Hennepin County Library paperback 369 pages
genre: Christian realistic fiction, relationships
We had a great discussion on this book last night - I wish Jen had been there! The book was intense and somewhat depressing, but very well-written. The story opens with three moms (Amanda, Beth, and Raelynn) and their three kids (Ellie, Sarah, and Nate) on a school field trip to New Orleans. It was hard at first to figure out who was who, but it quickly fell into place. Beth is Preacher's wife - they are loving, solid Christians. Amanda is married to Carl, who is not a very sensitive spouse. Raelynn is a single mom who had an abusive marriage. In light of a terrible crisis with Hurricane Katrina as a follow-up, I don't want to spoil the story for anyone who might read it, so stop here (or where I actually placed the spoiler alert).
My marked pages / notes from reading:
page 4 - referring to the teacher - "She is young and not yet burned out from the never-ending demands of public education." This made me smile. Yep.
page 5 (and more later) - I'm somewhat horrified that these parents took their kids to a Mardi Gras store / museum. "Inside the gift shop, students explore rows of spirit dolls and voodoo pins, while Sarah and Ellie move to the collection of intricate masks." I probably have too much of a knee-jerk reaction to this kind of stuff, but I just don't understand why these parents would agree to this kind of trip! Others at book club weren't put out at this, pointing out that it's a part of the state history / culture . . . .page 27 had the main character Amanda giving her daughter encouragement to approach and talk to a woman who has chicken bones, tarot cards, half-melted candles, etc. at her table. Um, no thanks. I'd try to keep my innocent child AWAY from someone like that.
page 29 - Title source! The woman gives a feather to Sarah, saying "Your very own feathered bone." They talk about the feather being strong enough to bend without breaking (unlike the whalebone used in corsets previously) and that the feathers were meant to allow birds to fly. There was a LOT more of this theme of sparrows, feathers, flying, and freedom throughout the book. (like page 76, with Gator's chained dogs and the memory of the caged sparrow)
page 34 - "No matter how much love my mother gave me after the adoption, even more so after her divorce, I was unwanted, abandoned, and unloved from the start." This is so heart-breaking. Amanda, our main narrator, is in so much pain! This made me think of Katie and her concerns with the book.
***SPOILER ALERT!!!***
page 87/88/89 - I loved Amanda's gratitude list. Sometimes making a conscious choice to consider your blessings can completely change your attitude and perspective. Then on the next page, we hear from Sarah! It was so nice to know she was still alive . . . and to hear her sweet "voice" in her notes to the sparrow.
page 122 - When Beth talks about comforting people who are struggling with tragedy and pain, especially with losing a child, she says, "If you want to ask God, 'Why me? Why my children?' that's okay. Ask him. Because his son was killed too. That's what the crucifixion is really about. God stands with us through our suffering. The loss. The pain. He understands." Then when Amanda asks her if that's what she still believes, after Sarah was taken, Beth replies, "I don't know." We had a great conversation about this and about maintaining faith in the most difficult of circumstances.
page 128 - this is where I stopped to check how many more notebook entries from Sarah were in the book. Her captivity lasted for years! It made me think of Jaycee Dugard. It made me sad and want the book to hurry up and get to the part where we find out what happens to Sarah. I definitely empathized more with Sarah and Ellie than most of adults in this story . . .
page 162 - I loved this! An elderly lady finally contacts her sister (after the evacuation of New Orleans due to Katrina) and looks at Ellie to say, "See there? Never give up." This moment made it even more hard for me to take when Ellie committed suicide. So incredibly sad!
page 179 - Not sure why I marked Carl's meanness, but I definitely felt so much compassion for Amanda (and women in similarly abusive situations). "You think we all need Perfect Amanda to swoop in and save us. Well, guess what? Nobody needs you. Nobody evens wants you. What we want, what we need, is for you to either grow up and pull yourself together, or stay out of our lives. Leave us alone. Stop running around in circles trying to fix everything. You mess things up, don't you see? You can't even iron a shirt!" I am so incredibly grateful to be married to my sweet, kind, wonderful husband. (Of course, I can't imagine putting up with this kind of crap from a man . . . . )
page 237 - "I sit quietly, letting Ellie release her thoughts, knowing there's not a word I can say to make this better for her. I listen." Sometimes just being there and listening is the best we can do!
page 243 - Ellie kills herself. No! I was sobbing through the next ten or so pages and could barely read . . . further trauma for Amanda. Too much pain and hopelessness. Then on page 264, "'Why'd she leave me, Raelynn? Why'd Carl leave me? Why does everybody I love leave me?' As I say these words, my entire life flashes before me. All the abandonments. Every one of them." I'm so glad she has good friends like Jay, Raelynn, Beth, and Viv!
page 283 - when Amanda remembers Ellie talking about peacock feathers "They don't have pigment in them. It's actually their structure . . . how they're made . . . and the color only really comes through when it finds light. Bird, butterflies - they were made for the light." I love how this theme of light and feathers is woven throughout the story.
page 309 - When Amanda goes to visit the chapel in the bayou, I only like the part where she read the founders' The Beatitudes of a Christian Marriage:
- Blessed are the husband and wife who continue to be considerate and affectionate long after the wedding bells have ceased ringing.
- Blessed are those mates who never criticize or speak loudly to one another and who instead quietly discuss their disagreements and work toward solutions.
- Blessed are they who thank God for their food and who set aside time each day to read the Bible and pray.
- Blessed are they who love their mates more than any other person in the world and who joyfully fulfill their marriage vows in a lifetime of fidelity and mutual helpfulness to one another.
page 324 - they found Sarah!!!
page 337 - from Sarah's journal - "We all have a feathered bone. It's called hope. If we hang on to hope, if we don't let anybody break us or make us forget who we are, then we will always be free."
page 357 - Sarah is seventeen now and sharing her story. I am still skeptical that a child taken at age 12 and used as a prostitute for four years could maintain her faith and positive outlook . . . it makes for a very nice story. She talks about corsets and the change from whalebone to featherbones. "That's how I started to think of myself. Like a feathered bone. I kept a little sparrow feather with me through the whole journey, and when I'd start to think I was going to break, I'd hold my feather and remind myself that I was stronger than I looked."
page 364 - Sarah again - "That's what I had to learn. Some people nudge us into the dark, others toward the light. We just have to be smart enough to know the difference."
Okay, not my favorite book we've read and discussed, but quite good. Definitely a book that drew me into the story!
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