I’m so sorry for the very long break since my last post. I’ve been reading – and teaching! – but I have definitely failed at blogging regularly. I’m hoping to remedy this immediately and I thank you for sticking with me and reading my blog! 

Happy New Year! As 2018 gets underway, I have to admit that I have super mixed emotions about making resolutions. I feel like every year I say some variation of the same thing…I’ll lose ten pounds, I’ll spend less money, I’ll get more sleep (I’m guessing that these sound familiar!). That said, I do welcome the chance to reflect, reassess and recommit (when appropriate) to the things that matter. I think it is important to ask ourselves the tough questions: Am I happy? Am I healthy? Am I connecting enough to the people and causes that I value the most? Sometimes, the answers are easy. Sometimes, they are much more complicated. When it comes to the latter, we need to be willing to dig a little deeper, try a little harder to decide what we want and how hard we are willing to work for change.

I just finished reading Between Me & You and it was the perfect book to read while contemplating the start of a new year. I’ve always enjoyed Allison Winn Scotch’s books and her latest novel is no exception. I think she does a fantastic job of creating authentic characters and believable relationships and interactions. Her writing is real and engaging and it causes readers to feel invested in the lives she creates. Between Me & You introduces us to Ben Livingston, a screenwriter and Tatum Connelly, an actress. Present day, their marriage is essentially over. There are divorce papers they haven’t officially signed and thousands of regrets they haven’t voiced – to themselves or to each other. We know they still love each other, but the obstacles seem insurmountable. What follows is a story of their history told in alternating perspective and spanning two decades of memories – good and bad – as Ben and Tatum ask themselves the tough questions.

Confession – I didn’t really like the format of the novel at first. It seemed complicated and disconnected. The stories are disjointed – first a memory from 2000 and then one from 2014. First an affair, then the day when the future lovers first met. First the fallout from an argument, then the build-up. However, as I got more invested in Ben, Tatum and their family and friends, the format made complete sense. Allison Winn Scotch is brilliant because she recognizes that though we may live our lives in chronological order, we don’t necessarily remember them in the same way. Our emotions don’t always follow a logical order. Cause(s) and effect(s) aren’t always directly linked in a completely linear way. We can crash into each other without ever fully understanding how others will be impacted. The interactions that create specific outcomes aren’t always clear as they are happening – they require reflection. Mostly, our lives aren’t black and white – they are chaotic, colorful and messy. People are passionate and also fallible, they make mistakes and decisions and these can lead our lives in directions we couldn’t possibly imagine – and that is what makes life worth living.  Between Me & You reminds us that sometimes  we need to go back so that we can move forward. Sometimes we can fix our mistakes and sometimes we need to figure out how to let go. It also reminds us that fighting for what matters to us – fighting for love – is always worth it.