Strangers in Time

What book are you reading right now?

It’s a real departure for him, set in London in WWII. The story of two young teenagers who meet during the Blitz and take care of each other. Being Baldacci there is also a twisty thriller plot curling around these two children, who are having to be braver and more resourceful than a child ever should.

My mum and her sisters lived through that. My grandparents had the two older girls evacuated but took them home a year later saying they’d rather all die together. I know both girls were grateful. The worry of not knowing if your parents and sister were alive must have been dreadful.

They also at least got to know their brother before he died as a result of the war. That’s a precious memory they should never have missed.

So for me the story resonates, yet it’s the first book of his I’ve struggled with. He will still have a few twists to come, and Baldacci’s twists are the equivalentof a thousand people doing the conga and forgetting where the front is with all the turning and looping. Imagine that! 🤣

However…

Always trust Baldacci

Lee child added that testimonial to David’s book which covers and it nails him!

I’m proceeding through the book with caution because it’s a human trait to judge too early. This is an author I trust and I’m going to trust him.

It’s about what matters

We should always take time before we judge, if we must judge. Would it matter if a superb writer had written a not-quite-so- good book? In my opinion. Note that emphasis on the singular.

Should we not be defined by everything we do, not one misstep? Don’t his his goodness knows how many amazing books vastly outweigh the few or the one?

If I give him a chance will he do his normal trick of upending what you thought you knew in a single sentence? He did it on the last page of the last book of his I read.

Seek to be surprised not disappointed

Will a human who has offended you turn out to be the person who is there when no one else is?

Will that woke idiot on social media pull you from a car crash? Or be the Paramedic who turns up? The Police Officer who finds your missing child? The annoying neighbour who finds your lost cat or dog? The Vet who saves your pet? The stranger who sees that you’re hurting and stops to listen?

We judge too fast. I prefer to assume I’m going to get on with someone until I don’t, then quietly walk away knowing that it’s just oil and water not good and bad. Someone loves that person and they have friends, so we probably fell out in a previous life, nothing more.

I regret losing every person I didn’t connect with because we both had so much more to give. I’ve never met a person I didn’t like.

Why trust?

So I will trust Lee Child, another huge favourite (along with his brother Andrew), and I will always trust Baldacci. Because why wouldn’t I? He’s bought me so much joy and he’s allowed not to be perfect. He has that divine right.

Let me reiterate that:

People are allowed not to be perfect, they are allowed to think differently. They are allowed to support all genders and be unaffected by skin colour and just like someone despite any visual differences. We are allowed to look for the good inside, give everyone several chances, believe that everyone deserves respect and that inclusion is a birthright. Not every human must be academic, not every human must change the world, it’s perfectly okay to be normal. We are definitely allowed not to get everything right!

Allow humanity

The next time an amazing author, screenwriter, actor, dancer, comedian, lets you down, remember why you liked them in the first place.

The next time a friend does the same, remember why you’re friends. The next time you and a family member fall out, think about how you’d feel without them.

My brother and I had a rocky time, but he took the first step to put that right. A few weeks ago he was taken ill, and I have never felt so terrible, the idea of no him was unbearable. We thought we didn’t get on (it’s what we were taught), turns out we very much do. There was a time we didn’t think so and we were wrong. So wrong.

The next time a person lies to you, or hits you, remember why you shouldn’t be with them, and how much your friends love you.

A surprise

This was meant to be a short blog, I enjoy the more punchy ones, but it’s taken on a life of its own and like every creative, I had to follow to see where it was going.

Is it the most perfect blog I’ve ever written? Absolutely not. But it’s written because whomever you are, wherever you are, you matter. That counts for a lot in this messed up world of ours.

We don’t always have to be perfect to care. To love. We’re not foolish to say that every total stranger matters until they prove they’re unworthy of that respect; that there are no differences under the skin. The energy that animates us and stores our memories and emotions is the energy of life. Atoms. We are literally all created from the same energy field.

Think on that.

Whilst I continue to trust Baldacci.

Best love

Amorah – Deb