and the persistence of love beyond loss
347220
The book gives detailed insights to the much renowned movie of its time "Talk to her"

The plot follows two men who form an unlikely friendship as they care for two women who are both incoma. The story theme includes the difficulty of communication between the sexes, loneliness and intimacy, and the persistence of love beyond loss.

While the movie was critically acclaimed, the novel is much in detail reflecting on each decision how the sets, minute details, expressions and idealization of the characters, props, location was decided.

This is not a regular read but recommended for people who wish to know what all goes into making a motion picture. The art of story telling on-screen is so vast and well defined while watching a movie how many of us have actually given a thought to "why is it being shown the way it was there on screen?"
3548273
The author pens of love and loss in such a way that many will find relatable. She reaches past just girlish pinings to pluck at the sinew of heartache and grief and addresses the thoughts we are left with when love leaves, and doesn't it always die? Her metaphors paint lovely pains of dreams of far away places and the bestial reality of out emotions. Definitely worth reading and re-reading.
697912
The paramount achievement of OUR SPIRITS DANCE is not just the exquisite poetry that takes the one experiencing these poems (reading is far too passive a description of what happens when one enters this book) into the intimate world of these two sou mates.  The real achievement of OUR SPIRITS DANCE is that it confirms, in language that is graphic yet romantic, that love between souls is possible, and that the ecstacy that flows from such love can, and should, be known through every cell and fibre of the body, every breath, every beat of the heart, as well a in the higher realm of spirit.  It is the wonder, the magic, of the poems in OUR SPIRITS DANCE that they capture with such passion, such poetic skill, the joy between these lovers, the depth of their committment, their vulnerability, as well as their inevitable challenges, occasional misunderstandings and divergent needs, and finally the pain of contending with illness and loss.  But that is not the end of the story. The triumph of these poems is that they offer the certainty that death does not end such a love, that the soul connection is not lost, that thes two spirits will dance down the paths of time still entwined, still challenging each other, still in love.  Rev. Maribeth Craig, Interfaith Minister
3338525
This well-written, descriptive book is a non-fiction love story of a place, a person, and God. Three in one! The place is the Big Island of Hawaii, where the author, Anne Celeste, learns the deep peace of living simply in rhythm with nature. The person is the man she met whom she immediately recognized as her Beloved in human form. The God experience came from the power of surrender into the very difficulty that yielded unexpected but sustained joyful radiance.

 That is the external story. The internal one chronicles tremendous personal loss and physical pain, the kind that would bring any of us to our knees. But the grace that follows develops from the resulting redemption Anne Celeste finds in her own soulful and spiritual journey. It offers a detailed roadmap for everyone seeking a higher, deeper, more consistent source of love. As she explains, it is no less than a full heart infusion of the Beloved: pure, enduring, and eternal. Though Annes journey has taken her through the path of Sufism, the depth and breadth of love she has experienced and conveys so well flows beyond any one spiritual path or religion. She is describing a path of enlightenment and how to live from that place. I actually met her on the island and can attest to the profound love she carries.

 Throughout the book, the author richly describes the island she has grown to love. The valley air is sweet and pure and filled with fragrance and the moon-shadowed trees waft the scents of night jasmine through the home she created after meeting her beloved partner. It could begin to make you a tad jealous until you read further and realize that you, too, can find your own heaven on earth in a way you might have least expected it.

