On Soul Mates

(07/22/14)

I don't even know how this book ended up on my reading list, let alone my request list at the library. Some one must have referenced it online or in an article; according to a friend the author recently died (fact check: the author passed on 06/23/14). Regardless of how this book found me, I am very glad it did. It is a rare book that causes me to pause, tear up, and close the book just to think.

The quote that found me mid-read and required more than a moment's pause to digest is this:

"Have you ever felt really close to someone? So close that you can't understand why you and the other person have two separate bodies, two separate skins? I think it was Sunday when that feeling began."

pg 91, Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden

I am not sure if it is because I have indeed felt this closeness, or if I was so interested in the plight of the characters and their stress that I was so moved. Maybe a little of both. The emotional intimacy that gives way to an inseparable bond is rare. The risk of being vulnerable to another person is, for me, frightening and incredibly difficult. The characters in this book reminded me how important it is to take that risk when the right person is knocking on your heart's door.

Photo found here.