I was blessed by David’s teacher last year at the end of May when she gave me a Barnes and Noble gift card.  I was thinking how I never get to buy books for myself and in preparing to go to Hawaii, I wanted something great to read.  As I searched the aisles, this book stood out just by design alone.  A pretty blue background with balloons…now, who wouldn’t be just a little curious, right?  So, I picked it up and read the inside cover and knew I had to have this book. From her rawness to her cute pic with her son, Kai, to the fact she is an English teacher, I was drawn in.

I started reading it late in the summer, since I was finishing up another book, and I finished it in a week…with many tears and prayers lifted up for this sweet person…I would grow to feel like we were friends. She could have been any one of us…newly married…now expecting their first child…when the unexpected happens – her husband, age 27, dies in a sports-related accident.   I cannot even begin to describe how I would feel, but her true, real, emotional rawness was mesmerizing.  I thought things like ‘yep, that’s exactly how I would feel’ or gracious ‘how in the world did she make it through this?’.  Her words, minus the cuss words, were riveting and kept me on the edge.  Although she uses language that will stop you in your tracks, you can’t help but see how difficult this journey is.  She uses affectionate words for members of her family…you can tell how close they all are.  She describes the navigating she must now do with her late husbands family.  Her humor is amusing and she makes me laugh A LOT throughout the whole book.  It’s a little warped humor at times, but given the situation, do you dare question it?

She teaches High School English, and she should be praised for that alone, but she compares and contrasts some of the greatest written books with her situation and I loved that about her!  Her favorite book, The Great Gatsby, is one of my faves too…so I enjoyed all the references to it.  She has a passion for teaching and it’s evident.

I wrote to Natalie after I read her book.  She responded too and I think and pray for her often.

She has a blog – Signs of (real) Life and her website is Natalie Taylor

Go and check her out!

Karen