31 Days of Free Writes: Brave

The word for today is Brave and for this one I have to share a review of a book I did in October of 2015. Although I was given an advanced copy of this book in return for my honest review, all opinions remain my own.

This book is a fictional young adult novel. It is from the viewpoint of Georgia, a high school senior who recently lost her mom, trying to figure out how to "be brave" as her mother told her to do. 

It goes back and forth between the story and memories. The memories are all in a more poetic format, broken short lines. I found it a refreshing break between the story of her senior year.

Set in Chicago, most of this story revolves around Georgia and best friend Liss and new found friend Evelyn. It also involves a bit with Georgia's father and classmates. I found the characters very relate-able and easy to understand. Being that Georgia had recently lost her mom, she became a character I was very attached to, able to relate to and understood what she was going through.

I think at it's core, this book is about making mistakes and learning from them and finding a way to live each day bravely.

As I mentioned above, having recently lost her mother, Georgia's story really got to me. There were parts of this book that were hard for me to read, it almost felt like the author was there when my mom died. This made the book really emotional to me.

There are a few parts of this book that I wanted to remember and also share, parts that really touched me. This is a part of Georgia's memory of her mom's final days.

And then, in the CCU that last time:
the glare of the cold white walls from the long fluorescent bulb that fell hard against her grey skin against the cold metal and plastic wires.
The mask on her face the steady, careful pulse of machines, monitors,
mechanical boxes that lived for her that sustained whatever was left.
Her body was broken.
She was like a butchered animal with her arms limp and her chest heaving with the push of the machine.
Her eyelids shifting, her feet trembling.
Automatic responses, they're called.
I wonder what was there, inside, the moments before her heart stopped.
I wonder if she could hear what I said how sorry I was just so deeply sorry.
This memory of Georgia's was so like my own that I actually had to stop reading for a while. The memories I have of that time with my mom were awful. Just thinking about another person going through that, made me feel a little less alone. Even though realistically I know that this is a fictional character. The author's insight was just so vivid. It was remarkable and a very life like story.

Life without mom is a little like that. At first, it was all pain and tears. Every day was hard. I'd wake up and the sun was there, still shining in the sky, but the world didn't make sense anymore. Then little by little... that pain faded even more. I cried only once a week instead of every day. And then I stopped crying. I moved forward.

Again, so much like my own experience that it gave me pause. Made me think of how much I have moved forward.

The book ends with this statement from Georgia:
I'm doing it all, mom. Even more than you could have ever imagined.
For me, and for you.

Again echos how I am feeling now. I want to live my life to it's fullest for me and for mom.

This book is a must read. Even if you haven't suffered a loss like me, I feel it gives you an insight into what grief really feels like. Georgia is forced to basically do it on your own. By reading this book, I feel like it gives you a little more of an idea of how someone might be feeling. There is so much more going on in people's lives, you need to stop and pay attention, give them grace. We all make mistakes, we also all need to learn how to move on and learn from them.