysterious phone calling telling her that "you are not who you think you are."  Imagine her surprise when she discovers that she is not a card-carrying, daughter of the South and  a Southern sorority  queen, but instead she is the illegitimate daughter of a Polish Catholic woman. Sookie begins the inevitable search for her birth mother.  Her search leads her to the courageous young women who flew airplanes in the early days of the Army Air Corps and ran male-dominated business during the Second World War. You will wipe away a tear, but you will cheer for these remarkable women who gave so much for their country.