 Creating Heaven On Earth is a must-read for anyone searching for more love, greater peace, and the realization that paradise within and without is a dream that is real. I highly recommend this engaging and spiritually-attuned book as one you will want to review again and again whenever youve lost your way or are just ready to further open your heart to all the love that the Universe so generously offers.
4788634
Now that I have read and thoroughly enjoyed "The First Warm Evening of the Year", by author Jamie M. Saul, the thoughtfulness of the work is gently nudging my philosophical side. I have passed the half-century mark, and in spite of myself, I've learned a few things along the way. The friendships that we form in our youth have a profound effect on the person we become in our later years. They shape and mold us more than we realize, even if we allow the connection to become hazy through time and distance. Grief and depression are deeply personal processes, and each of us deserves the time and space to suffer and heal in our own way. If you don't understand what someone is going through, be supportive and respectful. We all find ways to cope and compartmentalize--some seemingly more successful than others at squeezing the lemonade out of those lemons. Most important of all, we never become too old to love and be loved in return. Love brings light to dark corners, sunshine to cloudy days, and a joyful heart when least expected. It gives hope when all hope was thought to be lost. People who love and are loved in return live longer, smile more often, and generally make the world a better place. "The First Warm Evening of the Year" brings together two people connected by a mutual loss, and we are privy to their conversations and reflections as they each experience a catharsis of the heart. Geoffrey Tremont has carved out an enviable existence in New York City as a successful voice-over artist. He has remarkable personal freedom, yet he feels the pricklings of an unknown unease. His lifestyle has lost some of its luster. An unexpected contact due to the death of an old friend pries him loose from his safety net and sends him on a journey to a small town in New York State. He hasn't seen his best friend from college, Laura Wells, in over twenty years, and he is stunned to learn that she named him as executor of her estate. Upon arriving in Shady Grove, where Laura made her home, Geoffrey meets her best friend, Marian Ballantine, and his life is forever changed. Marian and Laura were both widowed at too young an age, and their tragic losses bound them in friendship. Learning about Laura's life and remembering his own friendship with her enriches Geoffrey's perceptions of his existence in ways he never expected. In the beat of a heart, Geoffrey falls for Marian in a big way, and watching his personal growth and journey of self-discovery is a highlight of the story line. Marian is also greatly affected by Geoffrey, but she is holding on to the comforting illusion of her memories. It sometimes takes a great leap of faith to reach out for love and happiness, but what awaits on the other side makes the leap an exhilarating risk that offers the rewards of a lifetime. Read this lovely story for yourself, and then, let's talk.
129108
This is a continuation fo Sullivan's Island and it continues to follow the families younger generation of this extended southern family.  We return to familiar places while the younger generation learns how and why things really do work in life.  There's love gained, lost, and found.  Realatives come together for one another in good times and bad. The older generation help the youngster ones grow while they learn imporatant life lessons.

Through the haunted mirror and room we see that those who loved us in life continue to try and help us when they are no longer here.  Real love is the one thing that never dies and is more precious than anyhting else.  This is one of the lessons that the main character learns.

Having said that it seems that like DBF is another author that is just writing to meet a deadline and put a book out.  This could have been so much better, but it was still a good book, I would rate it 3.6, if I could.  I wish that I had waited for the paperback or better yet, bought it used.  I hope that the next one wll be as good as she good as her earlier ones.
473987
The Soul in Grief offers an in-depth look not only at death and grieving but also at love. Dr. Romanyshyn writes about the experience of his wife's sudden death, of her lingering presence, of the unseen world of the dead,  and of his attempt to make sense of a senseless loss. He speaks of his  well-intended friends who, after a while, encourage him to go on with life.  But how does one go on with life when one's whole world is so suddenly  shattered?  The author relates how the numbness, depression, grief, and  despair he feels are slowly transformed as he honors the dreams, reveries,  and images that visit him.  Describing his journey through grief, the  author interweaves his personal experiences, dreams, and reveries with  myths, folktales, poetry, and various art expressions.  Dr. Romanyshyn  speaks with the unique yet universal language of a bereaved heart that  dares to delve into the depth of his own pain and existence.  Even though  the book speaks of death and mourning, in the end, it is a hymn to love and  life.  It is a sensible and delicate book that will speak to anyone touched  by death and grieving. I also highly recommend it to anyone who is at a  loss for words when trying to comfort someone in mourning.
1670464
A journey through a lifetime of love that never faded, even though they were separated by great distances. A love story that spans cultures and religions and reminds us that the heart  always knows what is true.
739445
a love story about love that endures, even as it changes vs love that you outgrow.

sad insight into some of the personal and emotional casualties of the Vietnam War era.

a moving story - far more than the fantasy romance I expected.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
64170
This story, not a trite romance, but a story of family life, work, love, and how they interweave and connect, was poignantly told.  The bittersweets of life, the trials of parenting, healing, of dealing with workplace and home stresses, while also capturing the nuances of teen age life in High School, was masterfully crafted.  Ms. Haws clearly knows her setting as a former teacher.  The breaks in the story weaving back and forth between Sarah, Bob, Tom, Jenny, and other characters, gradually unfold the crisis and healing...
Well worth the read.  While there was an Latter-day Saint setting, I think anyone who has ever dealt with divorce, parenting, struggles with acceptance, and the pressures of every day life would enjoy the nuances in this story.  The ending with the multiple 'villians' disclosed and self awareness of the MC's was so worth reading.  Not a trite love story, but more like a journey of healing.
After receiving the book in the mail yesterday, I couldn't put it down.
I did receive a copy of the novel for free from the author after notifying her of a problem on the Amazon page.
87913
While the first thing comes to mind is Age of Adaline based on the summary of this book, the tone is different. Shelley believes her once-thought-dead husband kept secrets from her, but instead she has all of them. The book is about her connecting the pieces, which reveal the lessons that can be learned from many lives, the consequences of death and life, and what makes love worth it.

