Literature: Brave Enough

   Good morning my dearest readers and what a morning it is! It's Friday!!!! Though most of us still have to work through the day, at least we have the weekend now to look forward to. Not only do I have great plans, but those plans involve a spontaneous road trip to Toronto to see an epic band with my friend Geneviève! In addition to that, I've also officially become part of the writing team for the blog thirtyish.me (yes, I am now a working writer) and I LOVE IT!! But this post isn't a Love post, it's a Literature one; so let's get to it!

   I've been cruising through one book after another since I've realized that my deadline to complete my fifty book pledge is only a couple of months away, and I'm just a little over halfway done. So I've started to read a lot more poetry, and short-story compilations because I feel like it's easier for me to finish those off while on my way home from work, or during my lunch break. And today's post is in regards to the book I finished yesterday, which is a compilation of quotes published by Cheryl Strayed (the author of Wild), and though I haven't had the chance yet to read her latter mentioned story, I'm more excited than ever now to read it after completing Brave Enough.

   Cheryl Strayed has a very honest and straightforward way of writing and reaching out to her audience. Her words ring true with the reader, regardless of the age. I found myself relating and nodding along to quotes about parenting and marriage (when I've lived neither of these things yet), but it's the promise of the future, and of the reality of it that resonates. After only a few pages in, I had to stop and read a few of the quotes out loud to my mom, and proceeded to tell her that I'd like one of the quotes framed and gifted to me at Christmas because it was just that good.

   The things with quotes (and especially this book) is that we relate well with other people's words, because they express things we feel but have been able to vocalize until then. We all express ourselves differently, and writers are the ones we turn to to find the outlet we are unable to fathom. It's to make sense of the little voices in our heads, and to identify them by putting a tangible voice to them. It then echoes in the words of another. The best part of this book, is that it gave me the boost I needed without even knowing that I needed it at that moment. Sometimes you just need a complete stranger to tell you how incredible you are, and to keep pushing through whatever it is your struggling with, and to shoot high because that's the only place you should be aiming for.

   So I hope that you will be Brave Enough my dearest readers to go after the life you've imagined, because you honestly deserve it. And if ever you would need a little encouragement (which we ALL do sometimes) let Cheryl Strayed be the one to give it to you!

K.P.H.