4 Stars for A Quiet Life by Ethan Joella. This was the second book written by Ethan, and I read his first one, A Little Hope so I was elated to see he had written another book.
Even though I gave the book 4 stars, please understand that I loved it. I was moved by it. I crawled up in it and lived in it. The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is because I struggled to keep all the characters straight at the beginning. One of Ethan's strengths as a writer is his character development. So, about the time I was getting to know one, a new chapter would begin and I had to dive in with another one. As the book progressed, I could see how he used this to keep me coming back, ending chapters in a way that kept me waiting. And then? BOOM- they all came together in a beautiful story of heartache, disappointment, and loss.
I am an underliner. I underline phrases, words, and sometimes I bracket paragraphs that speak to me or stand out as having something extra in them. This book contains multiple underlines and brackets now. As a result, it will remain on my shelf, snuggled up to A Little Hope.
In A Quiet Life, Ethan pulls in the significance of the cardinal. The bird that stays behind in the winter. The bird who shows up when all the others have left for the winter. It doesn't necessarily DO anything. The cardinal is symbolic for the gift of presence. How profound it was to see strangers in the book, each with their own suffering and loss, with these acquaintances that weren't able to change anything. But, they were able to show the significance of presence.
The power of seeing and being seen in our struggles is something I have personally observed to be so significant to us as humans. To be seen in our suffering and not have someone try to fix us, minimize our trials, or change the subject. With the pandemic, the physical and emotional distance we have had to adapt to has had major impact in my opinion on our ability to see one another. To be seen. This book does an absolutely wonderful job of showing how important we all are to each other, and how healing it is to have cardinals in our lives.
I can imagine this book would be difficult for those who have lost someone recently. I can also see how it could be refreshing, a breath, a beacon for those who feel unsure about tomorrow and how to move forward. And, may we never forget the impact of being someone's cardinal today, of the gift of presence. Of seeing. During the holidays, and for the rest of the year as well. We're all just walking each other home.
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