As a father of 5 young children, and a prolific author, Nicholas Sparks found his world spinning out of control. He was to the point where he was sleeping no more than five hours a night, writing, touring, raising a family, and trying to find a few moments for his wife and himself. Being famous isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, in fact “what you want and what you get are two entirely different tings”, as his mother used to tell him.
Then the brochure arrived.
Pretty in color, it tempted him to dream an impossible dream. Travel the world in three weeks. Could he? Should he? What about his new twin girls? His three boys? His wife? His book deadline? Of course he did what he had to do, he called his brother, Micah, and invited him on the tour. Micah, a new father himself, was excited beyond words.
Then Nicholas’ guilt started to seep in, coloring the excitement of the trip a dull gray.
His wife was pushing him to go, his brother was fifty kinds of excited. Only Nicholas let his guilt burden him and drag him down.
But he went, because it was expected of him.
Those three weeks, covering Guatemala, Peru, Easter Island, Polynesian Cook Islands, Australia, Phnom Penh, Taj Mahal, Jaipur India, Ethiopia, Malta, and Tromso Norway became the changing point of his life. With each mile logged we, the reader, became more ingrained in the life cycle of this remarkable family, including their highs and their lows. And through it all, we discover a deep love and commitment between two siblings.
When we think of successful people, we seldom imagine what their home life is, or how they started out, or how the grew up and related to their own family members. We think all is fun and exciting and on top of the world. We don’t know they have death and tragedy, just like us, or a child that doesn’t quite fit in with all the other kids.
Nicholas Sparks is known for drawing on his own familial experiences in his past books, and this one is no different. It is a story of commitment, devotion, and family love. His writing style makes it easy reading and an enjoyable look into the closets of his life, past and present. I even enjoyed his descriptive details on cities, countries and monuments I’ll certainly never have the opportunity to visit. He also inserted a great deal of humor, making you laugh at both him and the tour guides, as they ramble on about jars and vases.
He also gave you some dark sides to dwell on and ponder. The loss of his mother, father, sister, his first baby. Trials with his son, Ryan, who has a learning problem that is never defined by the doctors. Trying to bring Micah back to the church and Micah, in turn, trying to bring Nicholas back to just living.
All in all, it is an enjoyable and emotional read. It is full of the ups and downs of growing up from early childhood to the present day. I believe that people of all ages would enjoy this book.
Thanks,
Susi
368 pages, Warner Books, ISBN 0446694851
Recommended:
