Rarely,if ever, can one describe a book as "life changing".
This astonishing book for me,certainly was.
It,s compact size allows it to be read and re read.
Like a diamond,each facet stuns and surprises.
It is,essentially,a diary of the year after a husband,s death,written in verse ,one for each month of the year,and what beautiful verse it is.
After several readings,I got a shape to it.
Another reading and the beauty really shines through,especially in the starkly elegant images and words ,tight,sparse and lonely as a lament.
This is not a book to be read, it is a book to be ingested.
It tastes different each time
I may never reach a conclusion and may always stroke it like an Aladdins, lamp.
It did tell me that hope never dies.
Nor does our need for hope.
In a time of bereavement,it can come dangerously close to looking that way and the prospect of a life without hope can be as frightening as no life at all.
It said to me that one cannot quicken the recovery process.
Neither can one predict when hope will return and one must simply rely on faith in life to assist the return of hope.
In these twelve gem like poems, there is a long brave journey through grief ,with only faith as a guide.
If you ever felt the terror or losing hope,you will recognise the sentiments in this book.
If you have yet to feel it, this book is an assurance that it will never be all taken away despite looking terrifyingly like it might be.
Eventually ,there is a feeling that the sun has come outfrom behind a cloud.
It nearly didnt
A stunning experience and a lifelong companion ,this book
David Beglin.
Nairobi.
Kenya.
September 2007.