Chasing Windmills by Catherine Ryan Hyde
This book writes in the perspectives of Sebestian, a 17 year old boy living in the shadows of his strict father who showed no love, and of Maria, a 22 year old mother of two children, 7 year old C.J. and 2 year old Natalie, and wife of an abusive husband whom she had endured several violent episodes for seven years.
The story was so engaging that I couldn't put the book down even though it was way pass bedtime. The characters met on the Subway at night, where they travelled to escape from something and someone in their lives. The author's descriptions of their feelings, their thoughts and the way they look and behave paint such a realistic picture of those characters in my mind that it is almost like I am seeing the story unfold before my eyes.
Sebastian made friend with a wise old lady named Delilah. What she said in one chapter stayed with me,
"If I was unhappy like you are now, here's what I'd do. Now just listen and try to take this in. Might not make much sense when it first hits your ears. When life just cuts me to ribbons and bloodies me and knocks me down, I go out of doors into nature. Now that's gonna be hard for you, where you live. If you could get to the ocean, that would be great. But I don't guess you can. But, you know, even the stars are good enough. Except, I suppose you don't see many stars in the city, because the city lights wash 'em out. But I guess you see some don't you? And even if you don't, there's the moon. The moon'll do. See, you're looking for something that's not man-made. And you won't get it indoors. Everything indoors we invented. No bigger powers involved. but we didn't make the stars not the moon. Or the trees or oceans or rivers, and we never could. Never will. That's how come you know somethings's bigger's at work. So look at the proof of something big. Breathe it in. And then here's what you say, "Thank for my life."
I just sat there, slumped on the couch. Confused. The kettle started to whistle, and she got up to tend to it.
"Why? Why would you say that if you're so miserable?"
"That's exactly why. Because you're miserable. It's like, if you love somebody. When they hurt you or let you down, you let ' em know you still love them. That's called unconditional love. Anybody can love somebody when they're making you happy. That requires no special talent. That's also how most people do it. But when get a little wiser, you know you got to love somebody with all their faults. So, if you can do that with a person, what about your own life? This is like unconditional love for your own life."
I could hear the ice cracking and popping as she poured hot tea over it.
"And then, after I say thank you my life, then what?"
"Then you keep going. Keep living. You wake up every day and get dressed and brush your teeth and see what life has in mind for you next."
I wondered if, when I looked at Maria tomorrow night, I could love her in spite of Carl. Which let's face it, was a pretty big fault.
I guess the better question was, could I stop loving her because of it?
In other words, did I really have any options?
When life throws stones at me, I will take Delilah's advice. Thank you, Catherine Ryan Hyde for making the world a more beautiful place with this novel.
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