I have been waiting for the release of this book and rushed to Barnes and Noble to snatch up my own copy as soon as I returned from Florida. I've been reading Kelle's story via her blog for over a year; feeling like I know her and her beautiful daughter's Lainey and Nella because I get the play-by-play of their daily life, see pictures of their Florida days and read Kelle's thoughts and reflections and stories. I love that about blogs, that we can be so connected to someone we've never met, understand a totally different point of view when they're vulnerable and honest. The release of Bloom meant I could read so much of the story at once instead of waiting for more blog posts.
Bloom did not disappoint. I was expecting a regular size book, but fell in love with the weight of the memoir, the thick pages and glossy pictures. Kelle is an artist with her words, she makes me think and reflect the way writers Shauna Niequist and Donald Miller do.
Every bad thing is tempered by the good, and every good with the bad. We learn to embrace it all and use our strengths to carry us through the darker days. I did my best to embrace it all-- even the dark times-- because I knew they would get better.
I do know tears must improve vision, for Nella looked even more beautiful through my weeping eyes.
My friend told me, "Life is like a choose-your-own-adventure book. I thought I'd be on page 68 today, but look... I'm not. I'm divorced and starting over. And you thought you'd be at page 71 today, but you're on page 49 instead. And it's a whole different ending than you thought it would be, but you get to take it from here. It will still end well-- you'll just take a little bit of a different route."
There is so much good in the world. There are so many amazing people who are striving to see beauty, who take time to help a stranger, who challenge themselves to be better-- to learn more about people and differences and how to bring them all together.
There's beige, and there's color. There's one life or one wild and precious life.
*All photo and excerpt credits to Kelle Hampton
I think I want to read this. She is such an awesome photographer. And I didn't know she was getting divorced. Makes me sad for her and her girls. Not related, but looking at that last picture really makes me want a popsicle!
ReplyDeleteYes, You should totally read this. And oh gosh, she's not getting divorced, that's something her friend said to her as encouragement in the hospital. I'll fix that!
ReplyDelete