Imagine (a book review)

 

Our Bible study group is only half-way through Jennifer Rothschild's latest study (Heaven).  One of her early "Take-away Truths", however, shines brightly in its simplicity:  "Acknowledge life's brevity." 

I think we're all familiar with The Dash.  As you know, it represents what happens to someone between his/her date of birth and their date of death.

Rothschild reminds us, we're all living in the dashes.

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So, what does all this have to do with a book I recently called, "remarkable"?

I can't imagine either Rothschild or Nikki Erlick giving a moment's consideration to their books' similarities.  The messages, however, are pretty darn profound.   I'm no accomplished reviewer, so please bear with me.

Having grown bored by my usual genre of books, some time back I impulsively added The Measure to my library's most wanted list. In the months that followed, I totally forgot about it until an e-mail said, "Ready!" -- inviting me to download it to my Libby app.

What's odd?   In order for me to truly enjoy a book, I need to identify on some level with at least one of its characters.  Didn't happen.  Even the plot seemed implausible.

Nevertheless, I'd nothing better to do.  Plus, the author's writing -- neither mind-numbing highbrow or condescending -- sucked me right in.

Long before staying up until nearly 2AM to finish it, I began to note the similarities to "Heaven."   I totally agree with one reviewer who called it, "one of the most life-affirming, poignant, thought-provoking books I have ever read."  Despite the premise (where everyone discovers how long their life will be) it's really about how we want to live our lives; how we're all connected.

I'm usually reluctant to give out 5-stars, but think this book deserved it.  I've never done this before, but while waiting at the doctor's office, I went out on line and purchased my own copy so I can highlight and reabsorb certain parts.

The quote, "live like your string is short" will stay with me.