Words.

Words are incredibly powerful.  Sometimes I think we forget.  We can create so many different emotions just by the words that we use.  Anger, hate, love, passion, sadness, happiness and even despair.  A heart can be broken in a moment, a relationship destroyed.  Words can be poisonous, infecting what was once loving and pure.  But they can also lift our spirits and enrich our lives. 

There is so much in life that we are unable to control. However, the words we choose when we write or speak are completely of our making.  I read somewhere recently that we are remembered by the way we make people feel, not by what we say or do.  I believe that the things we say and do directly effect the way people feel.  Therefore we will be remembered by the things we say and do.  Choose your words wisely.  Emotional wounds can be just as painful as physical ones and quite often take far longer to heal.              

Patience.

I love that feeling you get when you finish a book.  If you’ve loved it you feel a certain attachment to it but it’s still satisfying to reach the conclusion.  If you haven’t enjoyed it then you’re just darn grateful to have reached the end!  I also love the fact that it’s time to choose what to read next.  I have a whole pile of books waiting to be read at the moment.  I am never without something to read.  I always have the best intentions of reading them in order but when it comes down to it I’ll go with what I’m drawn to.  Once I’ve chosen, the first page is always exciting, holding the promise of something fabulous.

The same can be said when I begin work on a new project.  You begin with the smallest idea for something and gradually it grows and comes alive.  It seems at the moment that I have quite a few ideas that I’m working on.  In my darker moments I chastise myself and wonder why I always seem to be starting something but never finishing.  The truth is that I do finish.  Only a couple of weeks ago I finished a short story and submitted it for publication (watch this space!).  So there you go.  Maybe I’m finding my writing style.  Ideas begin and sometimes they take a while to grow but they get there in the end.  Patience has never been my strong point but I’m slowly getting better at it.

When God Was A Rabbit.

I love to read and it is often said that reading is the best way to learn the craft of writing.  I therefore feel it is acceptable to mention some of the books that I read whilst I take this journey as a writer.  I read as much as time allows but it is very rare for me to finish a book in under a week, but that is exactly what I have just done.  I say this not to brag about how quickly I can read or to presume that I am a more prolific reader but just to try and convey how this book affected me.

The book is When God Was a Rabbit, by Sarah Winman.  I had heard of it before and was intrigued but never really seeked it out.  On a recent visit to my local library I came across it sitting on the ‘for sale’ trolley.  It was priced at 20p.  The librarian was baffled as to why it should be on there, it is a fairly new book and in excellent condition.  She shook her head and let me take it away after parting with my 20p.  It may be naive but I am a great believer in books finding a way to us.  This book found its way to me now.  If I hadn’t seen it sitting on the trolley for only 20p (times are hard!) I probably wouldn’t have read it any time soon.  For me this book was such an easy read, I opened it up and it just carried me along.    

I am a little in awe that this is Sarah’s debut novel.  She is a wonderful story teller. I felt great warmth for all the characters in this book.  I loved the relationship between our protagonist Elly and her brother.  It made me realise how much we all need someone who can understand us and except us for exactly who we are.   This story tells the story of a family but through the eyes of its youngest member.  Through Elly you meet a selection of characters as she sees them. She feels different when in reality she is just someone working her way through things. .  I think many of us go through life feeling that we don’t quite fit.  I also think this is OK and that most of the time there isn’t a perfect fit.  Isn’t it good to be a different?  I also loved the focus on Elly’s friend Jenny Penny.  What a fabulous, memorable name.  Poor Jenny doesn’t have an easy time of it but this story shows just how valuable friendship can be.  It touches often on accepting people for what they are and loving because of it rather than in spite of it.

Elly’s family are lovely and I sense real tenderness between them all.  Sarah’s portrayal of her parents is sensitive and gives a great insight into their characters.  The words they speak and their actions tell us volumes about them without having to go into great chunks of descriptive text.  Throughout the story Sarah touches on major events that happened which really give a sense of time to the book.  As someone who also grew up around that era (I am 5 years younger than Elly) it added something that I could relate to, making the story all the more real.  This book is about family, friendship and the difficulties we sometimes have to face.  It is a little about religion and how it can sometimes touch our lives, even if we do not consider ourselves to be religious.  Quite often we reach for some kind of help from above in times of trouble. 

In this book God was a Rabbit even then he had a great impact on the life of young Elly.   It is impossible to know what’s around the corner or what life will throw at us but by treasuring the people in our lives we can make the difficult times a little easier to bare.