The story enveloped me in a very warm embrace as I shed tears at certain places. The author does a good job of keeping there authenticity of each era she visits, yet doesn't lose the theme of love, loss, and sacrifice. Make sure to have your significant other nearby when you finish, so you can hug them tightly and have all the values the story reminds you of them resonant in your mind.
4659446
Alice has suddenly lost the last ten years of her life. She has missed the births of her three children, the apparent development of a new and bold personality, and the break-up of her joyously blissful marriage. She rides a roller coaster of emotions as tiny bites of her life are revealed to her.

As I read Alice's struggles to get friends and family to help her interpret her fragmented memories and the conversational miscues that led her astray, I found myself examining my own forty-three-year marriage at various stages of our lives. The things that pulled Nick and Alice apart were the little things: her criticisms of pointless things like loading the dishwasher, his reluctance to ask what she was thinking rather than guessing (never works!), his fear of causing her to lose it causing her to lose it, her inability to just let things go, his misunderstanding of her taking charge because he had let her, and then feeling left out because she had. These and many more cracks in a good marriage sounded true to me because Bill and I have suffered through all of them at one time or another. Following one particularly disturbing conversation in which Alice clearly was unfairly harsh to Nick, I stood, grabbed my husband in a tight hug, and tearfully apologized to him for taking him for granted.

What Alice Forgot is a primer for marriage. Each couple in the book reveals what can go wrong or right in the everyday slog of raising (or trying to build) a family, a relationship, a friendship, a satisfying life together. When Alice and. Nick were the happiest, they worked as a team, never took themselves too seriously, and they laughed. They enjoyed their sexual relationship. They made each other their best friends. They had similar goals. When they lost each other, it was because focus shifted from their goals and their family to the devoting of too much energy to outside things, events and people. They had nothing left for each other or their kids.

A good parent can only keep all the balls in the air if children and spouse are not counted among the airborne projectiles. Some things are just too fragile to be dropped. Treating those we love and those around us with tenderness and respect is a lost art that must be cultivated to assure vital family relationships, friendships, marriages, so the couple and the children, the children, THE CHILDREN, can flourish.

Recommended to anyone in a relationship of any type, anyone who wants or has children, anyone who has challenging family, friends who are drifting away, jobs or pastimes rising to undue levels of importance. Recommended to anyone who wants to really make his or her family loving, kind, strong, and able to withstand the terrible challenges life throws in their paths. That is, anyone who wants to make that marriage work.
3347492
This book made me realize how much I associate music with various points in my life. When I hear a familiar song, I am often reminded of who I was with at the time, what I was doing, and my state of mind. Sheffield's book succeeds in verbalizing a lot of this feeling.

This book is about love. Sheffield uses music as a way to evoke the feelings he had for Renee, his ex-wife, at different periods of their relationship. This book takes the reader from the beginning of Sheffield's relationship with Renee, through their marriage, her death, Sheffield's mourning, and his eventual new romance. If one is familiar with the music Sheffield and Renee listen to, the book might be more powerful. But to someone like me with no real background of listening to that music, it still evoked the powerful feelings love and loss can awaken. I felt Sheffield's pain when Renee suddenly died. To lose someone you love so much is a blow that few people can recover from. I was wounded when I read about the lonely and aimless way Sheffield makes his way through life after Renee's death, everything and anything bringing up her memory. To anyone who has dared to love, the feelings in this book will bring up a case in deja vu. To those who haven't loved, it might give some insight as to why people act so crazy when they love someone.

I can't recommend this book enough.
3203434
And in Indecision #1, melancholically talking about love, and the lover that just left. The questions inundating your mind about what went wrong, the incessant doubt of why the lover left, and perhaps it was a mistake, it was your fault. And the mind set on the love to come, the love that could be. The love still lingering from before and the fear of the love that may never come.
 And you hear, in the last stanza, the voice of the narrator showing such ambivalence.

What do you do with love
When its no more
Yet within your own mind
Its like before.

 And in Indecision #9, the world outside collides with the world inside. You perceive your mind, your self, your solitude inside the steady rock that keeps you alive, that gives you refuge. The chaotic world outside brings fears and doubts to your mind. The physical world seems to be upside down and in the last stanza you hear the voice of the narrator saying.

