The Memory Keeper's Daughter

I just read this book called The Memory Keeper's Daughter.










I was really skeptical about it at first, but my mom read it for book club, so I gave it a chance. It was a really intense book. Most of it is really depressing, and some of the characters were really frustrating. But, after I finished it I decided that I really did like it. It gave really good perspective on life. The book is centered on choices. One choice really. A split-second decision that changed the course of a family's life forever.

It's always so crazy to think about all of our decisions and how they shape our lives. Sometimes we choose to do things that have minor effect on our futures, but sometimes we choose to do things that will forever impact our futures, whether it's for good or bad. Usually we have time to think over our choices before we make big changes. Hopefully marriage is one of those things, and buying a house or car, deciding on a major, etc. But sometimes things are decided so fast that we barely have time to really think things over before changes are already in motion. In the book, the father makes a decision in the moment and doesn't realize the impact it's going to have in his life. It's a decision that he keeps secret from everyone in his life, even his wife. And it destroys his marriage. He never tells his family what he did. He thought he was keeping everyone safe by keeping this secret, but really he was destroying his own life and the lives of those around him. He was so stubborn, he was afraid of what would happen if he told what he did, he thought it would ruin everything, but instead, by keeping it to himself, everything was ruined anyway. It's so interesting to see how certain decisions pan out in the long run. It may be barely detectable, but every choice we make shapes every moment of our lives.

The book goes through the character's lives. It focuses a few chapters on a year or two of each of their lives and then it skips several years. I think it goes through 20 or 30 years. It really made me stop and think about how things change over the years and the possibilities that life holds. I'm only 21, I still have 3 or 4 more "20 year" spans to look forward to. That's a lot of time.

I think it's really easy for us to get caught up in our own lives and in silly superficial things that aren't really important to our overall life. We forget that we have years left to live. Especially being single and in college, nothing is really permanent, everything is changing and sometimes I feel completely lost. I get so focused on one thing that I forget that in 5 years, everything will probably be totally different.

E F G

A- Attached or single: Single. represent. ha.

B- Best Friend: number one is deb, but larke runs a close second, and then there's so many more.

C- Cake or Pie: Pie all the way. Pecan, Pumpkin, Cherry, Banana Cream, Chocolate. mmm...pie

D- Day of choice: I guess Saturday. Sleeping in is so nice.

E- Essential Item: does everything in my purse count? If i were to go cheesy, i would say, my smile. ha.

F- Favorite Color: Brown, preferably with blue

G- Gummi Bears or Gummi Worms: Hmm...both? gummi bears only if they're from Sams, and worms only if their the ones with sugar on them

H- Hometown: P-Town

I- Indulgence(s): um...sometimes i eat less dinner so i can have more dessert

J- January or July: July, duh, that's the easiest question

K- Kids: Well my mom wants me to have 10, but I'm an only child, so probably somewhere in the middle. All i can say is my husband is going to have to do a lot of convincing for me to even have the first one.

L- Life is Incomplete Without: Smiles, Laughing, Friends, Family

M- Marriage Date: Hopefully sometime within the next century would be nice.

N- Number of Siblings: oh dear, here goes. Genetically none, but otherwise: 3 boys 1 girl on dad's side and 5 boys 2 girls mom's side. so 11 total + me = 12

O- Oranges or Apples: Currently apples, but sometimes oranges are the best.

P- Phobias or Fears: 5 letters: S H A R K

Q- Quotes: I can never come up with a good one on command. I saw this on a James Christensen painting...."To love for the sake of being loved is human, but to love for the sake of loving is angelic". Also, "Awesome Blossom".

R- Reason To Smile: seeing your face

S- Season: Spring or Fall, Spring because of the rain, Fall because of the colors.

T- Tag Three: veto.

U- Unknown Fact About Me: hmm. I still haven't seen half of the last season of Gilmore Girls, which is just craziness. Although I have seen the finale, and it was crap.

V- Vegetarian or Meat Eater: um, meat is good.

W- Worst Habit: probably not following through, like with rules and goals i set for myself, which probably means i lack self-discipline. is that considered a habit?

X- X-Rays or Ultrasounds: Well, my only experiences with X-Rays involve pain, so I'm going to say Ultrasounds. But really, when do we have a choice?

Y- Your Favorite Food: mmm, food. Mashed potatoes, cookies, onion rings, bicuits and gravy

Z- Zodiac: Scorpio. that's right, watch your back.

Song-of-the-Week: She Must Think I'm Crazy by Thriving Ivory. I chose this mostly because it's the song I'm listening to right now. But I also really love it. The words have passed through my mind so many times. Like when I'm trying to convince myself that things worked out for the best, but still having doubts. The lyrics are just so good. I love the line: "I've decided I won't change, No, I won't change for you. I've decided to look out for myself, But you make it so hard to do." Sometimes it really is like losing your mind over nothing at all.

picture picture

ok so i totally forgot that i uploaded these pictures a few days ago. i am awesome. so.....on to the tour....

the living room

really nice fireplace. the entertainment unit is really cool. and there are windows everywhere

the kitchen

this might be my dream kitchen. granite tops, huge island, a big window above the sink, oh and the stove is gas and it's so big.

dining room

it's actually connected to the kitchen. look at all those windows. and the nice deck. ok i guess this is the only picture with close window shots. you see how there are small windows above the window? well, those are on all the windows. they're even above all the doors in the house. so you can clearly see when a light is on but the door is closed. i think it's really cool. i wish i had a picture to show.

the bonus room

ok, i have never heard a room called a "bonus room" before, but i quite like it. it's the room above the garage and it's kind of like another living room, but bigger and better. there's a bed to back left of the picture and a whole bunch of room behind with windows and cubby holes. look at that tv. nice. i spent a lot of time in here until the cable box  in here stopped working.

mine and larke's room

it's a beauty, this picture doesn't show it off very well. i sleep on the half of the bed that you can see. my bunny blanket is on the bed and that's my new purse on the chair. the ceiling is pretty high and there's a fan that stays on pretty much all the time. oh and sorry if there's anything questionable in the picture.

the stairway

the whole downstairs (except the office and the family room) is hardwood floors. very nice.

so, there you have it...or at least part of it. i'm so sad to be leaving. i love it here. a lot. the house, the city, the weather, but most of all the people.