The Power Of A Book

I love books. You’ll rarely see me without one. Books can do so many things. They can educate you, or take you to far away places, both real and imagined. They can help you open your heart, and they can rip your heart open. They can help you bond with other people who read the same book. They can help create great discussions for those same people who read books and maybe saw things differently than you did. There are endless possibilities.

I love to get book recommendations. I love being in a book club because it often takes me out of my comfort zone to read books I normally wouldn’t choose. I use Goodreads (feel free to find me there) because I like to see how my friends and family are reading books and what they are reading.

Every once in a while, there’s a book that just really sticks with me. In this case, it was a book I found because the play is coming to our local theater. And I was interested in seeing the play because one of the characters has traits of autism. So I thought I would check the book out. I went into it with an open mind, but pretty low expectations.

It’s hard to describe, but on several occasions, I just hugged the book. Maybe I was trying to hug the characters inside of it, or I was trying to comfort myself with a hug.

After some time to think about it, the heart of it probably comes down to the writing. It’s simply impeccable. The story is that of a young man in junior high who has had tremendous growth spurts before most of his peers, and he is a very inward person. He meets up with another boy a few doors down who has physical limitations, but is extremely smart. The two of them make for such an unlikely pair.

The story of their adventures and their friendship is just one that I can’t describe in words here. They overcome their limitations, they deal with bullying, they deal with a dysfunctional family, and much more. So if you have a few hours, I’d highly recommend the book. In fact, I’d recommend it for your kids, your family, anyone who would appreciate a wonderful story. I’m looking forward to reading it again before I go see the play in the spring.

My personal hat tip to Rodman Philbrick, the author of Freak the Mighty. Thank you for putting your words into the world.

If you get a chance to read it, or you have read it, I’d love to talk with you about it!