Stay within yourself
Its much safer there
No one asks you questions
About why to care

 And in Indecision # 25, lamenting the loss of Nick David. You perceive the distress about accepting the loss of a person so dear to you. And your mind knows in fear the pain of the insurmountable loss, in the feeling of helplessness and grief, in the desire of refuting the quotidian absence of the loved one.
 And then your emotions spring up and you see and hold the loved one in your memories at every turn, any time, day or night, real as if the loved one never departed. And your mind hangs perplexed, uncertain between the loss that certainly was and the fear of shedding those priceless memories that keep your loved one still living within you.
 And you hear, in the last two stanzas, the voice of the narrator entrusting those precious memories to the shining stars onto the eternal sky.

Dream only of
Light
In your
Flight

Jump into
The sky
As you
Fly

I enjoyed reading this book.
Michael DV
1391376
Forgotten Letters is a story of love and survival, intertwined with heartbreaking depictions of war and life in Japan amid violence, prejudice and the turmoil of a country devastated. Over three decades, the love between an American man and a Japanese woman is challenged by physical and cultural separation. The realism that paints the backdrop of this story brings depth to the characters and their relationships (both in love and friendship). This story doesn't feel like a typical WWII romance; there's something deeper in the pages. It's complex, elegant, and shows the harsh reality that interracial romance faced in the early 20th century. Even in the darker moments, the message that remains throughout is one of hope, that love will always overcome suffering. This is a book I would recommend to book clubs, WWII history-buffs and romantics alike.
1114003
I received a free Advanced Reader Copy of this book from the publisher.  The review was optional.  I sat down to read a few chapters but couldn't put this memorable book down. The writing gives voice to the heartbreaking reality of the vulnerability of love while celebrating  the resilience of the human spirit to mend and heal.  Artis opens herself to loving completely.  In doing so she opens herself to unfathomable grief and pain as well.  The book sheds light on the military/government process as she struggles for answers and justice for her husband.  The reader follows  Artis Henderson's journey from meeting the love of her life, grieving the loss of him and on to surviving such a loss.  In the telling of her story I felt she was right in the room with me.  The book begins with a dream her husband has of his impending death then moves the reader back through time to when the courtship began.  We then follow the life of Artis and Miles through heartbreak, joy, death, grief and healing.  The end of this book  found me shedding more tears and wanting for more!  Her journey has not ended.  I hope the author will publish a follow up on where her journey is taking her now.  I applaud her for taking us into the intimacy of her heart.
2825012
C.R Everett not only tells a bittersweet tale of lost love but also delivers a realistic sojourn through the labyrinth of ADHD-challenged relationships. Two of the main characters, Camryn and Glenn, are blinded by the unknown, each heading off on their own trajectories and each carrying their own baggage of insecurity and heartbreak.

In the first section, Camryn tells the story of her high school sweetheart, Reese. It is a sweetly innocent, nostalgic tale until Reese, battling family problems, becomes unavailable.

The second section is Camryn's life after Reese, when she meets a very different type of man at college. Glenn seems to mean well but he's only erratically able to carry out his good intentions.  This constant incongruity between his intentions and his actions plagues his life and relationships throughout entire novel. The reader is left to pause and wonder just as Camryn does: Is Glenn a good guy or a "bad boy"? It leaves this young woman on edge and uncertain, at points losing faith in her own judgment.

As Camryn becomes more involved with Glenn, she inadvertently looks the other way when it comes to his unloving behavior, even feeling sorry for him and his struggles. Like many men and women do in these relationships, she tells herself that love, loyalty, and devotion will surely heal whatever psychological wounds are causing such erratic behavior and, hope against hope, inspire loving gestures in return. She feels she is strong enough to do this. With long-undiagnosed ADHD in play, however, this devotion she shows for Glenn ultimately sucks her in to near drowning.

In the third and final section, Camryn finds happiness in her life's rough road, but at an enormous emotional cost. In the end, she realizes her struggles had purpose, not only for herself but for others and the next generation.

In contrast to magazine articles and anecdotes exploring the ADHD relationship experience, Everett artfully and viscerally demonstrates how ADHD, when unreocgnized and unaddressed, can surreptitiously invade and disrupt lives. This novel offers an emotional journey well worth taking, a tear-jerking, thought-provoking read for anyone interested in the intricacies of human relationships and how best intentions can be far outmatched by brain-based challenges.