Yesterday afternoon I began reading The Bright Side of Disaster by Katherine Center, a tale of a young woman and her journey into single motherhood. I just finished it, about 24 hours later, if that gives you any idea how addicting it was. And then I read every word of her acknowledgements, the Q & A with the author and the preview chapter from her next novel due out in Spring 2009. What?! I have to wait that long to read anything new from Katherine Center?!
I don’t want to give too much away here, but even if I did it would still be worth reading every word. The main character, Jenny, is set to be married to her live-in boyfriend and became pregnant a little ahead of schedule. But then the dad-to be/husband-to be goes out for cigarettes and well, motherhood calls.
Center does an excellent job chronicling Jenny’s delivery, nursing frustration and general adjustment to motherhood. I was there with Jenny, feeling her frustration, her confusion and cheering her on as she pulled herself together and rose to the challenges before her (and at times didn’t).
Obviously I enjoyed this escape if I stayed up later than I should have and then woke up, wrote my devotional and jumped right back into the pages before anyone else stirred. I love the way Center brings Jenny, and all her friends and family, alive. I could picture her mother, as a ball of energy, riding in to help her little girl, but still helping her to spread her own wings. I liked how Jenny, like so many other new moms, reached out to find other moms for companionship. And I like how Jenny was ambitious, yet had to realize her limits, just how I was when I first became a mom. (Fortunately I had a loving husband in place, though. But I still thought I could accomplish more than I should have. But I digress..)
If you’re up for a little escapism, that has a touch of realism, check it out. And give it an easy read. And then let me know what you think…
PS Thanks, Karen, my Children’s Museum buddy, for the gift! (I am so excited that you got to meet Katherine Center!!) As you can tell, I’ve enjoyed it.
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